London Buses route 343 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Tower Gateway station and New Cross, it is operated by Go-Ahead London subsidiary London Central.
History
When re-tendered, the route passed to Travel London's Walworth garage on 21 September 2005 with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs introduced.Bus tender results Route 343/N343 Transport for London 9 March 2005
Route 343 was included in the May 2009 sale of Travel London to Abellio London.National Express Group plc agreement to sell Travel London National Express 21 May 2009NedRailways acquisition reinforces long term commitment to UK transport market NedRailways 9 June 2009 Abellio London successfully tendered to retain the route with a new contract commencing on 5 May 2011.Bus tender results Route 343/N343 Transport for London 2 June 2010
In June 2010, the route was revealed to be amongst the ten worst performing in London.262 London's worst performing bus route - top 10 revealed London Daily News 11 June 2010 Two additional morning peak journeys were introduced on 12 June 2010 with the intention of solving the problems; performance improved as a result, although the route continued to receive complaints.
A proposal to increase the frequency of the route was announced by Transport for London in November 2010.C10 retains its place in league table of most complained about bus routes in London London-se1 26 November 2010
At 08:22 on 17 March 2012, a bus on route 343 caught fire on Pepys Road, New Cross. The fire was put out by 09:20 and there were no injuries.
On 25 June 2019, the route received an extension from City Hall to Aldgate bus station to replace part of the now withdrawn route RV1.343 Bus Route Transport For London 25 June 2019
In October 2024, Transport for London launched a consultation proposing to withdraw route 343 between Tower Gateway station and Aldgate bus station. In February 2025, it was confirmed that the changes would proceed and they were implemented on 29 March 2025.
Current route Route 343 operates via these primary locations: Tower Gateway station Tower Bridge London Bridge station Borough station Elephant & Castle station Walworth Peckham High Street Peckham Rye station Brockley New Cross
References
External links