Londoners mourn axed bus route that’s served millions every year since 1936

Londoners are mourning the end of an iconic bus route which took its last journey after 88 years in operation.

The 118 bus, which ran from Morden to Brixton, was axed by Transport for London (TfL) despite being in service since November 1936.

The bus was known among south Londoners for its internal blue lighting and made its last ever journey in the early hours of Satruday morning.

The historic route fell victim to a TfL reshuffle of bus services in south London aimed at cutting overlapping bus services to better meet passenger demand.

A revised 45 bus service will be covering much of the 118’s journey, running between Camberwell Green and Morden.

Sixteen percent of respondents to TfL’s public consultation opposed the changes, with one resident calling it a ‘sad day for locals.’

Philomena Kilroy, who took the 118 for fifty years, said: ‘Saying goodbye to the 118 bus is sad for all of us. I have been using this bus since the 70s – feeling sad.’

Another Londoner, Marie Pembridge, added her voice to the sense of loss to the decades-old bus route: ‘I feel a loyalty to the 118. It was the bus I got to and from school in Clapham, from Streatham Vale, in the 80s.’

@afykz

FAREWELL ROUTE 118 (1936-2025) ???????????? – Video of the changes: @afykz & @afykz – The route 118 started operation in November 1936, and running a total of 88 years in service. The route will be replaced by route 45. . . . . #tfl #tflouses #bus #buses #london #change #changes #buschanges #londonbuschanges #southlondon #brixton #streatham #mitcham #morden #lambeth #merton #croydon #confirmed #lambethborough #southwark #extension #busextension #118busroute #withdraw #withdrawal #rip #farewell #45busroute #59busroute #bigchanges #1stfeb #february #2025 #2025buschanges #goodbye #haveyoursay #tflchanges #tflbuschanges #tflhaveyoursay #northlondonbuschanges #northwestlondon #transportforlondon #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #information #informative

♬ Essence – DON KARON

The 118 was originally a daily service between Mitcham Common and Clapham Common via Poynders Road.

With 88 years, it was one of London’s oldest bus routes and not far off the 24 bus service, which was launched 113 years ago.

The 24’s route has taken passengers from the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead to Pimlico, passing through Camden, Trafalgar Square, and Horse Guards Parade, since 1912.

Despite the age of the 118 bus, the service also won local hearts for the vibrant blue lighting within its interior.

According to TfL, non-white lighting is a practice widely used in the bus industry to improve visibility for the driver by reducing reflections in the windscreen.

Only a handful of other London bus routes share these striking blue lights, with the 89, 486, 401, 269 and 99 buses believed to be among the few left with the feature.

These bus service changes came about after TfL launched a consultation on the 118, 45 and 59 bus routes between September and October last year.

As well as axing the 118, TfL proposed changes to route 45, which will now operate between Denmark Hill/Camberwell Green and Morden.

Route 59 in Streatham is also to be restructured and will now run between Smithfield, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, and Clapham Park/Atkins Road.

In response to the proposed changes, residents expressed concerns the end of the 118 bus would lead to overcrowding and longer wait times on the remaining services.

In response to the objections on the changes, TfL said: ‘We continuously review and adapt the bus network to reflect changing customer needs.

‘This includes proposing adjustments to existing bus routes, to ensure services can continue to operate efficiently in areas where our customers need them most.

‘These proposals aimed to provide some new and improved local bus connections between Morden and Camberwell, including important trips to medical settings.

‘Customer demand for buses has fallen in inner London in the last few years. For example, peak demand on routes serving Brixton Hill in 2023/24 was about 70 per cent of the level of demand in 2019/20.

‘Reducing the frequency on bus routes where demand has fallen frees up resources to be spent elsewhere on the bus network where demand is increasing.

‘We considered these proposals represent a better match of bus capacity with passenger demand, that will help encourage more use of public transport, while continuing to provide regular and reliable bus services to popular destinations in the area.’

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