London Bus Route 353 - Addington Village - Hayes - Keston Mark - Locksbottom - Orpington - Ramsden Estate. (9 Miles)
Operated By: Go Ahead London: Metrobus
Garage: Orpington MB
Past Timetables: Aug 2003, July 2004, May 2005
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History:
The route 353 began on the 16th August 1986 and provided a Monday to Saturday service between Croydon (Fairfield Halls) and Orpington (Town Centre). The route was operated by an independent company called Metrobus and they allocated the route from their Orpington Garage (MB). On the 30th March 1996 the route was extended from Orpington Town Centre to Ramsden Estate. A Sunday service was also introduced on this date? On the 20th May 2000 the route was withdrawn between Croydon Fairfield Halls and New Addington Interchange. This was due to the new Croydon Tramlink system being introduced. The withdrawn section of the 353 was mainly replaced by the new route T33. The current PVR was Monday to Saturday 6SD and Sunday 5SD.
On the 30th August 2003 Metrobus bought some new Scania Omnidekka’s for some routes and as the 353 was getting a little overloaded they decided to allocate some of them. The current PVR was Monday to Friday 4DT/3SC, Saturday 4DT/2SC and Sunday 4DT. On the 5th March 2005 the allocation was transferred to PH garage. The current PVR was Monday to Saturday 4DT/2SC and Sunday 4DT. On the 21st May 2005 Metrobus contained the contract of running the 353. On the 3rd June 2006 the 353 was transferred back to MB. On the 2nd September 2006 the route was converted to fully double deck operation. The current PVR is Monday to Saturday 6SC and Sunday 4SC. The average journey time is between 27 and 43 minutes. The frequency Monday to Saturday is every 15 minutes and Sunday and evenings every 25- 30 minutes.