London Buses route RV1

History

Route RV1 commenced operating on 27 April 2002 between Covent Garden and Tower Gateway station. The service carried Riverside branding and was intended to open up the South Bank, connecting visitor attractions including the National Theatre, London Eye, Royal Festival Hall and Tate Modern. It serves many streets that had not been served by buses.

The service was jointly promoted by Transport for London and the South Bank Employers' Group. The Daily Telegraph called the route one of the "best routes for sightseeing on a shoestring".

It was one of the first routes in London to use off-bus ticketing only, leading to quicker boarding and journey times, and unusually operated at the same frequency on Sundays as on other days of the week.

The route used to be operated by diesel fuelled Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaros. Between September 2004 and January 2007, three trial fuel cell powered (Mercedes-Benz Citaros) were used on this route to compare their efficiency with their diesel equivalents. The fuel cell buses only operated in the mornings and early afternoon due to a lack of fuel capacity.

In November 2010, it was announced that the route would again be operated with hydrogen-powered vehicles. One new bus came into service in December 2010, and seven more were in service by the end of 2011.

On 22 June 2013, route RV1 was included in the sale of First London's Lea Interchange garage to Tower Transit. In August 2014, WiFi technology was introduced on one bus on route RV1. New passenger information screens were also introduced on one bus on the route.

In January 2016, it was announced two Van Hool hydrogen buses would enter service on the route.

Current route

Route RV1 operates via these primary locations: