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Route 211 (Hounslow)

Up to 1964, longstanding route 111 ran from Hounslow (or Cranford or Heathrow, depending on period) to Hanworth, then onward to Twickenham, Richmond or destinations beyond (see 290).  In mid-1964, it was diverted at Hanworth to run to Hampton (weekdays except evenings) and Kingston (Saturday shopping hours).  After 20 years of RT operation, 23 Aug 69 saw it converted (with sister route 110) to 36-foot long OMO Merlin standee single-deckers and cut short at Hanworth.  These were the first examples of split-entrance buses with afc machines capable of selling coarsened graduated fares (of 6d, 1/- and 1/6).

Perhaps it was because of the special fare collection system (the shortened route had only 9 fare stages; see also foot of page), or because the buses were too long for some of the tight turns, that the 111 was split, with the section beyond Hanworth became new route 211, starting from Hounslow and overlapping the 111 on that section. 

The weekday 211 service was provided by OMO RFs, but Saturdays retained RTs.  The use of RTs on Saturdays on a Monday to Friday RF route at Hounslow was a strange anomaly that also occurred on the 202 in 1971 and was caused by the inability to schedule enough Saturdays into the OMO rotas at Hounslow during that period.

A Saturday RT working through to Kingston - RT3991 at Hounslow Bus Station is followed by MBS557 on the shortened 111.

Photo © Paul Redmond

The faretable for route 211 states “a minimum fare of 1/- Adult (6d. Child) applies from HOUNSLOW Bus Station on Mondays to Fridays between 1600 and 1830 hours. (Normal fares apply from HANWORTH ROAD Earl Russell); the slipboard is just visible on the side of the RF in the photo above.  As with the use of minimum fares elsewhere, the idea was to discourage short riders from filling the bus and leaving passengers for Hampton behind.

However, comparing the farecharts for the 111 (here) and 211, it is apparent that some journeys were cheaper on an RF on the 211 (5d instead of 6d. and 9d. instead of 1/-) than on an MBS on the 111, but these fares were then not available from Hounslow in the afternoon peak because of the minimum fare. Other fares were more expensive on the RF.  Although this section of the route was exactly the same, the fare stages did not correspond, so it is difficult to see some of the discrepancies unless you have local knowledge.

The MBSs on the 111 lasted until 29 Jan 71, when they were replaced by SMSs and the weekday 211 journeys were reabsorbed into the 111, bringing RF operation to an end.  For a further 10 weeks, the Saturday RTs to Kingston continued, then the 211 was withdrawn entirely on 10 Apr 71.

Confusingly for Kingston passengers, the number 211 reappeared within six months as an SMS route to Walton-on-Thames, but that is another story.  Meanwhile, the 111 still runs from Heathrow via Cranford, Hounslow, Hanworth and Hampton to Kingston, a meandering Z-shape of a route.