Essex bus route 505

Essex bus route 505 is a bus route operated in south-west Essex and north-east London hourly on Mondays to Saturdays linking the towns of Chingford, Sewardstone, Waltham Abbey and Harlow. It is operated by Arriva Shires & Essex out of Harlow garage. The 505 is one of only a few non-TfL contracted routes allowed to operate in London.

History
Before County Bus (Arriva) bought the bus operations from them, Wests of Woodford operated the route with small minibuses. The route was operated by County Bus until Arriva took over in 1997.

The route was changed to serve Walthamstow Central via Waltham Way in the year 2000, but this led to reliability problems. It was cut back to Chingford Station in September 2003, leaving mobility bus 905 as the only service to the Waltham Way area. A petition was launced to reintroduce the 505 along this section and received over 200 signatures. It also gained support from London Assembly member Jeanette Arnold. The petition proved unsuccessful. It was also intended to reduce the 905 to operate one day a week instead of two, but this was reversed. The Waltham Way area is now served by route 385, operating between Chingford Station and Crooked Billet Sainsbury's on Monday to Saturday shopping hours, every hour.

At one time route 505 also operated to Old Harlow. Around 2002, it was extended from Harlow Bus Station to Mark Hall North, an estate in Harlow. The extended section replaced a previous route operated by Buzz-Line.

From 3 April 2010, new route 555 operated by TWH Bus & Coach started operating in competition with the 505 on the Waltham Abbey to Harlow section. Although, the 555 does not serve Lower Nazeing like the 505 does.

From 13th June 2011, the Harlow Bus Station to Mark Hall North section was withdrawn, and a short section of the route in Harlow was diverted to serve Three Horseshoes Road (formally served by local Harlow route 7). Apart from those changes, the timetable largely remained unchanged.

Vehicles
There is a mixture of buses used, some of these include:
 * Dennis Dart SLF/Wright Crusader
 * Dennis Dart MPD/Plaxton Pointer 2
 * Optare Solo

Route information

 * Oyster cards, travelcards and other TfL tickets are not accepted.
 * Intalink Explorer tickets can be purchased and accepted fully on this route.
 * A Hail and ride section operates between Waltham Abbey and Lower Nazeing.
 * No service on Sundays or Public Holidays.

Current route

 * Chingford Station
 * Chingford Station Road
 * Chingford Kings Head Hill
 * Yardley Lane Estate Boardman Avenue
 * Sewardstone Lea Valley Camping Site
 * Sewardstone Royal Oak
 * Waltham Abbey Tesco
 * Waltham Abbey Quaker Lane
 * Waltham Abbey Abbeyview
 * Crooked Mile
 * Fishers Green
 * Lower Nazeing Crossroads
 * Bumbles Green King Harolds Head
 * Tylers Cross
 * Harlow Staple Tye
 * Harlow Third Avenue
 * Harlow Haydens Road
 * Harlow Bus Station