London Buses route 492

London Buses route 492 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Kent, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva Southern Counties.

History
The 492 is one of those now-rare London services to operate to a half-hourly or lower frequency using double deckers. Buses run every 30 minutes during the day, with an hourly evening service. Usually routes with this sort of service level get increases, coupled with conversion to single deck operation to help fund the increase, but a handful of cross-border routes have had no such benefits, perhaps because funding is needed, but not forthcoming, to improve the section outside London. It has also been suggested that even if the frequency were to be increased, double deckers would still be required to cope with school movements.

The route also serves an unusual mixture of operating territory. The oldest surviving section goes back to when it was introduced in 1975 by London Country (hence the 4xx series number), and is between Sidcup and the village of Bexley via Foots Cray and the sparsely populated North Cray Road, which was previously served by London Country's 467. The route carries on to Dartford via local roads, and then continues to the Bluewater Shopping Centre.

Although Dartford was served from the outset, the intermediate routing followed has changed several times. The old route was via Bourne Road, Crayford, Crayford Way and Burnham Road, now largely unserved. The 492 thus missed Bexleyheath, which was rectified in 1979 by diverting it via Northall Road, Thames Road and Burnham Road. Meanwhile, the present routing via Mayplace Road, Crayford, Chastilian Road and Shepherds Lane was covered by the 486 (Belvedere to Dartford/Joyce Green). Beyond Dartford, the 492 originally and for many years ran to Horton Kirby.

The controversial new Dartford area network introduced by Kentish Bus, successors to London Country, in late 1987 involved the abandonment of the London sections of the 486 and 492, as well as the traditional 4xx series numbers. The 492 number was adopted by London Transport for one of its replacement services, following the existing route between Sidcup and Bexleyheath, and then taking the 486 route to Dartford, instead of the old route to Dartford and Horton Kirby.

Selkent's Bexleybus was the original operator, but after just a year the route passed to Boro'line, who used four ex-LT Leyland Nationals, followed by new Lynx from 1991. But in February 1992, following financial difficulties, that operator sold out to none other than Kentish Bus! Further tendering saw the route return to operate from Bexleyheath garage in January 1999, though in the meantime that garage had closed and re-opened as a London Central base. Interestingly, this new award called for double deckers, due to the pending extension to the new Bluewater Park shopping complex, which occurred two months later, and was expected to generate heavy loadings. Initially, elderly Titans were used, but some single door Volvo Olympians were cascaded from route D1 towards the end of that year.

Upon re-tendering - with a requirement for new low floor buses - London Central lost the 492 to none other than Arriva, so the route returns to operate from Dartford garage for the third time. 7 VDL DB250LF/Wright Pulsar Gemini were taken from a blanket order for 50 for Arriva's London operations, although Dartford remains a Kent Thameside garage.

Route departing Bluewater

 * Bluewater Shopping Centre
 * Bluewater Parkway
 * St Clement's Way
 * Greenhithe (near Station)
 * London Road
 * Horns Cross
 * London Road
 * The Brent
 * East Hill
 * Dartford High Street
 * Dartford Market Street (for Dartford Station)
 * Lowfield Street
 * Instone Road
 * Highfield Road
 * West Hill
 * Shepherd's Lane
 * Princes Road
 * Chastilian Road
 * Station Road (for Crayford Station)
 * Crayford Road
 * Roman Way
 * London Road
 * Bexleyheath High Street
 * Old Road
 * Manor Road
 * Bexleyheath Mayplace Road East
 * Bexleyheath Mayplace Road West
 * Arnsberg Way
 * Geddes Place
 * Bexleyheath Mayplace Road West
 * Arnsberg Way
 * Highland Road
 * Broadway
 * Gravel Hill
 * Bourne Road
 * Bexley High Street (for Bexley Station)
 * North Cray Road
 * Maidstone Road
 * Foots Cray High Street
 * Sidcup Hill
 * Sidcup High Street
 * Station Road
 * Hatherley Crescent
 * Faraday Avenue
 * Jubilee Way
 * Sidcup Station

Route departing Sidcup

 * Sidcup Station
 * Jubilee Way
 * Faraday Avenue
 * Hatherley Crescent
 * Station Road
 * Sidcup High Street
 * Sidcup Hill
 * Foots Cray High Street
 * Maidstone Road
 * North Cray Road
 * Bexley High Street (for Bexley Station)
 * Bourne Road
 * Gravel Hill
 * Broadway
 * Highland Road
 * Arnsberg Way
 * Geddes Place
 * Bexleyheath Mayplace Road West
 * Bexleyheath Mayplace Road East
 * Manor Road
 * Old Road
 * Bexleyheath High Street
 * Crayford Road
 * Station Road (for Crayford Station)
 * Chastilian Road
 * Princes Road
 * Shepherd's Lane
 * West Hill
 * Highfield Road
 * Westgate Road
 * Dartford Home Gardens
 * East Hill
 * The Brent
 * London Road
 * Horns Cross
 * London Road
 * Greenhithe (near Station)
 * St Clement's Way
 * Bluewater Parkway
 * Bluewater Shopping Centre