Home»TFL London Bus Routes»TFL Routes: 401 - 500»Route 403: Warlingham - West Croydon

London Bus Route 403 - Warlingham - Sanderstead - South Croydon - West Croydon (7 Miles).
Operated By Arriva London
Garage: South Croydon TC

Past Timetables: Dec 2000

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Route History:

The route 403 began on the 1st December 1924 and was operated by East Surrey Transport. By the 1st January 1932 the route was transferred to General. From the 1st July 1933 to 21st December 1969 London Transport operated the route. After many years without a Sunday service it was introduced on the 15th June 1968. From the 1st July 1970 the route was operated by London Country. On the 3rd July 1971 the current routing of the 403 was providing a link between Wallington and Warlingham Park Hospital (Via Croydon, Sanderstead, Chelsham).
On the 9th August 1986 the route was still operated by London Country South West from Chelsham garage (CM) by AN type buses. The current routing on this date was Cheam Village, Sutton, Carshalton, or Wallington Shotfield (M‑Sat), Croydon Road, Waddon, Croydon, Sanderstead, Warlingham, Chelsham (Sun a.m.) – Warlingham Park Hospital (M‑Sat/Sun p.m.). The current PVR was Monday to Friday 16AN, Saturday 12AN and Sunday 4AN.

On the 28th October 1989 the route was transferred to South London buses at South Croydon Garage (TC) by Leyland Olympians (L). The current PVR was Monday to Friday 15L+1L/50, Saturday 11L and Sunday 5L. On the 31st August 1991 the route was withdrawn between Croydon and Cheam, so the current route ran from West Croydon to Warlingham Park Hospital. The PVR was decreased to 13L+1L/50 Monday to Friday, 9L Saturday and 5L Sunday which stayed the same. Later in March 1992 TC allocated some different types of buses to run on the 403 like M type and D type buses, but a year later on the 27th March 1993 they were withdrawn so this left the L type on its own again. The current PVR was Monday to Friday 12L+1L/50, Saturday 9L and Sunday 3L.

By the 29th October 1994 London and Country were operating the route, (which were also known as London Links a few years later). They operated the 403 from their Croydon Garage (CR), using ON type buses, the current PVR was Monday to Friday 10ON, Saturday 9ON and Sunday 3ON. Five years later on the 30th October 1999 Arriva London won the contract for the 403 and they operated the route from their Beddington Garage (BF) using Leyland Olympians, the route now went from West Croydon to Chelsham Common. The current PVR was Monday to Friday 9L, Saturday 8L and Sunday 5L. On the 16th December 2000 the route was cut back to Warlingham Sainsbury’s. On the 30th October 2004 the 403 was converted to Low floor Double Deck operation, this was one of the last Croydon routes to get converted, and the PVR was Monday to Friday 9DW, Saturday 8DW and Sunday 5DW. On The 31st October 2009 Arriva gained a two year extension on the 403. The contract was renewed with Arriva for another five years on the 29th October 2011 and the allocation was transferred to South Croydon Garage (TC). The current PVR is Monday To Saturday 8DW and Sunday’s 5DW. The average journey time is between 25 & 33 minutes.

History Last Updated 22nd March 2013