Ourcity Bus Route 515

## Calling points

### Via

Deptford Stadium, Deptford Bridge, South Hall Road (for City Airport), Erith East & A381 road

Route 515 is a bus route contracted by OurcityBus and operated by TM Travel from their Westferry garage. The route uses Envirobus 400MMC diesel double-deck vehicles, which are in a dual door configuration. It operates between Deptford Town Centre (for connections with the WLR network) and Swanley Town Hall via Deptford Stadium, Deptford Bridge, South Hall Road (within walking distance of City Airport) and Erith East Estate before going fast down the A381 road, then terminating at Swanley Town Hall. Route 515 runs at a frequency of every 20 minutes between Deptford and the Erith East Estate and every 40 minutes along the A381 towards Swanley during daytime hours. The route runs between 0445 and 0030 (Deptford - Erith East) and 0625 and 2325 (Erith East - Swanley). Because of the 40 minute gap between services on the latter section, The route is ranked as one of the least frequent OurcityBus contracted routes.

The route is one of only 5 OurcityBus routes to operate into the county of Southminshire. This route does not offer any nightbus service, nor does it travel along the routing of any other nightbus services. Connections to nightbus routes are available at both termini, with multiple passing through Deptford, and the N20 terminating at Swanley.

Due to several incidents outlined in the route history below, Route 515 is claimed to be the "most disputed bus route in greater ourcity" by CityLife magazine during an article ranking bus routes.

## Route History

September 1998 - Route 515 is established between Deptford Shopping Centre and Swanley Town Centre using early variants of the Alexander ALX400 vehicles and operated by TM Travel

January 2003 - Due to high demand, The 515 was temporarily diverted to serve Deptford Stadium on matchdays in order to help ease overcrowding on existing routes

April 2003 - After negotiations between Centro and Deptford United Football Club, the 515 is permanently re-routed to serve Deptford Stadium at all times, rather than just on match days. After clarification during a press conference later in the year, It was announced that the diversion was subsidised by the club.

August 2004 - The 515's terminus is moved from Deptford Shopping Centre round the corner to Deptford Library in order to connect with the brand new Route 15 into Central Ourcity.

October 2007 - The 515 receives brand new Envirobus 400 vehicles

February 2008 - Due to an ongoing dispute between the Greater Ourcity Assembley and Southminshire County Council, The 515 is cut back to terminate at a layby on the A381, right on the border between Greater Ourcity and Southminshire. The stop was practically in the middle of nowhere, yet the destination displayed on the rollbinds was chosen to be "Sankey's Corner" after a pub that had once been located nearby, yet was demolished in 1988. The 515 continued to serve this stop until 2017 when it was removed for an undisclosed reason.

May 2008 - The dispute between The G.O.A and Southminshire County Council was resolved, and the 515 was reinstated beyond Sankey's Corner and into Southminshire, yet the service beyond Erith East was cut back to every 40 minutes. The route was extended to Borough Green Railway Station after Swanley Town Centre.

October 2015 - Route 515 receives new Envirobus 400MMC vehicles

September 2017 - Route 515 is announced to no longer serve Deptford Stadium after a dispute over subsidies between TfOC and Deptford United Football Club, yet the change was never implemented, and the route continues to serve the stadium to this day, despite DUFC no longer providing subsidy funds.

July 2022 - Route 515 is cut as far as Borough Green Station, now terminating at Swanley Town Hall. This change is due to drivers being unable to utilise their full possible working hours as they are not provided with a substantial layover at Borough Green due to the routes overall extensive length, with the new terminus at Swanley Town Hall providing a much longer layover period, resulting in driving hours being able to be fully utilised. Route 411 extended to serve the withdrawn section of the 515 between Swanley and Borough Green.