A heritage event celebrating the capital’s iconic bus network will see vintage vehicles take to the streets on a historic route connecting north and east London.
The London Bus Museum is organising a special day on October 3 to mark the 106 service, with free travel available on classic buses spanning several decades.
The preserved vehicles, ranging from the 1950s through the 1970s, will operate the full route between Finsbury Park and Ash Grove garage in Hackney between 10am and 5pm.
The free heritage service will run alongside the standard daily timetable on the 106.
The route itself traces its origins to the beginning of the First World War, when it originally operated from Colney Hatch Lane through Muswell Hill and Archway, passing through Finsbury Park and Leytonstone.
Following numerous modifications over the intervening years, the service still connects Finsbury Park, Clapton Pond, and Hackney today.
The celebration has been arranged to commemorate 45 years of Stagecoach operations at Ash Grove garage.
An open day at the facility will accompany the heritage event, offering behind-the-scenes access with entry fees donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Participating owners will supplement the museum’s own collection of historic vehicles.
The showcase will feature the celebrated Routemaster model from the late 1950s and 1960s alongside its RT-type predecessor from the 1950s.
Visitors can experience what daily travel resembled for Londoners during that era.
The vintage vehicles do not incorporate modern low-floor designs with accessible features.
Standard pushchairs cannot fit through the narrow stairwells, and wheelchair users cannot be accommodated.
Museum staff have indicated that conductors will provide assistance to passengers with mobility difficulties and families travelling with young children.
Dogs are permitted on board when secured on a lead and kept away from seating areas.
The route’s lineage extends to the late nineteenth century when horse-drawn omnibuses served London’s public transport needs.
Mechanical buses replaced horse power in 1912, and the route received its current number designation four years later.
During the 1920s, the service extended eastward through Canning Town and Beckton Road toward Barking and Becontree, terminating at Chitty’s Lane.
At that time, buses maintained a four-minute frequency between Finsbury Park and Poplar, requiring ninety minutes to complete the full journey.
In October 1934, certain trips toward the Blackwall Tunnel reached Royal Victoria Dock.
Between February 1937 and October 1942, selected services continued to West Ham stadium.
Electric trolleybuses assumed the Victoria Dock section from July 1941, and the route was curtailed east of the Blackwall Tunnel in 1971.
Double-decker vehicles were introduced on the service in 2001.
The operating contract transferred to CT Plus in September 2018 before Stagecoach London assumed responsibility in August 2022.
The operator now maintains the route primarily with single-deck vehicles from Ash Grove garage.