London Buses route 73

London Buses route 73 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Stoke Newington and Victoria bus station, it is operated by Arriva London. This route was cut between Seven Sisters and Stoke Newington.

History
Route 73 commenced on 30 November 1914, and originally ran from King's Cross to Barnes via Euston Road, Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Hammersmith.

By 1949 the route ran from Stoke Newington to Richmond. In 1958 the route was extended further west via Twickenham to Hounslow, replacing route 33. This latter route was reinstated in 1966 between Hammersmith and Richmond, with route 73 was curtailed at Hammersmith, running to Richmond on Saturdays and Hounslow on Sundays.

The Sunday service was cut back to Twickenham in 1978, and in 1982 route 73 became a regular daily service between Stoke Newington and Hammersmith. On 13 August 1988 the route was diverted at Hyde Park Corner to Victoria bus station, and replaced by new route 10 west of Hyde Park Corner.

In August 1994 the route, at the time operated by Leaside Buses, was used to test satellite monitoring of buses in an effort to reduce bunching.

On 4 September 2004 route 73 was converted to one-man operation, with the AEC Routemasters replaced by Mercedes-Benz O530G articulated buses. This change was intended to improve peak capacity and decrease boarding times; however, a Transport for London advertising campaign to this effect was prohibited by the Advertising Standards Agency as the claims were misleading. Fare evasion on the route increased after the introduction of articulated vehicles, leading some passengers to nickname the route 'seventy-free'. The route was used to test the iBus system in 2007. On 3 September 2011, route 73 was retained by Arriva London, transferred to Stamford Hill garage and converted back to double deck operation with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LHs and Wright Gemini 2-bodied VDL DB300s. The route was discontinued between Seven Sisters and Stoke Newington.

On 29 December 2012, route 73 was converted to hybrid operation using Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied Volvo B5LH double deckers.

The bus route passes many tourist attractions such as Marble Arch, British Library, and Clissold Park. The Daily Telegraph called the route one of the "best routes for sightseeing on a shoestring". In August 2014, two buses on the route were fitted with equipment designed to enhance bus drivers' awareness of pedestrians and cyclists as part of a six-week trial. The route was chosen because it was "most likely to encounter packed seas of distracted shopping people and cyclists".

New Routemasters were introduced on 16 May 2015. The rear platform remains closed at all times except for when the bus is at bus stops.