AEC Routemaster at
Victoria bus station in March 2004
Mercedes-Benz O530G on
Oxford Street in July 2010 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 had been extended at both ends to operate from
Stoke Newington to
Richmond. It was extended further west to
Hounslow on 26 November 1958, replacing
route 33. This latter route was reinstated between Hammersmith and Richmond in 1966, with route 73 curtailed at Hammersmith on weekdays, continuing to Richmond on Saturdays and Hounslow on Sundays. The weekend service was cut back to
Twickenham in October 1978, and back to Hammersmith in September 1982. 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, Arriva London commenced a new contract with operation transferred to
Stamford Hill garage and the route converted back to double-deck operation with 20
hybrid Wright Eclipse Gemini 2-bodied
Volvo B5LHs and the balance diesel
Wright Gemini 2-bodied
VDL DB300s. The route was discontinued between
Seven Sisters and Stoke Newington. In December 2012, route 73 was converted to full hybrid operation with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2-bodied Volvo B5LHs.
New Routemasters were introduced on 16 May 2015. The bus route passes many
tourist attractions such as the
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". Route 73 was withdrawn between
Oxford Circus and Victoria on 17 June 2017, with
route 390 replacing the withdrawn section. ==Current route==