Transport-loving Londoners, gather round. If you’re looking for a wheely unique London bus route to add to your bucket list, you’ve come to the right place. For almost two years now, a one-way bus service has been running between two west London stations. What’s unique about that, I hear you ask? Well, it only runs once a week, and barely anybody knows about it.
Dubbed the ‘ghost bus’ (because it often runs with no passengers on board), the service leaves West Ealing station at 11.17am on the dot every Wednesday morning. A ticket must be purchased prior to boarding, and the route has just one stop – West Ruislip. Now, I know what you’re thinking: West Ealing and West Ruislip are already connected by a bus route. And you’d be correct. The E7 bus runs between the two stations (albeit not directly) every 12 minutes. So, there really is only one reason why this weekly bus route is still running – and that’s because it has to. Allow me to explain…
The ‘ghost bus’ replaced the ‘ghost train’, which was Chiltern Railways’ parliamentary train (a train that all rail operators are obliged to offer). The rule dates back to the Railway Regulation Act 1844 which required companies to provide an affordable minimum service for working people. The train (which ran between the same two stations) was replaced with the (significantly cheaper to run) bus in 2023, and the route is purely still running to avoid the lengthy and expensive process of completely closing the rail route.
The double-decker bus has 62 seats, a space for a wheelchair user, and standing room for an additional 29 people. And although it rarely fills up – and sometimes has no passengers at all – the route provides a quirky experience for transport-enthusiasts of the capital city. The bus chugs through west London, past RAF Northolt, and arrives at its destination (and only stop) 25 minutes later. Tickets online cost a rather hefty £7.40, compared to the £1.75 it would cost you to jump on the E7. But I guess there’s something pretty novel about being on board the only bus that would require you to wait an entire week if you missed it, hey?
The ‘ghost bus’ runs from the Argyle Road bus stop at West Ealing station to West Ruislip every Wednesday at 11.17am. A ticket must be purchased before travel and the route takes around 25 minutes in total.