Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
contracted bus route in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
, it is operated by
First Bus London
First Bus London is a bus operator running services across Greater London, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, operating buses under contract to Transport for London, and was formed with the purchase of RATP Dev Transit London from RATP ...
.
History
The K5 has undergone a thorough and frequent rerouting throughout its history. The route was launched in December 1989 as a one-way loop from
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
to
New Malden
New Malden is a suburban area in southwest London, England. It is within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Norb ...
. It was a Hoppa service. In June 1990 the route was rerouted to serve
Kingston Hospital
Kingston Hospital is an acute hospital in Kingston upon Thames, England. It is managed by the Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust. It has an emergency department, Accident & Emergency Unit, a popular Maternity unit, and an sexually transmi ...
and extended to serve New Malden
police station
A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...
. A month later, the route was extended from New Malden Police Station to
New Malden railway station
New Malden railway station is in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in South London. It is south-west of .
The station is served by South Western Railway (train operating company), South Western Railway, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It ...
North Cheam
Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to t ...
via
Motspur Park railway station
Motspur Park railway station is a suburban station in the London Borough of Merton in south London. The station is served by South Western Railway, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is down the line from .
Southbound destinations are Chessingt ...
Worcester Park railway station
Worcester Park railway station serves the Worcester Park area in south-west London, England. It is down the line from . It opened in 1859 when the London and South Western Railway completed the Epsom branch. It was originally known as "Old Mal ...
and
Worcester Park
Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, England. It lies in the London boroughs of Sutton and Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Epsom and Ewell. The area is southwest of Charing Cross. The suburb's population was 16,031 ...
High Street, however in July 1999
Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Buses based in Byfleet, Surrey.
History G ...
won the route's contract and in November 2000 rerouted it from South Lane to
Raynes Park railway station
Raynes Park railway station serves the district of Raynes Park in the London Borough of Merton. It is south-west of and is situated between and on the South West Main Line. The next station along on the Sutton and Mole Valley lines, Mole ...
and was extended from Kingston to
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...
. In June 2001, Mitcham Belle took over the route with it extended to
Morden tube station
Morden is a London Underground station in Morden in the London Borough of Merton. It is the southern terminus of the Northern line, and is the most southerly station on the Underground network. It is located on London Road (the A24 road (Grea ...
. The route has not been altered since then, however in August 2004
Centra
Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the individual shops are all owned by individual franchisees.
The chain has three ...
took over Mitcham Belle's bus operations.
In February 2006 the route was taken over by Transdev London.
The K5 contract was originally going to be discontinued in June 2006. However, after public consultation and pressure from travellers' groups, TfL agreed to keep it running, citing a 'clear public need'. However, the bus route was omitted from a TfL map shortly after it was saved, raising the ire of North Kingston residents. When next tendered it was awarded to
Quality Line
Quality Line was a bus company based in Epsom, England. A subsidiary of the RATP Group, Quality Line operated bus services throughout the South West London and Surrey area, with many under contract to Transport for London. It ceased operations ...
from August 2011.
In 2009, a consultation was initiated regarding the usefulness of the route.
Motspur Park
Motspur Park, also known locally as West Barnes, is a residential suburb in south-west London, in the New Malden (Kingston) and Raynes Park (Merton) districts. It straddles the boroughs of Kingston upon Thames and Merton.
Motspur Park owes it ...
residents responded en masse, and in 2011 launched a petition to improve the service of the route. On 2 July 2016, the frequency of the route was doubled from hourly to half-hourly.
When next tendered Quality Line retained the route with a new contract that commenced on 3 September 2016.
On 28 February 2025, the route passed from London United to
First Bus London
First Bus London is a bus operator running services across Greater London, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, operating buses under contract to Transport for London, and was formed with the purchase of RATP Dev Transit London from RATP ...
following the acquisition of
RATP Dev Transit London
RATP Dev Transit London was a bus operator owned by RATP Dev in London, England. It owned London Sovereign, London United and London Transit. It commenced on 11 December 2021 as a joint venture between RATP Dev and Kelsian Group. In September 2 ...
New Malden
New Malden is a suburban area in southwest London, England. It is within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston upon Thames, Kingston, Norb ...
*
Kingston Hospital
Kingston Hospital is an acute hospital in Kingston upon Thames, England. It is managed by the Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust. It has an emergency department, Accident & Emergency Unit, a popular Maternity unit, and an sexually transmi ...
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...