London Buses route 12

12
New Routemaster on route 12
Overview
Operator	London Central
Garage	Camberwell (Q)
Vehicle	New Routemaster
Peak vehicle requirement	36
Predecessors	None
Night-time	24-hour service
Route
Start	Dulwich Library
Via	Peckham Elephant & Castle Trafalgar Square
End	Oxford Circus
Length	7.71 miles (12.41 km)
Service
Level	24-hour service
Frequency	5-6 minutes
Journey time	38-65 minutes
Operates	24-hour service

London Buses route 12 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Dulwich Library and Oxford Circus, it is operated by London Central.

In February 1907, the first bus produced by British Automobile Development Co. and Brush Electrical Engineering Co. Ltd. went into service on this route.Tilling-Stevens petrol electric buses were used on route 12, running between Oxford Circus and Peckham. In the 1930s destinations between South Croydon and Brent Cross station were served. By the 1950s, the route operated between South Croydon and Willesden Junction, although buses from Croydon generally ran no further than Oxford Circus and those from Harlesden no further than Dulwich.

The route has been run from a number of garages. The computer scheduling system developed by London Buses in the 1970s is designed for a maximum of four garages operating on any one route; this was derived from route 12, which had four garages operating vehicles on it at the time. During the annual Notting Hill Carnival express services operated as 12X.

Route 12 was shortened to terminate at Norwood Junction in 1972, with new route 12A (later 312 and now 197) taking over between South Croydon and Peckham. On 25 October 1986, the route was reduced to operate only between Penge and East Acton. From 14 August 1988, route 12 was curtailed south of Dulwich Library, capacity being maintained by extending route 78 from Dulwich to Forest Hill and route 176 from Forest Hill to Penge. The western terminal was cut back to Shepherds Bush on 13 July 1991 and to Notting Hill Gate on 12 March 1994.