The 179 recently gained a considerable frequency boost, from 3 buses per hour during the Monday to Saturday daytime to 5 and from 2 to 3 at other times. However, it has retained double deckers where in the past it would almost certainly have been converted to single deck at the same time. While by day the route is pretty quiet, it can get very busy during the Monday to Friday peak periods, especially at school times, and so double deckers are probably wise. Nevertheless, low floor double deckers have a rather lower passenger carrying capacity, partly because of the low floor layout but also partly because their introduction coincided with a decision to increase legroom on buses for a more comfortable journey.

The new contract, and increased frequency, began in October 2001, but the new vehicles were not ready until December. The previous Dennis Arrows continued until that time, but from about 14 December were replaced at one fell swoop by brand new Dennis Tridents with Plaxton President bodywork. Here TN 1048 (LN51 GKD) picks up a passenger or two outside the Pioneer Market in Chapel Road, Ilford on its way to Barking on that Friday.

Photo by John Delaney.

The 179 provides lots of useful links across North East London, running from Chingford into Barking via Woodford and Ilford. However, a lot of the route is relatively sparsely populated, which may explain the low frequencies that had applied and the surprisingly low passenger numbers. The 179 was introduced as a replacement for the north-west end of the 145 in 1964, although a few peak hour journeys on the 145 continued to run through to Chingford, and this remnant remains in the form of school bus 679.

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See also routes 145, 679