The 330 was formed in the September 1993 Newham area route scheme, to preserve a link from Forest Gate and Upton Park to Plaistow and Canning Town that would otherwise have been lost when route 58 was altered to run to East Ham. Buses operated beyond the Canning Town terminus of the old 58 as far as the new bus terminus at Blackwall DLR station, which the route shared with the 40.

The opening of the first stage of the Jubilee Line Extension saw the route curtailed to the new interchange station at Canning Town — connecting with DLR and the North London Line (a National Rail route) as well as the JLE. This is just as good a place to change to the DLR as Blackwall, although some bus links into Docklands have been lost. However, the major advantage is that buses have now been removed from the severe congestion in the Leamouth area, which is at the confluence of several major roads, a bus being saved in the process. This does, however, make the route rather short, at about 6 miles in length.

Initial operation of the 330 was using DRL class Dennis Darts, but these inadequate single deckers did not last long, being replaced by S-class Scania double deckers. However, these have also moved on, and the 330 is now in the hands of Dennis Trident low floor double deckers. Upton Park’s TA 90 (T690 KPU), of the original Stagecoach low-height specification, demonstrates on the stand at Canning Town.

Photo by Andrew Gronneberg.

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See also routes 58, 40