London Bus Routes

Site last updated: 6 October 2008
If this date is much more than a week old you are probably looking at an archived version.
Try clicking your browser's re-load button.

This site was set up in summer 2000 to provide comprehensive information on bus routes in the greater London area, principally that network operated under contract to London Bus Services Limited (LBSL).

There are five main sections:
Bus routes and operational details
Service changes
Operator and Garage list including contact information
Photo Gallery
Timetables: Available via either routes or operational details pages, or for collectors view the Index by date loaded (note that some material in the folder may be out of date). If you are likely to refer to a particular timetable more than once please save it to your computer using a right click, to save on my bandwidth costs – thanks.
On PDF timetables versions of the file may be identified by revision codes alongside the date. The original will have the date only, but subsequent editions will have appended to this either of the following: A for amended (corrected times, missing trips etc.), and R for reprint (generally cosmetic changes, or minor errors such as headings or place names). This will be followed by a number for second and subsequent revisions of the same type. T denotes a temporary timetable.
Timetable Graveyard with most timetables that have been on this site, back to about 2004. Most of these timetables are also available in Excel format on request – please enquire for further information.

See below for General Information and Links.

Timetable information required: click here for more details. If you find this site useful please consider giving something back.

Disclaimer: Although every effort will be made to keep the information contained in this site correct and up-to-date, no liability will be accepted for any consequences of any errors contained herein. Also, this is not an official site either of "London Transport" (Transport for London) or any of the operators! Most of the information contained herein is available to the general public elsewhere, but has come from a wide variety of sources, and the reason for this site is to get it all into one convenient place.

General Information

This site is a member of the London Transport Web Ring:

This site is maintained by Robert Munster. The pages were originally designed using Microsoft Internet Explorer 2, and hopefully therefore should appear fine in practically any browser, but if you find anything amiss, or if you have any other comments, corrections or suggestions relating to this website*, let me know on robert @ londonbusroutes.net† and I'll see what I can do. I normally reply to or acknowledge anything important‡ – if you don't hear anything within about a week, that probably means your message has got lost somewhere in the post, so you had better re-send it. On the other hand, please note that it may be several days before I read your email, so if you have an urgent enquiry please send it directly to the appropriate people.

* Please note that this is an independent website and is not affiliated with Transport for London or any of the bus operators, and that I do not operate any buses myself. I cannot deal with lost property enquiries or complaints about services – please contact the operator of your route in the first instance (see the Contacts page). Also, I do not purport to provide a travel information service — London travel enquiries would be better directed to TfL (see www.tfl.gov.uk or telephone (020) 7222 1234 - 24hrs). The National Bus Travel Line covering all of the UK can be contacted on 0871 200 2233 or www.traveline.org.uk.
Transport Direct is the government's attempt to provide integrated travel information – treat results with caution however. If you are prepared to pay, a much more reliable site is Xephos National Enquiries (formerly the Great Britain Bus Timetable). ATOC's National Rail Enquiries can be obtained by ringing 08457 484950 or www.nationalrail.co.uk, although I am told that you can actually now obtain more accurate British train information from the German Railways site!

† If you are wondering why I have just formatted this blue and underlined instead of making it a convenient hyperlink, it is to stop click-happy people sending emails off without giving them a think. By all means email me, but, please, only once you have read the above notes – thanks!

‡ Commercial advertising is not considered important in this context.

Links

You need look no further than

The Bus Station by Steve Annells.

Maps
This site contains descriptions for all routes and road by road listings for most, but it is often helpful to have a geographical bus map to visualise just where it is that routes run.
Quickmap is ideal for visitors or anyone else travelling around the inner London area. The map is of an innovative design, making it easy to follow where routes go, and also contains useful tourist information. There is a bus only map and a version with railways included, and both are compact for ease of deployment. There are also maps for a few other areas and future developments may see expansion of areas covered. One-on-one map also available via Map Vendor (including online version).
Mike Harris’s Greater London Bus Map is an excellent companion to this site, and is based on the traditional London Transport design. It is ideal for enthusiasts, covering the whole of London and including school and commercial bus routes, all drawn with unprecedented accuracy. A range of historical maps is also being developed, and the site also contains the full set of official panel timetables from London Buses, in PDF.
You can view the maps online, but please buy a hard copy to ensure the authors keep up the good work!

These sites also contain route lists, but with different emphases:
London Bus Routes by Ian Armstrong has histories for many London routes. Associated photographs of Buses at Work.
London’s Busroutes homepage.
The First London and Metrobus sites also have route information for their routes.

For all the latest bus news from London and the immediate area:
The best site for general bus news is hosted by the London Omnibus Traction Society. Members of the society also receive a monthly newsletter (i.e. snail mail) packed with full information on all goings on. Additionally, you might like to join any or all of the following newsgroups: London Bus Enthusiast (a friendly forum) or the older but more restrictive London Bus Group, or London's Transport (about all public transport in London, but mainly about buses in practice) for instant news and views from the capital sent to you by email. The following official sites are also worth checking for news:
Transport for London: note press centre, spider maps, Bus service changes, real time travel information, bus service consultation, and tender results.
Metrobus.
Metroline.
First London
(For other operator websites see the Operators & Garages page.)

For tram news and views ...
The unofficial Croydon Tramlink website by the late Stephen Parascandolo remains the premier resource, and/or the associated news/discussion group. Other sites include:
LRTA Tramlink page.
Tramlink page on Transport for London site.
Tramlink Timetable information (part of this site).

A random collection of other vaguely related sites that might be of interest, in no special order:
London's Transport Museum.
London street maps: various sites with different facilities exist: I can recommend Google maps, others are MapQuest, Multimap or Streetmap. Some also offer aerial photographs.
The London Bus Page by Matthew Wharmby — one of the first internet sites about London buses.
British Registrations article by me.
London Omnibus Traction Society.
The Omnibus Society.
Bus Spotter’s Home Page – another one!
Ian's Bus Stop — detailed overview of London bus types.
Southbus by Nigel Chatfield — bus news, features and photographs from South East England.
HarlowRide — all about buses in Harlow.
Transport History — a selection of features and old photos from the London area.
See How They Run — a collection of miscellaneous transport resources.
Doe's Directory of Bus Timetables and Enquiry Offices
Rail Britain Introduction to Britain’s Railways, for both passengers and enthusiasts.
The Junction — more detailed railway information.
London Bus Garages.
The Wandle Industrial Museum
Visit By Train – A station-by-station guide to south east England.
Always Touch Out: A guide to transport projects in London.
The Red London Bus pictorial by Russell Baldock.
Greater London Photos Fotopic site from James Fullick.
Metrobus discussion group.
London Transport “E” Plates including a brief history of each route.
Routemasters - Last Stop! An interesting collection, by journalists.
London Buses by Adam – another fotopic see also Adam's London Photos and matching YahooGroup.
buses.org.uk – General information on buses throughout the country.
London-Rail discussion group - many more specialist rail groups exist but this is the only one that covers all aspects of rail in London.
London Bus Scene photo distribution list (having moved from eGroups via Yahoo and Domeus to Google)
Last Rounds – Site aimed at responsible drinking, including how to get home by public transport!
Frixo - Road/motorway traffic reporting site.
The Classic London Bus Society – organises trips to places of historical London bus interest.
Used-Buses.Net – Used buses, coaches and motorcoaches classifieds
Bus Lists on the Web – Fleet information
Bus and Coach Photos