Buses in London

Buses have been a key way for people to travel in London since 1829. That year, a man named George Shillibeer started using horse-drawn vehicles called omnibuses to carry passengers from Paddington to the City of London. Over time, these red buses became a famous symbol of the city.

Today, London has many bus routes, with thousands of buses helping people move around. Most of these buses are run by private companies, but they follow rules set by London Buses, which is part of Transport for London. Many buses now use batteries or hydrogen, which helps keep the air cleaner. London has one of the largest groups of these clean buses in Europe, second only to Moscow. Since 2005, London has made sure most buses have low floors, making it easier for everyone, including people using wheelchairs, to get on and off.

History

Buses have been on London's streets since 1829, when George Shillibeer started using horse-drawn omnibuses to go from Paddington to the City. In 1850, Thomas Tilling started his own horse bus services, and in 1855, the London General Omnibus Company was made to organize these services.

The London General Omnibus Company began using motor buses in 1902 and made them themselves from 1909. In 1904, Thomas Tilling also started using motor buses. The last horse-drawn bus from the company ran on October 25, 1911, but some independent operators kept using them until 1914.

In 1912, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, which owned most of the London Underground, bought the bus company. By 1933, it became part of the new London Passenger Transport Board, and the name changed to London Transport, which many people still use for the red buses today.

London buses have changed a lot over the years. In the 1980s, the government let private companies run bus services. This brought new bus colors, but later rules asked buses to be mostly red again. Today, the Mayor of London helps plan and improve bus services, making them more frequent and adding bus lanes to help traffic. Because of these changes, more people now use buses in London than before.

Vehicles

Main article: List of bus types used in London

London has many buses. As of March 2025, there are 8,797 buses. These include hybrid buses, battery electric buses, and hydrogen fuel cell buses. All buses have been easy to access and have low floors since 2006.

London buses are mostly red, a tradition that started in 1997. Each bus route has specific rules set by London Buses.

History

From the early 1900s until the 1960s, London made its own special buses. The last special bus for London was the AEC Routemaster, built between 1956 and 1968. After that, London buses were versions of buses made for other places, but changed to fit London’s needs.

London was one of the first cities to use low-floor buses, starting in 1993. By the end of 2005, all buses in London were fully accessible.

New Routemaster and bendy bus withdrawal

See also: New Routemaster and Articulated buses in London

In 2008, during the London mayoral election, Boris Johnson promised to bring back a new Routemaster and remove bendy buses. After becoming mayor, he started this plan. The bendy buses were taken out of service between 2009 and 2011.

In 2010, Mayor Boris Johnson showed the design of the New Routemaster. These buses started operating in 2012. They have two staircases, three doors, and an open platform.

Transition to zero emission bus fleet

See also: Low emission buses in London

Since the early 1990s, London has worked to reduce bus emissions. This included replacing older buses and adding filters. In the 2000s, hybrid and hydrogen buses were tested, with the first hybrid buses starting in 2006.

Battery electric buses began service in 2013, and hydrogen double-decker buses arrived in 2021. London now has a large zero-emission bus fleet, with over 2,000 electric and hydrogen buses. The mayor aims for a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2037. Since 2021, all new buses are either electric or hydrogen zero-emission buses. In June 2025, over 2,000 zero-emission buses were in service.

Operation

Main article: List of bus routes in London

Most local buses in London are part of a network managed by London Buses, which is part of Transport for London. These buses are run by different companies that work under contracts with London Buses. Because of the London congestion charge and busy times on the Underground, many bus services have improved, and buses are becoming more popular again.

Today, most buses are modern, low-floor buses that can be used by everyone, including those who need wheelchairs.

After bus services were changed in the 1990s, many different companies now run bus routes across London. Some of these companies include Arriva, ComfortDelGro, FirstGroup, Go-Ahead Group, and Stagecoach.

Some special bus routes, like BL1, SL1, SL2, and others, run long distances with few stops. These are part of the London Superloop express bus network.

Some bus routes go outside London. Buses from London use red colors and London tickets, while buses coming into London may look different and use their own tickets.

Private bus services, like school buses or shuttle buses, need permission from Transport for London to operate.

Night buses

Night buses have been running since 1913. They used to have numbers from 280 to 299, but now they start with N. For example, while route 9 goes from Aldwych to Hammersmith, route N9 goes further to Heathrow Terminal 5.

Heritage routes

After the old double-decker AEC Routemaster buses stopped regular service, a few were kept for special tourist routes. In 2022, a new tourist route called 'Route A' started between Piccadilly Circus and London Waterloo using these old buses.

Tour buses

See also: Open top buses in the United Kingdom

In central London, you can see many tour buses, most of which have open tops. These buses let tourists get on and off at different stops and often have information about the city. These services are not part of the regular London bus network and use their own tickets.

Long distance coaches

Long-distance coaches connect London to places in the United Kingdom and other cities in Europe. Many of these are run by National Express Coaches, and some international trips are done by FlixBus. In 2006, Megabus, part of Stagecoach, started offering cheap trips for students that need to be booked online.

Some coach services go to places not too far from London and act like local buses for trips under 15 miles.

Airport buses

See also: Airport bus

National Express also runs buses to airports like Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted. These buses stop all over central London.

Bus priority and bus lanes

London has special lanes just for buses. These lanes help buses move faster and keep traffic flowing. They are marked with road signs and sometimes red paving. London also uses special traffic lights for buses and areas where only buses can stop.

The first bus lane in London opened in 1968 on Vauxhall Bridge. More bus lanes were added over the years. By 2021, all bus lanes in London worked all day, every day. This made bus trips shorter and more reliable. London plans to add even more bus lanes in the future.

Bus and coach stations

Main article: List of bus and coach stations in London

There are about 50 bus and coach stations in London. They are in places where many people travel, such as town centers, shopping areas, and hospitals. The busiest coach station is Victoria Coach Station, where many people travel each year. Another important bus station is Cromwell Road bus station in Kingston upon Thames, which has many bus stops.

Major accidents and incidents

Sorry, this section talks about some serious bus accidents that happened in London. These stories can be upsetting for young readers because they include things like crashes and injuries.

If you want to learn more about how buses stay safe or how cities protect people who use public transport, ask a trusted adult for age-appropriate resources.

Media

A new London bus showed art by British artist Sir Peter Blake. In the Pixar movie Cars 2, there is a pretend Routemaster bus called Topper Deckington III. In the movie America: The Motion Picture, London buses look like characters from Star Wars.

Facts and figures

As of March 2025, London has a big bus fleet with 8,797 buses. This includes hybrid buses, electric buses, and hydrogen buses. The busiest bus route is Route 18, which runs between Sudbury and Euston bus station. Route U9 is the fastest bus route, while route 15H is the slowest. Route SL7 is the longest bus route, stretching from Croydon to Heathrow Airport.