List of bus routes in London#300–399
{{Short description|All bus routes operated by TFL in Greater London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{unclear citations|date=March 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2023}}
File:Stagecoach East London routes 8 and 205.jpg and 205 at Bishopsgate in 2022]]
File:HCT Group Optare Solo whizzing by, route 309 Tower Hamlets.jpg in 2022]]
This is a list of Transport for London (TfL) contracted bus routes in London, England, as well as commercial services that enter the Greater London area (except coaches).
Bus services in London are operated by Arriva London, Go-Ahead London (Blue Triangle, Docklands Buses, London Central and London General), Metroline, First Bus London, Stagecoach London (East London, Selkent and Thameside), Transport UK London Bus and Uno. TfL-sponsored operators run more than 500 services.
Examples of non TfL-sponsored operators include, but are not limited to: Arriva Herts & Essex, Arriva Southern Counties, Carousel Buses, Diamond South East, Go-Coach, First Beeline, Metrobus, Stagecoach South, Thames Valley Buses and Reading Buses.
Classification of route numbers
In Victorian times, people who took the bus would recognise the owner and the route of an {{langnf|la|omnibus|for all}} only by its livery and its line name, with painted signs on the sides showing the two termini to indicate the route. Then, in 1906, George Samuel Dicks of the London Motor Omnibus Company decided that, as the line name 'Vanguard' had proved to be very popular, he would name all lines 'Vanguard' and number the company's five routes 1 to 5. Other operators soon saw the advantage, in that a unique route number was easier for the travelling public to remember, and so the practice of using route numbers soon spread.Charles Klapper (1984) [https://books.google.com/books?id=9_U9AAAAIAAJ&dq=George++Dicks+vanguard+motor+bus+company&pg=PA64 The Golden Age of Buses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405184517/https://books.google.com/books?id=9_U9AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA64&ots=iP6eiELB0I&dq=George%20%20Dicks%20vanguard%20motor%20bus%20company&pg=PA64#v=onepage&q=George%20%20Dicks%20vanguard%20motor%20bus%20company&f=false |date=5 April 2017 }}. Page 64. Routledge, London {{ISBN|0-7102-0232-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7102-0232-1}}.
=Historic classification=
File:Feltham331«WoodGreen40»Crich2006.jpg (in use up to 1933) showing only two slots for the route number.]]
Bus routes run by London Transport were grouped as follows.
The London Traffic Act 1924 imposed numbering known as the Bassom Scheme, named after Superintendent (later Chief Constable) Arthur Ernest Bassom of the Metropolitan Police who devised it. For many decades, variant and short workings used letter suffixes (e.g. "77B"). The numbers reflected the company that operated the route.
The numbering was revised in 1934 after London Transport was formed:{{cite web |last=Atkin |first=Michael |url=https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-197292,00.html#:~:text=This%20was%20revised%20in%201934,Country%20Area%20(south)%20routes | title=How are bus routes (Especially London bus routes) numbered? In my area of south London the numbers vary from 3 to 690, with a few odd letters stuck in there too. Why?! | website=The Guardian | access-date=15 March 2023 | archive-date=15 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315110401/https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-197292,00.html#:~:text=This%20was%20revised%20in%201934,Country%20Area%20(south)%20routes | url-status=live }}
| class="wikitable"
|+From 1934 !Numbers !colspan=2|Service | |
| 1–199
|colspan=2|"Central Area" red double-decker routes. | |
| 200–289
|colspan=2|"Central Area" red single-decker routes. | |
| 290–299
|colspan=2|"Central Area" night buses. | |
| 300–399
|"Country Area" north of the River Thames. | rowspan=2| (Operated by London Country Bus Services after 1970) |
| 400–499
|"Country Area" south of the River Thames. | |
| 500–699
|colspan=2|Trolleybuses. | |
| 701–799
|colspan=2|Green Line Coaches. | |
| 800–899
|"Country Area" "New Towns" routes. | (LCBS after 1970) |
=Current classification=
| class="wikitable" |
| Route numbers
!Type of service |
|---|
| 1–599
|Most local day routes, including 24-hour services. |
| 600–699
|School services, with the majority of them operating only one return journey per day. |
| 700–799
|Regional and national coach services, including Green Line. Also used for temporary TfL routes. |
| 800–899
|Regional and national coach services. |
| 900–999 |
| Other letter-prefixed routes
|Local day routes, including 24-hour services, with the letter denoting a key area the bus travels through. |
| EL-prefixed routes |
| SL- and X- prefixed routes |
| N-prefixed routes |
List of routes
All routes operate in both directions unless detailed.
=1–99=
{{anchor|1-99}}
=100–199=
{{anchor|100-199}}
=200–299=
{{anchor|200-299}}
=300–399=
{{anchor|300-399}}
=400–499=
{{anchor|400-499}}
=500–599=
{{anchor|500-599}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Route
!Start !End !Operator !Notes |
|---|
| 533
|A temporary route replacing routes 33, 72, 209 and 485 until further notice due to the closure of Hammersmith Bridge |
=600–699=
{{anchor|600-699}}
Route numbers from 600 to 699 are used for school services, with the majority of them running one return journey on each weekday during peak times and during school term time.{{cite web|title=Travel guidance for schools|url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/schools-and-young-people/travel-guidance-for-schools|url-status=live|access-date=14 August 2021|website=Transport for London|language=en-GB|quote=The majority of our schoolday-only routes (routes generally numbered 600-699)|archive-date=14 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814215758/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/schools-and-young-people/travel-guidance-for-schools}}
=900–999=
{{anchor|900-999}}
Route numbers from 900 to 999 represent mobility buses; these mostly provide a once-a-week return journey to a local shopping centre from relatively low-density neighbourhoods where there is no alternative route in the main bus network. The number of mobility buses routes has declined over the past few years because low-floor and wheelchair-accessible buses run on all London Buses routes.
=Letter prefixes=
{{anchor|Axx}}{{anchor|Bxx}}{{anchor|Cxx}}{{anchor|Dxx}}{{anchor|Exx}}{{anchor|Gxx}}{{anchor|Hxx}}{{anchor|Kxx}}{{anchor|Pxx}}{{anchor|Rxx}}{{anchor|Sxx}}{{anchor|Uxx}}{{anchor|Wxx}}
=East London Transit routes (EL-prefixed)=
{{main article|East London Transit}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Route
!Start !End !Operator !Notes |
|---|
| EL1
|Operates as a 24-hour service. |
| EL2
| |
| EL3 |
=Superloop routes (SL- prefixed)=
{{main article|London Superloop}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| colspan="2" | Route
!Start !End !Operator !Notes |
|---|
| style="background:#EF4624;" |
|SL1 | |
| style="background:#BDD638;" |
|SL2 | |
| style="background:#822478;" |
|SL3 |Bromley North railway station | |
| style="background:#58595B;" |
|SL4 | |
| style="background:#00AEEF;" |
|SL5 |Bromley North railway station | |
| style="background:#EC008C;" |
|SL6 |Runs on weekdays during peak hours only. |
| style="background:#BE1769;" |
|SL7 | |
| style="background:#2B3990;" |
|SL8 | |
| style="background:#1D92A0;" |
|SL9 | |
| style="background:#F7941D;" |
|SL10 | |
=Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle=
{{main article|Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle}}
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| colspan="2" | Route
!Start !End !Operator !Notes |
|---|
| style="background:#0019A8;" |
|SCS |Only to be used by cyclists.{{cite web|url=https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/cycle-shuttle-service|title=Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle|work=Transport for London|access-date=7 April 2025}} |
=Night only routes (N-prefixed)=
{{main article|Night buses in London}}
Night Bus routes are often related to the day numerical equivalent, normally running the same route but with an extension at either end of the service. This is normally to provide a night service to destinations served by tube or train during the day.{{cite book|last1=Wallis|first1=Philip|title=London's Night Buses 1984-2013|date=2013|publisher=Capital Transport Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-1854143723|edition=2}}
However, there are a few N-prefixed route numbers that have no relation to their daytime equivalents: the N5, N20, and N97 all operate in a different part of London to their respective day routes. Also, the N550 and N551 (which provide night service on parts of the DLR network), and the N271 (whose daytime service was withdrawn on 4 February 2023) have no corresponding daytime routes.
There are also 24-hour routes, which run day and night but usually with a lower frequency during the night hours. The vast majority run the same route at all times. With the introduction of the Night Tube, some day routes have been extended to run during Friday and Saturday nights to serve the stations.
Non-TfL bus routes in Greater London
These bus routes are not contracted to Transport for London and are therefore not London Buses. Most run from villages and towns outside Greater London to destinations within. They are painted in a colour chosen by the operator so may not be red like London Buses and do not accept Oyster Cards. These routes are operated with a London Service Permit issued by TfL so appear on TfL bus stops and are recognised on TfL bus maps.{{cite web|url=https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/london-service-permit-consultations#!|title=London Service Permit Consultations|work=Transport for London|access-date=17 April 2025}}
Former routes
Temporary routes
All routes operate in both directions unless stated.
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Route
!Start !End !Operator !Notes |
|---|
| 7X
|Runs annually during the Notting Hill Carnival weekend.{{cite web|url=https://www.mylondon.news/news/transport/notting-hill-carnival-bus-changes-29773494.amp|title=Notting Hill Carnival bus changes in full including extra services to Underground|work=MyLondon|access-date=15 February 2025}} |
| 36X
|Runs annually during the Notting Hill Carnival weekend. Runs one-way towards Harrow Road only. |
See also
References
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
Bibliography
- Carr, Ken, The London Bus Guide. Boreham: Visions International Entertainment, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-9570058-0-8}}.
External links
- [https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/buses/ London Buses]
{{London Bus Routes}}
Category:Transport in Epsom and Ewell