List of bus routes in London

Classification of route numbers

In Victorian times, passengers could only recognise an omnibus (Latin: for everyone) of an owner and route by the coach's distinctive livery (colour) and 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 through 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.

Historic classification

Bus routes run by London Transport were grouped as follows.

The 1924 London Traffic Act imposed numbering known as the Bassom Scheme named after Chief Constable A. E. Bassom of the Metropolitan Police who devised it. Variant and short workings for many decades used letter suffixes. The numbers reflected the company that operated the route.

The numbering was revised in 1934 after London Transport was formed:

Current classification

*Except 603 and 607, which are normal day time routes.

List of routes

All routes operate in both directions unless detailed.

900–999

Route numbers from 900 to 999 represent Mobility Buses: these 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 have declined because low-floor and wheelchair accessible buses run on all London Buses routes except for the heritage route.

Night only routes (N-prefixed)

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.

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, and the N550 and N551 (which provide night service on parts of the DLR network) 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. Route 65 is classed as a 24-hour service, but unusually has an extension to its night service, rather than the night service being designated N65.

Non-TfL bus routes in Greater London

These bus routes are not contracted to TfL and are therefore not 'London Buses'. All but three run from the villages and towns outside Greater London to destinations within (the exceptions are the 812, 938 and MB1, which run entirely within the boundary). They are painted in a colour chosen by the operator, so are not necessarily red like London Buses, and most of them do not accept Oyster cards. These routes are operated with a London Service Permit issued by TfL so they are recognised by TfL bus maps and appear on TfL bus stops.

Temporary routes

There are four special express routes that run during the Notting Hill Carnival: 2X, 36X, 205X and 436X.

This list shows some old routes that used to operate but do not exist anymore. Services withdrawn before 1994 are not listed.