London Buses
Although it isn’t the fastest way to get around London, the city’s famous double-decker buses offer a unique way of discovering the streets of this compelling capital.
Routes
The bus network has nearly 400 different routes and over 15,000 stops, making it a little difficult to find your way around on this means of transport.
When you get to a bus stop, the easiest thing to do is check the buses that stop there, their route, and their final destinations.
In the official London transport website you’ll be able to download different bus maps of London:
Fares
A single-journey bus ticket costs £ 1.65 (US$ 2.10) and you can get it once you’re on the bus, either with a contactless payment card, with an Oyster card, a Visitor Oyster card, or a Travelcard. It's important to keep in mind that you can no longer use cash to pay for your bus fare.
If you plan on using a credit or debit card to pay, it might be a good idea to find out if your contactless card is accepted before travelling on the London buses. You can check the following website:
- Contactless payment cards - what bank cards are accepted.
Times and frequency
The frequency and timetables of the buses in London during the day depend on the line and day of the week. Most of the main lines will run, like the Tube, from 5 am until 12 am.
Night buses
London is a city that never sleeps and the main bus lines run 24 hours a day.
Besides the lines that run 24 hours a day, many buses run at night and can be identified by the letter N in front of their normal number, so for example, bus 15 will become N15 at nighttime. Note that these lines can have a different route at nighttime. The 24-hour buses normally have the same route.
The frequency of these night buses depends on the day of the week. On Friday and Saturday, it can be up to every 10 – 15 minutes.
You can find a map of these night buses here:
