London has an extensive bus network which runs 9000 buses on 700 routes, 24 hours a day carrying over 6 million passengers daily.
London’s famous red ‘Routemaster’ buses have been phased out. They now run only on ‘Heritage routes’ (bus no. 9 & 15 daily between 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m every 15 minutes). The buses have now been replaced by a modern fleet of single and double decker floor level buses that enable all customers including wheel chair users to get on and off easily.
Tickets have to be bought prior to boarding. You can either use the TFL Oyster card, prepaid smart card or buy a carnet of six tickets in advance from newsagents and tube stations. Buses ply 24 hours/ day and night buses are prefixed by the letter N. Fares on night buses are same as regular buses. Route numbers are displayed in large digits on the front, side and rear of the bus. Under 14’s travel free. Yellow signs on the bus stops indicate that the ticket needs to be purchased before boarding. Ticket vending machines are located at the bus stop, they however don’t provide change.
