London area operators and their garages

Contacts

Most bus routes in London are operated by various companies under management contracts to London Buses, part of Transport for London. Complaints, commendations, comments and suggestions relating to these should therefore be directed to TfL.
London Buses Customer Services, 4th Floor, Zone G7, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
phone: 0343 222 1234
email: customerservices@tfl-buses.co.uk

For commercial or county council tendered routes, or for issues such as bus driver recruitment, contact the relevant company. For lost property, contact the company within 4 days of loss, or TfL's lost property office thereafter. The following routes are outside the London Buses network, and in these cases you should contact the operator directly: 581 (Carousel Buses), 583 (Carousel Buses), Please check on the routes page if you don’t know the name of the operator of your route – the operators are named on the right.

If you do not receive a satisfactory response or resolution to your comments, you should contact London Travewatch. Please note LTW do NOT deal with lost property enquiries.

Garage code index

These are the codes used in this site to identify bus garages, or official codes.
A AC AD AE AF AH AL AR AV AW BC BK BN BN BT BT BW BX C CP CT CY DH DS DT DX E EC EW FC FW G GM GW GY HC HD HF HK HO HT HZ JE KB KC LI MB MG MY N NM NP NS NX ON PB PD PM PT PV PV Q QB RA RM RP RR S SF SG SH SI SM SN SN SO SP SW T TB TC TF TH TK TL TP TV UB UE UX UX V W WH WJ WK WL WN X

Operator & Garage list

The table below is arranged by operator, listed alphabetically according to fleet/trading name in bold. The addresses for the company headquarters are written in red underneath, alongside the legal company names.

The left hand column gives the reference code for the garage. These are usually offical codes used by the operators, but those written in parentheses are unofficial codes. The second column gives the name of the garage/operating centre, the third the address. Some of these operators have other garages that do not operate any London routes. You must remember that bus garages are private property, and if you wish to visit a depot you must obtain permission before entering the site.

The fourth column is the list of London area routes, but in some cases the garages operate other bus routes, or other kinds of work such as coaching, which are not listed. Beware that just because a garage is shown as operating on a particular route does not mean it is the only, or the main, garage to do so. The fifth column is the garage PVR, or the maximum number of buses on the road on these routes at any one time. Of course, all garages have spare vehicles allocated in addition, and in some cases driver trainers etc. Please note that these figures include only the "main network" of TfL contracted or LLSA routes – some garages also operate non-TfL or non-London services, coaches, rail replacements etc. These figures are also subtotalled by company and by group.

The last column gives the official LBSL garage code (see foot of page for more information on garage codes).

The data in this table is available as a CSV file, suitable for importing into spreadsheet programs such as MS Excel.

Arriva				1234 (16.70%)
Arriva London North Ltd.		16 Watsons Road, Wood Green, London, N22 7TZ		854 (11.56%)
AE	Ash Grove	Mare Street, South Hackney, London, E8 4RH	London routes: none at present.	0	AE
DX	Barking	638 Ripple Road, Barking, IG11 0ST	150 175 SL2	45	DX
CT	Clapton	15 Bohemia Place, Mare Street, London, E8 1DU	38 73 253 Night routes: N38 N73 N253	84	CT
DT	Dartford	Central Road, Dartford, Kent, DA1	99 229 269 301 335 401 428 492 B15	94	DT
EC	Edmonton	Unit 1E, Towpath Road, Stonehill Business Park, London E4	158 217 Night routes: 158	36	EC
E	Enfield	Southbury Road, Ponders End, Middlesex, EN3 4HX	121 191 192 279 307 313 349 377 Night routes: N279 School/mobility routes: 313	123	E
GY	Grays	Unit 7, Europa Park, London Road, Grays, Essex, RM20 4DB	66 103 248 347 370 375	56	GY
AD	Palmers Green	Regents Avenue, Palmers Green, London, N13 5UR	34 102 141 SL1 Night routes: 102 School/mobility routes: 675	81	AD
SF	Stamford Hill	Rookwood Road, London N16 6SS	19 76 254 Night routes: N19 76	64	SF
AR	Tottenham	Philip Lane, Tottenham, London, N15 4JB	41 123 149 243 259 318 341 Night routes: N41 123 149 243 341	139	AR
WN	Wood Green	Jolly Butchers Hill, High Road, Wood Green, London, N22 7TZ	29 141 144 221 329 W3 W4 W6 Night routes: N29	132	WN
Arriva London South Ltd.		Bus Garage, Brighton Road, Croydon, CR2 6EL		380 (5.14%)
BN	Brixton	39 Streatham Hill, London, SW2 4TB	50 59 137 319 417 Night routes: N137	94	BN
	Brixton Hill	239 Brixton Hill, London, SW2 1NR	London routes: none at present.		BN
TC	Croydon	Brighton Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR2 6EL	60 166 194 312 405 412 466 SL5 School/mobility routes: 60 466 627 645 685	104	TC
N	Norwood	Ernest Avenue, West Norwood, London, SE27 0HN	2 202 249 410 432 468 Night routes: N2	92	N
TH	Thornton Heath	719 London Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 6AU	64 198 250 255 289 410 Night routes: 64 N250 School/mobility routes: 612 663 689	90	TH
Ensignbus				0 (0.00%)
Ensign Bus Co Ltd		Juliette Close, Purfleet Industrial Park, Aveley, South Ockendon, RM15 4YF		0 (0.00%)
(PT)	Purfleet	Juliette Close, Purfleet Industrial Park, Aveley, South Ockendon, RM15 4YF	London routes: none at present.	0
Falcon Coaches				0 (0.00%)
Falcon Coaches		Littleton Lane, Shepperton, TW17 0NF		0 (0.00%)
FC	Byfleet	20a Wintersells Road, Byfleet, Surrey, KT14 7LF	London routes: none at present.	0
First				0 (0.00%)
First Beeline Slough		Brunel Bus Station, Wellington Street, Slough, SL1 1XN		0 (0.00%)
SH	Slough	Stanley Cottages, Stoke Road, Slough	London routes: none at present.	0	SH
Tram Operations Limited		22 Coomber Way, Beddington, Croydon, CR0 4TQ		30 (0.41%)
(TK)	Therapia Lane	22 Coomber Way, Beddington, Croydon, CR0 4TQ	1 2 3 4	30	TK
Go-Ahead				1954 (26.44%)
London General Transport Services Ltd t/a Blue Triangle		18 Merton High Street, London, SW19 1DN		287 (3.88%)
DS	Henley Road	Henley Road, North Woolwich, London, E16	5 15 69 115 262 376 D3 Night routes: N15 69 School/mobility routes: 649 650 651	88	DS
RR	River Road	51 River Road, London, IG11 0SW	5 101 104 147 304 325 364 366 368 396 EL1 EL2 EL3 Night routes: N15 EL1 School/mobility routes: 608 646 652 656 677 679 686 687	199	RR
London General Transport Services Ltd t/a Docklands Buses		18 Merton High Street, London, SW19 1DN		19 (0.26%)
SI	Silvertown	Factory Road, Silvertown, London, E16	300 473	19	SI
London General Transport Services Ltd t/a London Central		18 Merton High Street, London, SW19 1DN		638 (8.63%)
BX	Bexleyheath	Erith Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 6BX	51 89 132 244 486 B11 B12 B13 B16 Night routes: 486 School/mobility routes: 601 624 625 658	114	BX
Q	Camberwell	1 Warner Road, Camberwell, London, SE5 9LU	1 12 35 40 42 100 108 176 185 355 360 484 SL6 Night routes: N1 12 35 176	186	Q
MG	Morden Wharf (Greenwich)	Morden Wharf Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 0NU	108 178 188 225 286 291 386 469 Night routes: 108 188	93	MG
NX	New Cross	208 New Cross Road, London, SE14	21 36 108 129 171 172 321 343 436 453 P4 Night routes: N21 36 N89 N136 N171 321 N343 453	184	NX
PM	Peckham	Blackpool Road, Peckham, London, SE15 3SE	37 78 197 P12 Night routes: 37	61	PM
London General Transport Services Ltd		18 Merton High Street, London, SW19 1DN		744 (10.07%)
GM	Goat Road	Goat Road, CR4 4HU	80 280 470	26	GM
AL	Merton	High Street, London, SW19 1DN	57 131 152 157 163 164 200 219 413 485 493 Night routes: 57 School/mobility routes: 163	149	AL
NP	Northumberland Park	Marsh Lane, Tottenham, London, N17 0XB	67 91 106 184 212 230 232 299 357 389 399 444 456 476 W15 Night routes: N91 School/mobility routes: 184 657	168	NP
AF	Putney	10 Chelverton Road, London, SW15 1RN	14 22 39 74 209 265 378 430 533 Night routes: 14 N22 N74 N97	103	AF
SW	Stockwell	Binfield Road, London, SW4 6ST	11 44 77 87 88 118 155 170 333 337 424 G1 Night routes: N11 N44 N87 88 N155 School/mobility routes: 690	182	SW
A	Sutton	Bushey Road, Sutton, SM1 1QJ	80 93 151 154 213 S2 Night routes: 93 213	86	A
RA	Waterloo	Cornwall Road, London, SE1 8TE	153 214 Night routes: 214	30	RA
London General Transport Services Ltd t/a Metrobus		18 Merton High Street, London, SW19 1DN		266 (3.60%)
C	Croydon	134 Beddington Lane, Beddington, CR9 4ND	119 127 264 359 403 434 439 450 463 S1 SL7 Night routes: 119 264 School/mobility routes: 633	115	C
MB	Orpington	Oak Farm, Farnborough Hill, Green Street Green, Orpington, Kent, BR6 6DA	126 138 162 208 227 233 320 352 353 354 358 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 School/mobility routes: 654 664	151	MB
Metrobus Ltd		Wheatstone Close, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9UA		0 (0.00%)
CY	Crawley	Wheatstone Close, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9UA	London routes: none at present.	0	MY
(SP)	Copthorne	Unit 3 Silverwood, Snow Hill, Copthorne, West Sussex, RH10 3EN	London routes: none at present.	0
Diamond Bus South-East				0 (0.00%)
Hallmark Connections Ltd (Rotala)		Coach Travel Centre, Bedfont Road, Stanwell, Middx, TW19 7LZ		0 (0.00%)
HC	Hounslow	Coach Travel Centre, Bedfont Road, Stanwell, Middx, TW19 7LZ	London routes: none at present.	0
Metroline				1230 (16.64%)
Metroline Travel Ltd.		329 Edgware Road, Dollis Hill, London, NW2 6JP		961 (13.00%)
ON	Athlon Road	Unit 1-3, Capital Business Centre Athlon Road, Wembley, HA0 1YU	83	21	PV
AH	Brentford	Commerce Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 8LZ	9 190 237 481 E2 E8 H91 Night routes: N9	96	AH
W	Cricklewood	329 Edgware Road, Dollis Hill, London, NW2 6JP	16 32 112 139 143 189 210 268 324 328 C11 H2 H3 Night routes: N32 139 189 School/mobility routes: 631 632	173	W
EW	Edgware	Approach Road, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 7AN	113 142 204 240 251 Night routes: N113 School/mobility routes: 605 606 642	80	EW
HD	Harrow Weald	467 High Road, Harrow Weald, Middlesex, HA3 6EJ	140 182 186 292 Night routes: N98 N140 School/mobility routes: 640	69	HD
HT	Holloway	37A Pemberton Gardens, London, N19 5RR	4 17 30 31 43 46 234 274 390 393 W7 Night routes: N20 43 N271 390 School/mobility routes: 603	184	HT
KC	King's Cross	Freight Lane, London N1	London routes: none at present.	0	KC
SG	Lampton	27A Spring Grove Rd, Hounslow TW3 4BE	81 120 School/mobility routes: 635	36	SG
PV	Perivale [East]	Alperton Lane, Western Avenue, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 8DW	7 83 90 245 297 483 Night routes: N7 N31 N83 297	82	PV
PB	Potters Bar	High Street, Potters Bar, Herts, EN6 5BE	107 134 231 263 317 327 382 384 491 W8 W9 Night routes: 134 School/mobility routes: 617 626 629 634	121	PB
AC	Willesden	287 High Road, Willesden, London, NW10 2JY	6 52 98 260 302 460 Night routes: 6 52 N98	99	AC
Metroline West Ltd.		329 Edgware Road, Dollis Hill, London, NW2 6JP		269 (3.64%)
G	Greenford	Council Depot, Greenford Road, Greenford	92 95 282 E1 E9 SL8	82	G
HZ	Hayes	Swallowfield Way, Hayes	London routes: none at present.	0	HZ
UX	Uxbridge	Bakers Road, Uxbridge	114 222 331 A10 H13 U1 U2 U3 U4 U10 Night routes: 222 School/mobility routes: 697	82	UX
(UE)	Uxbridge Industrial Estate	51 Wallingford Road, Cowley, UB8 2RW	222	14	UX
WJ	Willesden Junction	Station Road, Harlesden, NW10	28 187 206 223 228 316 487 H17 Night routes: N28	91	WJ
RATP Dev				873 (11.81%)
London Sovereign Limited		72-74 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 1SY		190 (2.57%)
BT	Edgware	Approach Road, Edgware, Middlesex, HA8 7AN	79 125 226 326 340 H12 Night routes: N5	81	BT
CP	Canons Park	Parr Road, HA7	288 303 H11 H14	29	BT
SO	Harrow	331 Pinner Road, Harrow	183 395 398 H9 H10 H18 H19 SL9 SL10	80	SO
London Transit		72-74 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 1SY		86 (1.16%)
X	Westbourne Park	Great Western Road, London, W9 3NW	13 23 295 414 452 Night routes: 13 23 295	86	X
London United Busways Ltd		72-74 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 1SY		597 (8.08%)
FW	Fulwell	Wellington Road, Fulwell, Middlesex, TW2 5NX	33 65 71 216 281 290 371 K3 Night routes: N33 N65 281 School/mobility routes: 681	128	FW
AV	Hounslow	Kingsley Road, Hounslow, TW3 1PA	110 117 203 419 H22 H37 H98 School/mobility routes: 696 698	87	AV
WK	Hounslow Heath	Tamian Way, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW4 6BL	105 116 235 423 Night routes: 105	49	WK
JE	Wandsworth	25 Jews Row, Wandsworth, SW18	London routes: none at present.	0	JE
RP	Park Royal	Atlas Road, Harlesden, London, NW10 6DN	18 220 224 258 266 Night routes: N18 220 N266	104	RP
S	Shepherd's Bush	Wells Road, London, W12 8DA	49 70 72 94 148 C1 Night routes: N72 94 148	92	S
V	Stamford Brook	72-74 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 1SY	218 272 283 440 E3	59	V
TV	Tolworth	Kingston Road, Tolworth, KT5 9NU	85 293 406 411 418 467 K1 K2 K4 K5 Night routes: 85 School/mobility routes: 293 613 655 662 665	78	TV
Southdown PSV Ltd		Unit 3 Silverwood, Snow Hill, Copthorne, West Sussex, RH10 3EN		0 (0.00%)
Stagecoach London				1261 (17.06%)
East London Bus & Coach Co. Ltd.		Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London, E16 4SA		706 (9.55%)
HK	Ash Grove	Mare Street, South Hackney, London, E8	26 242 309 310 388 394 D6 D7 Night routes: N26 N242 N550 N551	93	HK
BK	Barking	205 Longbridge Road, Barking, Essex, IG11 8UE	62 145 167 169 173 179 238 362 462 Night routes: 238 School/mobility routes: 667 673	104	BK
BW	Bow	Fairfield Road, Bow, London, E3 2QP	8 25 205 277 425 Night routes: N8 N25 N205 N277	95	BW
T	Leyton	High Road, Leyton, London, E10 6AD	20 55 56 215 257 275 Night routes: N55 School/mobility routes: 616	99	T
RM	Rainham	Unit 2, Albright Industrial Estate, Ferry Lane, Rainham, Essex, RM13 9BU	165 174 252 256 287 346 365 372 496 499 School/mobility routes: 674	107	RM
NS	Romford	North Street, Romford, Essex, RM1 1DS	86 128 193 247 256 294 296 498 Night routes: N86 128 365	87	NS
AW	Walthamstow Avenue	Walthamstow Avenue, London, E4 8SP	379 385 397 W5 W11 W12 W16 W19	66	AW
WH	West Ham	Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London, E16 4SA	241 277 323 330 474 Night routes: 474 School/mobility routes: 667	55	WH
Lea Interchange Bus Co. Ltd.		Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London, E16 4SA		144 (1.95%)
LI	Lea Interchange	151 Ruckholt Road, Leyton, London, E10 5PB	58 86 97 135 236 276 308 339 488 D8 W13 W14 School/mobility routes: 678 W13	144	HO
South East London & Kent Bus Co. Ltd.		Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London, E16 4SA		411 (5.56%)
TB	Bromley	111 Hastings Road, Bromley, Kent, BR2 8NH	61 146 246 261 314 336 B14 SL3 School/mobility routes: 638 684	82	TB
TL	Catford	180 Bromley Road, Catford, London, SE6 2XA	47 54 75 124 136 160 199 273 Night routes: 47 N199 School/mobility routes: 621 660 661	121	TL
KB	Kangley Bridge Road	Kangley Bridge Road, Lower Sydenham, London, SE26 5BA	181 284 356	33	KB
PD	Plumstead	Pettman Crescent, Plumstead, London, SE28 0BJ	53 96 122 161 177 180 380 422 472 Night routes: N53 472 School/mobility routes: 602 669 672	175	PD
Sullivan Buses				0 (0.00%)
Sullivan Buses Ltd.		First Floor, Deards House, South Mimms Service Area, St Albans Road, Potters Bar, Herts, EN6 3NE		0 (0.00%)
NM	North Mymms	Swanland Road, Water End, North Mymms	London routes: none at present.	0	SN
SM	South Mimms	South Mimms Services, Potters Bar, Herts	London routes: none at present.	0	SN
(TP)	Thorpe Park	Thorpe Park, Staines Road, Chertsey, KT16 8PH	London routes: none at present.	0
Transport UK				783 (10.60%)
Transport UK London Bus Ltd.		301 Camberwell New Road, London, SE5 0TF		483 (6.54%)
QB	Battersea	Silverthorne Road, Battersea, London, SW8 3HE	24 27 133 156 159 196 211 306 322 344 345 415 C3 Night routes: 24 N27 N133 159 344 345 School/mobility routes: 639 670	208	QB
BC	Beddington	Unit 10, Beddington Cross, Beddington Farm Road, Croydon, CR0 4XH	109 130 201 270 315 367 404 407 433 464 S3 S4 Night routes: N109	123	BC
WL	Walworth	301 Camberwell New Road, London, SE5 0TF	3 45 63 68 363 381 C10 P5 P13 Night routes: N3 N63 N68 N381	152	WL
Transport UK West London Bus Ltd.		301 Camberwell New Road, London, SE5 0TF		300 (4.06%)
TF	Fulwell (Twickenham)	The Old Tram Depot, Stanley Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5NP	111 267 285 465 490 H20 H25 H26 R68 R70 Night routes: 111 285 School/mobility routes: 481 671 969	127	TF
DH	Hayes	Dawley Road, Hayes	278 350 E6 U5 U7 U9	46	DH
GW	Southall	Great Western Industrial Park, Armstrong Way, Southall, London	195 207 427 482 E5 E7 E10 E11 H28 H32 Night routes: N207 School/mobility routes: 618	127	GW
Uno				25 (0.34%)
University Bus Ltd		College Lane, Hatfield, AL10 9AB		25 (0.34%)
(HF)	Hatfield	Gypsy Moth Avenue, Hatfield Business Park, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9BS	298 383 School/mobility routes: 628 643 653 683 688 699	25	UB

The grand total PVR is 7390.

LBSL Codes

Every garage operating services that form part of the LBSL network is given an official LBSL garage code (right hand column). Such codes are given not only to garages running LBSL contracts, but also to those running commercial bus services under London Bus agreements. There is also a code for the Croydon Tramlink! The codes are used internally by LBSL, for administrative purposes.

Many operators also give their garages codes, sometimes for similar administrative reasons, or sometimes – particularly where they only have one garage – for "enthusiast reasons". These are not always the same as the LBSL codes, although they often are.

Many of the codes are long-established, going back to LBL (and in many cases LGOC) days, and are well-known among staff and enthusiasts. There is usually some sort of logic to the code allocated. In the early part of the 20th Century, the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) allocated its garages codes by going through the alphabet – initially A, B, C, etc; and then AA, AB, AC, etc. Codes allocated since often reflect the geographical name of the garage (e.g. Fulwell, Alperton, New Cross (NX)), although some have since been renamed (HT, Holloway, was called Highgate).

Since the start of tendering in 1985, some codes have also reflected the name of the owning company, examples being AH (Armchair, Brentford), EL (Eastern National, Chelmsford), BE (Blue Triangle, Rainham). Such company names may not still be in use today: DX (Arriva London North East, Barking) originates from Dix Travel, which was absorbed into Grey-Green, becoming their Dagenham operation, and subsequently relocated to Barking, and now absorbed by Arriva. Similarly, Hounslow Heath code WK originates from Westlink, although parts of the company now use HH to distance themselves from some of Westlink's more dubious practices! FE comes from F. E. Thorpe & sons, sold out to Metroline; in this case TfL have changed the official code to a geographical one, PA. WS comes from Wings of Uxbridge, which subsequently sold its bus operations to Tellings-Golden Miller (which used a code of TM internally), which in turn sold the operations to Travel London. The official code FR for Metrobus's former Crayford base is especially obscure, referring to the original owner, one Chris Freeman of Freeman’s Coaches, which was absorbed into Crystals, which subsequently sold out to T-GM in 2003, which then sold it on to Metrobus in 2005! (Thanks to David Stewart of LOTS for that one.)

In several cases (TB/TC/TL and QB) the code reflects both the location (Bromley/Croydon/Lewisham (Catford), Battersea) and the original owning company (Tilling, Q-Drive).

BT (London Sovereign, Edgware) originally came from Borehamwood Town, depot of the erstwhile BTS, which was subsequently bought out by Sovereign and re-located to Edgware. The code also rather conveniently formed the first two letters of the company name, and was therefore adopted by LT.

Some garage codes have been used for more than one garage over the years, sometimes when an entire garage has moved such as at Peckham (PM), and sometimes when a code has been "dormant" for some years and then been reused. Some premises have had different codes at different times in their life, and indeed three (Edgware, Fulwell and Ash Grove) currently have two codes simultaneously, one for each operator.

Thanks to David Connor for most of the above information.

Page generated 12/10/2024 23:17:08