The TfL bus routes Londoners use the most — based on published TfL ridership data. Frequent service, long corridors and Tube parallels all drive the numbers.
Route 25 (Oxford Circus ⇄ Ilford) is consistently TfL's busiest bus route — over 18 million passenger journeys per year — because it links shopping in the West End with the Mile End, Stratford and Ilford corridor. Other heavyweights are 73, 38, 149 and 29: all link inner-north suburbs with the West End or City.
Practical tips: avoid the upper deck during 17:30–18:30 evening peak, and use the rear doors first when buses are crowded. Most popular routes run every 5–7 minutes during the day so there's no need to chase a specific bus.
via Bishopsgate, Shoreditch, Stoke Newington, Tottenham
via Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, Brixton
via Holborn, Bank, Mile End, Stratford
via Tottenham Court Road, Camden, Manor House
via Piccadilly, Bloomsbury, Islington, Hackney
via Oxford Circus, Westminster, Elephant & Castle
via Holborn, Old Street, Hackney
via Oxford Circus, Euston, Angel
via Holborn, Bank, Bethnal Green
via Shepherd's Bush, Notting Hill, Marble Arch
Route 25 (Oxford Circus ⇄ Ilford) carries more passengers than any other London bus, with over 18 million annual journeys.
Route 73 runs from Victoria to Stoke Newington via Oxford Circus, Euston and Angel — a single corridor through three major shopping and student districts. It runs 24 hours.