Operated by Go Ahead London. Runs 24 hours. 248 journeys on weekdays. Fares: £1.75 flat — more.

Night bus — runs 24 hours. Every night. Nights are the night you set out on, so a 01:30 bus on Saturday morning counts as Friday. All night buses.

Wanted a different 188? 7 other bus routes are numbered 188 elsewhere in the UK — see every 188 bus timetable by area.

Each column is one journey, headed by the time it sets off. Times are shown at the route's main timing stops — buses serve all stops in between. Switch a table to All stops for every stop it calls at, or open a stop's own page for live departures there.

Christmas & bank holidays

These dates are not the usual timetable for the day they fall on. They come from the operator’s published data, which for Christmas and New Year is often late or incomplete, so check with Go Ahead London before you travel. Everything above is an ordinary week.

Not published yet: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, 27 December, 28 December, 29 December, 30 December, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and 2 January. Operators often publish festive timetables only a few weeks ahead, so check again nearer the date.

Route map

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All stops on route 188

How busy is route 188?

6.60m passenger journeys were recorded on route 188 in 2024/25 across 1,255,412 kilometres operated. That is down from a peak of 8.58m in 2018/19.

Millions of passenger journeys per financial year, from Transport for London's published bus statistics. A passenger journey is one boarding of one bus — someone commuting five days a week makes ten of them, so this is not a count of people. Years marked 53w ran 53 weeks rather than 52, so they sit about 2% high against their neighbours. TfL changed how boardings were estimated in 2017 and restated 2016/17 on the new basis; the chart uses the restated figure, so years before 2016/17 are not exactly comparable with those after. Route-level totals do not sum to TfL's network figures, which carry separate adjustments. Powered by TfL Open Data. Compare every London route →

Towns & areas on this route

Frequently asked questions

What time is the first 188 bus?

The 188 runs 24 hours a day, so there is no first or last 188 bus — the night timetable is below.

What time is the last 188 bus?

There is no last 188 bus: the 188 runs through the night, every night it runs.

How much does the 188 bus cost?

London buses use TfL's flat fare: £1.75 per journey with contactless or Oyster, and the Hopper fare gives you unlimited bus and tram changes within one hour. Daily and weekly caps limit what you can spend. Cash is not accepted.

Who runs the 188 bus?

The 188 is operated by Go Ahead London.

Timetable data from Go Ahead London via the DfT Bus Open Data Service (London feed). Route names, stop sequences and map geometry come from TfL Open Data. Check before you travel — services can change at short notice.