Operated by London United. Runs 24 hours. 243 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 281? 9 other bus routes are numbered 281 elsewhere in the UK — see every 281 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 London United 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 281

How busy is route 281?

6.66m passenger journeys were recorded on route 281 in 2024/25 across 1,406,807 kilometres operated. That is down from a peak of 7.88m in 2016/17.

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 281 bus?

The 281 runs 24 hours a day, so there is no first or last 281 bus — the night timetable is below.

What time is the last 281 bus?

There is no last 281 bus: the 281 runs through the night, every night it runs.

How much does the 281 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 281 bus?

The 281 is operated by London United.

Timetable data from London United 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.