How to read a bus route page
What each part of a route page is for, and which one to use for the question you actually have.
A route page carries several different views of the same service, and picking the wrong one is the usual reason people end up with an answer that does not help. Each view answers a different question.
Start with the question you have
| Your question | Where to look |
|---|---|
| When is the next one from my stop? | The stop page, not the route page |
| Does this route go where I need? | Stops |
| What time does it run in the evening? | Timetable |
| Where is the bus right now? | Live buses |
| Is anything wrong with it today? | Service updates |
The first row is the important one. If you know which stop you are catching it from, the stop page is a better starting point, because it shows every route serving that stop rather than one route in isolation.
The route name tells you the ends
Route pages are named by number and by the places at each end — a page headed "Newcastle – Brandon" is the 21 between those two points. That naming exists because route numbers repeat across the country and even within a region. The place names are what identify which service you have found. There is more on this in why the same bus number exists in different towns.
Stops
This is the list of stops the route serves. Use it to answer whether a route is any use to you at all — does it pass near where you are, and near where you are going.
Two cautions:
- Not every journey serves every stop. Routes have variants, and some journeys run only part of the route. The stop list is the route as a whole, not a promise about a particular bus.
- Direction matters. The same route serves stops in both directions, and a stop on the list is not necessarily one you can use for the way you are going.
Timetable
The times the service runs. This is the view for planning ahead — checking the evening service, the first bus, the frequency on a Sunday.
Timetables differ by day, so check the day you are actually travelling. This is where school-day and bank holiday variations show up, and both catch people out. See why your bus doesn't run in the school holidays and bank holiday bus times.
Live buses
A map of where the buses on that route are at the moment.
It is the right view for "has it left yet" and for seeing whether the service is running at all today. It is not the right view for "when does it get to me" — for that you want the stop page, where the arrival is calculated for your stop specifically.
Not every service appears here. Live positions are published separately from timetables, and some operators do not send them. An empty map does not mean the route is not running. There is more on why in how live bus tracking actually works.
Route information and service updates
Route information covers the operator running the service and the basic facts about it. Knowing the operator matters when you need to contact someone about a specific journey.
Service updates lists published disruptions affecting the route — diversions, roadworks, suspensions. Worth a look before any journey you cannot afford to get wrong, since a diverted route may not be calling at your stop even though the timetable is unchanged. Everything currently published is on service updates.
Finding the route in the first place
If you know the number but not which one, browse by region to cut out the duplicates elsewhere in the country: North East, Yorkshire, North West or West Midlands. The full route list covers all of them.
If you know where you are but not the route, work from the place instead — the town list or, if you are already there, nearby stops.