London's iconic red double-decker buses are actually one of the most convenient, inexpensive, and fun ways to get around the city. Here are seven reasons why you need to add a bus ride to your next London itinerary.
It’s a cheap way to get around.
Unless you want to walk or bike everywhere, the bus is definitely the best bet for getting around without spending a fortune. Each ride is £1.45, or an unlimited day-pass is £4.40. Just remember that London buses don't accept cash, so you have to pick up an Oyster card at any underground station before you can ride.
You get a much better sense of the city.
If you’re riding underground, you go below and then pop up somewhere else with no idea how point A connects to point B. It doesn’t help that the Tube map is designed to be aesthetically pleasing, not necessarily geographically easy. When you take the bus, you get to know how things connect and where major points on the map are in relationship to other areas.
The views are great.
The feature that makes the bilevel buses so eye-catching also means the views from the top are spectacular. Riders love seeing the city pass by from those top seats, and since it’s higher than just about anything else on the road, the views are unobstructed no matter how congested traffic is.
It’s the simplest way to get around with a stroller.
If you’re traveling with children, it can be really difficult to maneuver a stroller through the Tube stations—very few of them have elevators, and it’s the rare station that doesn’t have at least a few stairs. A bus, on the other hand, is easy to board without unloading your child, and has specifically marked sections where you can park your stroller while you ride.
The routes are really direct.
You might spend a lot of time transferring from one line to another when you’re riding the Tube. In contrast, it's almost always possible to find a direct bus from where you are to where you want to be. Hop on, and then hop off a block or less from your final destination. Even with traffic, it’s often considerably faster to the take the bus.
Google Maps makes it simple.
The Google Maps app on your phone makes it super easy to see exactly where the nearest bus stop is (they even have letters, so you know that you’re on the bus stop on the right side of the road), how often the bus comes, and each stop between where you got on and where you’re getting off. Before smartphones, taking the bus might have been more intimidating, but now it’s much easier to get around.
They usually aren’t too crowded.
Far fewer tourists ride the bus and since there are so many buses (most run every 3-10 minutes) with so many seats, they generally don’t get too crowded. No matter the time of day, you’re very likely to get a seat.