London Buses route 388

London Buses route 388 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England.^[1] Running between Stratford City and London Bridge bus stations, it is operated by Stagecoach London.

388
Stagecoach London Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City at Bishopsgate
Overview
Operator	Stagecoach London
Garage	Ash Grove
Vehicle	Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City
Peak vehicle requirement	11
Route
Start	Stratford City bus station
Via	Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Hackney Wick Bethnal Green Bank Junction
End	London Bridge bus station
Length	8 miles (13 km)
Service
Level	Daily
Frequency	About every 10-12 minutes

History

Route 388 commenced operating on 25 January 2003 between Hackney Wick and Mansion House station in preparation for the introduction of the London congestion charge. It was operated by CT Plus' Ash Grove (HK) with East Lancs Lolyne bodied Dennis Trident 2s.

On 25 September 2004, it was extended to Blackfriars station. While Blackfriars station was rebuilt as part of the Thameslink Programme, route 388 was extended on 16 August 2008 to Temple station, and again on 1 November 2008 to Embankment station.^[2] It was cut back to Blackfriars on 24 March 2012.

Upon being re-tendered, the route was retained with a new contract commencing in January 2010.^[3]

On 14 December 2013, route 388 was extended from Hackney Wick to Stratford City bus station via the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, replacing route 588.^[4][5]

In 2017, the route was extended from Blackfriars to Elephant and Castle.^[6][7]

On 12 October 2019, the route was withdrawn between Liverpool Street and Elephant and Castle and instead rerouted towards London Bridge to partially replace route 48.^[8]

On 27 August 2022, route 388 was included in the sale of HCT Group's ‘red bus’ operations to Stagecoach London.^[9]

Current route

Route 388 operates via these primary locations:^[10]

• Stratford City bus station for Stratford station
• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
• Hackney Wick
• Victoria Park
• South Hackney
• Cambridge Heath station
• York Hall
• Bethnal Green station
• Shoreditch High Street station
• Bishopsgate
• Liverpool Street station
• Bank station
• London Bridge bus station

References

1. "388 bus route which goes from Stratford to Elephant and Castle could be reduced under Transport for London proposals". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
2. Bus route extension welcome London TravelWatch 24 October 2008
3. London bus tenders Route 388 Transport for London 6 August 2009
4. Have your say on proposals for bus services to serve the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Transport for London August 2013
5. Bus route 388 extended to Stratford City Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 11 December 2013
6. Oluwalana, Ayokunle (2023-01-03). "The London bus route that's constantly being tinkered with by TfL". MyLondon. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
7. "TfL plans to extend bus route 388 to the Elephant but curtail 100". London SE1. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
8. "Permanent bus changes - Transport for London". 2019-10-07. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
9. "Stagecoach completes purchase of HCT Group TfL work". RouteOne. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
10. Route 388 Map Transport for London

External links

Media related to London Buses route 388 at Wikimedia Commons