London Buses route 21

21
Go-Ahead London New Routemaster on Old Kent Road
Overview
Operator	Go-Ahead London
Garage	New Cross
Vehicle	New Routemaster
Night-time	N21
Route
Start	Lewisham Shopping Centre
Via	New Cross Old Kent Road Bricklayers Arms London Bridge Moorgate
End	Holloway

London Buses route 21 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England.^[1] Running between Holloway and Lewisham Shopping Centre, it is operated by Go-Ahead London.

History

In 2018, an Optare MetroDecker EV prototype was trialed on the route.^[2]

In November 2021, the frequency of the service was reduced from 6-8 minutes to 8-10 minutes.^[3]

On 4 February 2023, route 21 was withdrawn between Newington Green and Hoxton and extended to Holloway partially replacing the daytime route 271, following a successful consultation in early 2022.^[4]

Current route

Route 21 operates via these primary locations:^[5]

• Lewisham Shopping Centre
• Lewisham station
• St Johns station
• New Cross Gate station
• Old Kent Road
• Bricklayers Arms
• Borough station
• London Bridge station
• Bank and Monument stations
• Moorgate station
• Moorfields Eye Hospital
• Essex Road railway station
• Highbury & Islington station
• St Mary Magdalene Church
• Holloway Road station
• Holloway Nag's Head

Incident

On 1 April 2017, a number 21 bus blocked the street in Cornhill as it became stuck after mounting the curb during an attempted three-point turn.^[6]

References

1. "21 bus route". Transport for London. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
2. Dougall, Emily (2020-11-24). "Optare celebrates fifth Metrodecker EV order". CBW. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
3. Mitchell, Sophie (2022-01-18). "Campaign to keep the 21 bus route". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
4. "Proposed changes to routes 21, 143, 263 and 271" (PDF). TfL Have Your Say. 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
5. "Route 21 Map". Transport for London. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
6. Morrison, Sean (2017-04-05). "Bus wedged across street in City 'like scene from Austin Powers'". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-20.