London Buses route 153

London Buses route 153 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Finsbury Park and Liverpool Street bus stations, it is operated by Metroline.

153
Metroline Wright GB Kite Electroliner BEV in Holloway in February 2025
Overview
Operator	Metroline
Garage	Holloway
Vehicle	Wright GB Kite Electroliner BEV
Peak vehicle requirement	9
Night-time	No night service
Route
Start	Finsbury Park bus station
Via	Holloway Barnsbury Islington Barbican
End	Liverpool Street bus station
Length	6 miles (9.7 km)
Service
Level	Daily
Frequency	Around every 12-20 minutes
Journey time	25-52 minutes
Operates	04:55 until 00:44

History

In July 2017, it was announced that the route would be entirely operated by electric buses by 2019.^[1]

From 5 December 2020, the route was extended from Finsbury Square to Liverpool Street station.^[2]

In February 2018, the route finally became entirely operated by electric buses following the deployment of 11 BYD Alexander Dennis Enviro200EV bodied single-decker. Around this time, the route also transferred from HCT Group to Go-Ahead London.^[3][4]

On 1 February 2025, the contract for the route passed from Go-Ahead London to Metroline from Holloway bus garage using new Wright GB Kite Electroliner BEVs.^[5]

Current route

Route 153 operates via these primary locations:^[6]

• Finsbury Park bus station
• Finsbury Park station
• Holloway Road station
• Barnsbury
• Islington Angel
• Clerkenwell
• Barbican station
• Moorgate station
• Liverpool Street bus station for Liverpool Street station

Operation

The route is operated from Go-Ahead London's Waterloo bus garage, which has had charging points fitted to accommodate the electric buses.^[7][8] It operates with a frequency of 5 buses per hour during the day and 3 buses per hour during the evening.^[2]