London Buses route 21

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 London Central, a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London.

21
Go-Ahead London New Routemaster on Old Kent Road
Overview
Operator	London Central (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

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On 4 February 2023, route 21 was withdrawn between Newington Green and Hoxton and extended to Holloway partially replacing the daytime route 271, following a successful consultation in early 2022.^[4]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