The London bus routes that spark the most complaints from passengers have been revealed.
Route 65, which runs between Ealing Broadway and Kingston, took first place - attracting more complaints last year, and over the last three years, than any other route.
Across London, passenger frustration is growing - with more than 70,000 complaints received in the 12 months to June, according to figures unearthed by the Liberal Democrats.
Bus speeds have declined, often due to roadworks and the number of delivery vehicles and minicabs on the roads, meaning journey times are longer.
As a result, bus passenger numbers are falling - harming Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan's wider efforts to get more Londoners out of private cars and walking, cycling or using public transport.
A total of 443 complaints about the poor performance on the 65 were made to Transport for London in the last 12 months - and a total of 1,340 over the last three years.
The 65 has an average speed of 8.7mph - falling to 7.4mph in the rush hour.
Bus route |
Complaints: last 12 months |
Rush hour speed |
65 |
443 |
7.4mph |
14 |
376 |
5.3mph |
265 |
345 |
9.8mph |
93 |
345 |
7mph |
154 |
342 |
8.8mph |
Across London, the average bus speed is 9.1mph, according to TfL’s latest data for 2025.
The 14 bus route, which attracted the second highest number of complaints last year, achieved an average speed of only 5.5mph last month - falling to 5.3mph during the rush hour as it travelled between Putney Heath and Russell Square.
TfL received almost 200,000 complaints between June 2022 and June 2025 about 673 routes, including night buses and Superloop limited-stop express buses, that it operates across the capital.
The 265, between Putney Bridge and Tolworth, which has previously been described as a “ghost bus”, the 93 between Putney Bridge and North Cheam, and the 154, between Morden and West Croydon, were ranked third, fourth and fifth worst, according to TfL's most recent complaints data.
The Lib-Dems said the figures revealed the "shocking state" of London's bus routes, with the volume of complaints pointing to "persistent problems with punctuality, reliability, and customer service".
Bobby Dean, the Lib-Dem MP for Carshalton and Wallington, launched a petition, signed by more than 600 residents, calling on TfL to "fix the 154."
There were reports of passengers being stranded miles from their destinations, and buses skipping stops and terminating abruptly.
Changes introduced in April have led to a significant improvement in reliability, Mr Dean said.
He said: "People rely on buses to get to work and school, to see family, and to get around their communities. Londoners deserve a service they can trust and in too many places they're being let down.
"I'm pleased that after raising community concerns about a local bus route in my community that TfL acted to fix the service. But so much more needs to be done.
"We need to see real investment in our bus network and proper accountability for routes that consistently underperform. This is especially important in outer London boroughs like Sutton."
TfL has been focusing on "greening" the bus fleet, with more than 2,000 buses now classed as "zero emission" and no longer diesel-fuelled.
About 1.8 billion bus journeys are made in London each year - making the bus network the best-used mode of transport in the capital.
TfL said routes 65 (Ealing-Kingston), 111 (Heathrow-Kingston) and 18 (Euston-Harrow) were some of the busiest on the network.
A TfL spokesperson said: "London's buses are the most used form of transport in the city and are vital in ensuring safe, reliable and accessible travel. They connect communities across the capital and help reduce congestion and emissions, with upwards of four million journeys per day.
"We're committed to ensuring every bus journey is a positive experience, and we continually address the small minority of customer complaints that we receive.
"This includes our work to bring in new routes as part of the Superloop network, reducing journey times by investing in bus priority measures and improving the customer experience by rolling out new zero-emissions buses with innovative features and cutting-edge design."
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