Last bus

The final bus to run on a given day, also called the final departure. Many routes finish earlier than the last train, and times shift with the timetable for each day of the week, so checking early is essential when you go out at night.

What the last bus is

The last bus is the final bus to run on a given day. Also called the final bus or the final departure, it is the bus equivalent of the last train on the railways: the run that closes out the day. Once the last bus has pulled away, that day's service on the route is over. Miss it and you are going home some other way, on foot or by taxi, which makes it the first time you want to check on any day you plan to get home by bus. In a printed timetable, the departure listed at the very bottom, or at the far right, is the last bus.

Bear in mind that the last bus is earlier than the last train

The knack of not coming unstuck on a night out is knowing in advance that on many routes the bus day ends earlier than the railway day. It is far from unusual for the bus from the station toward your home to have finished for the night while the trains are still running. That is the situation that catches people out most: you make it back to the station, and then there is nothing to carry you the rest of the way. The later you expect to be, whether because of drinks or overtime, the more worth remembering this pitfall is.

On top of that, the last bus time changes with the timetable in force. On some routes the last bus on a holiday timetable is earlier than on weekdays, which means that applying your memory of "it was this time on Friday night, so I'm fine" to a Sunday night is risky. On a day when you expect to be out late, look up the time of your last bus home before you set off, and think through how you would get back if you miss it. Last bus times differ from stop to stop as well, so it matters that you check the column for the stop where you will board.

Its relationship to the first bus and late-night buses

The counterpart of the last bus is the first bus, the first run of the day. On some routes a late-night bus also runs in the hours after the ordinary last bus, and in that case the final late-night run is effectively the last departure of the day. Fares on late-night buses can be handled differently from ordinary runs, so keep the two apart in your mind. To avoid banking on "there's one more after the last bus" and being caught out, the sure approach is to check route by route whether any late-night services exist. Our article on how to look up first and last buses takes you through the steps in detail.