London Buses route 388 is a

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

contracted bus route in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Running between

Stratford City Stratford City is a mixed-use development project in Stratford, London, England, to the north of Stratford town centre. The main developers are the Westfield Group and Lendlease. Stratford City is the name given to the urban community centre ...

and

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

bus stations, it is operated by

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London, as well as some services running into Central Londo ...

subsidiary

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

History

Route 388 commenced operating on 25 January 2003 between

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick is a neighbourhood in East London, England. The area forms the south-eastern part of the district of Hackney, and also of the wider London Borough of Hackney. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, namely Fish I ...

and Mansion House station in preparation for the introduction of the

London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...

. It was operated by

CT Plus HCT Group was a social enterprise providing transport services and community services in several areas of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 as Hackney Community Transport in the London Borough of Hackney, to provide transport services f ...

' Ash Grove (HK) with East Lancs Lolyne bodied

Dennis Trident 2 The Dennis Trident 2 (the 2 standing for 2-axle) is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporat ...

s. On 25 September 2004, it was extended to

Blackfriars station Blackfriars (), also known as London Blackfriars, is a central London railway station and connected London Underground station in the City of London. It provides Thameslink services: local (from North to South London), and regional (Bedford ...

. While Blackfriars station was rebuilt as part of the

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the so ...

, route 388 was extended on 16 August 2008 to Temple station, and again on 1 November 2008 to Embankment station. It was cut back to Blackfriars on 24 March 2012. Upon being re-tendered, the route was retained with a new contract commencing in January 2010. On 14 December 2013, route 388 was extended from Hackney Wick to

Stratford City bus station Stratford City Bus Station is located on Montfichet Road, adjacent to the main entrance of Westfield Stratford City. It opened on 13 September 2011 as part of the new shopping centre. An entrance to Stratford station is located adjacent to th ...

via the

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City devel ...

, replacing route 588. In 2017, the route was extended from Blackfriars to

Elephant and Castle Elephant and Castle is an area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station of the same name. The n ...

. On 12 October 2019, the route was withdrawn between Liverpool Street and Elephant and Castle and instead rerouted towards

to partially replace route 48. On 27 August 2022, route 388 was included in the sale of HCT Group's ‘red bus’ operations to

Current route

Route 388 operates via these primary locations:Route 388 Map
Transport for London *

''for

Stratford station Stratford is a major multi-level interchange station serving the town of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, East London for London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light ...

'' *

* Victoria Park *

South Hackney South Hackney is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney. It is in East London and is about northeast of Charing Cross. The Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy on the corner of Victoria Park Road and Lammas Wal ...

* Cambridge Heath station *

York Hall The York Hall, officially known as York Hall Leisure Centre, is a multi-purpose indoor arena and leisure centre in Bethnal Green, London. The building opened in 1929 and it is most famous as an international boxing venue with the first nights o ...

* Bethnal Green station * Shoreditch High Street station *

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a major central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It i ...

* Bank station * London Bridge bus station

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:388, London Buses Route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Hackney Transport in the London Borough of Newham Transport in the City of London