£10–£12 usually gets you Airport Bus Express into Stratford
Airport Bus Express runs coaches from Stansted into Stratford and Liverpool Street in about 50–70 minutes and 75–90 minutes respectively, so think of it as the rail backup with rail-level predictability but bus pricing. Online promos often sit around £10–£12 one-way if you book ahead rather than at the kiosk in the arrivals area.
Coaches usually run every 30 minutes on the main Stansted–Stratford and Stansted–Liverpool Street routes, with a thinner timetable overnight when services may drop to hourly. One Google reviewer flat out says it was “less rammed than Terravision and left on time – worth the extra pound or two,” which matches the general vibe: slightly quieter, not the absolute rock-bottom price.
There are separate routes to Stratford and to Liverpool Street, and picking the wrong one can easily add 20–30 minutes of Tube backtracking across zones 1–2. u/eastendlurker on r/london says they use Airport Bus Express to Stratford when the train is on strike because it’s slower than rail but predictable, especially for hotels within a 5–10 minute walk of Stratford station.
Coaches use the standard Stansted bus bays just outside the terminal, about a 3–5 minute walk from arrivals with clear “Coach Station” signs. In London, stops near Stratford station and Liverpool Street can be confusing, and several passengers mention the Stratford stop in particular isn’t well signed, which gets annoying in winter rain at 22:00 when visibility is poor.
Tickets are sold online with QR codes and can sometimes be rebooked to a later departure, but reviewers stress this sits at staff discretion and is not a hard guarantee in the conditions. Regulars screenshot the QR on their phone or print the PDF because drivers occasionally struggle to scan certain codes in low light, which eats into that 50–70 minute advertised run.
Traffic on the A12 into East London hits all operators, and people report 20–30 minute delays at rush hour on the City section near Liverpool Street. Regulars heading to the airport often board at Stratford instead of Liverpool Street to skip the slow central section, then allow at least 2 hours coach time for an evening departure from STN plus security.
Practical tip: If your hotel is closer to Stratford than the Square Mile, book the Stratford service specifically and set an alert for your chosen departure 30 minutes before, so you’re not jogging the 400–500 metres from the terminal with a closing gate on your mind.