Buses In London

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This article is a general one on buses in London. For a specific article on the organisation responsible for running most buses in London, see London Buses. busThe London Bus is one of London's principal icons, the archetypal red rear-entrance double-deck Routemaster being recognised world-wide.

History Organisation Buses have been used on the streets of London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating his horse drawn omnibus service from Paddington to the City of London. The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the horse-drawn omnibus services then operating in London.

LGOC began using motor omnibuses in 1902, and manufactured them itself from 1909. The last LGOC horse-drawn bus ran on 25 October 1911, although independent operators used them until 1914.

In 1912 the Underground Group, which at that time owned most of the London Underground, bought the LGOC. In 1933 the LGOC, along with the rest of the Underground Group, became part of the new London Passenger Transport Board. The name London General was replaced by London Transport, which became synonymous with the red London bus.

In the 1980s the government of Margaret Thatcher decided to privatise the bus operating industry in the United Kingdom, which at that time was dominated by London Transport in London, large municipally-owned operators in other major cities and the government-owned National Bus Company (UK) and Scottish Bus Group elsewhere. For largely political reasons the model followed in London was completely different from the rest of the country. In London a part of London Transport called London Buses was set up, with the remit to contract out the operation of services but to determine service levels and fares within the public sector.

This regime is still in place, although the ownership of London Buses moved from the central (UK) government-controlled London Regional Transport to the Mayor of London transport organisation, Transport for London, in 2000, as part of the formation of the new Greater London Authority.

Vehicles From the early days of motor bus operation by the LGOC in the 1900s until the 1960s London went its own way, designing its own vehicles specially for London use rather than using the bus manufacturers' standard products used elsewhere. The Associated Equipment Company (AEC) was created as a subsidiary of the LGOC in 1912 to build buses and other equipment for its parent company, and continued in the ownership of LGOC and its successors until 1962. Many of London's local service buses over this period were built by AEC, although other manufacturers also built buses to London designs, or modified their own designs for use in London.

The last bus specifically designed for London was the AEC Routemaster, built between 1956 and 1968. Since then, buses built for London's local services have all been variants of models built for general use elsewhere. Since the turn of the Millennium, there has been a shift to low-floor double-deck and articulated buses.

Operation Local buses . articulated bus operating for London General.

Local buses within London form a network managed by London Buses, an arm of Transport for London, although most services are operated by private sector companies under contract to London Buses. With the introduction of the London congestion charge in central London and because at peak times the London Underground is operating at maximum capacity, many bus service improvements have been undertaken, and central bus services are currently enjoying something of a resurgence.

Although the rear-entrance double-deck Routemaster is the archetypal London bus, their numbers have dwindled quite quickly owing to their age (the oldest are now more than 50 years old), their inability to accept wheelchairs or baby transport, and their requirement for a two-person crew. As described below, Routemasters are now restricted to two heritage routes.

All other local bus services are now operated by modern low-floor buses, which may be single-deck or double-deck. Some of the single deck buses are articulated bus and locally known as bendy buses. Bendy buses have three sets of doors, and passengers with season tickets or Oyster cards can board articulated buses using any set of doors. Most other buses operating in London have two sets of doors, and passengers board the bus using the front door and alight using the rear door, whilst some buses on less busy routes have only one door. All these buses conform to the Disability discrimination act, and can accept passengers in wheelchairs and other mobility impaired passengers.

Some local bus routes in the outer areas of London cross the London boundary. London Buses services that cross the boundary have standard red buses, and charge London fares, at least within the boundary. Buses from outside London that cross into London are in their operators' own colour schemes, and may not accept London fares even within the boundary.

Night buses Night buses began running as early as 1913, and they form part of the London Buses network. Originally they had their own (premium) fare structure and all the routes were distinguished by an N prefixed route number. Most night bus services operate from a central London terminus in Trafalgar Square.

More recently, under the influence of the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, night buses have adopted standard London bus fares. Some daytime bus routes have also started operating 24 hours a day, using the same (non-N prefixed) route number. All night buses (whether on N-prefixed routes or 24-hour routes) are standard red buses. London's night bus services have seen passenger numbers soar in recent years - by mid 2005, up by over 80% over levels at the start of the 21st century.

Heritage routes Although the rear-entrance double-deck Routemaster has now been withdrawn from all regular service routes, they are still in use on two heritage routes in central London. The heritage routes are operated as part of the standard London Buses network, and issue and accept the same fares as the rest of that network. The two routes are London Buses route 9 (Heritage) from the Royal Albert Hall to Aldwych, and London Buses route 15 (Heritage) from Trafalgar Square to Tower Hill.

Routemaster buses are not accessible to passengers in wheelchairs and other mobility impaired passengers. Because of this, each heritage route is operated as a short-working of a regular service route bearing the same route number, thus ensuring that passengers unable to board the heritage buses are offered equivalent alternative transport arrangements.

Tour buses A common sight in central London are open-top buses. These are double-decker buses with a fully or partially open upper deck, which provide tourist services with either live or recorded commentary. Most of these services allow passengers to embark and disembark at chosen bus stop along their route, continuing their journey on a later bus.

There are several competing operators of such services and, although at least one paints its buses in the same red as London's local buses, they do not form part of the London Buses network and do not issue or accept London Buses tickets. Fares are set by the operators and usually involve a flat fee for a day (or multiple days) usage; there is no need to pre-book and tickets can be bought from the driver and/or bus stop ticket sellers.

Other more formally organised tours use luxury coaches and generally need to be booked in advance through travel agents.

Long distance coaches Long-distance coaches link London with the rest of the United Kingdom and with other cities in Europe. Most of these services are run by National Express and their European affiliate Eurolines. National Express's predominantly white vehicles are common on the roads of central London, on their way to and from their terminus at Victoria Coach Station.

Recently competition for long distance traffic has been introduced by Megabus, a subsidiary of the large UK bus operating company Stagecoach Group. This company operates cheap services aimed at students and the like, which must be booked in advance on the World Wide Web.

Other coach services link London to medium-distance destinations, and unlike National Express or Megabus provide walk-on fares. Good examples of this are the Green Line Coaches services to the Home Counties, mainly operated by Arriva, the service to the city of Oxford, where Stagecoach Group frequent Stagecoach South Midlands service competes with both Go-Ahead Group similar Oxford Bus Company service, and the many commuter services to medium-distance destinations operated by individual coach companies during peak times.

Airport buses National Express is also the principal airport bus operator, serving London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport and London Stansted Airport with its National Express Airport brand. Unlike their longer distance cousins, these are walk-on services, which serve stops throughout central London rather than running to Victoria Coach Station.

London City Airport used to provide express shuttle bus services to connect the airport to rail and underground stations at Canning Town station, Canary Wharf and Liverpool Street station. These operated at a premium fare (compared with the parallel but slower London Buses services) but did not survive the extension of the Docklands Light Railway to the airport in late 2005.

Terrorist incidents

February 18, 1996: An improvised explosive device detonated prematurely on a bus travelling along Aldwych in central London, killing Edward O'Brien, the Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer transporting the device, and injuring eight others.
July 7, 2005: An explosion occurred as part of a 7 July 2005 London bombings at 09:47 on a London Buses route 30 Hackney Wick to Marble Arch double-decker bus, operated by Stagecoach Group for Transport for London, in Tavistock Square. The bomb ripped the roof off the top deck and destroying the back of the bus, killing thirteen passengers and the suicide bomber.
July 21, 2005: A suicide bomber attempted to explode a bomb as part of a 21 July 2005 London bombings at 13:30 on a London Buses route 26 Waterloo station to Hackney Wick double-decker bus, operated by Stagecoach Group for Transport for London, on Hackney Road at the corner of Columbia Road in Shoreditch. The device failed to detonate properly and there were no injuries.