The history of red buses.

Guizzela in Central London

A British icon!

The first known “buses” of London were used in 1829 and were horse drawn; taking people from one destination to another just like a taxi service. They were started by George Shillibeer who used to take people from Paddington to the city on a horse drawn omnibus with the intention of starting a service similar to the buses of today.

In 1855 an organisation was formed, called the London General Omnibus Company, and it was their duty to manage all the horse drawn bus services in London at the time, preventing problems and making sure everything is working the right way.

The last horse drawn omnibus was seen in 1914 and then 1919 saw the rise of steam buses which were more of the modern option at the time due to the advancements in technology. This was soon out of practice due to the new motor buses which were even more efficient. The London General Omnibus Company became part of the London Passenger Transport Board and their division became known simple as London Transport.

It wasn't until in 1906 that numbers were first used on buses to differentiate them and the routes that they would normally take. Independent bus companies would use a number and letter for their buses which but in 1924, the Metropolitan Police were given the authority to choose numbers for each bus depending on the bus but this led to much confusion and problems for these companies.

In 1933, the London Transport Passenger Act saw to it that this authority was taken from the Metropolitan Police due to the confusion it caused, and handed back to the owners of the bus companies that in turn made sure everything was back in order.

In the year 2000, the ownership of London buses was changed from the London Regional Transport which was controlled by the government to Transport for London, or TFL, which is the Mayor of London’s own transport organisation and continues to be run by them today.