London buses: Red, iconic, double-decked

Coachbuilder George Shillibeer introduced London’s first horse-drawn omnibus, copying a service he’d seen in Paris. Arriving in 1829, three horses pulled a carriage with space for 20 people. The first route ran from Paddington Green to Bank.

This painting from 1895 shows the inside of the horse-drawn Bayswater Omnibus. Most omnibus passengers were middle class. Omnibus designs evolved over time to include seats on the roof of the carriage, reached by a ladder or curved stairs.

Until 1832, horse-drawn six-seater hackney coaches, which worked like modern taxis, were the only vehicles allowed to pick up or drop off passengers in central London. When this monopoly ended, omnibuses rose in popularity, as did the two-passenger hansom cabs. On the left of this photo, you can just see an omnibus, sharing the street with a long line of cabs.

Just like modern buses, omnibuses were painted with all sorts of advertisements. In this photo from 1909, Suffragettes have used a bus to spread the message of their Votes for Women campaign.

The first petrol-engined bus was introduced in London in 1899. By 1910, there were over 1,000 – equal to the number of horse-drawn buses in London. The last horse-drawn bus in London ran in 1914.

Omnibuses were originally run by a range of companies that painted their vehicles in different colours. In 1908, the largest operator, the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC), bought its competitor Vanguard and switched to their red colour scheme. The LGOC and all other London bus companies eventually became part of the government-funded London Transport, making red the city’s official, iconic colour.

In the 1920s, a variety of independent bus operators challenged the LGOC’s dominance of the market. These buses became known as ‘pirates’ for their raids on busy bus queues, ‘stealing’ passengers waiting for regular services. The pirates lost the battle eventually. In 1924, the government limited the number of buses allowed on London’s streets. Most pirates were eventually bought by the LGOC.

London Transport attempted to run “business as usual” during the Second World War. But during the Blitz, many buses were damaged by falling German bombs.

In the 1950s, London Transport began recruiting directly in the Caribbean to address its post-war staff shortages. The people who answered the call were part of the Windrush Generation – thousands of Caribbeans who came to Britain from the 1950s onwards. The bus driver in the photo was originally from Barbados.

A common observation in London is that “you wait ages for a bus, then three come along at once”. This satirical postcard from the 1980s makes a joke of it with an edited picture of Routemaster buses invading Piccadilly Circus and the caption “They always come in threes”.

Forming an orderly queue is a proud British tradition, something that (if you’re lucky) you might still see in action at busy bus stops. The queue in the photo was formed in around 1960.

On 7 July 2005, four suicide bombers attacked London’s transport network, killing 52 people. One of the bombs exploded on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury, killing 13 people. Photos of the destroyed bus became the defining image of the tragedy.

In 2012, London’s mayor Boris Johnson introduced an upgraded London bus – the New Routemaster – designed by Thomas Heatherwick. But when Sadiq Khan became mayor in 2016, he stopped orders for the new bus. Khan blamed high costs and design problems, and the need for electric buses, not diesel.