As befitting the largest metropolitan area in
the European Union, the London metropolitan area has one of the largest public
transit systems in the world. The
government body responsible for most aspects of the transportation in Greater
London is called Transport for London, which was established by the Greater
London Authority Act 1999. While the
Underground and red London Buses are two of the best known divisions, TfL is
also responsible for street maintenance, Taxis for Hire, River Services, the
Victoria Coach Station, the Docklands Light Railway and the London Congestion
Charge.
The Underground, the oldest subway system in
the world and commonly known as the Tube, was established in 1863 and now
consists eleven lines divided into two classes, subsurface and deep-tube. The subsurface rolling stock is larger than
the deep-tube rolling stock, whose lines use smaller tunnels and run
considerably deeper than the subsurface lines.
The subsurface lines also have an arrangement similar to the New York
City Subway, where different lines operate over shared tracks, while deep-tube
lines operate on their own separate lines.
With 270 stations and 402 km of track (250 miles), the Underground was
the largest subway system in the world in terms of track mileage until it was
surpassed by the Shanghai Metro in the early 21st century.
While London Buses is responsible for route
planning, monitoring service quality, maintaining the fare structure and
providing passenger information, the actual operation of bus service is
tendered out to several private operators, which leads to a large variety of
single- and double-decker buses in service.
British buses are usually built by separate chassis and body
manufacturers, so even buses by the same chassis manufacturer can have
different appearances. However, London
Buses maintains tight control over the design and age of the buses and specifies
that all are red in colour, and this control over the buses’ age means that
former London buses are often passed on to other cities after only a few years
of service. With over 6800 buses
operating over more than 700 different routes, London Buses is one of the
largest bus systems in the world.
All photos are by the webmaster unless noted
otherwise.
RM 324 (operator Stagecoach) is a 1960 AEC Routemaster, seen on Mansell Street near the Tower Bridge on May 26, 2011. Produced between 1956 and 1968, the Routemaster became the iconic London double-decker bus, and they remained in regular revenue service until 2005. They still operate on two heritage routes, where accessibility requirements are met by running low-floor buses along with Routemasters on these routes. |
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RM1933 (operator Stagecoach) is a 1964 Routemaster, shown boarding passengers on the Strand near St. Mary-le-Strand church in central London on May 26, 2011. Because the London Routemasters have an open door at the rear of the bus and a conductor to collect fares, they faster boarding than other London buses, though there are increased labour costs with a second TfL employee on the bus along with the driver. |
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RML 2276 (operator Go Ahead) is a 1965 AEC Routemaster, shown at Parliament Square with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in the background on August 16, 2002. The RML buses were an extended version of the Routemaster and were 30’ in length, compared to 27’ 6” for the standard Routemaster. (Photo by Oren Hirsch, featured on Oren’s Transit Page) |
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ADL 972 (operator Arriva) is a Dennis Dart which was spotted on the Tower Bridge on August 19, 2002. (Photo by Oren Hirsch) |
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TAL122 (operator Metroline) is a Dennis Trident 2 with an Alexander ALX 400 body, shown on Park Road at Baker Street on May 18, 2008. (Photo by Oren Hirsch) |
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9843 (operator Abellio) is another Dennis Trident 2 with an Alexander ALX 400 body, spotted on St. Paul’s Church Yard in the City on May 26, 2011. |
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17246 (operator Stagecoach) is another Dennis Trident 2 with an Alexander ALX 400, seen on Ludgate Hill near St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 26, 2011. This bus had been withdrawn from TfL service and sent up to Liverpool by June 2012. |
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ES64008 (operator First London) is a Mercedes Benz Citaro O530N, shown on route RV1 on April 10, 2008. (Photo by Arriva436) |
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MA 125 (operator Arriva) is a
Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530G, seen on Vernon Place at Southampton Row on May
20, 2008. Articulated buses were
unpopular in London and this particular bus is now operating in Malta as Bus
218. (Photo by Oren Hirsch) |
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MAL108 (operator London General) is another Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530G, spotted at Trafalgar Square on April 10, 2008. This bus is now running for Go North East in Newcastle upon Tyne as bus 5339. (Photo by Arriva436) |
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E83 (operator London General) is an Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 seen at Trafalgar Square on May 21, 2008. (Photo by Oren Hirsch) |
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WVL310 (operator Go Ahead-London) is a 2010 Volvo V9TL with a Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 body, shown boarding passengers on Euston Road in Camden near St. Pancras Railway Station on May 26, 2011. |
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WVL320 (operator Go Ahead-London) is another Volvo B9TL, seen on Euston Road near King’s Cross Station on May 26, 2011. |
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WSH62991 (operator First London) is a 2010 VDL SB200 with a Wrightbus Pulsar body, shown at the terminus in Covent Garden on January 26, 2011. This bus is part of the Transport for London/HyFLEET:CUTE project to test hydrogen as a fuel for public transport buses. The buses use a drivetrain designed by ISE of San Diego and a fuel cell manufactured by Ballard Power Systems of British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Spsmiler) |
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WSH62995 (operator First London) is a hydrogen fuel cell powered VDL SB200 with a Wrightbus Pulsar body, spotted on Mansell Street near the Tower Gateway DLR station on May 26, 2011. Built in 2010, these buses are being tested on the tourist-oriented route RV1, which connects many south-shore attractions between the Tower of London and Covent Garden. |