10 Things you didn’t know about the London Bus

Back to blog The London bus is an English icon but did you know when was it first made and what came before? Can you guess which London bus routes are the shortest or busiest? We answer these questions and more. These are our top 10 things you didn’t know about the London Bus…

1. London buses weren’t always red.

The red bus is a London icon, but in the old days the London bus used to come in different colours depending on their route. And even when red Routemasters became the norm, there were green versions of the iconic London bus in London Transport’s country bus division.

2. There are 9,462 buses in London and about 22% of them are Hybrids.

The fleet includes 833 new Routemasters, 2,115 Hybrid buses, 39 Electric buses and 10 vintage Routemasters. But more than half of the fleet is made up of double decker diesel red buses.

3. The shortest London bus route takes just 12 minutes to complete.

The 389 bus route goes from The Spires to Western Way and is a very short mile and a half long.

4. London buses stopped accepting cash in July 2014.

Since 6 July 2014 it has been impossible to pay for your bus fare in cash. So make sure you have your Oyster or contactless card ready.

5. There are 3 women who have travelled on every single London bus route.

Linda, Mary and Jo are the “ladies who bus”. In 2009 they set out to ride on every bus route in London and by 2014 they had been on all of them. Now they’re on a quest to visit every museum in London. Good luck ladies!

6. Bendy buses lasted less than a decade in London.

Known as the worst type of London bus, they were introduced in 2002 and were all withdrawn by 2011. Because of the long design and extra doors, fare evasion was especially high and that’s not the worst of it. There were incidents of buses catching fire and they would often block junctions because of their size.

7. The first bus service in London was in 1829.

When it was first introduced, the “omnibus” was pulled by three horses and was designed to carry 22 people. It took its passengers between Paddington and Bank, going down what is now called Marylebone Road.

8. It took 9 years to develop the original Routemaster.

The most famous red bus is the original London Routemaster. The final design was perfected by 1956 and over 2,000 were put in to production.

9. Route 25 is London’s busiest.

The busiest London bus is the 25. The bus route runs between Oxford Circus and Ilford and carried 19.4 million passengers in 2015/6. It’s easy to see why it’s so busy as the route has stops near the British Museum, St Paul’s Cathedral and passes through the theatre district.

10. During World War 1 motorbuses were used to transport troops (and pigeons).

The “B-Type” motorbus was a reliable form of transport in London that was put to use during the war. Some of the motorbuses were even converted to house carrier pigeons!   Back to blog