London Buses - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London

Transport for London

Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...

(TfL) that manages bus services within Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme. All services are provided by private sector

Private sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

operators.

Overview

Transport for London's key areas of direct responsibility through London Buses are the following:

planning bus routes
specifying service levels
monitoring service quality
management of bus stations and bus stops
assistance in 'on ground' set up of diversions, bus driver assistance in sitations over and above job requirements, for example Road Accidents
providing information for passengers in the form of timetables and maps at bus stops and online, and an online route planning service
producing leaflet maps, available from Travel Information Centres, libraries etc., and as online downloads.
operating CentreComm London Buses 24hour Command and Control centre based in Southwark

Bus operations

All bus operations are undertaken under a tendering system in which operators bid for routes in return for a set price per route operated. Bus routes run for approximately 5 years before being re-tendered. Routes are set up, controlled and tendered out by TfL

Transport for London

and they provide day to day assistance via CentreComm which coordinates a large scale network of Network Traffic Controllers to help with any traffic issues that may occur.
Operators provide staff to drive the buses, provide the buses to operate and also adhere to set TfL

Transport for London

guidelines. Operators are then in return paid per mile that each bus runs, the pricing is announced on new tenders.

Publications

London Buses publishes a variety of bus maps. Some are traditional street maps of London marked with bus numbers. In 2002, TfL introduced the first "spider" maps. Rather than attempting to cover the entire city, these maps are centred on a particular locality or bus station, and convey the route information in the schematic style of Harry Beck's influential tube map

Tube map

The Tube map is a schematic transit map representing the lines and stations of London's rapid transit railway systems, namely the London Underground , the Docklands Light Railway and London Overground....

, capitalising on TfL's iconic style of information design

Information design

Information design is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with efficiency and effectiveness. Where the data is complex or unstructured, a visual representation can express its meaning more clearly to the viewer....

. The arachnoid form of bus routes radiating from a centre earned them the nickname "spider" maps, although TfL refer to them on their website as route maps. The maps are displayed at most major bus stops, and can be downloaded in PDF format via the Internet from the TfL website.

Legal status

The legal identity of London Buses is actually London Bus Services Limited (LBSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London

Transport for London

. East Thames Buses was the trading name of another wholly owned subsidiary of TfL called, rather confusingly, London Buses Limited (LBL).

LBL was first created on 1 April 1985 in the process of the privatisation of London bus services

Privatisation of London bus services

The privatisation of London bus services was the progressive process of the transfer of operation of London Buses from public bodies to private companies....

, and acted as an arm's-length subsidiary of TfL's precursor organisation, London Regional Transport

London Regional Transport

London Regional Transport was the organisation responsible for the public transport network in Greater London, UK from 1984-2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.The organisation was...

(LRT), holding twelve bus operating units (from late 1988) and other assets. The operating units were sold off in 1994/5, and their purchasers make up the majority of companies awarded bus operating tenders from the current London Buses (LBSL).

After 1994/5, the LBL company then lay dormant, passing from LRT to TfL. It was resurrected as a place for East Thames Buses

East Thames Buses

East Thames Buses was the only government owned bus operator of London Buses. It was sold to London General in 2009.-History:East Thames Buses was formed in 1999 to take over the services operated by the failed Harris Bus Company...

to exist within TfL, separated by a chinese wall

Chinese wall

In business, a Chinese wall or firewall is an information barrier implemented within a firm to separate and isolate persons who make investment decisions from persons who are privy to undisclosed material information which may influence those decisions...

from LBSL, and acted as a London bus operator by proxy.

Scope

The local bus network in London is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Over 6,800 scheduled buses operate on over 700 different routes. Over the year this network carries over 1.8 billion passenger journeys.

Ticket machines, fares and concessions

Buses in the London Buses network accept both Travelcard

Travelcard

The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Tramlink, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Travelcards can be purchased for a period of time varying from one day to a year,...

s and Oyster card

Oyster card

The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...

products including bus passes, as well as single cash fare

Fare

A fare is the fee paid by a passenger allowing him or her to make use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used.-Uses:...

s. Cash fares used to be charged in relation to length of journey (fare stages), but are now charged as single flat fares for any length of journey. From 2000, the flat fare was higher for journeys in Zone 1 than in outer zones, although from 2004 this difference was eliminated, the change coinciding with the introduction of Oyster card flat fares. Cash fares are considerably higher than Oyster fares for the same journey.

With the Oyster card

Oyster card

pay as you go (formerly Pre Pay), users are charged a set amount for single journeys, although there is a "daily cap", which limits the maximum amount of money that will be deducted from the balance on a Pay as you go Oyster card regardless of how many buses are taken that day (from 4.30 am to 4.30 am the next day). Alternatively, weekly and monthly passes may also be purchased and loaded onto an Oyster card.

All children under 11 travel free. Children aged 11 to 15 travel free on buses with an 11-15 Oyster photocard; without an Oystercard or Travelcard, they have to pay the full adult cash fare. There are concessions for people aged 16 to 18.

The Freedom Pass

Freedom Pass

Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1984, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England who are aged 60 and over or who have a disability. The scheme is funded by local authorities and coordinated by London Councils...

scheme allows those over 60 and those with a disability to travel free at any time on buses. People who have concessionary bus passes issued by English local authorities travel free on TfL bus services at any time.

On routes throughout London operated by 'bendy' buses and on route W7, passengers who wish to pay cash fares are required to pre-purchase tickets prior to boarding. All bus stops on those routes are equipped with ticket machines which sell single tickets and one-day passes. These route numbers are marked in yellow on bus stop signs with a notice to "buy tickets before boarding" as drivers are unable to issue tickets and also because passengers may board by any door. Furthermore, many bus stops within the West End of London

West End of London

The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...

fall into a "cashless" area. In other places, single tickets may be purchased directly from the bus driver. Most passengers use the Oyster Card, as the cash fare is higher than the Oyster fare.

Current operators

Companies operating buses under contract to London Buses

Abellio London |
Arriva Kent Thameside

Arriva Kent Thameside

Arriva Kent Thameside is a bus operator based in North-West Kent, England, part of the Arriva group. The company operates services in Dartford, Northfleet and Gravesend, as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division...

|
Arriva London

Arriva London

Arriva London is a division of Arriva which operates bus services in London, UK. It is made up of many previous bus operators including previously independent Grey Green...

|
Arriva Shires & Essex

Arriva Shires & Essex

Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...

|
Arriva Southern Counties

Arriva Southern Counties

Arriva Southern Counties is a bus operator in London, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex in England. It is a regional division of Arriva.- History :...

|
CT Plus |
First London

First London

.First London is one of many operators of London Buses and owned by First Group. They did also run the Tramlink network, in a partnership with Tramtrack Croydon before June 2008. Their registered office is at Paddington station in London...

|
Go-Ahead London

Go-Ahead London

Go-Ahead London is the trading name used collectively for the London bus operations of the Go-Ahead Group. The name first appeared in August 2008, before which the company had traded under separate names and brands...

|
London Sovereign

Transdev London

London United is one of many operators of London Buses and is owned by the RATP Group, an international public transport operator owned by the government of France...

|
London United |
Metrobus |
Metroline

Metroline

Metroline, owned by ComfortDelGro Corporation of Singapore, is one of many companies operating bus services in London under the management of London Buses.-Company history:...

|
Quality Line

Quality Line

Quality Line is the trading name of the bus division of Epsom Coaches, and operates over sixty buses throughout the south London and Surrey area, with many under contract to London Buses or Surrey County Council.-History:...

|
Stagecoach London

Stagecoach London

Stagecoach London , is a bus company which principally operates services in the UK capital city of London, under contract to the London Buses arm of Transport for London. It was formed in 1989 as a subsidiary of London Buses. The company privatised in 1994 and acquired by the Stagecoach Group, but...

|
Sullivan Buses

Sullivan Buses

Sullivan Buses is a bus operating company based in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1999, it operates local bus services in and around Hertfordshire including school services; rail replacement bus services in and near London; bus links in Surrey to and from Thorpe Park; and vehicle...

Also, see Bus garages in London

Bus garages in London

Every garage operating services that form part of the London Bus network is given an official London Bus garage code. Such codes are given not only to garages running London Bus contracts, but also to those running commercial bus services under London Bus agreements. There is also a code for Tramlink...

for operating codes.

Vehicles

The various bus operators providing services under contract to London Buses operate a wide variety of vehicles, about the only immediately obvious common feature being their use of a largely red livery. However, London Buses in fact maintains a close control over both the age and specification of the vehicles. Particular examples of this include the use of separate exit doors, increasingly unusual on buses in the United Kingdom outside London, and, on double-deckers, the use of a straight staircase where most other UK operators specify a more compact curved staircase. Additionally, London Buses also specifies that vehicles operating in London use linen roller destination blinds, whereas in most other parts of the country, electronic dot matrix or LED displays are the norm on new buses.

Because of London Buses' close control on the age of the fleet, it is very common for London buses to be cascaded by their owners to operations in other parts of the country after only a few years' service.

London buses used in art

The London bus has become an international icon to express a range of ideas. Artist Brian Whelan

Brian Whelan

Brian Whelan is a noted London-Irish painter, author and occasional film maker.-Family life:Brian Francis Whelan was born 3 May 1957 in Ealing, London, of Irish Catholic parents. His father came from Dublin and his mother from Kilkenny...

(whose Father was a bus conductor) uses the red bus in his cityscape paintings to depict street-level London. A revamped London bus has also been used to promote the work of British artist Sir Peter Blake

Peter Blake (artist)

Sir Peter Thomas Blake, KBE, CBE, RDI, RA is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.-Career:...

iBus

See London iBus system

London iBus system

The London iBus system or officially iBus is an Automatic Vehicle Location system to improve London's buses using technology installed by Siemens AG...

External links

TFL's London Buses website
iBus
Collection of Google Earth locations of London Bus Stations (requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.
London Omnibus Traction Society
The Greater London Bus Map
London Bus Routes Zenfolio
From The Upper Deck, photography project
Comprehensive list of current Greater London bus timetables

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Overview

Bus operations

Publications

Legal status

Scope

Ticket machines, fares and concessions

Current operators

Vehicles

London buses used in art

iBus

See also

External links