The privatisation of London bus services was the progressive process of the transfer of operation of London Buses

London Buses

London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...

 from public bodies to private companies.

For half a century, operation of London bus services for public transport was under the direct control of a number of entities known as London Transport. New legislation in the mid-1980s, however, obliged the establishment of an arm's-length bus operating company and the offering of routes to competitive tender, introducing private operators to the market. This set the ball rolling for privatisation, which progressed over a decade until ending with the selling off of the remaining routes in the mid-1990s. Since then, direct provision of bus services in London has been run entirely by various private companies.

Unlike those in the rest of the United Kingdom, the bus services in London, although still ultimately privatised, were not deregulated

Bus deregulation

Bus deregulation in Great Britain came into force on 26 October 1986, as part of the Transport Act 1985.The 'Buses' White Paper was the basis of the Transport Act 1985, which provided for the deregulation of local bus services in the whole of the United Kingdom except for Northern Ireland and...

 to the same extent. In London, details of routes, fares and services levels were still specified by public bodies, with the right to run the services contracted to private companies on a tendered basis.

The privatised period produced for the first time buses in London painted in different schemes from the traditional red. This was reduced in a ruling in 1997 requiring buses to wear an 80% red livery (excluding advertising boards).

Formation of London Buses

In June 1984, in the general move towards deregulation, responsibility for running London bus services transferred from the last public body running London's buses, the Greater London Council

Greater London Council

The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...

 (GLC), to 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) under the London Regional Transport Act 1984

London Regional Transport Act 1984

The London Regional Transport Act 1984 was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which created the statutory corporation named London Regional Transport. It received Royal Assent on 26 June 1984, and its major provisions took effect on 29 June. Later legislation has modified the effects of this...

. This Act obliged LRT to set up a wholly owned arm's-length subsidiary to oversee operation of bus services, and on 1 April 1985 London Buses Limited

London Buses

London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...

 came into being.

Initially, bus livery continued to be all-over red with a simple solid white roundel, but in 1987 this livery was revised with the addition of a grey skirt and a white mid-level relief line; in the same year a modified red and yellow roundel, with the name 'London Buses' in capitals, was introduced.

Introduction of competition

Under the 1984 Act London bus services were to be tendered. The first round of tendering took place in the summer of 1985, bringing the first private operator into the market, in the form of London Buslines on route 81

London Buses route 81

London Buses route 81 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to London United.-History:Route 81 is a long standing route, reaching the furthest west out of London to Slough...

. By 1988 Metrobus, Grey-Green

Grey-Green

Grey-Green was a coach and bus operator in the United Kingdom. It was based in Stamford Hill, and can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer’s horse carriage business in 1885.-History:...

 and Boro'line Maidstone

Boro'line Maidstone

Boro'line Maidstone, previously Maidstone Borough Council Transport was the municipal bus operator in Maidstone and the surrounding villages. Maidstone Borough Council Transport was formed in 1974 from Maidstone Corporation Transport following local government reorganisation...

 were also operating numerous London routes.

Controversially, these operators were not required to wear a red livery, meaning that for the first time it was possible for non-red buses to run into the centre of London, such as those on high profile route 24

London Buses route 24

London Buses route 24 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Go-Ahead London.-History:This route dates back to 1910, when it ran between Hampstead Heath and Victoria...

 operated by Grey-Green. The only requirement was to display the London Transport roundel on the bus, to designate a London Transport tendered service. Ironically, several of the new private entrants were descendants of London Transport's former 'green' buses division, which operated outer London services that were passed to the National Bus Company's control as London Country Bus Services

London Country Bus Services

London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1969 until split up and sold in 1986 under Margaret Thatcher's government's bus deregulation scheme.-Creation:...

, in 1969.

The private competition was not without controversy, with objections to non-red buses leading to a change in the rules in 1997 to specify 80% red liveries. The tendering also caused problems with several operators needing to hire buses due to late delivery of new buses for newly won routes.

One such controversial route was the arrangements for tendering route 60

London Buses route 60

London Buses route 60 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Arriva London.-History:...

 which was initially awarded to Capital Logistics

Capital Logistics

Capital Logistics is a former bus and coach operator in England. It was formed in August 1997 following the merger of Whyte's Airport Services and Capital Coaches the previous April. The company was sold to Tellings-Golden Miller in 1999...

. Difficulties in setting up the route eventually saw operation by 8 different operators and 10 different bus types in a short space of time, before the route finally gained a stable arrangement.

The collapse of a rather large private operator, Harris Bus

Harris Bus

Harris Bus is a former bus company based in West Thurrock. It was a subsidiary of Harris Coaches, and operated a small fleet of buses. On deregulation of bus services it was one of the early operators of tendered services for London Buses....

, led to the formation of 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...

 by London Transport, as an arm's-length company to provide temporary operation of the routes. It was since subsequently retained by the new 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...

 authority, for tendering for routes itself. In 2009, it was announced that East Thames Buses was to be transferred back to the private sector with sale of vehicles and TUPE transfer of staff to London General

London General

London General is a bus company operating in Surrey ang Greater London. It is owned by the Go-Ahead Group and operates most buses under contract to London Buses...

, part of the Go-Ahead Group

Go-Ahead Group

The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...

.

Break-up of London Buses

In late 1988 London Buses was separated into different business units, in preparation for sell-off. The companies were created along geographic lines, with all but Westlink having routes running into central London. The division names and a small graphic device were added to the buses, in white. An exception to this was the Westlink unit, which received a new livery altogether.

The separate units created were:

Division	Area	Logo	Ref.
Centrewest	West	Arrow (then various)	http://britishbusscene.fotopic.net/p46664699.html
East London	East	Barge	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p38231386.html
Leaside	River Lea River Lee (England) The River Lea in England originates in Marsh Farm , Leagrave, Luton in the Chiltern Hills and flows generally southeast, east, and then south to London where it meets the River Thames , the last section being known as Bow Creek.-Etymology:...	Swan	http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p38252382.html
London Central	South central	Ship	http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p38232825.html
London Forest	Waltham Forest London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest is in northeast London, England. Officially, it forms part of Outer London as it borders Essex. However, it can be seen that the NE London boundary does not extend far compared to elsewhere in the city...	Oak tree	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p31387056.html
London General	Southwest	Omnibus	http://www.londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p37891597.html
London Northern	North	Parliament	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p30301387.html
London United	Southwest	Crest	http://eamonnsphotos.fotopic.net/p47304805.html
Metroline	Northwest	Stripes	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p29258870.html
Selkent	Southeast	Hops	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p40032032.html
South London	South	Tower Bridge	http://themunicipals.fotopic.net/p46298370.html
Westlink	Kingston Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...	n/a	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p29845490.html

Unlike the other units, Centrewest quickly branded its buses into separate groups, in the main removing the London Buses roundel in favour of various gold designs, with just the central services remaining in a slightly altered roundel based scheme. The group brands were: Challenger, Ealing Buses, Gold Arrow, Uxbridge Buses, Hillingdon local service, Orpington Buses.

Intermediate operation

During this time of separate business unit operation by London Buses, many new bus types were also being introduced, notably the Dennis Dart

Dennis Dart

The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....

 midibus as well as numerous minibus

Minibus

A minibus or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a...

es. Several of these new vehicles received specialist branding from normal unit liveries, such as:

• Camden Link
• Harrier
• Hoppa
• Kingston Hoppa
• Red Express
• Skipper
• Southall Shuttle
• Streetline
• Roundabout

In the new era of private tendering, in an effort to compete with the new private operators entering the market, London Buses set up some low cost units to compete for tenders, painted in non-red liveries. The most notable were Harrow Buses and Bexleybus, tendering for routes in the Harrow and Bexleyheath areas respectively.

These units were not overly successful, due to unreliable service, and industrial disputes due to lower pay rates than for the main London units. Their routes were quickly surrendered to other units or private operators.

Business unit sell-off

In 1994, the separate London Buses units were sold off. Competition rules restricted the amount of units that could be bought by one group. All the units were sold either to their management or employees, or to one of the emerging national bus groups that had been growing through acquisition of deregulated companies in the rest of the UK. The exception was London Northern, which was bought by MTL, itself an expanding company formed from the privatisation of the Merseyside PTE bus company.
Following sell-off, most units had their fleet livery changed, either to all-over red or having the skirt or roof repainted. Most units also chose to withdraw the logos they had received in 1988, although East London and Selkent later brought their logos back.

The only unit not to be sold off was London Forest

London Forest

London Forest was a subsidiary of London Buses active between 1988 and 1991. Formed as one of the eleven operating divisions of London Buses in readiness for privatisation, the company initially operated from garages at Ash Grove, Walthamstow and Leyton on a network of routes in North-East London...

, which was wound up in the autumn of 1991 following poor financial performance and industrial action; its operating area was subsequently taken up by East London and Leaside, although 11 of its routes in the Walthamstow area were passed to private operators Capital Citybus

Capital Citybus

Capital Citybus was a major bus operator for London Buses in North and East London. The company was eventually sold to First in 1998. Capital Citybus is not to be confused with the other former London bus and coach operator Capital Logistics, for whom in 1999 it provided amongst others relief buses...

, Thamesway Buses and County Bus.

The sell-off of the units proceeded as follows:

Division	Buyer	New livery	Subsequent fate
Centrewest	management	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p30301573.html	sold to First in 1997
East London	Stagecoach	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p23691359.html	sold to Macquarie Bank in 2006, then re-acquired by Stagecoach 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...  in 2010
Leaside	Cowie Group	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p38183850.html	rebranded into Arriva Arriva Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...  in 1997 (now Arriva London North)
London Central	Go-Ahead	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p22263989.html	no change
London General	management	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p23427344.html	sold to Go-Ahead in 1996
London Northern	MTL	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p30301395.html	sold to Metroline in 1998
London United	management	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p48161870.html	sold to Transdev in 1997, sold to RATP in 2011
Metroline	mebo	http://simonslondonpictures.fotopic.net/p47008965.html	sold to ComfortDelGro in 2000 (retains Metroline name)
Selkent	Stagecoach	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p47618054.html	sold to Macquarie Bank in 2006, then re-acquired by Stagecoach 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...  in 2010
South London	Cowie Group	http://londonbusesbyadam.fotopic.net/p42825478.html	rebranded into Arriva in 1997 (now Arriva London South)
Westlink	employees	no change	sold to West Midlands Travel in 1994, then London United in 1995

List of independent operators

In the period before the sell off of the main business units, London saw operation by several private companies who gained tenders for routes. Many of these either ceased trading, or were ultimately purchased by large groups, some of which also bought some of the ex-London Buses units. Below is a list of private operators, some of which still operate.

• Armchair ― acquired by Metroline
• Atlas Bus (Pan Atlas) ― merged with London Coaches, later acquired by Metroline
• Blue Triangle
  Blue Triangle
  Blue Triangle is one of many operators of London Buses, it is based in Rainham and is part of Go-Ahead London. It is the operator of the East London Transit service.-History:...
  
   ― London operations acquired by Go-Ahead Group
• Boro'line
  Boro'line (London)
  Boro'line describes the London operations of the former municipal bus company Boro'line Maidstone. Boro'line Maidstone was the arms length bus company of Maidstone Borough Council...
  
   ― London operations acquired by Kentish Bus
• BTS (Borehamwood Travel Services) ― acquired by Blazefield Group
  Blazefield Group
  Transdev Blazefield is one of the main bus groups in England. Owner of several bus companies around the Yorkshire and Lancashire regions, since 2006 it has been part of the international transport company Transdev.-History:...
  
   and renamed London Sovereign
• Capital Citybus
  Capital Citybus
  Capital Citybus was a major bus operator for London Buses in North and East London. The company was eventually sold to First in 1998. Capital Citybus is not to be confused with the other former London bus and coach operator Capital Logistics, for whom in 1999 it provided amongst others relief buses...
  
   ― now First Capital
• Capital Connections
• Capital Logistics
  Capital Logistics
  Capital Logistics is a former bus and coach operator in England. It was formed in August 1997 following the merger of Whyte's Airport Services and Capital Coaches the previous April. The company was sold to Tellings-Golden Miller in 1999...
  
   ― acquired by Tellings-Golden Miller
• Carousel Buses
  Carousel Buses
  Carousel Buses is an independent bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England which operates a network of local and inter-urban bus services.-History:Carousel Buses was formed in 2000...
  
  
• Centra
  Centra (bus company)
  Centra was one of many operators of London Buses. They were the transport division of Central Parking Systems of UK Limited who acquired the assets of Wimco Group Coaches Limited in August 2004...
  
  
• Cityrama ― sightseeing company acquired by Ensignbus
• Connex bus
  Connex bus
  Connex bus refers to the bus company branded Connex that operated in the United Kingdom from its creation in 1996. Connex was a brand name of Veolia Environnement, used in train and bus operating companies...
  
  
• Connexions
• Crystals ― Dartford-based operator acquired by Tellings-Golden Miller
• CT Plus (Hackney Community Transport)
• Docklands Buses
  Docklands Buses
  Docklands Buses is one of many bus companies operating contracted services on behalf of London Buses.-History:The company was formed by Transit Holdings in 1993 as 'Docklands Transit'. It initially operated local commercial routes using minibuses, but these proved not to be viable so it switched to...
  
   ― acquired by Go-Ahead Group
• Ealing Community Transport
  Ealing Community Transport
  Ealing Community Transport is an English social enterprise which provides various services, including recycling and community transport as well as being one of many operators of London Buses...
  
  
• Eastender Bus
• Ensignbus
  Ensignbus
  Ensignbus is a Purfleet-based bus and coach dealer, open top bus tour operator and bus service operator. Ensignbus has amassed 20 ex-London vehicles of various ages and conditions in a ....
  
   ― London operations sold to Hong Kong Citybus
  Citybus (Hong Kong)
  Citybus Limited is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. It provides both franchised and non-franchised bus service. The franchised route network serves mainly Hong Kong Island, cross-harbour routes , Ocean Park, North Lantau and Hong Kong International Airport...
  
   and renamed Ensign Citybus, then Capital Citybus
• Frontrunner
• Grey-Green
  Grey-Green
  Grey-Green was a coach and bus operator in the United Kingdom. It was based in Stamford Hill, and can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer’s horse carriage business in 1885.-History:...
  
   ― now Arriva London North East
• Harris Bus
  Harris Bus
  Harris Bus is a former bus company based in West Thurrock. It was a subsidiary of Harris Coaches, and operated a small fleet of buses. On deregulation of bus services it was one of the early operators of tendered services for London Buses....
  
   ― operations reorganised into East Thames Buses
• Kentish Bus (originally London Country South East) ― now Arriva Kent Thameside
• Lea Valley ― Hoddesdon-based operations of County Bus (now Arriva The Shires & Essex Ltd)
• Limebourne
• London Buslines ― now part of First Centrewest
• London Coaches ― London operations acquired by Metroline
• London Country North West
  London Country North West
  London Country North West was a bus operator in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, England. It was formed in 1986 when London Country Bus Services was broken up, and acquired by Luton & District in 1990.-History:...
  
   – acquired by Luton & District
• London Country North East
  London Country North East
  London Country North East was a bus operator in South East England and London. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986 and operated a fleet of around 350 buses from six garages, with its headquarters located in Hatfield....
  
  
• London Easylink
  London Easylink
  London Easylink was a short-lived bus operator located in London. Its base was at the Transco Gas station, on Old Kent Road. In late 2002, Easylink went into liquidation. They operated London Buses route 185 with Plaxton President-bodied Volvo B7TLs, and had just won London Buses route 42 with...
  
   ― operations acquired by East Thames Buses
• LondonLinks ― merger of London operations of London & Country and Kentish Bus
• London & Country (originally London Country South West) – now Arriva Guildford & West Surrey
• London Sovereign ― sold by Blazefield Group to Transdev London
  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 Suburban ― acquired by MTL
• Metropolitan Omnibus (London) Ltd t/a London Traveller
  London Traveller
  London Traveller was the trading name of Metropolitan Omnibus, a bus operator in Greater London in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The company was partially owned by Yorkshire Traction, and was sold to Thorpes in October 2001.-History:...
  
   – purchased by Thorpes
• Luton & District ― now Arriva The Shires
• Metrobus
• Mitcham Belle
• Nostalgiabus
• NCP Challenger – (renames NSL ) and has since been acquired by Transdev (London Sovereign)
• 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:...
  
   (Epsom Buses)
• Riverside Bus
• R&I Buses ― acquired by MTL
• Sampsons ― Hoddesdon-based operator acquired by County Bus
• Scanbus
• Southdown PSV
  Southdown PSV
  Link title Southdown PSV Limited is a medium sized country bus operator with 22 various routes across East Surrey and West Kent. Most of their routes are operated on behalf of Surrey County Council or Kent County Council, other work includes Railway replacement services for emergencies and planned...
  
  
• 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...
  
  
• Tellings-Golden Miller
  Tellings-Golden Miller
  Tellings-Golden Miller , a subsidiary of Arriva, is a bus service and coach operator in the United Kingdom.-Golden Miller:Reputedly, Fred Varney began the Golden Miller company with the winnings from a bet made on the horse Golden Miller, which won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National in...
  
   ― London operations sold to Travel London
• Thames bus
• Thameside ― Grays-based operations of County Bus (now 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 :...
  
  )
• Thamesway Buses (Eastern National) ― now part of First Essex
• Thorpes ― acquired by Metroline
• Timebus
• Town Link ― Harlow-based operations of County Bus (now Arriva East Herts & Essex)
• Town and Country
• Travel London
  Travel London
  Travel London was a bus operator in London which was originally a subsidiary of the National Express Group. In May 2009 the company was sold to NedRailways, now called Abellio...
  
   --- acquired by Abellio
  Abellio (transport company)
  Abellio is a public transit operator in Germany which operates both bus and rail networks. The headquarters of the company are in Essen. Abellio Germany is part of the Abellio Group , the international expansion arm of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen.-History:Abellio was formed by the Essen public...
  
   in 2009 and rebranded Abellio London
• Wings Buses ― Hayes-based operator acquired by Tellings Golden-Miller. It is now part of Abellio London