Interesting facts you didn’t know about London buses – Boost your knowledge

Did you know that in London, buses always had a long and interesting history? It was in 2014 that the Mayor of London launched the year of the bus, thereby celebrating the iconic symbol of the London transport network which carries more than 7 million people every day to some place or the other. London buses have had a heritage of their own and this is why there are so many interesting facts on London buses which you may not have known earlier. Here are few of the selected facts, some contemporary, some historical and some weird which will inform you a lot on this world-famous system of transportation in London.

§  Why are London buses red in colour?

Before the year 1907, buses were coloured according to the route they covered. Because of a fierce competition among bus companies like LGOC or London General Omnibus Company (which was then the biggest operator of buses in the capital), started painting their buses red so that they could stand out in the crowd. As the Metropolitan Police encouraged them, they even started using numbers on the buses to tell of different routes.

§  Which year was the very first bus service started?

It was on 4^th July, 1829, Saturday that George Shillibeer started running the first omnibus service of the city, which ran from Paddington along the New Road and then off to Bank. The idea of mini bus hire was adopted from Paris where the service had already become extremely popular by then. Then, the omnibuses could carry only 22 people and they were pulled by 3 horses. There were 4 return journeys every single day!

§  The iconic Routemasters are still there in London

There is a bus called the Routemaster bus which is iconic in London but even though they were asked to withdraw their service on 2005, 9^th December. Soon after, they were replaced by low-floor buses. But the good news is that there are 2 routemasters which are still used today in few of the heritage routes. Route 9 from Kensington High Street to Aldwych is one of those heritage routes and Trafalgar Square to Tower Hill is the other heritage route.

§  A single-decker bus is the fastest bus

During a 2008 episode of Top Gear, the actor Richard Hammond went off to discover the bus that was best for London. What he did was raced a double-decker and bendy bus, single-decker through a race track. The result was that the single-decker bus won. This proved that the single-decker buses are the fastest.

§  For how long time does a bus driver get trained?

The drivers of buses should receive a driver certificate of Professional Competence or CPC. There are 3 tests that are included, a hazard perception and theory, a demonstration and case study and practical driving class.

So, if you’re a resident of Glasgow and you’re thinking of minibus hire Glasgow, make sure you first educate yourself on the interesting facts of London buses.