LCC Municipal

, ,

On the Buses

Published by

lccmunicipal

on

 

Saturday 13th June saw the 213 heritage bus running day, organised by the London Bus Museum. The route has run between Sutton and Kingston in one form or another since 1921, initially as the 113, and then as the 213 from 1934.

Having grown up in the area, and still living locally, the 213 has a special place in my heart. I’ve taken it to school, college, job interviews, work, parties, the shops… My grandparents used it (my granny always insisted on calling it the “two-thirteen”), as did my parents and now my children. In a world that changes all the time, the 213 has felt like one of those ever-presents – something that quietly ticks along in the background and gives you a subconscious sense of stability and continuity. In other words, you would miss it if it was gone, and not just because of its utility value.

So, I wasn’t going to miss the running day. My photos are below – and you can jump straight to them if you want to skip the preamble.

London’s buses in municipal life

I feel the need to justify posting about London’s buses on LCC Municipal, because situating London’s transport within municipal life is more complicated than you might expect if you are used to a city transit authority controlling, owning and operating the local network.

Barker and Robbins’ authoritative History of London Transport runs to 966 pages and stops at 1970. I will just leave that sentence there if you feel that what follows is excessively reductive!

London County Council tram cars preserved at the National Tramway Museum at Crich, Derbyshire: the recently restored LCC 1 “Bluebird” and tramcar 106

Up until 1933, ownership of London’s public road transport was mixed. A number of tramway systems were in local public ownership, most notably the trams of the London County Council, although some neighbouring authorities within the metropolitan area also had operations. The bus network was almost wholly in private hands.

Then, in 1933, much of London’s public transport – buses, underground, trams and trolleybuses – was consolidated into a form of public ownership with the creation of the London Passenger Transport Board. This was the vision of Herbert Morrison, Transport minister in Ramsay MacDonald’s Labour government. But it was a project of central government, not local democracy. In any event, the LPTB’s area was greater than any existing London local authority at just under 2,000 square miles (compared with, for example, the London County Council’s c.120 square miles).

As part of the Attlee government’s post-WW2 nationalisation programme, the Board was replaced by the London Transport Executive in 1948, and put under the control of the British Transport Commission. Again, an initiative of central, not London, government. This arrangement survived until 1962 when the Executive was placed under the direct control of the Ministry of Transport.

And then, in 1970, London Transport was handed over to the Greater London Council. Shorn of its Country-area green bus operations (which transferred to the National Bus Company as London Country), the urban and suburban red bus network now more closely aligned with the GLC’s geographical footprint. Thus began 14 years of London municipal operation.

The covers of three documents produced by the GLC: Transport Policies for London; London Transport Under the GLC, a Record of Achievement; and London Regional Transport, the First Year. The latter is a GLC critique of LRT, which took over control of London's buses and underground from the GLC in 1984.

Various GLC publications covering London Transport, including the valedictory “London Transport under the GLC” and its rather harsher critique of what followed

Roger Torode provides an overview of the GLC period of control in his 2015 book Privatising London’s Buses (although, as the title suggests, his primary focus is a later period in London Transport’s history) [1]. He quotes David Quarmby who joined London Transport as Director of Operational Research in 1970:

“The first ten years of the relationship with the GLC were fraught… London Transport was a powerful and strong organisation and, to some extent, a pretty arrogant organisation. It had been taken over by what some Board members in London Transport liked to call ‘a jumped up local authority’…. At the same time, GLC members felt that this is our transport system, we ought to have more say on what the policies are, how things are done, and how services are planned…” [2]

Against this rather hostile background, the 1970s might not be regarded as the heyday of London Transport. Passenger numbers were declining, costs were rising, industrial relations were frequently fraught, and the conversion to one person operation of buses resulted in the acquisition of a large fleet of new buses that London Transport simply couldn’t get to work properly (the DMS Fleetline, although operators of second hand examples generally fared better with them).

A poster featuring a Routemaster bus. The heading is "Come in Number 9 Your Time Is Up". The text is "If the Transport Bill becomes law, services will be cut. Kill the Bill. Phone 633 4400". It features both the London Transport logo and the GLC logo with the tagline "Working together for London"
A poster where the London Transport roundel is presented as a wreath. The title is "After 50 Years, is this the end of the line?". The text is "The Transport Bill means higher fares and fewer services. Kill the Bill. Phone 633 4400". It also features the GLC logo with its tagline "Working for London".

The Greater London Council campaigns against the Thatcher Government’s plans for changes to the ownership and control of London Transport in the early 1980s

Ken Livingstone’s Labour administration took control of the GLC in 1981 and resolved to support and develop public transport in London. A central feature of the strategy was the Fares Fair policy: the goal was a 25% fare reduction funded by an additional supplementary rate (“the rates” being the local government tax in place at the time) [3]. An ultimately successful challenge to the policy by the Conservative-controlled London Borough of Bromley saw it reversed – Bromley objected to the perceived subsidy its suburban residents were supplying to inner London.

The Thatcher government had plans for the GLC specifically and for public ownership of buses more broadly. The battle to save the GLC is not for this post, nor is the country-wide bus deregulation and privatisation programme which commenced in 1986. Suffice to say, in 1984, Thatcher stripped the GLC of its control of London Transport, with the creation of London Regional Transport. The GLC was then abolished in 1986.

Yet, in the short term, London was spared the full impact of the 1986 changes which saw the National Bus Company, Scottish Bus Group, the Passenger Transport Executive undertakings in Britain’s major cities, and a great many municipally-owned bus operators sold off and privatised. Concurrently, deregulation of services outside of London saw private sector competition introduced in a largely unregulated fashion.

Privatisation would ultimately come to London’s buses in the 1990s, but deregulation never did. Rather than the “competition on the road” free-for-all experienced outside of the capital, the solution for London would be “competition for the road” through a structured process of bus route tendering and contract awards to private operators.

That is essentially the position that remains today, with Transport for London the overarching authority since 2000.

So, in summary, municipal control of London’s buses has been the primary (but not exclusive) state of affairs since 1970; municipal ownership, on the other hand, was short-lived indeed over that period.

Anyway, to the photos…

A selection of photos from the running day

Here are some of my pictures from the day – I have also thrown in some of my older photos for some context.  I didn’t capture all the buses that were running on 13th June, which brought home to me how difficult it is snapping lots of different vehicles in a wide range of locations while still managing to get some bus rides in – you certainly need all day and a lot of planning!

These images are at a lower resolution in order to optimise the loading and running of the website.

Routemasters

RM 5, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It is travelling toward the camera on a suburban street with large trees behind. The side of the bus carries a large advertisement saying "Shop Early by Bus"
RM5 (VLT 5) seen on Kenley Road, Coombe (13/6/26)
RM188, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It is travelling toward the camera on a suburban street with houses and trees behind. The side of the bus carries a large advertisement saying "Typhoo puts the T in Britain"
RM188 (VLT 188) travels toward Sutton on Clarence Avenue, Coombe (13/6/26)
RM848, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It is travelling toward the camera on Kingston Hill with houses, a block of flats and trees behind. It carried no advertising.
RM848 (WLT 848) heads down Kingston Hill (13/6/26)
RM903, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It is crossing the Sutton bypass at the head of a queue of cars, with houses and trees visible behind. The bus does not carry any advertising.
RM903 (WLT 903) crosses the Sutton Bypass at Cheam (13/6/26)
RM1363, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It is travelling toward the camera on a suburban street with houses and trees behind. It carries no advertising.
RM1363 (363 CLT), captured at the Triangle in Coombe, as it heads towards Sutton (13/6/26)
RM1397, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It stands by a bus stop on a suburban street with low rise blocks of flats and trees behind. The side of the bus carries a large advertisement saying "Routemaster London's Bus of the Future"
RM1397 (397 CLT) stands outside Kingston Hospital (13/6/26)
RM1527, a red double deck front-engine rear-entrance bus. It is travelling toward the camera on Kingston Hill with a pub, trees and other buses visible behind on this busy street. The front of the bus carries advertisements for the stage version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It carries Stagecoach fleet names.
RM 1527 (527 CLT) is seen on Kingston Hill as it heads towards Kingston (13/6/26)

 

FRM1 – the rear-engine, front-entrance Routemaster

FRM1 is a unique vehicle, which now forms part of the London Transport Museum collection.  It is a prototype Routemaster from 1966 which responded to the growing preference in the 1960s for rear-engined, front entrance buses which could allow one person operation.  Alas, history and time were not on AEC’s side and the project never progressed further. Place your hand over the lower deck and look at the top only and you will see its Routemaster heritage clearly.

FRM1 is a red double decker bus. It has a single front entrance and the engine is at the rear, a reversal of the traditional Routemaster.
FRM1 (KGY 4D) is seen at the foot of Kingston Hill, in Norbiton (13/6/26)
FRM1 is a red double decker bus. It has a single front entrance and the engine is at the rear, a reversal of the traditional Routemaster.
FRM1 (KGY 4D) turns into the yard at Kingston’s Fairfield Bus Station before making its return journey to Sutton (13/6/26)
FRM1 is a red double decker bus. It has a single front entrance and the engine is at the rear, a reversal of the traditional Routemaster. This view of the back of the bus showing its rear engine compartment.
The rear end of FRM1, seen in Bushey Road, Sutton, just outside Sutton Bus Garage (13/6/26)

 

MCW Metrobuses

M1381 is a red double deck bus. It is seen outside Sutton Bus Garage, a low and long brick-built building. The garage allocation on the side of the bus is NB, which denotes the former Norbiton Garage.
Metrobuses from Norbiton Garage were a common sight on the 213 in the 1980s. I took this shot outside Sutton Garage in February 1988, when M1381 (C381 BUV) was assigned to London Buses’ Kingston Bus operating unit. It was nice to see Metrobuses running in service on the 13 June running day as the following pictures show. (27/2/88)
M6 is an early example of a London Transport MCW Metrobus. It is painted in red, although the surrounds of the upper deck window are in white, a brief livery change for new double deckers in the late 1970s. The windscreen has a distinctive dip in it, the right hand pane extending lower than the left hand one.
M6 (WYW 6T) was London Transport’s first production Metrobus. It is seen here in Galsworthy Road, outside Kingston Hospital (13/6/26)
M394 is a alter example of a London Transport Mark 1 MCW Metrobus. It is painted in all over red and carries a large white London Transport Roundel on its side. The windscreen has a distinctive dip in it, the right hand pane extending lower than the left hand one.
M394 (GYE 394W) is pictured outside Kingston Hospital as it heads to Sutton Garage (13/6/26)

 

Leyland Nationals

Let’s start with a photo from my archive…

LS300 is a single deck Leyland National red London Transport bus. It stands in the old bus yard at Kingston Station. A green London Country Leyland Atlantean double decker can be seen in the background. People queue to board the bus.
The 213 may have been the preserve of single-deck vehicles in its early years, but by the 1980s they were a rare sight indeed. However, I did snap LS300 (AYR 300T), a Leyland National, in the old bus yard by Kingston Station in December 1986, when the type made a brief and, even then, only infrequent appearance on the route. So, the inclusion of Leyland Nationals on the running day was historically accurate! (22/12/86)
LS30 is a single deck Leyland National London Transport bus. It carries a red livery, but its roof is white. It is seen on a suburban street with typical 1930s houses behind. It is on route 213 heading to Sutton Garage.
LS30 (KJD 530P) is seen on Clarence Avenue in Coombe (13/6/26)
LS103 is a single deck Leyland National London Transport bus. It carries an all over red livery. It is seen on a suburban street with typical 1930s houses behind. It is on route 213 heading to Sutton Garage.
LS103 (OJD 903R) heads along Clarence Avenue in Coombe as it makes its journey to Sutton Garage (13/6/26)
SNB449 is a single deck Leyland National London Country bus. It carries an apple green livery with a white stripe below the windows. The distinctive "double N" logo of the National Bus Company is visible on the front and side of the bus. It is seen on Kingston's busy one-way traffic system, having just arrived at the Fairfield bus station.
Certainly not a standard 213 vehicle, but green London Country Leyland Nationals were a familiar sight in Kingston and Sutton in the 1980s. SNB449 (YPL 449T) has just arrived at Kingston’s Fairfield Bus Station in this image (13/6/26)
A two-part image. At the top is the London Country branding - white text on a green background next to the National Bus Company's "double N" logo which is red and blue on a white background. in the bottom image, the SNB449 fleet number can be seen in grey/silver on a green background.
London Country, a subsidiary of the National Bus Company, took on the country area services of London Transport in 1970. Here is some of the London Country and NBC standard branding on SNB449 (13/6/26)

 

AEC RF (Regal IV)

RF406 is a red London Transport single deck bus from the 1950s. It has a distinctive rounded and stream-lined shape, making it look very modern at the time.
RF406 (MXX 294) is seen leaving Cheam Village as its heads to Sutton Garage (13/6/26)
RF406 is a red London Transport single deck bus from the 1950s. It has a distinctive rounded and stream-lined shape, making it look very modern at the time.
RF406 (MXX 294) heads up towards the junction of Cheam Road and Sutton Bypass as it makes its return journey to Kingston (13/6/26)
RF600 is a green London Transport Country area single deck bus from the 1950s. It has a distinctive rounded and stream-lined shape, making it look very modern at the time. It is pictured in an urban scene with a roundabout, trees and shops in the background.
RFs were also used in London Transport’s Country area, sporting a green livery. Here is RF600 (NLE 600), pictured in Norbiton at the foot of Kingston Hill (13/6/26)

 

And a varied selection of other vehicles

T792 is an AEC Regal is a single decker with a front engine and traditional half cab. It is painted in the green of London Transport's Country area. It has just left the bus stop at Quarry Park, the lawn and trees of which can be seen in the background.
Just how modern the RFs must have looked when first introduced is surely demonstrated by AEC Regal T792 (HLX 462), which is just a few years older. It is captured by Quarry Park in Cheam (13/6/26)
AEC Regal T448 is a single deck, green coach with a white band surrounding the saloon windows. It is shown parked in an entrance to Sutton Garage, the factory-like gloom of which can be seen behind.
AEC Regal T448 (CXX 171) is seen at Sutton Garage, with FRM1 (see above) making a brief appearance in the background (13/6/26)
AEC Regal T448 is a single deck, green coach with a white band surrounding the saloon windows. It is seen here on a leafy green street, just by Kingston Hospital
AEC Regal T448 (CXX 171) makes its way past Kingston Hospital (13/6/26)
This Leyland Titan wears the late 1980s London Buses livery. The bus is red, with a grey skirt at the bottom and a thing white band above the lower deck windows. The LT roundel features, but the central bar is yellow with the words "London Buses" printed on it.
Leyland Titans were largely confined to East and South East London in their 1980s heyday, and did not feature on the 213 (which was populated by Metrobuses and DMS Fleetlines at the time). Here is T1064 (A64 THX), pictured near the Triangle in Coombe and making a short running to New Malden (13/6/26)
RT2293 is an example of London Transport's classic RT warhorse, which was the backbone of its fleet in the 1950s. It is a half cab, front-engined, rear entrance double decker in red. It carries a side advert for Target Ford, an Enfield dealership.
RT2293 (KGU 322) is an example of a type that could be found on the 213 in the 1960s – LT’s RT warhorse. It was captured on the Cheam Road on its journey to Sutton Garage (13/6/26)
PVL104 wears a blue livery, presumably a legacy of its post-London life (although it does sport a London General logo). It is a modern double decker bus with Plaxton President bodywork.
Go Ahead’s PVL class of Plaxton-bodied Volvos could often be found operating on Sutton Garage routes in the noughties (as the next picture shows). This is PVL104 (W504 WGH), which has just turned on to Kenley Road, near Kingston Hospital (13/6/26)
PVL187 is a modern double decker bus from the early 2000s. It comes from a time when Transport for London permitted more variation in liveries. While substantially red, the lower deck carries grey and yellow skirting. The principal branding is not the London Transport roundel, but rather Go-Ahead's London General operating name.
A representative example of Sutton Garage’s PVL class of Plaxton-bodies Volvo buses. PVL187 (X587 EGK) is seen at North Cheam on route 151. This photo was taken on the occasion of another local running day in August 2008 (10/8/08)
LDP20 is a red single decker bus. It comes from a time when Transport for London permitted more variation in liveries. While substantially red, the lower deck carries grey and yellow skirting. The principal branding is not the London Transport roundel, but rather Go-Ahead's London General operating name. Behind the bus can be seen shopping parades in Cheam Village and the mock-Tudor Harrow pub.
LDP20 (P720 RYL) is a former Go Ahead London General Dennis Dart with Plaxton bodywork from 1986, photographed making the turn at Cheam Village (13/6/26)
The bus is a single-decker in two tone green and cream. Below the windows, the livery is dark green. A cream band surrounds the windows. The roof and area above the windows is a lighter green.
Almost certainly never seen on the 213 before is this vehicle from the Friends of King Alfred Buses – the organisation which honours the beloved former Winchester-based independent operator, King Alfred Motor Services. 104 (WCG 104) is a Weymann-bodied Leyland Tiger Cub from 1959. It is seen in Norbiton at the foot of Kingston Hill (13/6/26)

 

Business as usual

I took the opportunity to record some of the current fleets as and when I saw them.  Here is a selection:

The bus is in Superloop branding, which sees the bottom half of the bus painted red and the upper part painted white. The route taken is clearly indicated along the side of the bus. The side also includes a large Superloop logo, which is a variant of the London Transport roundel. The bus is shown on a tree-lined suburban main road.
WVL334 (LX59 DDL) is an SL7 Superloop-branded vehicles that is coming to the end of its London service life. The bus is a Wrightbus bodied Volvo and it is seen between Cheam and Sutton as it makes its way to West Croydon (13/6/26)
The bus is in Superloop branding, which sees the bottom half of the bus painted red and the upper part painted white. The route taken is clearly indicated along the side of the bus. The side also includes a large Superloop logo, which is a variant of the London Transport roundel. The bus is shown on a suburban street.
A taste of the future for the SL7 – this is EBD168 (LF26 KTU), on diversion along Clarence Avenue, Coombe. It is a brand new BYD BD11 electric vehicle (13/6/26)
The bus is a fairly new red double decker with rather rounded features, giving it a steam-lined appearance. It is seen on an urban street with shops and flats in the background. It is going over a zebra crossing.
Having been home to the unusual Optare-bodied ADL Enviros (DOE class) for 16 years, the bedrock of the Sutton Garage fleet is now these ADL Enviro 400EVs. Ee151 (LG23 FGU) has a digital destination display which my camera shutter speed evidently failed to deal with as only half the destination can be seen. It should say Kingston 213. It was snapped in Norbiton at the foot of Kingston Hill (13/6/26)
DEL6 is a red double-decker. One of its distinguishing features is the rather angled upper deck front window. The bus is on the 151 route to Wallington and is seen on a tree-lined suburban main road.
The last of the DOE class of buses was replaced on the 151 in 2025 with these, the first of Go Ahead’s fast growing DEL fleet of Wrightbus electric Streetdeck vehicles. DEL6 (LV74 TLY) is seen on the Cheam Road heading towards Sutton town centre (13/6/26)
The bus is a red double-decker. One of its distinguishing features is the rather angled upper deck front window which is mirrored (but inverted) on the lower deck windscreen.
Two Wrightbus-bodied buses pass each other on Kingston Hill. Coming towards us is FirstBus VH45169 (LJ16 EVM), a Volvo, while heading away is one of Go Ahead’s new DEL class of electric Streetdecks (13/6/26)
The bus is a red single decker. It is on the K4 to Kingston Hospital. In the background is a large brick-built mansion block of flats.
Seen at Norbiton Church, and snapped from the top deck of FRM1, is Firstbus SDE 20298 (SN18 KRZ), and ADL Enviro 200 (13/6/26)
The bus is a red single decker. It is on the K3 to Esher.
Passing Kingston Hospital on Galsworthy Road is Firstbus ADL Enviro200 DLE 30218 (YX18 KVF). It is seen on the K3 to Esher (13/6/26)

Business as (un)usual

The former X26 rote from Heathrow to West Croydon (a long time ago, the 726 Green Line route) was rebranded as the SL7 upon the introduction of Transport for London’s Superloop network.  However, Go Ahead’s WHV47 (a Volvo chassis with Wright Eclipse Gemini body) was working the SL7 on the day but still showing the X26 route number.

A red double decker bus showing heading to Heathrow Central on the SL7 (although the route display says X26)
Go Ahead’s WHV47 (BP15 OLR) at Kingston Hill on the SL7, no longer the X26! (13/6/26)

Notes

[1] Privatising London’s Buses, Roger Torode, Capital Transport Publishing, 2015

[2] ibid. pages 7-8

[3] ibid. page 18

Leave a comment

Previous Post