I’m no expert on London’s buses. I do, however, live near enough to travel up for work or pleasure. I’ve watched from the pavement and atop double decks the many changes here, from green buses to London Country; single decks; the conversion of crewed routes; privatisation & franchising; artics; and more.
Changes in livery have been small. Grey skirts emerged in the late 1980s. At the same time, London began tendering its bus services and newcomers thereon were able to blossom in non-red liveries. Interestingly, this included what I determine to be London’s earliest bus route, the 24, operated at one time by Grey Green.
TfL and its predecessor realised that it was beneficial to paint all its franchised buses back into the familiar. A decade after the introduction of colour came a return to red. This time, operators had to offer at least 80 per cent of their livery in red. The requirement, these day, is a return to 100 per cent red. Stark it may look but it’s uniform.
Occasionally, you see a throwback or two. Metroline has a deep blue skirt on some vehicles. Whether this sits comfortably with red is a matter of debate. Transdev still has vehicles with an attractive white roof (plus grey skirt). White sets its vehicles apart. This reminds me of two things: the sell off variations adopted post-1994; and the sort of conservative provincial liveries we all recall from the 1970s and early 1980s. Things have gone more wacky & adventurous in provincial England and it seems strange to see this traditional and conventional style today.
Sunday, 28 November 2010
London Style
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11 comments:
London United's old livery is a Best Impressions effort from the early 90s, so it's getting on a bit. IMO it looks rather dated these days and a worn example can look scruffier than worn all-over red.
At least there's less areas of red on this. Red fades badly.
... return to 100 per cent red. Stark it may look but it’s uniform But that uniform livery, the instantly recognisable iconic red London bus, is surely of key importance in marketing and operating a network. With the standard ticketing arrangements it matters not to the passenger (especially the visitor) which company owns and operates the bus. To the user the journey and the destination are the matters of interest.
What perplexes me is why there are no roundels on the side. TfL is very keen on image and uses roundels on everything connected with travel. But not on buses. I understood it in the early days of 80% red but not in today all over red. Seems barmy and a missed opportunity to me.
"What perplexes me is why there are no roundels on the side."
Maybe not for much longer......
Re the roundel. That little sticker present on all London buses at the front nearside bottom corner, what does the red half contain?
All London buses DO carry the roundel. It may be a small one, but it is there and provides that bit of assurance that the bus you're about to get on is a TfL one. Job done, kind of...
London - the only city so ashamed of itself and so frightened of its own potential that it refuses to adopt a uniform identity.
Why are people so obsessed with uniformity? A basically red livery with the roundel restored to its usual place plus a little other colour to break the monotony would be welcome.Its the old public school thing is it not?
I am in agreement with Countrybus.
The concept of uniformity is important to identify an organisation as a whole. Services in many European cities are franchised or contracted out but the vehicles wear a common corporate livery with only a small reference to the operating company. It is TfL that provide (in the broadest sense)the services and so it seems logical to me that they are seen as the provider, both in terms of uniform livery and use of the roundel.
With the establishment of the LPTB Pick and others spent much time and energy producing an effective corporate image. For the buses this was particularly important following a decade of considerable 'pirate' activity. The use of different liveries, even under the current rules,does not sit comfortably alongside the image used by TfL for rail-based services.
Ah, so now we know Mr Busing works in London?
Another good thing about London Buses is that all-over vinyls are (almost) prohibited.
As visitors are significant (compared to elsewhere in the UK) users of buses in London, this means they get clear views of the sights!
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