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Why do London buses have white roofs?

Ten years ago, the Transport for London introduced a programme for the installation of white panels atop the capital's trademark red buses in the framework of further climate-adaptation plans. More specifically, white panels reflect the rays of the summer sun, thus keeping the vehicles cooler.



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Why do London buses have numbers on the roof? So that they can be easily identified by overhead traffic monitoring cameras, and from drones and helicopters.

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The reason behind their colour dates to the early 1900s, when the transport system was operated by different rival companies. London General Omnibus Company (or L.G.O.C.) owned most of the buses and in 1907 painted its entire fleet red to stand out from competitors.

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You've probably seen double-decker, sightseeing buses navigating San Francisco's hills. They were first popularized in Great Britain, prized for their large seating capacity.

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You also need to tap out if you are travelling on the national railway network if you are travelling on your Oystercard. You do not need to tap out on London buses or trams, as it is a fixed fare. If you try, the system will either just ignore it (The correct response) or charge you another fare.

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But long distance buses are called coaches. In England and the rest of the UK and most, if not all of the english speaking world they are called - buses, which is short for - omnibus. The other word that is usefull if you wish to travel by bus is - bus stop, at these you may get on or off a bus.

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You do not need to tap out on London buses or trams, as it is a fixed fare. If you try, the system will either just ignore it (The correct response) or charge you another fare.

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'The idea is that the prefix letter should designate the place around which the routes cluster – P for Peckham in the case of routes P4, P5, and P13; E for Ealing in the case of E1 to E11, for instance. The C in C2 stands for Central. The prefix 'N', however, denotes a night bus.

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Why don't city buses in most UK cities have rear doors? Because almost all buses now in use are single manned - you have to pay your fare to the driver and s/he has to sit at the front for obvious reasons! Rear doors are simply not practical with driver-only operation.

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The iconic bright red double-decker bus is part of London's “persona”, an instantly recognisable part of London life, however it would come as a surprise to many to know that on the outskirts of the capital, buses were once painted Lincoln Green.

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Red has been the colour of London buses ever since, becoming famous around the world.

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Route 18, running between Sudbury and Euston bus station is the busiest bus route. The service carried over 16.6 million passengers in 2018/19. The next busiest routes (over 10 million) are: 25, 29, 140, 149, 243, 207, 86, 36, 38, 5, 279, 53, 109, 141 and 43.

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TfL attributes these missed targets to, in the first case, mainly “longer waiting times and lower reliability levels as a result of reduced staff availability at bus operators, mechanical issues and traffic congestion” and, in the second, to “higher lost bus mileage due to staff and mechanical issues” and to “the ...

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Pay as you go at adult rate on buses and trams and our Hopper fare gives you unlimited journeys for £1.75, made within one hour of touching in. Hopper fare also applies to discounted rate travel. Touch in using the same card or device on all journeys and you get our Hopper fare automatically.

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Door closing warning beeps are a safety feature incorporated into most buses to make passengers aware that the doors are about to close. Until recently no TfL standards existed with regards to the maximum permitted sound level of these warning beepers.

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Route 24 dates back to 1910, when it ran between Hampstead Heath and Victoria station. In August 1912 it was extended to Pimlico and has continued in that form until the present day, making this the oldest unchanged bus route in London.

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From Sunday 6 July passengers boarding buses need to be in possession of a prepaid or concessionary ticket, Oyster or contactless payment card.

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