Thehistory of public transport authorities in London details the various organisations that have been responsible for thepublic transport network in and aroundLondon, England - includingbuses,coaches,trams,trolleybuses,Docklands Light Railway, and theLondon Underground.
From 1933 until 2000, these bodies used theLondon Transport brand. The period began with the creation of theLondon Passenger Transport Board, which covered theCounty of London and adjacent counties within a 30-mile (48-km) radius. This area later came under the control of theLondon Transport Executive and then theLondon Transport Board. The area of responsibility was reduced to that of theGreater London administrative area in 1970 when theGreater London Council, and thenLondon Regional Transport took over responsibility.
Since 2000, theGreater London Authority has been the transport authority and the executive agency has been calledTransport for London; ending the 67-year use of theLondon Transport name.
Prior to 1933, the ownership and management of the transport system in London was distributed among a large number of independent and separate organisations. TheUnderground railway system had been developed and was owned by theUnderground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) and theMetropolitan Railway.Tram andTrolleybus networks were owned by various local authorities and public companies and buses were owned by numerous companies. Many of these services were in competition with one another leading to wasteful duplication. TheLondon County Council managed tram operations within theCounty of London, but its responsibility did not extend to the bus or tram routes that ran outside its area; or to the railways, which also extended into neighbouring counties. ARoyal Commission on London Government in the 1920s did not permit the London County Council to extend its area of responsibility and an ad hocLondon Traffic Area was created to regulate motor traffic in the wider London region. In the 1930s another ad hoc solution was sought to improve the control and coordination of public transport.
The London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) was the transport authority from 1 July 1933 to 31 December 1947.[1] It unified services in the London area for the first time. TheLondon Passenger Transport Act 1933 removed responsibility for 167.17 miles (269.03 km) of tram route from theLondon County Council, threecounty boroughs and a number of other local authorities in the Greater London area. It brought the UERL lines under the same control, and took over supervision of buses from theMetropolitan Police. The area of responsibility of the LPTB was far greater than the currentGreater London boundaries and was known as the London Passenger Transport Area. The period saw massive expansion of the tube network and was directly responsible for the expansion of the suburbs. The extensiveNew Works Programme was halted byWorld War II, with some projects abandoned and others completed after the end of hostilities. The 'roundel symbol' designed in 1918 was adopted by London Passenger Transport Board and theLondon Transport brand and architectural style was perfected during this period.[2] The iconictube map designed in 1931, was published in 1933.[2]
The London Transport Executive (LTE) was the transport authority from 1 January 1948 to 31 December 1962.[3] London Transport was taken into public ownership and became part of theBritish Transport Commission, which brought London Transport andBritish Railways under the same control for the first and last time. The period saw the start of direct recruitment from the Caribbean and the repair and replacement of stock and stations damaged during the war as well as completion of delayed projects such as theCentral line eastern extension. TheAEC Routemaster bus was introduced in 1956.Trams were withdrawn in 1952 andtrolleybuses in 1962.
The London Transport Board was the transport authority from 1 January 1963 to 31 December 1969[4] It reported directly to theMinister of Transport, ending its direct association with the management of British Railways. During this period many of Britain's unprofitable railways were closed down, as most routes in the capital were widely used theBeeching Axe had little effect. However, during this period there was little investment in public transport and the motor car increased in popularity. During this period, the Victoria line was opened - although work had started in the early 1960s - and theAEC Merlin single-deck bus was introduced.
The Greater London Council was the transport authority from 1 January 1970 to 28 June 1984 and the executive agency was called the London Transport Executive.[5] The legislation creating theGreater London Council (GLC) was already passed in 1963 when the London Transport Board was created. However, control did not pass to the new authority until 1 January 1970. The GLC broadly controlled only those services within the boundaries ofGreater London. The (green painted) country buses andGreen Line Coaches had been passed in 1969 to a new company,London Country Bus Services, which in 1970 became part of theNational Bus Company. The period is perhaps the most controversial in London's transport history and there was a severe lack of funding from central government and staff shortages.
The inter-modal zonal ticketing system currently used byTransport for London originated in this period. Following theGreater London Council election in 1981, the incoming Labour administration simplified fares in Greater London by introducing four new bus fare zones and two central London Underground zones, namedCity andWest End, where flat fares applied for the first time.[6] This was accompanied by a cut in prices of about a third and was marketed as theFares Fair campaign.[7][8] Following successful legal action against it, on 21 March 1982[9] London Buses fares were subsequently doubled and London Underground fares increased by 91%.[7] The two central area zones were retained and the fares to all other stations were restructured to be graduated at three-mile intervals.[6] In 1983, a third revision of fares was undertaken, and a new inter-modalTravelcard season ticket was launched covering five new numbered zones; representing an overall cut in prices of around 25%.[7] TheOne Day Travelcard was launched in 1984 and on weekdays was only sold for travel after 09.30.[6]
London Regional Transport was the transport authority from 29 June 1984 to 2 July 2000.[10] The GLC was abolished in 1986 with responsibility for public transport removed two years earlier in 1984. The new authority, London Regional Transport (LRT), again came under direct state control, reporting to theSecretary of State for Transport. The London Regional Transport Act contained provision for setting up subsidiary companies to run the Underground and bus services and in 1985 London Underground Limited (LUL), a wholly owned subsidiary of London Regional Transport, was set up to manage the tube network. In 1988 ten individual line business units were created to manage the network. London Buses Limited was constituted to progress theprivatisation of London bus services. London Transport was converted to a route operating contract tendering authority, and the former bus operating interests and assets of London Transport were split into 12 business units under the bannerLondon Buses. The 12 units competed for contracts with private operators from 1984, and were all sold off by 1994/5 becoming private operators themselves.
Further amendments to the fare system were made during this period, including inclusion of the separately managed British Rail services. In January 1985 theCapitalcard season ticket was launched, offering validity on British Rail as well as London Underground and London Buses. It was priced around 10-15% higher than the Travelcard.[6] In June 1986 theOne Day Capitalcard was launched.[6] The Capitalcard brand ended in January 1989 when the Travelcard gained validity on British Rail. In January 1991Zone 5 was split to create a newZone 6.[6] TheDocklands Light Railway was opened on 31 August 1987 and was included in the zonal Travelcard ticketing scheme.
TheGreater London Authority, a replacement authority for the GLC, was set up in 2000 with a transport executive calledTransport for London (TfL) that took control from 3 July 2000.[11] It is the first London transport authority since 1933 not to be commonly calledLondon Transport. Unlike previous transport bodies, TfL gained responsibility for a wide variety of other transportation functions - including management of major roads in London, walking & cycling as well as taxi and private hire licensing. The London Underground did not pass to TfL until after aPrivate Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement for maintenance was completed in 2003. In 2017, TfL became the longest running transportation body in London - following London Regional Transport.
