 uk s big red bus uk s big red bus barsha mar 28092021 1154 when you think of london what is the first thing that jumps to mind the statue of eros in piccadilly circus london s big red buses are known across the globe as icons of the city seeing the city on a red bus is on many travelers bucket lists they do not even require the words london transport on the side hundreds of millions of people quickly recognize them after a trip to paris in 1829 george shillibeer set out to build a horsedrawn omnibus that he had witnessed while on the trip he also took his service s name from the french omnibus which was rapidly shortened to bus the initial route which cost one shilling ran from paddington station to the bank of england these buses were one of the first to provide a hopon hopoff service which allowed passengers to board and depart considerably more swiftly at stops resulting in fewer delays on the route even though it was hugely popular among the passengers this feature contributed to the bus s cancellation like climbing and exiting a moving bus resulted in about 12 deaths each yea famous london buses are the powerful route masters from the 1950s and 1960s rather than the 1930 s buses that packed the city s streets these were the buses that have been featured in tourist flyers sold a miniature of to millions of tourist and memento seekers the routemaster is a cultural symbol these buses were specifically created for london by experts who knew what the city required and they have fulfilled their mission very well over fifty years things began to go bad when the ministry of transportation decided to only provide financial assistance to those bus firms who purchased new buses with doors london transport discovered that they could not purchase routemasters which they had created anymore rather they were forced to pick from a variety of models since then they ve started purchasing other kinds five hundred reliable and popular vintage buses were completely refurbished in the late twentieth century and reintroduced to the road the routemaster on the other hand could not withstand the prevailing winds buses with a driver and conductor are no longer required for modern transportation systems as a result the old routemasters were retired from service in 2005 even so it is still not too late to take a ride on these vintage buses few old buses were saved and operated in two historical routes through central london which was specifically developed for visitors when you think of london what is the first thing that jumps to mind the statue of eros in piccadilly circus london s big red buses are known across the globe as icons of the city seeing the city on a red bus is on many travelers bucket lists they do not even require the words london transport on the side hundreds of millions of people quickly recognize them after a trip to paris in 1829 george shillibeer set out to build a horsedrawn omnibus that he had witnessed while on the trip he also took his service s name from the french omnibus which was rapidly shortened to bus the initial route which cost one shilling ran from paddington station to the bank of england these buses were one of the first to provide a hopon hopoff service which allowed passengers to board and depart considerably more swiftly at stops resulting in fewer delays on the route even though it was hugely popular among the passengers this feature contributed to the bus s cancellation like climbing and exiting a moving bus resulted in about 12 deaths each yea famous london buses are the powerful route masters from the 1950s and 1960s rather than the 1930 s buses that packed the city s streets these were the buses that have been featured in tourist flyers sold a miniature of to millions of tourist and memento seekers the routemaster is a cultural symbol these buses were specifically created for london by experts who knew what the city required and they have fulfilled their mission very well over fifty years things began to go bad when the ministry of transportation decided to only provide financial assistance to those bus firms who purchased new buses with doors london transport discovered that they could not purchase routemasters which they had created anymore rather they were forced to pick from a variety of models since then they ve started purchasing other kinds five hundred reliable and popular vintage buses were completely refurbished in the late twentieth century and reintroduced to the road the routemaster on the other hand could not withstand the prevailing winds buses with a driver and conductor are no longer required for modern transportation systems as a result the old routemasters were retired from service in 2005 even so it is still not too late to take a ride on these vintage buses few old buses were saved and operated in two historical routes through central london which was specifically developed for visitors  