Hansom cabs and horse-drawn omnibuses

Commuting into the City from the suburbs started to become widespread with the introduction of omnibuses. George Shillibeer was working at a coachworks in Long Acre when he was commissioned to build a large horse-drawn carriage in Paris designed to carry a group of people. That led to an order from the Newington Academy for Girls, a Quaker school in Stoke Newington, to build a carriage for a group of children, the world’s first school bus. While in Paris Shillibeer had conceived the idea of operating a commercial service in London along a regular route, allowing for passengers to board or alight along the way. He began with two ‘omnibuses’ carrying 16 or 18 passengers in July 1829, each pulled by three horses. It ran from Paddington Green to Bank, via the New Road (Marylebone/Euston Road) and City Road.

Other omnibus services began and competition became intense. Several different operators often ran on the same route in conjunction with each other. A mutual association known as the ‘Times’ scheduled the service. It employed the conductors to collect fares, which were then pooled and divided amongst the operators. The association also protected its members against any interlopers on the route. By the end of the 1830s every London suburb was connected by omnibuses. In 1855 there were 810 omnibuses, operated by several companies, each distinguished by its company’s colours and advertising placards, carrying up to 200,000 passengers daily. Two years later, buses operated on 96 routes. The buses of each company were painted in different colours, making it easy to distinguish between them, the company name on the side of each vehicle. Some ‘pirate’ operators ran omnibuses painted in the same colours as the major companies but without a name on the side.

The initial fares of between three pence and one shilling limited use to the middle classes and the first routes primarily ran from the more affluent suburbs in the west to their offices in the City. Some companies employed office boys to reserve a seat for the journey home, with the manager taking over the seat just before departure. In time, with competition between competing companies, fares became lower. An Act of Parliament of 1843 made it obligatory to display a table of fares on the bus.

The first omnibuses were pulled by three horses and with passengers only on the inside. The floor was covered with straw, probably to provide warmth to the feet in cold weather as well as taking the mud off dirty boots. Later buses were drawn by two horses and with additional passengers on an open top deck, sitting back to back on a bench running along the middle of the roof. Passengers climbed to the top deck on metal rungs, which was particularly tricky on a moving vehicle, and especially so for women in large crinoline dresses. A conductor stood on a foothold at the back, collecting fares and indicating to the driver when to stop. Horses had to be exchanged to give them a rest and on many routes the change-over took place mid-journey, delaying passengers.

There were initially no bus stops, with the vehicle stopping whenever a potential passenger was spotted, usually in the middle of the road and obstructing other traffic. On some routes there were express buses, running at fixed times and with regular customers and therefore no need to stop to collect other passengers en-route.

Paris was somewhat more advanced with public transport than London. The Compagnie General des Omnibus de Londres was founded by French businessmen in 1855 to operate buses in London, with the business registered in Paris. Three existing London operators were purchased: Favourite of Highbury, with 50 buses and 500 horses; the Brompton & Fulham, with 40 buses; and the Chelsea & Bethnal Green, with 37 buses. The former owners became directors of the new business. The CGdO quickly established itself, particularly north of the Thames and by the end of 1856 had 450 buses running daily and nearly 6,000 horses. The company made significant improvements to London’s omnibuses, including fixed fares, ‘correspondence tickets’ giving the ability to transfer from one route to another, and conductor and driver uniforms. The height and width of buses were increased, handles added to make it easier to climb to the top deck, and straw replaced with strips of wood. After four years the company’s name was anglicized to the London General Omnibus Company.

Services south of the river were dominated by Thomas Tilling. He began with one bus in 1850 that operated a route from Peckham to Oxford Street and six years later owned 70 horses pulling buses and general haulage wagons. At the end of the 19^th century there were 131 omnibus routes in and around London, covering a distance of 242 miles within the County of London.