AEC Regent III - Regent III in London

Regent III in London

London Transport acquired 76 AEC Regent III buses with Weymann lowbridge bodywork. They were numbered as the RLH-class (Regent Low Height) and were used by London Transport from 1950 until 1971.

The first twenty RLHs were built in 1950 and were almost identical to ten vehicles sold to Midland General. In 1952 a further batch of 56 buses was purchased which had minor differences. The fleet operated from various garages around both the Central area (painted red) and the Country area (painted green) of London Transport, usually where a low railway bridge over the road would otherwise cause a problem.

Many RLHs were sold for further use after London Transport. Due to their lower height of 13 feet 6 inches (around a foot lower than normal double-decker buses), a large proportion found their way to other countries especially in Europe and the USA where maximum vehicle height restrictions allowed them to operate.