List of Bus Routes in London - Classification of Route Numbers

Classification of Route Numbers

In Victorian times, passengers could only recognise the buses of different fleets and routes by the coaches' distinctive livery colours and line name, with painted signs on the sides showing the two termini to indicate the route. Then, in 1906, George Samuel Dicks of the London Motor Omnibus Company decided that, as the line name 'Vanguard' had proved to be very popular, he would name all lines 'Vanguard' and number the company's five different routes 1 through to 5. Other operators soon saw the advantage, in that a unique route number was easier for the travelling public to remember, and so the practice of using route numbers soon spread.