Bus transport in the United Kingdom
Passengers board at the front door, and unless fares are automated, they should tell the driver their destination or which ticket is required.
Cash is accepted on buses outside Greater London, but urban bus services often do not provide change, and the exact fare should be tendered if possible.
Long distance rural bus services often provide change due to having more fare stages.
Historically, full size single and double-decker buses formed the mainstay of the UK bus fleet.
The United Kingdom is unique in the western world as bus companies are generally free to choose whatever vehicle meets their needs from the supplier of their choice, rather than by public sector procurement.
Since the mid-1990s, all bus types must comply with Easy Access regulations, with the most notable change being the introduction of low-floor technology.
[5] In 1829 George Shillibeer started the first omnibus service in London, re-using a carriage design he developed in Paris.
[6] At the Great Exhibition of 1851 which was originally situated in Hyde Park, omnibuses were overwhelmed by demand to the point that a carriage collapsed under the weight of extra passengers.
[8] There were experiments with steam buses in the 1830s,[9] but the Locomotive Act 1861[10] virtually eliminated mechanically propelled road transport from Britain until the law was changed in 1896.
[16] The effect of restricted streets, enabled by this Act was protectionism for incumbent bus companies as it gave certainty to investors and creditors that any bought-out competitor would not be immediately replaced by new market entrants and therefore the sector could be consolidated into a local monopoly, competing (duplicate) services could be rationalised to cut costs and on-street competition avoided.
Independent bus companies managed to raise a petition with almost a million signatures in 1926 to repeal the Act but this was unsuccessful.
The Board did not receive government subsidy except under the New Works Programme and decision-making did not involve the London County Council.
[20] Some large overseas groups have also entered the UK bus market, such as Transit Systems, who purchased First's London operations, under the Tower Transit name,[21] and ComfortDelGro, who own Metroline, and recently purchased New Adventure Travel Almost all buses were not accessible to wheelchair users until the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 forced bus companies to acquire low-floor accessible buses.
This followed an extensive campaign of direct action by disabled people's groups - often blocking or chaining themselves to inaccessible buses.
[22] Low-floor accessible buses were gradually phased in with a negligible number of non-accessible vehicles running in 2017-18.
Scotland provided funding direct to bus operators through its equivalent scheme, Covid Support Grant.
[28] As was the case in many other countries, many bus drivers contracted coronavirus with higher death rates than the general population.
Travel patterns have been altered, with the decline in city-centre working in many areas,[30] which significantly impacts on bus companies' income.
Governments have intervened to support bus services in a variety of ways, including a £2 cap on single fares in England which was launched on 1 January 2023.
[32] The UK Government and devolved administrations have worked to transition buses away from diesel to hydrogen fuel cell or battery-electric powertrains.
[34] London [35] and Northern Ireland[36] have acquired zero emission buses directly due to these markets being regulated in their respective areas.
[42] Bus transport elsewhere in the country must meet the requirements of the local Traffic Commissioner, and run to their registered service.
The Act also included measures allowing the registration of variable route services, as demand responsive transport.
It is disputed whether bus transport is intensively subsidised or not; concessionary travel reimbursement accounts for around 45 per cent of operator revenue,[47] especially in London.
BSOG and local authority supported services (awarded after competitive open tendering) account for a far smaller fraction of operators' income.
[18] The UK bus network has shrunk by 8% over the past decade due to government subsidy cuts and a reduction in commercial operations in the north of England.
[54] Interest in preservation of historical buses is maintained in the UK by various museums and heritage/preservation groups, ranging from attempts to restore a single bus, to whole collections.
With the fleet replacement of the major groups, it is not uncommon for many preserved buses to still have contemporary models still in service.
Current British bus manufacturers include Alexander Dennis, Plaxton, Switch (Formerly Optare) and Wrightbus.
During nationalisation, two UK manufacturers fell under government ownership, Bristol Commercial Vehicles and Eastern Coach Works.
