London General Omnibus Company
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The London General Omnibus Company or LGOC, was the principal
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
operator in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
between 1855 and 1933. It was also, for a short period between 1909 and 1912, a motor bus manufacturer.


Overview

The London General Omnibus Company was founded in 1855 to amalgamate and regulate the many independent horse-drawn omnibus services then operating in London. Originally an
Anglo-French Anglo-French (or sometimes Franco-British) may refer to: *France–United Kingdom relations *Anglo-Norman language or its decendants, varieties of French used in medieval England *Anglo-Français and Français (hound), an ancient type of hunting d ...
enterprise, also known as the Compagnie Generale des Omnibus de Londres, the LGOC soon became the largest omnibus operator in London. It bought out hundreds of independently owned buses and established a consistent level of service for its fleet. Within a year, the LGOC controlled 600 of London's 810 omnibuses. Under its chairman Sir John Pound, in 1902 it looked at an option to purchase a competitor, the
Star Omnibus Company The Star Omnibus Company and its predecessor the Andrews Star Omnibus Company, was a bus operator in London between 1892 and 1908. Overview Solomon Andrews (business man), Solomon Andrews entered into agreement with the London General Omnibus ...
, but it was unable to complete negotiations. LGOC began using motor omnibuses in 1902, and the last LGOC horse-drawn bus ran on 25 October 1911. In 1908 the LGOC bought the Road Car Company, the Vanguard Company, and its other main rivals, thereby gaining a virtual monopoly in London. The merger of these three companies (the Road Car Company was also known as ''Union Jack'' owing to its habit of flying the British flag on its vehicles) gave the new and enlarged LGOC the most experienced operating and engineering personnel of any operator - and perhaps manufacturer - in the country at the time. The LGOC absorbed the Great Eastern London Motor Omnibus Company (previously known as London Motor Omnibus Company) in March 1911. In 1912, the Underground Group, which owned most of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
, bought the LGOC. This followed the start of negotiations between the two companies in 1910 that finally led to the publication of an official statement regarding the proposed terms of the merger on 19 January 1912.Croome & Jackson, Rails through the Clay, London, 1962, p149 By early February 1912 the majority of shareholders in the LGOC had accepted the terms.op cit, p149 This in time allowed increasing co-ordination between LGOC bus and tube services, with integrated fares, such as was seen with the opening of the bus station adjacent to Hammersmith station in April 1914. In 1933, the LGOC, along with the rest of the Underground Group, became part of the new
London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...
. The name London General fell into disuse, and London Transport instead became synonymous with the red
London bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London b ...
.


Manufacturing

LGOC began producing motor omnibuses for its own use in 1909 at works established in premises inherited from Vanguard at Blackhorse Lane,
Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The first model built was the
LGOC X-type The LGOC X-type is an early model of London double-decker bus. History The X-type was the first bus built by London General Omnibus Co. Ltd (LGOC). The manufacturing part of LGOC became AEC in June 1912. In 1908 LGOC merged with its two ma ...
, which was designed by Frank Searle, LGOC's chief engineer. The X-type was followed by the
LGOC B-type The LGOC B-type is a model of double-decker bus that was introduced in London in 1910. It was both built and operated by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC). Design and pre-war service B-type buses were built in Walthamstow and replaced ...
, from the same designer.Thackray, Brian (2004). ''AEC Vehicles: Origins to 1929''. Venture Publications Ltd. After the Underground Group's acquisition of the LGOC in 1912, the bus manufacturing elements of the LGOC were split out to create the
Associated Equipment Company Associated Equipment Company (AEC) was a British vehicle manufacturer that built buses, motorcoaches and trucks from 1912 until 1979. The name Associated Equipment Company was hardly ever used; instead it traded under the AEC and ACLO brands. ...
(AEC).


Rebirth of the name

In the
privatisation of London bus services The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of buses in London from public bodies to private companies. For half a century, operation of London bus services for public transport was under the direct co ...
in the 1990s, London Transport created a series of shadow bus operating companies with names of geographic or historic significance, and one of these was christened
London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...
in honour of the LGOC. The new London General was initially privatised by
management buy-out A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
, and acquired by the
Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...
in 1996.


Popular culture

“Did you see that bus parked outside the theatre as you came in? It had ‘Private’ on the front. Looked very lonely, it did. I can remember when it was a General!” -
Michael Flanders Michael Henry Flanders (1 March 1922 – 14 April 1975) was an English actor, broadcaster, and writer and performer of comic songs. He is best known for his stage partnership with Donald Swann. As a young man Flanders seemed to be heading f ...
, "A Transport of Delight," ''At The Drop Of A Hat'', 1957 The London General Omnibus Company was featured in the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
of the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
, played by actor
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...
, was depicted arriving in a green horse-drawn London General Omnibus Company Limited bus at the start of the ceremony. In the video game ''
Assassin's Creed Syndicate ''Assassin's Creed Syndicate'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft. It was released on October 23, 2015, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on November 19, 2015, for Microsoft Windows. It is th ...
'' published by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
in 2015, assassins come to the aid of Edward Hodson Bayley and company, who was said to be responsible for the founding of the united London General Omnibus Company in the storyline campaign, supplying omnibuses for the city.


Gallery

Image:B43OleBillatIWMLondon.jpg,
LGOC B-type The LGOC B-type is a model of double-decker bus that was introduced in London in 1910. It was both built and operated by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC). Design and pre-war service B-type buses were built in Walthamstow and replaced ...


See also

*
Buses in London Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London b ...


References


External links

{{Authority control Bus transport in London Defunct bus manufacturers of the United Kingdom 1855 establishments in England Former London bus operators