George Shillibeer begins operating the first bus…
July 1829 CE
Shillibeer, while working for the coach company Hatchetts in Long Acre, the coach-building district of the capital, had been offered work in Paris, France, where he was commissioned to build some unusually large horse-drawn coaches capable of transporting a whole group of people, perhaps two dozen, at a time.
Shillibeer's design worked, and was very stable; it was introduced into the streets of Paris in 1827.
Shortly afterwards, Shillibeer was commissioned to build another by the Newington Academy for Girls, a Quaker school in Stoke Newington near London; this had a total of twenty-five seats, and entered history as the first school bus.
While in Paris, Shillibeer concluded that operating similar vehicles in London, but for the fare-paying public with multiple stops, would be a paying enterprise, so he returned to his native city.
His first London "Omnibus" takes up service on the route between Paddington (The Yorkshire Stingo) and "Bank" (Bank of England) via the "New Road" (now Marylebone Rd), Somers Town and City Road.
Four services are provided in each direction daily.
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