London Electrobus Company

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

London Electrobus Company
Founded	April 1906
Headquarters	1 Earl Street, Westminster
Service area	London
Service type	Bus services

The London Electrobus Company, was a bus operator that ran a fleet of electric buses in London.^[1] The electrobus was the first practical battery-electric bus and a forerunner of the electric buses that are experiencing a major resurgence in the 21st century.^[2]

The company, which was first registered in April 1906, started running a service of electrobuses between London's Victoria Station and Liverpool Street on 15 July 1907.^[3] The clean and quiet electrobuses were popular with the travelling public.^[4] The company introduced a number of innovations and it was the first double-decker bus operator to experiment with a roof on the upper deck.^[5] At the peak of its success in late 1908 the company had 20 or so buses in operation^[6]^[7] and it started to run a second bus route from Victoria to Kilburn.^{[citation needed]}

However, the London Electrobus Company was beset by financial chicanery throughout its short existence.^[5] By 3 January 1910 the electrobus service had ceased and the company went into liquidation amid accusations of fraud.^[8] Eight of the electrobuses were sold to the Brighton, Hove and Preston United company.^[9] The rest of the London electrobuses were broken up for spares. The Brighton bus company was taken over by Thomas Tilling in 1916^[10] and the last electrobus in Brighton ran in April 1917. Tilling said that a lack of spare parts had forced it to stop running electrobuses.^[8]

References[edit]

^ "London Electrobus Co - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
^ "All Aboard". New Scientist: 35–37. 9 September 2017.
^ "What is this that roareth thus". The Economist Technology Quarterly: 9. 8 September 2007.
^ Google Books - New Scientist, 17 July 1986
^ ^a ^b The Fraud that Killed Off London’s First Electric Buses - Ian Mansfield, 9 January 2014
^ Georgano, Nick (1996). Electric Vehicles. Shire Publications. pp. 20–21. ISBN 9780747803164.
^ "Our Fortnightly Census". Commercial Motor: 336. 31 December 1908.
^ ^a ^b Hamer, Mick (2017). A Most Deliberate Swindle. London: RedDoor. pp. 171, 197. ISBN 9781910453421.
^ Kaye, David (1976). British Battery Electric Buses. The Oakwood Press. p. 8.
^ "Brighton and Hove Buses company history".

External links[edit]

Model of Electrobus LN 714 at Brighton Toy and Model Museum

Former bus companies of the United Kingdom

National

England

v t e Former bus companies operating in England
North West England	Avon Buses Birkenhead Transport Blackburn Transport Blue Bus & Coach Services Bluebird Bus & Coach Bu-Val Buses ChesterBus Citibus Tours Crosville Motor Services Finglands Coachways First Chester & The Wirral GHA Coaches Glenvale Transport GM Buses Halton Transport Jim Stones Coaches John Fishwick & Sons JPT Lancashire United Transport Manchester Community Transport Maynes Bus Maytree Travel Merseybus MTL North Western Road Car Company (1923) North Western Road Car Company (1986) Pennine Blue Red & White Services Ribble Motor Services Shearings Speedwellbus Transdev Northern Blue UK North Yelloway Motor Services
North East England	Black Prince Buses BrightBus Busways Travel Services Cleveland Transit Durham Travel Services Jolly Bus Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company Northern General Transport Company OK Motor Services Samuel Ledgard Scarlet Band South Yorkshire Transport Tates Travel United Automobile Services Venture Transport West Riding Automobile Company West Yorkshire Road Car Company Yorkshire Rider Yorkshire Terrier Yorkshire Traction
Midlands	Barton Transport Birmingham City Transport Birmingham Motor Traction Central Buses Chase Coaches First Northampton Glossopdale Bus Company Go West Midlands Ludlows North Birmingham Busways People's Express Premiere Travel Probus Management South Notts Bus Company Stevensons of Uttoxeter Travel de Courcey Travel Merry Hill Travel Your Bus Yourbus Zak's Buses
East of England	Eastern National Omnibus Company MK Metro
South West England	Abus Alexcars Badgerline Bristol Omnibus Company Crosville Motor Services Devon General Greyhound Motors Great Western Railway Hants & Dorset Nippy Bus Shamrock Buses Silver Star Motor Services South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach Southern National Sureline Trathens Travel Services WebberBus Wessex Bus Western Greyhound Western National Yellow Buses
South East England	Alder Valley Aldershot & District Traction Badger Vectis Boro'line Maidstone Cavendish Motor Services City Clipper Countryliner Eastbourne Buses East Kent Road Car Company Epsom Coaches Fleet Buzz Invictaway Kent Top Travel Maidstone & District Motor Services Maidstone Corporation Transport Marchwood Motorways Moss Motor Tours New Enterprise Coaches Portsmouth Corporation Transport Shamrock Buses Southampton Citybus Southdown Motor Services Southdown Buses Thames Transit Thames Valley Traction Tillingbourne Bus Company Velvet Yellow Bus Services
Greater London	Abellio Surrey Bexleybus Birch Brothers Boro'line London Capital Citybus Capital Logistics Connex East Thames Buses First London Grey-Green Harris Bus Limebourne London Buslines London Country Bus Services London Country North East London Country North West London Country South East London Country South West London Easylink London Electrobus Company London Forest London Pride Sightseeing London Traveller MTL NSL Buses Quality Line Thorpes Tower Transit Travel London Travel Surrey Westlink

Scotland

v t e Former bus companies operating in Scotland
Scottish Bus Group	Central Scottish Clydeside Scottish Eastern Scottish Fife Scottish Highland Scottish Kelvin Central Buses Kelvin Scottish Lowland Scottish Midland Scottish Northern Scottish Strathtay Scottish Western Scottish
Other operators	Arriva Scotland West A1 Service Dart Buses First Scotland East First Stop Travel Gibson's of Moffat McKindless Munro's of Jedburgh Oban and District Rapsons Scottish Motor Traction Strathclyde Buses Western SMT

Wales

v t e Former bus companies operating in Wales
Companies	Crosville Motor Services Express Motors GHA Coaches Islwyn Borough Transport National Welsh Omnibus Services Padarn Bus Red & White Services Rhondda Transport Company South Wales Transport Western Welsh
Buses Wales