About Go-Ahead London

Go-Ahead London is the capital’s largest bus company – running more than 2300 buses, employing over 8000 people and providing 26% of all London bus services. We have 17 garages across London and also have our own Commercial department.

Go-Ahead London is at the forefront of innovation, consistently adapting to meet the evolving needs of London’s commuters. With our fleet of modern electric vehicles and a team of dedicated professionals, we strive to make every journey safe, comfortable, and convenient for our passengers.

As the country’s most experienced, and largest, Zero Emission (ZE) bus company, we are working with Transport for London (TfL) and supply chain partners to decarbonise our vehicles and premises.

We manage routes within the capital on behalf of Transport for London. As an operator, we are responsible for our own vehicles and garages. We work closely with TfL on which routes our buses are assigned to, though routes and service frequency are set by TfL, while the Mayor of London is responsible for setting fares.

We are part of The Go-Ahead Group, which is an international transport group and one of the UK’s leading public transport providers. We place great importance on partnership and adopting a collaborative approach with governments, local communities and strategic partners. We develop and operate services that create long term value for all of us. Please visit here to find out more about The Go-Ahead Group: Overview | The Go-Ahead Group

History:

London Central and London General bus companies were formed in 1989 in preparation for the privatisation of London Buses Limited.

Interestingly, both companies’ origins can be traced back to one of the original pioneers of bus operations in the capital, the London General Omnibus Company Limited (LGOC). LGOC, or “General” as it was known, operated services throughout the capital and was absorbed into the new London Transport Executive in 1933. London Transport, famous for the red London bus, was split in 1985, becoming London Buses Ltd and London Underground Ltd.

Upon privatisation in 1994, London Central was purchased by the The Go‑Ahead Group, based in Newcastle, which itself was formed on the privatisation of Northern General Transport Ltd, previously part of the National Bus Company.  London General joined The Go-Ahead Group in 1996.

More recently, in 2022, The Go-Ahead Group was acquired by Kinetic and Globalvia.