Adapted from a feature that first appeared in August 2025 on Londonist: Time Machine, our much-praised history newsletter. To be the first to read new history features like this, sign up for free here.
A cartoon from 1831 lampooning bus travel. Image on display at London Transport Museum, photographed by Matt Brown
Should you ever find yourself miraculously transported back to pre-Victorian days, then you will assuredly want to ride on one of the new-fangled London omnibuses, recently introduced by Mr George Shillibeer (see the previous article).
These early buses came with their own codes of conduct, just as today we all habitually stand on the right-hand side of escalators and give up our seats for those in greater need (well, some of us do).
In January 1836, The Times codified these rules for their readership. Here they are, with my own comments in square parentheses.
