The London Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport (except main-line trains) in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, England, and its environs from 1963 to 1969. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.

History

The London Transport Board (LTB) was established on 1 January 1963 pursuant to the Transport Act 1962 and replaced the London Transport Executive (LTE) upon the dissolution of the

British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...

. It was an independent statutory undertaking reporting directly to the Minister of Transport, whose responsibilities were similar to those of the LTE, but with the addition of some railway lines previously the responsibility of

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

ways. The first Chairman was

Alexander Valentine Sir Alexander (Alec) Balmain Bruce Valentine OStJ MA (22 December 1899 – 1 December 1977), was Chairman of the London Transport Executive from 1959 to 1963 and Chairman of the London Transport Board from 1963 to 1965. Family Valentine was bo ...

, who had been the Chairman of the LTE. The LTB was responsible for 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 counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The U ...

and for bus and coach services within the London Passenger Transport Area, an area with a radius of about 30 miles from

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

established when the London Passenger Transport Board was formed in 1933. Services were generally maintained and not cut as elsewhere in the country, as train services were under the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

. The board was responsible for the Bus Reshaping Plan in 1966, a comprehensive programme of changes to bus services. By 1970 the roads in London had become so congested that the

Greater London Development Plan The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

included in its scope policy to reduce dependence on the car. On 1 January 1970 responsibility for public transport within Greater London passed to the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

(GLC) under the

Transport (London) Act 1969 The Transport (London) Act 1969 (1969 c. 35) was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which abolished the London Transport Board. Its main functions were transferred to a new London Transport Executive under the auspices of the Greater Londo ...

, with the ''London Transport'' brand retained by the GLC. Bus services outside the GLC area and Green Line Coaches were passed to a new company, London Country Bus Services, formed on 1 January 1970 as a subsidiary of the National Bus Company.GLC and London Transport '' Buses'' issue 177 December 1969 page 515

Notes

References

* * * {{Authority control British Transport Commission Defunct transport authorities in London Government agencies established in 1963 Intermodal transport authorities in the United Kingdom 1960s in London 1963 establishments in England 1969 disestablishments in England