The number on the roof

[ComUtoR]

On most of the Buses I see ( I have a vantage point) They have a white roof with a number in black lettering.

I often wonder what its for and how they use it. This is something only seen from above. Any info to what this is and how its used would be appreciated.

Cheers in advance,

Com.

 

[Typhoon]

Might depend on where you are.

Maidstone & District used to have their fleet numbers painted on them in the front on the roofline to identify them when they entered the Pentagon bus station at Chatham. In a busy city, suitably sited cameras could be used to identify what buses are where? Not over helpful, I know.

 

[duncombec]

If the OP is in London, all buses have it painted in this fashion. I have a recollection it was an initiative from the police, to allow them to identify vehicles from helicopters.

 

[ComUtoR]

Thanks folks.

I was going to suggest a tracking number for helicopters but I thought that was stupid

Yes, I'm in London and its on the top of most buses.

 

[chiltern trev]

I seem to recall that the tops of London buses were red until one very hot summer and white was used to reflect heat and so help keep the upper deck (of double deckers) cooler.

 

[ComUtoR]

Oooooh a quick bit of research (god know why I didn't google it)

• ARL, Arriva London
• GAG, Go-Ahead Group
• MTG, Metroline
• ABL, Abellio
• SCG, Stagecoach Group
• FRG, Tower Transit

The rest is the fleet number.

Cheers again.

 

[Cesarcollie]

Oooooh a quick bit of research (god know why I didn't google it)

• ARL, Arriva London
• GAG, Go-Ahead Group
• MTG, Metroline
• ABL, Abellio
• SCG, Stagecoach Group
• FRG, Tower Transit

The rest is the fleet number.

Cheers again.

I like the refusal to waste paint - Tower Transit retaining the code from the outfit they purchased from!

 

[transmanche]

If the OP is in London, all buses have it painted in this fashion. I have a recollection it was an initiative from the police, to allow them to identify vehicles from helicopters.

Not just from helicopters but from CCTV as well. It allows TfL bus controllers to identify a bus more easily. Very useful if there is an incident on board.

 

[Ianno87]

If the OP is in London, all buses have it painted in this fashion. I have a recollection it was an initiative from the police, to allow them to identify vehicles from helicopters.

Thanks folks.

I was going to suggest a tracking number for helicopters but I thought that was stupid

Yes, I'm in London and its on the top of most buses.

Not just from helicopters but from CCTV as well. It allows TfL bus controllers to identify a bus more easily. Very useful if there is an incident on board.

Came in handy in the film 'Speed'!

 

[Busaholic]

I sometimes recollect quite minor, petty even, things that happened decades ago, and one such 'memory' that sticks is a photo taken from rooftop level of a Routemaster bus in London. It was definitely on the 134 route and the location was the southern end of Gower Street, on the one way system. I'm pretty sure it was mid 1960s and, on checking, find the 134 gained RMs in 1964. What I can't be sure of is what exactly I saw painted on that bus roof in white, but was it the bonnet number and, if so, for what purpose? I wish I could remember: maybe it wasn't a number at all and I'm conflating two things. Internet research understandably produces nothing, but anyone got ideas?

 

[Darandio]

In my first job from 1996-2000 I worked for a family run haulage company, our main contracts were with Imperial Tobacco, Gallaher and Rothmans and we delivered to hundreds of corner shops and distribution centres in the North East and North West. Because of the high value on all of our wagons we had the same Datatrak system that was fitted to Securicor vans but we also had a huge roundel painted on the roof of each vehicle. I often wondered what would happen if an Air Force pilot went rogue.

 

[Tom B]

I sometimes recollect quite minor, petty even, things that happened decades ago, and one such 'memory' that sticks is a photo taken from rooftop level of a Routemaster bus in London. It was definitely on the 134 route and the location was the southern end of Gower Street, on the one way system. I'm pretty sure it was mid 1960s and, on checking, find the 134 gained RMs in 1964. What I can't be sure of is what exactly I saw painted on that bus roof in white, but was it the bonnet number and, if so, for what purpose? I wish I could remember: maybe it wasn't a number at all and I'm conflating two things. Internet research understandably produces nothing, but anyone got ideas?

Wasn't there a prototype system of vehicle tracking which had a painted barcode picked up by street scanners to identify locations? Could that have been it, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Incidentally, as of this week, the 134 no longer goes so far, now being cut back to Warren Street - though I'm not sure whether this includes the N134.

 

[Busaholic]

Wasn't there a prototype system of vehicle tracking which had a painted barcode picked up by street scanners to identify locations? Could that have been it, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Incidentally, as of this week, the 134 no longer goes so far, now being cut back to Warren Street - though I'm not sure whether this includes the N134.

What you're referring to is, I think, BESI, details of which can be found on the net, and that was about the same time, but that system was above the front nearside of the upper deck. I remember the 30 definitely being a trial route.

The 134's withdrawal south of Warren Street I'd class as unnecessary, tragic even, but that's the direction central London bus services are heading in.