London Transport Buses – THE LONDON TRANSPORT BUSES VISUAL IDENTITY SYSTEM 1996

Description

These London Transport Buses (Sept 1996) guidelines prescribe a consistent visual identity and production standard for timetables on routes accepting London Transport passes. They mandate the New Johnston typeface, specified formats (A4, A5, 2×A4, etc.), paper, inks, grid layouts, maximum route-number widths and typographic hierarchies. Content rules cover route numbers, a controlled glossary for days of operation and approved contractions, destination naming consistency, permitted service titles (e.g., Mobility Bus, Express, Night Bus, Airbus) and endorsements. Detailed rules govern route diagrams (narrow/wide variants), line styles and thicknesses, white marker dots, non-stop and Hail & Ride conventions, pass-zone boxes and precise construction measurements. Branding and promotional graphics are prohibited and sponsor acknowledgements must be discreet; maps are discouraged. Designers should use concise explanatory notes for service variations and follow treatments for loops, circular and linked routes. Timetable construction standards specify operation/frequency bars, timing points, pale-grey scan bars, column widths (up to 18), ‘automatics’ for regular intervals, annotation symbols, Night Bus specs and many practical examples.