The formation of London Transport
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As London’s transport system became more complex, it made sense for services to work together to coordinate, for the sake of passengers as well as the businesses themselves.
The biggest company, which operated the District Railway and three Tubes was run by Albert Stanley (later Lord Ashfield). Stanley saw that the problems caused by the competing interests of public transport operators could be solved by negotiating deals with his competitors, allowing them all to make more money.
Starting in 1908 Stanley and his deputy Frank Pick successfully promoted the Underground as a cooperative system between independent private companies. In the following years, Stanley bought out most of his competitors, bringing them under his Underground Group umbrella.
The next step was to take the organisation into public ownership. London Transport was created in 1933 to bring all London’s transport services under one authority, under Pick and Stanley (by this time renamed Lord Ashfield).
It was succeeded by Transport for London in 2000.
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As the first Chairman of London Transport, Albert Henry Stanley, later Lord Ashfield, combined the discipline of commercial management with public accountability and an awareness of the social benefits of an integrated public transport system.
Frank Pick, Chief Executive of London Transport, was a towering figure who had an unrivalled flair for design management. During his 30-year career, Pick changed the face of London Transport, bringing London’s transport system international acclaim for its architecture, graphic art and design.
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