London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus services to TfL, controlled by the Mayor of London. Overview Transport for London's key areas of direct responsibility through London Buses are the following: planning new bus routes, and revising existing ones specifying service levels monitoring service quality management of bus stations and bus stops assistance in 'on ground' set up of diversions, bus driver assistance in situations over and above job requirements, for example Road Accidents providing information for passengers in the form of timetables and maps at bus stops and online, and an online route planning service producing leaflet maps, available from Travel Information Centres, libraries etc., and as online downloads. operating NMCC, London Buses' 24‑hour command-and-control centre based in Southwark Bus operations All bus operations are undertaken under a tendering system in which operators bid for routes in return for a set price per route operated. Until April 2022, contracts were normally for five years, with two-year extensions available if performance criteria were met. From April 2022, contracts will be for seven years with a performance based two year optional extension. Routes are set up, controlled and tendered out by Transport for London (TfL) and they provide day to day assistance via CentreComm which coordinates a large scale network of Network Traffic Controllers to help with any traffic issues that may occur. Operators provide staff to drive the buses, provide the buses to operate and also adhere to set TfL guidelines. Operators are then in return paid per mile that each bus runs, the pricing is announced on new tenders. Publications London Buses publishes a variety of bus maps. In 2002, TfL introduced the first spider maps. Rather than attempting to cover the entire city, these maps are centred on a particular locality or bus station, and convey the route information in the schematic style of Harry Beck's influential Tube map, capitalising on TfL's iconic style of information design. The arachnoid form of bus routes radiating from a centre earned them the nickname spider maps, although TfL refer to them on their website as route maps. The maps are displayed at most major bus stops, and can be downloaded in PDF format via the Internet from the TfL website. Legal