Plaque honours London’s first female bus driver

A plaque honouring London’s first female bus driver has been placed in Kingston’s recently refurbished Cromwell Road bus station.

Jill Viner became the first woman to drive a London bus licensed to carry passengers back in May 1974 and is considered a pioneer in leading the way for women to drive passenger buses professionally. It is thought that Viner achieved ‘driver seniority’ or ‘grade seniority’ on 25 May 1974 when she formally qualified as a driver.

She regularly drove around the area of southwest London and was based at a nearby bus station in Norbiton garage, which no longer exists. Route 65 was one of the first routes driven by Viner and this route still operates today. Back then the route travelled between Chessington and Ealing, today route 65 travels between Kingston and Ealing.

Viner retired from driving buses in 1993 and died in 1996.

Paul Sainthouse, Women in Bus & Coach Director alongside TfL’s Director of Buses and Women in Bus & Coach Director, Lorna Murphy

The plaque is part of the ongoing work by the Women in Bus and Coach initiative, a diverse group of experienced women professionals and male allies in the bus and coach industry, helping to encourage more women into the transport sector.

Visitors can see the plaque outside the western entrance of the new Cromwell Road bus station, which re-opened last month (November 2024). The works to the bus station included improving overall customer experience with enhanced LED lighting, better information screens and CCTV to improve safety helping people feel more confident when using public transport. As well as making it more sustainable with an energy-efficient building and resurfaced pavements and improved drainage with the installation of a sustainable urban drainage system (SuDS).

“We hope this acts as a reminder that the bus and coach industry is open to all and inspires a future generation of bus drivers and staff” – Lorna Murphy, TfL’s Director of Buses

Lorna Murphy, TfL’s Director of Buses, said: “It seemed only fitting, that in conjunction with Women in Bus and Coach, we should honour Jill Viner with a permanent plaque celebrating her as London’s first woman bus driver at the newly re-opened Cromwell Road bus station. We hope this acts as a reminder that the bus and coach industry is open to all and inspires a future generation of bus drivers and staff.”

“Jill Viner was a pioneer and we’re proud to have unveiled this new permanent plaque in honour of her today” – Louise Cheeseman, Founder and Chair of Women in Bus and Coach

Louise Cheeseman, Founder and Chair of Women in Bus and Coach, said: “Jill Viner was a pioneer and we’re proud to have unveiled this new permanent plaque in honour of her today. As an organisation, we look to promote the current work of those within the bus and coach industry to encourage others to choose this path as their future. But it is also important to recognise our past and the hard work and dedication of the women who broke through barriers during a time where it wasn’t seen as the norm for a woman to work in this kind of sector. We hope our work continues to increase the opportunities for women.”