Double-Decker Bus Coloring Page: Free Printable PDF

Double Decker Bus: History & Fun Facts

Horse-Drawn Roots of the Double-Decker

Double-decker buses trace back to horse-drawn omnibuses of the 1850s in London, which added bench seating on the roof once city officials realized a second level could carry far more riders without needing a longer, wider vehicle. Those rooftop seats, nicknamed the "knifeboard" for the narrow back-to-back bench running down the middle, were the cheapest fare on the bus and stayed open to the weather for decades. Motorized double-deckers replaced the horse-drawn versions in the early 1900s, keeping the same two-level idea but adding an engine and, eventually, an enclosed upper deck with a proper roof and glass windows like the ones filling this coloring page.

Early motor double-deckers still needed a conductor standing on that open rear platform to collect fares and ring a bell for the driver, a job that stayed common in London well into the 1980s. Wooden staircases at the back were steep and narrow, so bus builders spent years refining the curve and pitch of the steps before settling on the safer, gentler stairways found in the design shown here.

Why Two Levels Beat a Longer Bus

Stacking seats vertically lets a double-decker carry roughly twice the passengers of a single-level bus of the same length, which matters enormously on narrow city streets where a longer bus simply would not fit around tight corners. A standard single-deck bus might seat 40 riders, while a double-decker on the same chassis length can carry 80 or more, an efficiency gain that lets transit agencies run fewer vehicles on the same crowded route.

The open rear platform seen on many classic double-deckers, including the one drawn on this sheet, let riders hop on and off quickly at busy stops without waiting for a folding door to cycle. That platform eventually gave way to enclosed doors for safety once cities noticed how many injuries happened from riders jumping on or off a moving bus, but the low, flat entry step stuck around because it made boarding faster for parents with strollers and riders using canes.

Engineering the Upper Deck Safely

Keeping a two-story bus from tipping over on a turn takes careful engineering: builders lower the engine and fuel tank as close to the road as possible and use a low center of gravity in the chassis so the weight of upstairs passengers does not make the bus top-heavy. Bus makers also test double-deckers by tilting a loaded model on a ramp to a steep angle, checking that it stays upright well past what any real road corner would ever demand.

The flat front end and round headlights on this design echo mid-century bus styling, when a boxy nose gave engineers room for a big radiator and made room inside the cab for the driver's high seating position above the front wheels. That raised driver's seat gives a clear view over the hood, which matters even more on a double-decker since the driver cannot see anything happening on the level above.

The Double-Decker as a City Symbol

London's red double-decker became such a recognizable symbol of the city that tourists photograph it as often as the Tower Bridge or Big Ben, and versions of the design now carry passengers in cities across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Hong Kong runs one of the largest double-decker fleets outside Britain, and Berlin, Singapore, and several Australian cities have all added two-level buses to handle tourist routes and rush-hour crowds.

Modern double-deckers use lightweight materials and low-emission engines, including hybrid and fully electric models, to keep the classic two-level shape practical for today's crowded urban routes. Some cities even run open-top double-deckers just for sightseeing tours, stripping the roof off the upper deck so visitors get an unobstructed view of the skyline while cruising past famous landmarks.