Jill Viner
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Jill Viner (1952–1996) was an English bus driver known for being the first woman to drive a London bus in passenger service.
Viner was born in 1952 and wanted to drive buses from when she was eight years old.[1] She trained to become a bus driver at a centre in Chiswick in London and achieved her driver seniority on 25 May 1974, when she was aged 22.[2] She started driving buses later in 1974, when London Transport were said to be 3,200 drivers short.[3] Viner drove RT type and RM type buses[4] on route 65 and was based at the Norbiton bus garage in Kingston upon Thames.[5] She worked at Norbiton until its closure in 1993.[5]
Viner said that "there have been a few surprised looks from passengers at stops who have spotted that a woman was driving. They must be the ones the conductors have told me have fallen up the stairs. I’m too busy concentrating on my job to see what other people are doing."[6]
Death
Viner died in 1996.[6]