Lord Sadiq Khan has announced a fleet of 100 publicly-owned buses for London.
The London Mayor hailed Buses for London which has been set up working with the giant Unite union, to try to boost services in the capital.
Lord Khan said: “London’s iconic red buses are a vital lifeline for many people, which I’m committed to supporting.
“Sometimes that means taking bold new approaches, so that our world-leading transport network can deliver even more for all those who rely on it.”
Transport for London currently contracts bus services to eight privately-owned operators across the capital's almost 700 bus routes.
City Hall believes the new publicly-owned bus company will give TfL greater control over how services are run.
The aim is to boost reliability and safety, while reinvesting profits to further improve the capital’s transport network.
The Route 6, which runs between Willesden and Victoria Station, will be the first service to be operated by Buses for London when it launches in late 2027.
A further four routes will be announced over the coming year, to come into operation from 2028.
Their performance will then be reviewed and a decision made on whether to roll out publicly-owned buses more widely across the capital.
The operational base for Buses for London will be the Park Royal Depot in west London and it will initially run around 100 zero-emission buses.
TfL is working in partnership with the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation to develop the site.
The bus announcement comes after the Labour Government started taking rail services back into public ownership.
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However, there are some doubts over the success of the move, with claims that London commuter services on South Western Railway have deteriorated.
Lord Khan, who took up his seat in the House of Lords recently, insisted: “This is an opportunity to really reimagine our bus network so that it provides better value for money, supports our climate goals, makes our roads safer, and overall just works better for passengers and drivers alike.”
But Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said: “Londoners want buses that are safe, reasonably priced, turn up on time and don’t require epic levels of taxpayer support to operate.
“This is decisions make of ideology rather than practicality.”
Buses for London will seek to identify new ways to deliver high-quality, reliable and sustainable services for customers, City Hall stressed.
It will help TfL test new approaches to innovation, operational efficiency, safety, decarbonisation, customer experience and driver welfare.
London buses were last in public ownership on any significant scale in the mid 1990s.
East Thames Buses, a small arm’s length subsidiary of TfL operated between 1999 and 2009 after a bus company failed. It was eventually sold to Go-Ahead London.
Lorna Murphy, TfL's director of buses, said: "Today's announcement marks an exciting new chapter for London's buses and an important first step in exploring how a publicly owned bus company could support the future of the capital's transport network.
“The (Royal Park) depot will provide a base for cleaner, greener services, helping us to build on the progress we've already made towards a more sustainable transport system.”