TfL is one of London's most iconic organisations, managing buses, tubes, trams, trains, and more. But did you know these five surprising facts?

That's right, despite being called the underground only 45% of the service is actually underground. This vast network of tube lines cover over 402km across London. 

Opened in 1863, The Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon was the first, urban, underground railway in the world.

George Shillibeer began the city's first omnibus service in 1829, but the idea originally came from public omnibus service in Paris.

Nowadays the Route 25, between Oxford Circus and Ilford, is London's busiest service, carrying around 19.4m passengers annually.

The tube map is known around the world and was created by Harry Beck. This map was also quite radical for its time, inspired by a circuit board to show interchanges between lines rather than estimating distance. 

In addition to engineering, TfL has some iconic design features including the font, roundels and of course upholstery on the trains, buses and trams. 

This fabric is called moquette, from the French word for carpet and is a blend of wool and nylon.