London Buses

I loved these buses - and rode them often - during my visit there in 1981 - and am thrilled that 10 of them will be in use. I look forward to my next trip there.


Iconic London buses saved from the final stop

Tue Nov 15, 2:06 AM ET



London's iconic traditional buses were given a new lease of life with the launch of two heritage routes that will save the much-loved Routemasters from the scrapheap.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the popular jump-on, jump-off vehicles, painted to look as they did in the 1960s with cream stripes along the side, would run along two routes past the main tourist sites.

Transport for London (TfL) decided to phase out the old stalwarts with their trademark spiral staircases last year in favour of more modern vehicles like bendy-buses.

But Livingstone said Monday that 10 sturdy old Routemasters were being saved as they were a world-famous part of London life.

"Everybody who goes to San Francisco always goes for a ride on a cable car," he said.

"Tourists who come to London want to try one of these wonderful old buses they have seen on the telly or at the movies."

However, he defended the decision to withdraw them from normal service.

"One Londoner in 10 can't physically get on a Routemaster and that's before you consider all the people struggling to get on with buggies and all that."

The Routemaster, with its cap-wearing conductor, is still running on the 159 route from the end of Oxford Street to south London, but is due to be withdrawn on December 9, the final stop in more than 50 years of history.

The heritage buses will charge the regular 1.20-pound (1.80-euro, 2.10-dollar) London bus fare.

Heritage Route 15 will run through Trafalgar Square, along The Strand, down Fleet Street, the old heart of Britain's newspaper industry, past Saint Paul's Cathedral to the Tower of London.

Heritage Route 9 takes in the Royal Albert Hall, the plush Knightsbridge district, home of Harrod's department store, Piccadilly Circus and its giant advertising screens, then Trafalgar Square before running along The Strand to Aldwych.

In their heyday, more than 2,700 Routemasters weaved their way around the British capital. They have gradually been replaced by newer double-deckers which although retaining the distinctive red livery, have failed to capture a place in Londoners' hearts as the Routemasters did.

The first Routemaster, RM1, came into service on July 24, 1954 and quickly became as quintessentially British as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

TfL phased them out saying that a single driver was more efficient than the "with-conductor" combination, while the open-ended rear platform was less safe than newer vehicles and access was difficult for disabled passengers.

Some Routemaster fans saw the heritage services as scant consolation for losing the celebrated buses on their traditional routes.

Andrew Ship, from Croydon, south London, said: "I'm not convinced how long they'll last. I don't know why they took them out of normal service.

"If people are stupid enough to jump off when they shouldn't, then that's their problem."

Watching late-for-work Londoners charging after a departing Routemaster and hurling themselves aboard was a pleasurable pastime for passers-by, as was watching a daring passenger take a stumble attempting an improbable exit from a moving bus.



Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.


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