Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double decker bus which was designed in 1954 and first introduced in London on 8 February 1956. Production examples, at first to the 27'6" length then permitted, were placed in service from 1959 to replace trolleybuses, this process being completed in May 1962. Subsequent Routemasters, the last five hundred of which were thirty-foot long RML types, began the process of replacing the previous generation of RT type AEC Regent buses and their similar Leyland counterparts. The last Routemaster, RML 2760, was put into service in March 1968.
The design has proved very popular with Londoners and tourists alike. Its two main advantages are the open platform at the rear, and the presence of a conductor to collect fares, required by the isolated driver's cab.
The platform allows large volumes of passengers to quickly alight and board at stops, and indeed at traffic lights and slow speeds (BambooWeb does not recommend such foolhardy behaviour!). The conductor collects fares when the bus is travelling, which considerably reduces waiting time at stops.
Many of London's bus routes switched to modern "one-person operation" in the 1970s, out of a desire to reduce operating costs and address staff shortages. However, it has been found that the increased boarding time, while each passenger pays the driver, slows down busy routes, leads to "bunching" of buses and a poor service. In an attempt to solve this, bus tickets are now bought from machines before boarding in central London. The Oyster card has also made an impact in this regard.
Withdrawals of Routemasters commenced in 1982 but were largely halted by 1988, with comparatively few withdrawn between then and 1992, when a programme was instituted to refurbish five hundred of the RML type for ten years' further service. This work, which also updated the interior to modern tastes and accompanied re-engining, was carried out by Mainline, TBP and Leaside Buses, and was completed in 1994, in time for the privatization of London Buses Limited's subsidiaries. This saw the Routemaster fleet divided between nine new companies.
In spite of an earlier public promise to retain the Routemaster, Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London announced the phasing out of the type in order to satisfy accessibility requirements demanded by 2016 under the Disability Discrimination Act. Withdrawals commenced on 29 August 2003 with the conversion of the 15 to "one-person operation" and continued with the loss of routes 11 (31 October 2003), 23 (14 November 2003), 94 (23 January 2004), 6 and 98 (26 March 2004), 8 (4 June 2004), 7 (2 July 2004) and 137 (9 July 2004). The route with the largest allocation of Routemasters, the 73, is to lose all fifty-five on 3 September 2004, replaced with the modern bendy bus, with routes 9 and 390 following on the same day. The 12 is then slated for conversion on 5 November 2004.
The remaining routes will lose their Routemasters by the end of 2005, except for one 'heritage' route yet to be specified or put out to tender.
For many people, Routemaster buses evoke nostalgic feelings, and the announcement spawned a campaign to save the bus. See also the television sitcom (later a film), Reuters
