Eliv8
Refugee
End Of The Road For Routemaster Bus
It's the end of the road today for London's iconic Routemaster bus.The red double-decker bus is being axed after nearly 40 years of ferrying passengers around the capital's roads.Bus enthusiasts will queue from early today for the chance to be on the last jump on, jump off Routemaster ever to run in London.
Forty lucky passengers will join dignitaries on the 159 route bus as it completes the last scheduled journey.
Expected to be watched by big crowds, the 159 - operated by transport company Arriva - will travel from a stop in Oxford Street close to Marble Arch and arrive about an hour later at Brixton Garage in south London.
The journey, which will take the bus past such London landmarks as Big Ben and Nelson's column, will be the last chapter in a story that begun in 1956 when the first Routemaster begun passenger services.
Fittingly, the 1968-built bus on the final run - known as RM 2217 - was the last-ever to be manufactured.
At one time there were almost 3,000 Routemasters operating in London.
But the move towards driver-only operations and concerns about safety and accessibility has led to a gradual phasing out of the much-loved London icon.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone once said only a "moron" would axe the Routemaster.
But even he has now accepted the bus has come to the end of the road with issues over accessibility meaning the disabled cannot use it.
It is not quite the end for the Routemaster as around 20 have been retained to run on two tourist - or "heritage" - routes.
It's the end of the road today for London's iconic Routemaster bus.The red double-decker bus is being axed after nearly 40 years of ferrying passengers around the capital's roads.Bus enthusiasts will queue from early today for the chance to be on the last jump on, jump off Routemaster ever to run in London.
Forty lucky passengers will join dignitaries on the 159 route bus as it completes the last scheduled journey.
Expected to be watched by big crowds, the 159 - operated by transport company Arriva - will travel from a stop in Oxford Street close to Marble Arch and arrive about an hour later at Brixton Garage in south London.
The journey, which will take the bus past such London landmarks as Big Ben and Nelson's column, will be the last chapter in a story that begun in 1956 when the first Routemaster begun passenger services.
Fittingly, the 1968-built bus on the final run - known as RM 2217 - was the last-ever to be manufactured.
At one time there were almost 3,000 Routemasters operating in London.
But the move towards driver-only operations and concerns about safety and accessibility has led to a gradual phasing out of the much-loved London icon.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone once said only a "moron" would axe the Routemaster.
But even he has now accepted the bus has come to the end of the road with issues over accessibility meaning the disabled cannot use it.
It is not quite the end for the Routemaster as around 20 have been retained to run on two tourist - or "heritage" - routes.
now that would be a real crisis!
I love Double Deckers - So tasty
