New Double Decker Buses To Hit London Soon
by Bonnie Alter, London 
on 12.22.08
the Foster/Aston Martin bus
London has a new Mayor who has started filling some of his campaign promises. One of the main items on the list was the pledge to bring back the iconic and much-missed double decker bus.
The design for the new bus was the subject of a competition with 700 entries. The remit was to create a new design for a bus that would be environmentally friendly, accessible and hearken back to the much-loved Routemaster (as it was called). The old bus had two levels and one could jump on and off at will. Two winners shared the prize: one version by Foster + Partners and Aston Martin and another by Capoco.
the original Routemaster
The two designs will go forward to the manufacturer, yet to be chosen, who will include the best elements from both when they create the new buses, planned to hit the streets in the year 2011.
The Aston Martin and Foster design is a zero-emissions double-decker that is highly manoeuvrable, with warm lighting and wooden floors and is accessible for disabled passengers. There will be reconstituted leather upholstery to create a tactile ‘living room’ feel. The top of the bus will have a glazed roof which incorporates solar cells to "generate energy and filter daylight to control the temperature inside."
Capoco's proposed bus has a low flat floor to allow passengers to get on and off easily, with a Routemaster-like front engine, an open rear platform; it will also be low emission.
In addition, the hated "bendy bus"--a two carriage, 60 foot long vehicle that knocked over pedestrians, took up too much space on the crowded streets and was always empty, will be phased out. Evening Standard
More on London's Buses
Double Decker Living
Green Walking Tours of London
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- What is the Cheapest and Greenest Way to Travel?
- Top 10 Things to Bring On Your Cross-Country Bus Trip
- 7 Essential Green Beauty Items For Under $7
- Is School Food Harming Kids? Enlist a Labor Day Eat-In To Promote Fresh, Healthy Food
- UFO Sighting in VA Makes Us Ask: Could We Just Move to Another Planet?
- Travel Green and Save Money without Giving Up Anything (Except Your Carbon Footprint)
Sorry to dissapoint but the Routemaster isn't coming back. These concepts will be passed to the manufacturers who will politely look at them and then carry on doing exactly what they're doing (i.e. designing buses that have more of a market than just London).
I'm sure the hybrid elements will be incorporated but that's no surprise because hybrid buses are the next logical step, but this little design competition was nothing more than PR fluff to give the impression that Boris is fulfilling his pledges.
As for your last paragraph, I assume you're being ironic? Either that or you've been reading too many Evening Standard editorials.
I think the Americocenticity of this blog has failed to pick up on the political (and environmental and safety) considerations relevant to this London issue. Double deckers are less aerodynamic, they carry less people for the emissions and are part of a large green spin from Boris and his pals at the evening standard. Boris has cut a lot of green initiatives, like the congenstion charge, and should not be applauded for this pathetic effort.
For other information, see websites Boris Watch, and Tory Troll as well as Dave Hills guardian blog.
I don't think Bonnie is being ironic. She's linked to the Evening Standard website for the story :-(
Anyone who's used the buses would know that "always empty" is far from the truth.
Any double-decker bus is going to be worse for passengers:
- reduced capacity
- less doors (the bendy bus has three sets of double doors)
- stairs (a waste of space, and means people on the top deck feel more isolated from the driver, and it's annoying having to wait for people to go down the stairs to get off)
I remember that the bendy bus replaced the route-master but could carry far fewer passengers.
London has tiny medieval streets and these things would have to turn right in order to get a wide enough turning circle to turn left. There were only indicator lights at the rear of the bus and so cyclists would assume that the bus was making a right turn and therefore be trapped and squashed.
These monsters would block up entire streets and roundabouts. They were all over cycle lanes. I certainly voted in order to get rid of them and send them back to airport car parks where they belong
Much as I miss the Routemasters, this puffed up campaign (which was perhaps one of the only tangible pledges in Boris Johnson's manifesto) is just tugging at heart strings. Plus any benefits to the environment are completely negated by plans to scrap the extensions to the congestion charge zone and other pro-motorist policies.
They'll be back. Aerodyamics do not come into play at the slow speeds a city bus travels at. The layout of London's streets and junctions does. It is not surprising that the current crop of articulated buses come from Germany, where many medaeval city centres were razed during the war-allowing them to rebuild wide, straight thoroughfares and subsequently develop the buses most appropriate for same-horses for courses...
Double decker buses still reign supreme in London. Bendy buses are used on a relatively small number of routes in central London. Peripheral routes around the suburbs are still mainly stocked by a variety of double decker models.
The issue with the Route Master was not that it was a simply double decker. It was an ageing design, the fleet became increasingly hard to maintain, parts were hard to source. They also required a 2-person team, a driver and a conductor, making them considerably more expensive to run than other types of bus. A redesign would hopefully address these flaws.
The whole Route Master thing is an incredibly cheap appeal to nostalgia on the part of Boris Johnson. It's embarrassing that someone can win a campaign in London with this kind of vapid policy.