This episode from the brilliant BBC2 documentary series, Perpetual Motion, features the story of the AEC Routemaster London Bus. This film has been enhanced in HD and is best viewed on a small screen.
The New Bus for London/Borismaster as introduced between 2012 and 2018 will never replace the Routemaster. It might look hip and modern but I never refer to it as the 'New Routemaster' because it looks absolutely nothing like the Routemaster I grew up with and loved since I was young. To me the Borismaster was a vanity project devised by Boris Johnson when he was the Mayor of London and to this day the vehicles have become a bottomless pit of wasted money due to their various design faults. At least the Routemaster was designed and built by people who were at the sharp end of designing, developing and building buses for London Transport back in the 1940s and 1950s.
No other type of bus has been suitable for the streets of London and the difficult traffic conditions of London such as the Routemaster along with its predecessor the RT. In central London you need a bus crewed with a driver and a conductor/clippie and the Routemaster was the perfect tool for the job up until the Routemasters and conductors were phased out from normal service between August 2003 and December 2005. A 'Heritage' route 15 running during the summer months between Tower Hill and Trafalgar Square doesn't quite make up for what was the most recognised icon of London's streets back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
I still feel that a centralised bus overhaul works such as Aldenham should have remained in operation for today's modern buses with more accidents and incidents being prevalent in London's traffic nowadays. The trouble was that Aldenham Works was fine for overhauling the RTs and RMs but it was not suitable for overhauling the later modern OPO bus types such as the MCW Metrobus and the Leyland Titan so by the 1980s Aldenham was literally living off scraps, hence its gradual running down and subsequent closure in 1986.
Have I just heard the guy from Ensignbus that they were loosing money with the Routemaster's ? If that's the case; them he is saying loads of crap 'cause conductor's never missed someone getting on the bus. Even in London they knew very well who went on it . the tickets were there to prove it. So bad excuses !! Taking those Routemaster's out of the roads of London and seeing em too the scrap yard or to international was and stil is an enormous mistake !! Routemaster's were soooo very easy to mend and didn't coast anything compare to the today's bus. Actually you could send back in the Routemaster's on London's roads ... Take those modern's shit out and build up the same old design Routemaster and adapt on it (like they did for the cabs); an electrical hybrid engin !! That would surely be the best of London Transport story based on intelligence.
Classic Vehicle Channel have subscribed already my friend. Thanks a lot for this video. Been very upset to see those RM’s treated like this in a scrap yard when some people could give a lot to have one/ save one. Thanks for your answer and stay safe.
