please empty your brain below
Love the (possibly somewhat sly) comment that the 3 doors and extra length make the New Bus a bit like a bendy bus!

Chris p | 14.05.11 - 3:01 a.m. | #

Where Walsall leads London follows, 40 years later. http://www.bammot.org.uk/vehicles/vxdh56g.asp
Only two doors, and not so curvy, but 85 seats.

Tony Martin | 14.05.11 - 8:56 a.m. | #

What's the point?

The whole joy of a Routemaster was being able to jump on between stops on Oxford Street and then to hang on the pole at the rear and lean back out of the bus and jump off at your convenience when the bus was either stopped or going slowly.

This is a Routemaster with ALL of the excitement removed.

Brian Butterworth | Homepage | 14.05.11 - 9:31 a.m. | #

Sigh, Diamond you really do hate the Mayor don't you. Not one positive thing to say eh.

I'm surprised you haven't had a article savaging the Mayror's new floating riverside walk for the North Bank of the Thames in the City.

By the way they are testing the new bus on the road now. Some people have caught it on video and have you tubed it.
http://youtu.be/8yuka5bWQho

Rational Plan | 14.05.11 - 10:33 a.m. | #

London was only fifteen years behind Walsall
http://www.flickr.com/photos/salford_ian/2403358445/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3243/2650379371_b8929575af.jpg

This one, now preserved, has two staircases (as seen by the windowless panels are on the offside and two doors.

The new one looks more like an Alexander J or AL type

As for headroom, like you, dg, I'm 5'10", but I can't stand upright on the top deck of a Routemaster, so I'm not sure the new bus can be faulted on that point.

Timbo | 14.05.11 - 11:06 a.m. | #

@Rational Plan - what positive points can be made about a Mayor who, in a time of cutbacks, is happy to spend £60m+ on ripping up leases for perfectly serviceable and useful bendy-buses at the same time as spending another £10m or so developing this red elephant? The man is style over substance, and that's putting it mildly.

THC | 14.05.11 - 11:46 a.m. | #

@THC

I think you'll find that the plans to replace the often derided bendy buses with a double-decker was part of the manifesto pledge that Boris stood for election on.

It is the electorate who said "yes please" to the plans to scrap the buses.

Democracy - bloody annoying sometimes!

IanVisits | Homepage | 14.05.11 - 12:05 p.m. | #

He didn't rip up the leases, just failed to renew them. That's why the bendies are still on the (totally unsuitable) No 25 but no longer on the (ideal) 521

Timbo | 14.05.11 - 1:21 p.m. | #

@Ian - I'm well aware of Johnson's mayoral manifesto commitments, but it is not beyond politicians to tear up election pledges when it suits them, as the events of the last twelve months have shown all too clearly. TfL funding cuts could have provided Johnson with such a get-out had he wanted one. But no, we're getting eye-wateringly expensive new red buses (whooo!) and a new cable car instead (wheee!). Vanity projects clearly trump coherent strategy in BoJoWorld, and Londoners will pay the price.

THC | 14.05.11 - 2:16 p.m. | #

Yes terrible isn't he's managed to preserve the tube upgrade programme by cutting others and creating efficiencies in TFL and by demonstrating that TFL was interested in squeezing maximum efficiencies also saved Crossrail from delay or cancellation.

Imagine trying to keep as many campaign pledges as possible, how dare he.

Meanwhile Ken is pandering to Camden voters by saying that High speed Two does not need to rebuild Euston instead it should sent in tunnel under Tottenham court road for a stop there and then to points south. Where the additional billions for that come from? Besides of course being totally unworkable.

Rational Plan | 14.05.11 - 2:52 p.m. | #

Just occurred to me that if this was going on in any other part of the country, the Conservative Party would be asking very loudly why the state is funding the design and build of a new bus when we have perfectly good private companies who do these things...

Oh the irony.

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 14.05.11 - 5:55 p.m. | #

If we might get back on topic...

I carried out a practical investigation this afternoon, and the headroom on the top deck of a Routemaster is about an inch lower than on the New Bus.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 14.05.11 - 6:14 p.m. | #

I bet the driver won't open the rear doors between stops though, even if the bus is at a complete standstill!
I wish Joe Public would be credited with some common sense instead of contantly being nannied.

CornishCockney | 14.05.11 - 7:07 p.m. | #

I had a look at the bus last night - it looked better than I thought it would. Doesn't look that much different from current double deckers.

Seats look crap though - just like a bendy's...

darryl | Homepage | 14.05.11 - 8:24 p.m. | #

That new moquette looks like it was inspired by Munch's 'The Scream'.

SteveW | 15.05.11 - 12:02 a.m. | #

I'm totally confused by the purpose of the back area then. It was mentioned on the BBC as a way that you could get on/ off when you wanted to, even if you weren't at a stop (or at least that's my recollection), and yet you're telling us that is not the case at all.
Recent experience whilst carrying luggage, where I'd gotten on the wrong line and asked the very nice bus driver if I could get off where he was stationary in traffic (and the doors would have opened onto a pedestrian crossing). He apologised, but indicated the camera, and said that he just wasn't able to do that any more, they were taped, and asked to explain any inconsistencies, and he could lose his job.

I thought the one benefit of having this little back zone would be to get around that sort of bureaucratic rubbish!

DebF | 06.06.11 - 11:17 p.m. | #











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