London’s Routemaster double-deck buses drive colorful memories

LONDON - My wife just didn’t understand, as we waited at a bus stop outside London’s Charing Cross train station.

“No, not this one,” I said tugging on her sleeve as she moved to board a boxy, new red double decker bus.

“But you said it’s the No. 15,” she reminded me, pointing to the number on the front.

“Yes,” I replied, “but not just any No. 15. We have to wait for a Routemaster.”

And a few minutes later it arrived, the enduring double-deck bus millions hold dear in their hearts - as much a part of experiencing London as black taxis, red phone booths and the Tower Bridge.

“The Routemaster is the last of its kind,” wrote Travis Elborough in “The Bus We Loved.” “The last bus to be built for London, by Londoners, in London. The last open platform London bus. To many it is London.”

Indeed.

That’s why we scurried past the ticket inspector on the rear platform and made our way up the stairs to the two front row seats that were open on the top level. That’s not an easy feat in the stop and go of city traffic. But once settled, from this panorama we enjoyed one of the most thrilling bus rides in the world.

Progress was slow, as the narrow streets and sidewalks were filled with the daily commerce of one of the world’s great cities. But what a marvelous ride - coming up the street to view St. Paul’s Cathedral was the highlight.

No plastic seats here. Cloth was used instead, a durable checkered pattern that had the effect of largely disguising any build-up of dirt.

Outside, the bus is painted in the distinctive red color that has been used for years by London’s buses. But inside, a mix of burgundy, green and yellow gives riders a feeling of luxury.

“To travel on a Routemaster with its original decor intact feels like being conveyed about the city in the lounge of an illustrious, if by now gone-to-seed, club,” wrote Elborough.

Ride into nostalgia

A ride on a Routemaster is a journey full of nostalgia, but also, magically, one that demonstrates that the latest in mass-transit designs does not necessarily measure up to a bus that has endured for years. In fact, during the Routemaster’s 50-year history, other now-forgotten models of buses brought onto London streets have come and gone - to the scrap yard.

Next to the view from the top front-row seat, the most endearing feature of the bus is the Routemaster’s open-air rear platform, where riders board and exit. I agree with Elborough that “standing on the rear platform with the wind in your face you could imagine that London really did belong to you.”

Sure, you might be able to get some of the same experience from the newer double deck buses now used in London, but certainly not from the city’s single-level “bendy buses” that have a flexible mid-section. And none of these buses has the Routemaster’s distinctive open platform.

If a lost tourist needs a little help, there is no need to distract the Routemaster’s driver, who is inaccessible anyway, tucked away in the notched cab at the front. Instead, there’s always the conductor to consult, a person who most likely has heard it all before.

“Is this bus for the British Museum?”

“Not yet, luv,” goes an oft-told joke.

Or, maybe this one:

“Do you stop at the Ritz?”

“No lady, not on my wages.”

Rocky road

Designed to replace London’s fleet of trolleybuses that were powered by overhead wires, it took years to develop the diesel Routemaster. Technology developed in World War II enabled the double-deck design to be lighter than previous bus models. The first were introduced in 1956. And while production ended in 1968, they were a fixture on many London bus routes until the last regular service was withdrawn in 2005.

The Routemaster almost received a death sentence in the late 1970s, as single-operator buses came into play, but the benefits of the 72-seat buses prevailed. And in the early 1990s, a fleet of retired Routemasters was given a reprieve from the scrapheap and returned to duty after being refurbished. The reliable models proved less expensive to bring back than buying new buses.

But there were two strikes against the Routemaster. One is its driver and conductor, a two-person operation making the bus more expensive to run than single-operator models. The other is its lack of accessibility for riders with disabilities.

In the end, economics caught up with the bus that seemingly would last forever. Some critics pointed to the hop-on, hop-off platform as being prone to rider mishaps. But the Routemaster era seems far from over. There are calls to build a new generation of Routemasters, able to serve the disabled, to run on the streets of London. A design competition already has been held and a new version of the bus could be in production as early as 2012.

Heritage routes

Today, just a few preserved Routemasters run on two “heritage routes” in central London - the No. 9 and No. 15.

Lucky for tourists, both routes make stops at some of the city’s most famous attractions: the Tower of London, St. Paul’s, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and the Royal Albert Hall.

Make no mistake, though. These are working transit buses, in no way related to the many double-decker sightseeing buses that offer expensive, narrated tours of the city. To ride the Routemaster, or any other central London bus, you just need a fare card bought before you board.

While there is no shortage of Routemaster mementos available in London; every tourist shop has scale models, T-shirts or fridge magnets featuring the bus, nothing can beat the sure joy of jumping on for a ride.

“To hop on one now is to take a journey into the day before yesterday, which is history,” wrote Elborough.

And, for me, the experience of sitting in the first row on a Routemaster’s top level is like being Leonardo di Caprio poised at the bow of the Titanic shouting, “I’m the king of the world.”

IF YOU GO

The routes: Two heritage bus routes using vintage Routemaster double-deck models operate in central London from 9:30 a.m. to  6:30 p.m. daily. Route 15 connects the Tower of London with Trafalgar Square. Route No. 9, runs between the Royal Albert Hall and Aldwych. Not all buses used on these routes are Routemasters, so you might have to wait a bit for one to arrive.

Fares: Bus passes and electronic “Oyster card” tickets used on London Transport are valid for fares.

Learn more: To learn more of the story of London bus and Underground transit, and to see a collection of vintage buses, visit the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden:  www.ltmuseum.co.uk.

Details: For information on touring London and the rest of Britain, see www.visitbritain.us.

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