It has always been my ambition to become the name of a common place object like Benedict Arnold became “Eggs Benedict” or Earl Grey became a tea. So I must resent the current Mayor for London, Boris Johnson, (Note; Up for re-election in May 2012) for his effortless accomplishment in this area. He promised Londoner’s “at no cost” a bicycle hire scheme and so (at a cost of £35 M+) we get the “Boris Bikes.” He promised to get rid of “Bendy Buses” and now we have the “Bozza Bus” – well 5 of them due for delivery in 2012, just around the time I predict Boris will be leaving office. A full-scale model of London's new Routemaster bus has been unveiled.
Boris Johnson in front of the original Routemaster launching the design competition for a "New Bus for London - NB4L"
London mayor Boris Johnson said the buses, which will come into service 2012, were a combination of "nostalgia" and the "latest technology". The fuel-efficient bus will be quieter than its diesel-run predecessor and have a platform offering passengers the traditional hop-on hop-off service. Wrightbus is making the vehicle at Ballymena in Northern Ireland and the full size model has gone on show at Acton Transport Depot in west London where London’s Transport Museum keeps its “Big stuff”.
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/londons-transport-museum.html
The vehicle was designed by Thomas Heatherwick of Foster Design, with its interior inspired by the old Routemaster. The new bus will return to the driver-and-conductor model - a key feature of the original version. The old Routemaster was withdrawn from regular service in 2005 and now runs just on two heritage routes in London.
Lord Foster said: “I am delighted that we have won joint first prize with the Aston Martin/Foster + Partners design. This project has really captured my imagination. London’s buses are so much a part of the essence of this city – functionally, symbolically and geographically. They help us draw a mental map – their destinations are London’s historic places, often green: Shepherds Bush, Islington Green, Hampstead Heath, Green Park. Our design seeks to combine contemporary innovation with timelessness. Like the original Routemaster – which was ahead of its time and consequently endured – a new bus for London should establish a whole new travel experience that espouses 21st century aspirations, while celebrating the memory and the experience of the original.”
Mr Johnson said: "Standing on the rear platform of this delectable bus brings back a sense of nostalgia but conversely also demonstrates the quintessence of the latest technology and design, making this bus fit for the 21st Century. It is wonderful to see those two-dimensional designs we unveiled in May have been forged into this amazing bus and I cannot wait to be launching the buses when they first enter public service in 2012." Mark Nodder, managing director of the manufacturer's parent company Wright Group, said seeing the design come to life was "a real thrill".
Jo deBank, of pressure group London TravelWatch, said while innovations in design were welcome, her organisation had concerns about passenger safety on the open platform at the rear of the vehicle. "We also question the cost of two-man operated buses at a time when Transport for London's budget is under real pressure, and we already have concerns about a reduction in services," she said. A prototype will be delivered by next year and the first five new buses will be seen on the roads by early 2012.
But here is a not untypical comment from the London Evening Standard;
"Bendy buses are atrocious. I don't travel on them but they look so dangerous and it's like cattle class with nowhere to stand."
That tells you great deal about the Bendy 'debate' – much of the debate has been informed by people who don't use the buses but now believe they can't sit down on them, can't stand up on them and that they might veer off the road and murder their children at the drop of a hat. As for the Routemaster debate let’s agree that the Routemaster (and the RT) were revolutionary 40 years ago with their narrow, compact design, light weight due to the use of aluminium (and a fibreglass bonnet) responsive engine and automatic gearbox. But they were a product of their time (and a massive centralised organisation which military style rebuilt them every 7 years) and the lack of access and running costs of having a conductor (who with Oyster would NOT take fares) cannot be justified today. More seriously what are the public safety implications of an open platform, who NOW designs a transport solution with a known fatal risk factor? It would be interesting to have a crystal ball and earwig how that one would play in a future court case?
London's iconic Routemaster Bus
The Old Routemaster wasn't just a bus; it was an iconic example of industrial engineering-cum-aesthetic tour de force which was every bit as important to Londoners and tourists alike as Big Ben, Carnaby Street in the swinging sixties and the dear old Queen Mum. Launching in 1954 and built by the Associated Equipment Company, it became a recognisable worldwide symbol of London, adorning postcards and becoming the must-have holiday snap for international visitors.
However for all Bozza the Buses excitement at his new Boy Toy there are some significant drawbacks. First there is the small matter of costs and revenue. Five buses are being built by Wrightbus at £7.8 million or £1.56 M a copy. OK this is for a prototype but there is no certainty it will go into to production so this Boris Toy could be a very expensive vanity project which will leave Londoner’s short-changed, have less capacity than the “Bendy Buses” (90 to 149) and be difficult for people of limited mobility, with shopping or children. To be anyway competitive the “New Routemaster” will need to be manufactured in its thousands which seems unlikely. And with two stairs and 3 entrances will this not seem a somewhat extravagant example of overdesign to solve a problem which isn’t really there? The previous Routemaster had mechanical simplicity on its side which is why it lasted over 40 years – will the same be said of the Bozza Bus?
The Bozza Bus
Why do we believe that there is something so unique about the streets of London that it requires a special bus which by its very nature would fly in the face of procurement efficiency? Is this not a solution which would have obsolescence built in, another in a long line of British World Beaters which never beat anything?
See also;
Bend it like Boris
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/bend-it-like-boris.html
A Bus for London
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/bus-for-london.html
Routemaster to Perdition
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/12/routemaster-to-perdition.html
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