Single to Totenschinken Hofstrasse, bitte

Click on the map for a larger image

I’m grateful to Ross Lydall of the London Evening Standard for the heads up on what the London Underground map may have looked like if Germany had won WWII. Never mind the map of Europe, this is how the map of the London Underground could have been redrawn if the Germans had won, or would it? An Austrian university librarian has imagined how the Tube network would look if we all spoke German, renaming the capital's 270 stations from Heidenreihe (Heathrow) to Hahnenzuchter (Cockfosters).



Horst Prillinger has used a mixture of wit and linguistic dexterity - Heidenreihe most accurately translates as "heathen row" while Hahnenzuchter could be read as "chicken farmer" - in adapting the station names. Mr Prillinger said the map had translations that preserved the meaning of the English words, such as Burnt Oak becoming Verbrannte Eiche, and "deliberate misunderstandings".

While the suffix "ham" means "home", he translated it as the meat, so West Ham becomes Westschinken. Here is Horst’s website;

http://homepage.univie.ac.at/horst.prillinger/metro/english/network_maps.html



For the history of Mr. Beck’s iconic London Underground Map see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/11/mapping-world.html

Der Untergrund

Die Linien, Bahnhöfe und Zonen von London Underground, London Overground und Docklands Light Railway (DLR). Als Klassiker des Designs macht die U-Bahn-Karte das Fahren im Londoner U-Bahn-Netz denkbar einfach. Diese übersichtliche Karte enthält einen Schlüssel zu allen eingezeichneten Stationen sowie die 6 Gebührenzonen.


Click on the map for a larger image

For more see TUBE BLOGS and TRANSPORT BLOGS in the Blog sidebar >>>>>

Bozza’s Bus for London

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

Northern Heights

Mill Hill East Station today

Thanks to my good buddy on the Blogosphere, Annie Mole of the wonderful London Underground Tube Diary (The link is in my Blogroll on the Blog sidebar) for the heads up on this wonderful “short” on the Northern Line Extension which was largely built but never completed after WW11. Over 2 miles of completed tunnel was used as an underground munitions factory during WW11 and the depot which was completed at Aldenham became the maintenance and training centre for the famous Routemaster Bus.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-british-design-quest.html

Even if this was not about the Underground Jay Foreman has real talent and has made a wonderful and engrossing short film, pondering whether we're any worse off because the Northern Heights was never finished. So, if you have ever wondered why the Northern Line has that strange little one station branch to Mill Hill East and why it only has one platform, sit back and enjoy this excellent short.


The track running beyond Mill Hill East

This was another line that formed part of the 1930s New Works programme and as such was due to be electrified was the LNER branch that ran between just north of Finchley Central, re-joining the other Northern Line branch just south of Edgware. Much of the work towards electrification had already taken place when World War II halted further development.

In 1941, the section that ran from Finchley Central to Mill Hill East was completed as single track and was electrified. The electrification of the line beyond Mill Hill East however was never completed. The line continued to be used for goods traffic until closed in the 1960s when the tracks were lifted.

Mapping the World

Harry Beck's original 1933 Underground Map Click on maps for a larger image



It is acknowledged that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so by any standards the world’s most flattered mapmaker must be Harry Beck who devised the famous diagrammatic London Underground Tube Map. By the early 1930s, the London Underground network had expanded so considerably that it was difficult to squeeze all the new lines and stations into a geographical map. Passengers complained that the existing map was crowded, confusing and hard to read. It was decided that the network was too big to be represented geographically and the Underground commissioned one of its draughtsmen Harry Beck (1903-1974) to devise a more efficient method.





Harry Beck and his map



Basing his map on an electrical circuit, Beck represented each line in a different colour and interchange stations as diamonds. The crowded central area was enlarged and the course of each route simplified into the form of a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line. The diagrammatic map was produced on a trial basis as a leaflet in 1933 and Beck continued to refine it until 1959. For the full story see;



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-british-design-quest.html



London Transport has contributed a great deal to modern British Design largely through the influence of Frank Pick. The obsession with clear design and image was continued through to Harry Beck’s famous schematic map, commissioning its own “machine typeface” to make its posters, signage and publications clearer, building instantly recognisable branded station buildings and station fittings and using engaging and innovative advertising in the 30’s. Today London Underground’s trademark roundel is the second most recognised brand worldwide. The Directors in the 20s and 30s saw good design as good for business. By the example it set under Frank Pick the Underground was gradually able to change the public’s attitude to railway stations which had been seen as shabby and inhospitable places. Sir Nicholas Pevsner wrote that Pick saw in every detail a “visual propaganda” and he used this not only to improve the Underground but the environment as a whole. Charles Holden brought the Underground station to the forefront of modern architecture: This achievement is unequalled by any other transport company before or since. See about Charles Holden’s influence and his design for the Underground’s iconic headquarters here;



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/give-my-regards-to-55-broadway.html





Eisenhower Interstate Highway SystemClick on maps for a larger image



The map above translates Harry Beck’s Map to add clarity to the United States Interstate Highway Network. Its creator Senex Prime http://www.flickr.com/photos/senexprime/ set out to simplify America's Interstate system & thought London's Tube map was the best way to present a lot of information very concisely and clearly. In his own description;



“I have rendered the Interstate system in a much simpler form. I have made the "major" highways (those divisible by 5) the framework of the map, with the "minor" highways reduced in importance and rendered as thinner grey lines. Even with these highways, a difference in the greys indicates whether they are even-numbered (west-east) or odd-numbered (north-south). Dots on the highways indicate interchanges: large dots where major highways meet other major highways, smaller dots where major meets minor and tiny dots where minor highways begin or end. A full key at the bottom indicates clearly where each highway begins and ends.”



One of my own favourites is the Webzine b3ta http://www.b3ta.com/ which had a map challenge where people were challenged to create a map that told the truth. Not surprisingly there are many re-creations based on the London Underground Map including this one which portrays London as seen by tourists, poor things.





London for tourists?Click on maps for a larger image



Mark Ovenden is a broadcaster and author who specialises in the subjects of graphic design, cartography and architecture in public transport, with an emphasis on underground rapid transit. His interest in transport maps stems from his belief that they echo the prevailing social and political trends of the societies they emanate from. His Urban World Metro Map is a "playful diagram" showing "all the cities which have, are building or are planning to construct an urban rail system."





World's Urban Rail SystemsClick on maps for a larger image



Like with Harry Beck’s Map there can only ever be one which was “The First” and for the story of the first Underground railway in the world which opened to passengers from Paddington to Farringdon on 10 January 1863 take a look at this post covering one of the world’s Great Railway Journey;



http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html



As for Mr. Beck and his map? Well, as these examples show the map devised and then lovingly nurtured (by hand before the days of computers) in his spare time for over 30 years has made this simple draughtsman in London Underground’s Signals Department one of the world’s most influential and most imitated cartographers.



Click on maps for a larger image

Anagram map of the Underground by http://home.greywulf.net/



For more on Architecture and Design see ArchiBlogs in the Blog sidebar.

Great British Design Quest

A new set of postage stamps celebrates a century of British design icons — from the Mini car to the miniskirt. The Royal Mail stamps feature 10 different 20th-century design classics. They include the red double-decker bus, the Concorde supersonic jet, the orange-and-white Penguin paperback and the compact Mini car.





Another shows the miniskirt designed by Mary Quant that revolutionised fashion in the 1960s. Quant says she was "bowled over with delight" at the honour. The Royal Mail said the original idea had been to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mini, but that this was expanded to include other 20th-century icons. The stamps released Tuesday can all be used for first-class postage within Britain. They will be available for a year.





Is there anything more British than a red telephone box? Like giant red soldiers, they have been a landmark for a lifetime. The shape of architect’s Sir John Soane’s mausoleum in St. Pancras Old Churchyard in London provided the inspiration for the design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott of the iconic red telephone boxes.





K6 phonebox - They were painted red to make them easy to spot.


Designed at the request of the Post Office in 1926 the K2 was the first production cast iron kiosk. Too expensive for national use, the K2 was produced exclusively for the London area. All K2 kiosks now on the street are preserved as listed buildings. Designed to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George the Fifth in 1935 the K6 kiosk was the first to be installed across the country and is what the World knows of as the red telephone box.

It is gratifying that two designs from London Transport have made it to the “Top 10”, Harry Beck’s Tube Map at No. 2 and the iconic Routemaster Bus at No. 6. For London Transport has contributed a great deal to modern British Design largely through the influence of Frank Pick. The obsession with clear design and image was continued through to Harry Beck’s famous schematic map, commissioning its own “machine typeface” to make its posters, signage and publications clearer, building instantly recognisable branded station buildings and station fittings and using engaging and innovative advertising in the 30’s. Today London Underground’s trademark roundel is the second most recognised brand worldwide. The Directors in the 20s and 30s saw good design as good for business. By the example it set under Frank Pick the Underground was gradually able to change the public’s attitude to railway stations which had been seen as shabby and inhospitable places. Sir Nicholas Pevsner wrote that Pick saw in every detail a “visual propaganda” and he used this not only to improve the Underground but the environment as a whole. Charles Holden brought the Underground station to the forefront of modern architecture: This achievement is unequalled by any other transport company before or since.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/04/give-my-regards-to-55-broadway.html

The London Underground map has been selected by the Design Museum and BBC Two's The Culture Show to appear in a shortlist of 25 items for the Great British Design Quest, a nationwide vote to find the public's favourite example of design in Britain since 1900.




Harry Beck's Map

By the early 1930s, the London Underground network had expanded so considerably that it was difficult to squeeze all the new lines and stations into a geographical map. Passengers complained that the existing map was crowded, confusing and hard to read. It was decided that the network was too big to be represented geographically and the Underground commissioned one of its draughtsmen Harry Beck (1903-1974) to devise a more efficient method.


Mr. Beck and his map

Basing his map on an electrical circuit, Beck represented each line in a different colour and interchange stations as diamonds. The crowded central area was enlarged and the course of each route simplified into the form of a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line. The diagrammatic map was produced on a trial basis as a leaflet in 1933 and Beck continued to refine it until 1959.

As the tube system grew during the early 1900's maps showed the layout as it related to communities and streets that lay above it. This would be a perfectly predictable and acceptable “design answer'” in the early days of the system since the early users would need to relate the comparatively new system to the streets and areas they already knew. These early maps were not Beck's and as the tube layout became more complex he realised that a major simplification was necessary. The use of lines drawn only in multiples of 45 degree angles allowed him to begin his simplification.

His task covered more than 30 years of development and in a time when cartographic changes were not achieved by “dragging and dropping” or simply “clicking a button” on the computer, this represented an astonishing degree of dedication. His early maps and lettering were all drawn by hand.



Harry Beck was an electrical draughtsman and produced drawings of electrical circuits; circuits used in the running of the Underground itself but his training had given him knowledge of the symbols and techniques used to depict wiring, diodes, resistors, junctions and valves. He obviously knew of the colour coding used on resistors and capacitors and had the considerable draughting skills to produce concise drawings ~ this was after all his job with London Underground, and as he lived and worked in London he had experience of the tube system itself. Familiarity with a design 'need' is usually a tremendous help when it comes to finding solutions to a problem and Beck's home in the north London suburb of Finchley was far enough away from the city that he would have frequently used the underground-rail system.

Beck first submitted his idea to Frank Pick of London Underground in 1931 but it was considered too radical as it did not show distances relative from any one station to the others. During 1933 the map was given its first publication (700,000 copies) and the reaction of the travelling customers proved it to be sound design; it immediately required a large reprint after only one month. Beck was paid the equivalent of £5.25 or his "Design Classic"! It should be said that Beck continued working on the map as the system changed, until his death in 1964 and this work has continued - more recently by Tim Demuth (and early on with Paul Garbutt - 1964), of London Transport's Publicity Department. The “simple coloured lines on white” are now used on so many other products the map is symbolic of London's tourist industry itself.


A commemorative plaque near Beck's home in Finchley


Harry Beck's map has created such a powerful impression that it dominates our perceptions of London's geography. A variation of his original design is still used by London Underground today, and Beck's concept of a diagrammatic map has been imitated all over the world.


Routemaster Bus

One of the most famous symbols of Britain is the double-decker bus, which was first introduced in 1925 when the London General Omnibus Company secured official approval to use buses with covered top decks. The first double-decker was the NS-type, but the most popular - and memorable - emerged thirty years later when the Routemaster took to the road.



Developed over nine years from 1947 to 1956 by a team led by Douglas Scott (1913-1990), the Routemaster was designed for efficient mass-production. By constructing a bus from the maximum number of interchangeable parts, Scott reduced the cost of the initial tooling and manufacturing and of repairs and maintenance too. He equipped the Routemaster with the latest innovations such as power steering, an automatic gearbox, hydraulic brakes, independent springs and heating controls.



Passengers loved the Routemaster for its distinctive 'brick' silhouette, with a flatter front and less prominent engine than its predecessors, and for endearing interior features such as the 'lovers' seat' at the back, wind-down windows and soft lighting. The Routemaster remained in active service for nearly fifty years. After several reprieves, it was finally withdrawn in 2005 except for token use on two heritage routes. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has pledged to bring back the Routemaster as a redesigned modern bus but there are doubts as to whether this is possible or practicable.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/12/routemaster-to-perdition.html



For more on Architecture and Design see ArchiBlogs in the Blog sidebar.

Routemaster to perdition?

Foster / Aston Martin "Green" Routemaster

The competition launched in July to find a new Routemaster bus for London has found its winner. Well two of them. Warwickshire-based sports car maker Aston Martin, along with architects Foster and Partners, won the £25,000 prize jointly with Wiltshire bus maker Capoco Design. A Transport for London spokesman said the first of the greener and more accessible, hop-on hop-off, double-deckers could be in service by 2011.

If you believe the press releases from City Hall LONDON'S new Routemaster came a step closer as Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled the winning designs for the next generation of the bus. A streamlined space-capsule bus, designed by car-maker Aston Martin and architect Lord Foster, and a Fifties style vehicle by bus designer Capoco shared the top prize. They will each be awarded £25,000 although it was unclear whether their designs would have more than a glancing influence on the bus that ends up on London's streets.

Mr Johnson will set out the next steps in delivering his new bus during an awards ceremony in central London. "When I launched the competition, I asked for stylish and imaginative designs which would resonate with Londoners," he said. "We have had a phenomenal response, with ideas submitted from around the globe, and we now have, in our joint winners, two stunning designs that allow us to go forward and produce a truly iconic bus fit for 21st century London.

"I know that, like me, Londoners will be waiting eagerly to see how these ideas evolve into the final design that will appear on our roads." The winning designs will be passed on to bus manufacturers to develop into a final design. Transport for London expects to award a contract to build the first new bus for London towards the end of next year, with the first of the vehicles on the streets by 2011. The Mayor initially said the new Routemasters would cost £8 million to run with conductors but was later forced to admit the figure would be nearer £100 million.


Boris the Busman

Routemasters were phased out by former Mayor Ken Livingstone amid concerns about accessibility as well as safety questions over the "hop-on, hop-off" platforms. Mr Johnson made bringing in a new generation of the popular bus a key pledge of his election campaign. The winning design had to include an open platform to let passengers board and alight "quickly and easily", show "good use of interior space" and "accessibility", as well as including green technology and having a conductor. The judges particularly liked the rounded rear of the Foster/Aston Martin bus, designed by Todd Hutton, and its nod to the heritage of the original Routemaster by including wooden floors.




Capoco Routemaster Design

More modern aspects included solar panels built into the glass roof -although there have been concerns this could steam up in winter and make the bus top-heavy. The Capoco submission was praised for its technical excellence, in particular its light-weight structure and hybrid propulsion. It also had a separate door for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The bus would seat 66 passengers with room for 14 standing, compared with 72 seats and five standing on the old Routemaster. More than 700 entries were received for the competition.

The judges were the Mayor, his transport adviser Kulveer Ranger, Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy, TfL's head of surface transport David Brown, Clare Kavanagh and Mike Weston from London Buses and bus expert David Quainton.

Now the Celtic sage has previously cast a rather cold eye on the “New Routemaster” competition for it does rather beg the question if the “New Routemaster” is the answer what is the question?

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/bend-it-like-boris.html

Speaking as Boris Johnson announced the winners of his design-a-bus competition, Labour's transport spokesperson Val Shawcross said the "Routemaster" competition was not a serious way to make transport policy.


The Real Deal

"The design competition may have been fun and the winning designs are extremely impressive, but this is not a serious way to make policy and not a worthwhile use of public money. If Boris actually used London's buses or talked to those who do, he would see that London's existing fleet is modern, accessible and well-designed. I have yet to hear one convincing argument for why London needs a new double-decker bus and until Boris comes up with some Londoners will see this as little more than a vanity project. There is understandably a lot of nostalgia for the old Routemaster but nostalgia doesn't get people to work on time."

So what happens now?

Well the Mayor has sort of fulfilled his Manifesto commitment.

• There may be a new bus once somebody redesigns one

• And then builds it

• At some point in the future when the Mayor is safely out of office!

But here is a not untypical comment from the 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."

And 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. So we end up with a pointless, expensive and patronising solution to a problem we don't have. 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?

And 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?


The production model?

Boris Bendy Jihad Update

CRIKEY!

From the Evening Standard, London, 24th October 2008

LONDON'S new Routemaster bus will operate on a scale far wider than expected but the much-hyped public competition to design it is a sideshow, according to a senior Transport for London manager. As the Mayor, Boris Johnson, prepares to unveil the results of the competition, it has emerged that TfL will order up to 800 of the open-platform new Routemasters, almost double the expected number. They will serve all central London's busiest routes, not just bendy routes.

The design contest has attracted around 470 entries, including one from Norman Foster. But David Hampson-Ghani, TfL's programme manager for new buses, said it was seen inside TfL as "almost a consultation" to the key effort, talks with the manufacturers. "The key objective is to replace the current buses that are used on central London's busiest bus routes," said Mr Hampson-Ghani in a recent presentation to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport obtained by the Standard. "It's not about replacing bendy buses, it's about replacing whatever is operating at the moment and that may include bendy buses.

"We will simply hand over a folder of the winning designs [from the competition] to whoever wins the manufacturing tender and say: 'See what you can do with these.' The ultimate aim is to have a single manufacturer who will work up the design, prototype it and then build it." Conductor operation and an open platform, however, are non-negotiable. An invitation to tender will be issued in February 2009 and a contract for a "prototype and initial service vehicles" will be awarded next October. Mr Hampson-Ghani said the order would be for "700 to 800 vehicles over a three-year period". TfL had been in talks with the Department for Transport and the EU, he said, and had reached tentative agreement that regulations do allow an open-platform bus. "We already have buses like that on the roads today."

It had been thought that the major manufacturers were lukewarm about the scheme. "If you speak to the manufacturers privately, they'll tell you that making a vehicle like that is no longer possible in this day and age," said Robert Jack, managing editor of Transit magazine. However, both publicly and in private, Britain's two largest bus manufacturers expressed strong enthusiasm to the Standard. "TfL has been in contact and we are very interested," said a spokesman for Ballymena-based Wrightbus. Earlier this month TfL's head, Peter Hendy, visited the company's Northern Ireland plant to discuss the Routemaster and other projects.
"We are going to be all systems go. There is a solution there without a doubt," said a spokesman for Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis. "If London wants a Routemaster, we are going to be delighted to oblige." Chief executive Colin Robertson said his 80-strong engineering team was devoting increasing amounts of time to the project: "There is a good chance we could come up with a new design. We want to keep our top-dog position [in London] when it comes to the Routemaster."


"I now backing Obama!"

The new Routemaster is almost certain to use a hybrid drive, where a diesel engine powers batteries which run the bus, making it dramatically cleaner than existing bendy and double-deck buses. A conventional hybrid double-decker will be unveiled by Alexander Dennis at the bus industry's main annual trade fair next month. The order of up to 800 Routemasters is far more than needed to replace the bendy routes, which need 350 buses to operate them. It offers the prospect of being able to build the buses at a lower cost per unit than a smaller run.

If no major manufacturer is willing to make the buses, one industry expert said others could easily step forward. "Making a bus is not an expensive production-line job with robots and the like," says Hilton Holloway, news editor of Autocar magazine, which produced its own Routemaster design last year. "Compared to volume cars it is crude a bit of a cottage industry, with a lot of fabrication. Some of the new Routemaster designs are pretty radical but the majors have been making buses the same way for a hundred years. They might not be the best people to do this." Opposition members of the London Assembly have criticised the drive to introduce a new Routemaster. Val Shawcross, Labour chair of the assembly's transport committee, said the Mayor was "letting his personal prejudice override any sense of reason and should return the drawing board as soon as possible".

However, the new bus does appear to have caught the public imagination. Rukaiya Russell, a house music artist from New Cross, has released a track called Bring Back the Routemaster. The rap includes the ding-ding of a Routemaster's bell and the shouting-out of all the RM route numbers swept away in Ken Livingstone's cull of 2003-5. "Walking around central London one day, I just thought how I missed jumping on and off down Oxford Street, and I found myself singing 'Bring back the Routemaster'," says Russell on her MySpace site.

See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/bend-it-like-boris.html


Boris Johnson on a Routemaster

Bend it like Boris.

Bendy the Bus

London Mayor Boris Johnson's plan to scrap bendy buses will cost £60m + and is against Transport for London's (TfL) advice, opponents have claimed. Boris made an election commitment to “Scrap the Bendy Buses” and has launched a competition for a replacement design. Indeed having seen some of the entries so far the Celtic Sage is sorry he didn’t buy a new box of crayons and enter himself – although it has to be said that the artistic possibilities of drawing a Big Red Box with a wheel near each of the four corners are limited. However the Sage may be unduly pessimistic here for has not Damien Hirst achieved more with less?

Boris Johnson had vowed that his first act as Mayor of London would be to scrap bendy buses and replace them with a modern-day Routemaster. Mr Johnson said that the controversial buses were abused by fare dodgers and highly dangerous to cyclists.



Speaking at the first Tory candidate’s hustings meeting, the MP for Henley said that he would introduce a new version of the Routemaster bus that had been axed by Ken Livingstone. Their replacement would be fully accessible for the disabled and mothers with buggies. He said: "We should on day one, act one, scene one, hold a competition to get rid of the bendy bus. They wipe out cyclists, there are many cyclists killed every year by them. "It's not beyond the wit of man to design a new Routemaster which will stand as an icon of this city."
(http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/long-long-ago-ok-it-was-only-this-time.html )

Now talk (particularly election talk) is cheap but spending taxpayer’s money is another thing, especially now that we are in Credit Crunch Land. And all this begs the question of whether Bendy or not, London’s transport future should be fixed on putting BIG RED BOXES with 65% empty seats on the roads of London or if we should look for a better way?

At a time when people are being encouraged to leave the car at home, a "super bus" carrying nearly twice as many people as a double-decker would seem to be the answer. The bendy bus has had a troubled journey but it could soon be the end of the road for it in London. Does the shape of a bus really provoke such strong emotions? Enemies of the bendy bus have long been seeing red.

But in the cycling community there is a lot of anxiety about them. Some say the extra length means overtaking them at bus stops can be "terrifying" and there is the ever-present danger that drivers turn left without looking. But a spokesman for the London Cycling Campaign says while bendy buses can be awkward on narrow streets, Lorries are a far greater danger. And Lionel Shapiro, who has 60 years of cycling experience, says there is a lot of mythology about them. They actually "turn beautifully" round corners and sometimes collisions are purely the fault of the cyclist.


Bendymaster

The London Assembly Labour group said the Mayor is ignoring TfL's opinion that the buses pose no safety risk and they said that independent figures show getting rid of bendy buses on three services will cost an extra £13m a year, or £60m for all the routes.

A mayoral spokesman said Mr Johnson was not ignoring TfL advice. "TfL are currently evaluating tenders to operate services on two of the routes and trying to secure the very best deal for Londoners," the spokesman said. "This means it would be massively irresponsible to make public the figure TfL anticipate to be the cost of replacing bendy buses as it could affect the deals that bus companies have offered." He added that the mayor was determined to rid the streets of bendy buses in "the most cost-effective way".

TfL is currently consulting on proposals to remove bendy buses on three busy London routes, the 521, the 507 and the 38. Independent transport watchdog London TravelWatch, has estimated it will cost an extra £12m to £13m a year to replace bendy buses on those three routes alone. Using these figures, the assembly Labour group said to replace bendy buses on all the routes on which they currently operate would cost around £60m.

Earlier this month Janet Cooke, the chief executive of London TravelWatch, said they saw "no reason" to scrap the buses. Val Shawcross, Labour's transport spokeswoman, said Mr Johnson was ignoring professional advice from TfL officers, who earlier this year said the bendy bus was no more dangerous than any other bus in London. Ms Shawcross said: "The mayor seems determined to press ahead with his plans, no matter what the cost to Londoners.”He is letting his personal prejudice override any sense of reason and should return to the drawing board as soon as possible. It's not too late for him to change his mind."

However, whether the Mayor changes his mind or not the “Son of Bendy” competition will close at the end of this month and new designs continue to emerge. A PROPOSAL for a new electric Routemaster bus is unveiled today, complete with glass roof, optional solar panels and LCD screens showing route details. Passengers can hop on and off the German-designed e21 a crucial feature of the old Routemasters. But unlike the original, the e21 has a safety barrier that can be moved across the open doors in case of overcrowding.

The bus is also more accessible than the old model, with space for seven wheelchairs and a floor that lowers automatically by sensing the level of the kerb. Passengers on the top deck will be able to enjoy panoramic views through a transparent roof, which uses hi-tech insulation glass to protect them from heat and cold. Some sections of the roof will open like a sunroof and there will be the option of exchanging some of the panes for solar panels. To boost safety the e21 uses metal that absorbs frontal impacts and side parts made of plastics that can spring back into shape after a collision. The proposal was drawn up by designer Michael Kerz, a graduate of St Martin's design school, for a contest launched by Mayor Boris Johnson to find a 21st century version of the Routemaster. The classic vehicle was withdrawn from service by Ken Livingstone. Mr Johnson has pledged to revive it.


e21 - Der Routemeister?

The e21 can recharge its electric batteries in 10 minutes, with operating costs of a few pence per kilometre making the additional platform conductor even more affordable. Mr Kerz said: "A see-through roof or panoramic cabin is the obvious solution to satisfy tourists' needs." The e21 is one of a series of rival designs, including the H4, which boasts U-shaped seating and TV screens. Another by Foster and Partners has a glass roof. Judges are due to meet next week with a winner announced next month.

The Celtic Sage will leave himself open to accusations of using his immense influence to change the outcome but he has two favourites – The one with the smile on the front known as the “Bob the Builder” bus but which will be renamed “Bobski the Builder” if it is made in Poland. But the best of the old and new is the “Bendymaster”, a recycled (pair) of Routemasters with an articulated bit in the middle. Like looking at a Dyson Rollerball Hover (made in Malaysia) it provokes the oft asked question “Is there any end to Great British Genius?”


Smile, it is the “Bob the Builder” bus

However as the Sage has pointed out before he has an open mind on Bendy Buses as they do provide higher capacity on London’s streets and do address the very real problem of making public transport accessible for those who have impaired mobility in a country whose practical attitude to the disabled can only with kindness be described as disgraceful. The figure shows 10% of the population are classified as “mobility impaired” but, of course, this would constitute a higher proportion of the potential users of Public Transport and accessibility needs to be drastically improved to put the “Public” in “Public Transport”.

However the “Replacement Routemaster” competition may in the end may prove a non sequiter, empty sloganeering which, like the replacement bus, will end up going nowhere.

The London Tram

For there is a more fundamental problem with a combination of bus privatisation and the limited capacity of London’s streets. Bus privatisation has resulted in higher costs and differing standards as the recent strike by drivers protesting against different wages on different routes shows. The fundamental problem is the increases in bus capacity have been bought at the expense of an exponential increase in bus subsidy with some suggesting that the effective subsidy could be as high as £5 for each daily bus passenger? Also, because those who live in that great repository of Financial Genius and First Rate Minds, HM Treasury, insisted that the bus garages were sold off as part of bus privatisation so it is now difficult to have effective competition as new entrants won’t have garages. Simply put, buses are big boxes and you need somewhere to put these big boxes to sleep at night.


The route using the Kingsway Tram Subway


Tram Subway today


Tram Subway yesterday

So the solution may in part be to revive the tramway system. There is an Underground tram tunnel through Central London which directly connects with the Underground in the Kingsway Tram Subway and this could support a cross river North / South Tram connection with (say) 3 lines going north and south of the River Thames. If he Uxbridge / Shepherds Bush Tram proposal was revived to form an East / West Tramway going through Oxford Street and Holborn to Liverpool Street and Olympic East London you would have a very viable street level fixed link with modern Eco Friendly Trams which would address the capacity and accessibility problems of a bus only solution. A start has already been made as Cross River Tram is a proposal for a tram service running on-street between Euston and Waterloo, with branches to Camden Town and King's Cross in the north, and Brixton and Peckham in the south.

So the result of Boris Johnston’s “Replacement Routemaster” competition maybe a more informed and intelligent debate on the limitations and costs of moving Big Red Boxes around London. If this results in a revival of London’s Trams the Celtic Sage would regard this as a good result for London and Public Transport users!