One of the last 38's.

Comments

[paul fenton]

The 38 bus shown is not a Routemaster. The Routemaster replaced this type of double decker bus and in my memory was the equivalent of today's 'bendy' buses.

[Tom]

I think its sad we are losing the icon and being 33 I am not yet prone to great bouts of nostalgia (after all, I grew up in the '80s!). I agree the bendy buses just clog up the roads. The fact that they are bendy and modern and from the continent doesn't mean they are therefore cool and appropriate. Most disabled people had good access to the jojo buses because of the assistance of the conductor. I am sure the bean counters showed that not having a conductor would swiftly pay for the new buses. For me the main issue was pollution. As a cyclist I know that cycling down Oxford Street is like sticking your mouth round a Victorian factory chimney. It is sad there could not be found a way of rendering the old buses environmentally friendly. I am sure the cost was prohibitive and I doubt there exists a mechanism to place a value on maintaining the jojo buses for 'cultural' reasons.

[kat]

ah. yes. i did overhear talk about the history of this particular bus during the journey but i didn't realise it was quite that old. thanks.

[John]

Of course, the bus in this picture is actually not a Routemaster at all, but an even older RT brought out of retirement. The RTs ran on London streets from just before the 2nd World War until 1979.

[kat]

There was a lot of discussion about these issues on the bus on friday night and waiting in the bus stop at Victoria Station. Some people were saddened by the loss of a London icon but resigned to the change. Concerns over the safety of the platform and accessibility of less abled people infused many of their points. Others took a similar perspective to you. There was much discussion about the needs of disabled people - if a bendybus was the answer. For instance, a woman spoke of her blind mother who was really going to miss the conductors, how they helped her get on and off the bus and guided her navigation of the city. And an older man, about 70ish, said, 'I'm disabled. You wouldn't know it to look at me. But I've got a dodgy ticker. Not everyone who is disabled is in a wheelchair, you know'.

[adam]

the bendy bus will cause traffic chaos, hardly a seat will be free and how the hell can the disabled/prams get on when the public are packed like sardines inside.