In fact this is a Dundee Corporation bus, pictured in 1957.
And according to Bridget Fox, Boris is already backpedalling: he has decalred that bringing in a new generation of routemasters is now an aspiration not a commitment.
So we must dream on.
Thanks to Fraser Macpherson for the picture.
1 comment:
Ironic that the photo you chose is of a bus that Dundee Corporation purchased secondhand - from London!
Meanwhile, Boris's new Routemasters - even if he ordered a new fleet tomorrow - would take some time to hit the streets. The development work on the original Routemaster design began in 1947, the first prototype appeared in 1954 and the first production models entered service in 1959. Construction ended in 1968.
By this reckoning, if Boris commissioned a new design now, we could expect delivery of the things between 2020 and 2029. A typical urban bus has a life expectancy of 15-20 years, so even Boris would need some other vehicles in the meantime.
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