New York has yellow cabs and London has red buses*. Images of these city brands are ingrained in our minds and give us a sense of place, as much as any built landmark does.
Unlike the standard fleet buses that most bus operators ‘rouge up’ for the capital, the original Routemaster bus, was a bus specifically for London designed by London Transport. No other bus typology can boast such popularity, let alone be named by the average user, so it is unsurprising that the London Routemaster bus has so often been voted for in the top list of British icons.
Fiat and Mini successfully updated their much loved models with a modern twist, so the odds were that Thomas Heatherwick’s new Routemaster bus introduced in 2012 would be just as successful. A new bus for London, capturing the essence of the original, whilst making it feel contemporary and accessible.
In terms of design, Heatherwick nailed it. It is a faithful enough creation so as to feel familiar, yet is a new design in its own right. Unlike most other buses, it offers a more luxurious experience for the user- a sophisticated yet subdued colour palette, a soft glow of lighting and two staircases to choose from. It generally gives off the feel of quality, something that the average London commuter rarely experiences. I should also mention that its curvaceous posterior is very pleasing on the eye.
I am a fan, but it is not without fault either. Aside from a few teething issues, in an age of health and safety red tape, the hop-on hop-off feature serves little purpose and the overall bus is apparently costly to produce. Five years after its rebirth the Routemaster is once again to be laid to rest. In order to fund fare freezes, Mayor Sadiq Khan has decreed that no more Routemasters are to be introduced to the London bus system. London’s buses will once more have to rely on a coat of red paint to define them. That’s Pantone 485 in case you were wondering...
*London Transport adopted red for its buses upon its formation in 1933. Following privatisation in the 1980s, bus operators started introducing their own livery and branding, but a rule was introduced in 1997 that enforced a rule of 80% red. Since 2011, all new buses have to be 100% red - interior decoration remains the choice of the individual operator.
