Future Routemaster
Encyclopedia
The New Bus for London, designed by Heatherwick Studio, is a planned 21st Century replacement of the iconic Routemaster
as a bus built specifically for use in London. It is to be built by Wrightbus
, and will feature the 'hop-on hop-off' rear open platform of the original Routemaster, but will meet the requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible
, and will incorporate an electric hybrid driveline
. A prototype is expected to be on the road by late 2011, with the first buses due to enter service in early 2012, in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics
.
The original Routemaster was a standard London bus type with a rear open platform and crewed by both a driver and conductor
. It was withdrawn from service (except for two Heritage Routes) at the end of 2005 by London Mayor Ken Livingstone
, in favour of a fully accessible one person operated modern fleet, none of which feature a rear open platform. The withdrawal of the Routemaster became an issue of the 2008 London mayoral election
, and the new Mayor Boris Johnson
was subsequently elected Mayor pledging as part of his campaign to introduce a new Routemaster. Following an open design competition held during 2008, at the end of 2009 Wrightbus were awarded the contract to build the bus, announcing their final design in May 2010.
The design for the new bus features three doors and two staircases to be able to use a rear platform and allow accessible boarding. Unlike the original standard RM Routemaster used in central London, the new bus has a conventional flat front end and a rear platform that can be closed when not needed, rather than the protruding bonneted 'half cab' design and permanently open platform, to allow the bus to be operated by one driver in off peak times.
In common with the rest of Great Britain, the operation of public transport bus service
s were deregulated in 1986, meaning the majority of routes are now operated by private companies, with both timetabling, routes and vehicle policy decided by commercial factors.
The privatisation of London bus services
however, was structured slightly differently, whereby private bus operators operate routes won on a commercial tender basis from London Transport
(and its later successors), as the new government body responsible for the regulation of bus services in London.
On 4 May 2000 the office of Mayor of London
was created, with more wide ranging powers over transport policy for London, who now implemented London wide transport policy through the Transport for London
(TfL) executive agency.
Prior to 1986, there had developed a 'standard' London bus type which was manufactured with features unique to London, as specified by the government procurer and operator of buses, London Transport. After a brief relaxation, the idea of a London specific bus continued through deregulation by the inclusion of required features of buses to be used on contract awarded routes, a practice continued under TfL.
Under this model, the companies operating buses in London are private enterprises, but the choice of vehicles they operate is essentially decided by TfL, governed by the need for manufacturers to supply a choice of buses to operators to the London specification. The Future Routemaster therefore, if offered by a manufacturer, can be introduced to London by being specified as the only acceptable type for certain route contracts.
Designed for and largely operated in London, over 2,800 of the original Routemaster
bus were built between 1956 and 1968, following a design effort started in 1947. So robust was the design that the Routemaster outlived newer buses intended to replace it, into the deregulated era. It was not eventually withdrawn from regular London passenger service until December 2005.
From 31 December 2000 it had become mandatory for all new buses delivered in the UK to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
, leading to the development of the wheelchair accessible low-floor bus
. Through the TfL contract renewal process, after 2000, the Routemaster began to be isolated as the most common example of a non-wheelchair accessible bus type used on TfL routes.
The inaugural London Mayor Ken Livingstone
had shown support for the Routemaster during his first term, indicating the type would be retained in a limited capacity on contract renewals as before. In 2004, after election as Mayor for a second term, Livingstone changed the policy on the Routemaster, preferring to convert the entire London fleet to modern bus types.
While older buses were exempt from the disability discrimination requirements until 2017, after the 2004 election, TfL adopted an internal policy aim of requiring all of its bus routes to be operated by low-floor buses, thereby requiring the withdrawal of the Routemaster from London. Contributory factors to the withdrawal were said to be the risk of litigation over accidents arising from using the rear platform, and the cost savings of one man operation, and that passengers preferred the comfort levels of modern buses to the now vintage Routemaster.
The Routemaster continues in operation on two Heritage Routes awarded as TfL contract tendered routes, but they do not contravene the TfL accessible public transport policy requirement as they are paralleled over their entire route by low-floor vehicles of the same route number.
In 1968 London Transport went back to the drawing board for another replacement of the Routemaster, with an anticipated introduction date of 1985. The initial result was a four-axle low-floor design that would have been suitable for automatic fare collection. By 1975 the project was well in hand and had been named XRM (for eXperimantal RouteMaster). Features of the new design included a side-mounted engine for maximum flexibility in door and seating layout, and hydraulic drive
to four small-wheeled axles for the lowest possible floor. Experiments in the mid-1970s yielded disappointing results, and in 1978 the XRM morphed into a more-conventional-looking vehicle, albeit with the rear door located behind the rear axle. Other proposed features were LPG fuel and hydraulic suspension to lower the floor entry floor at stops. XRM design work was cancelled in September 1980, as it was calculated that it would cost only £13.5m to rehabilitate 2,700 Routemasters vs. £153m to build 2,500 new XRMs.
A decade later London Transport once again looked for another replacement. In 1989 designs were solicited from Dennis Bus
, Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company and Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
. Somewhat surprisingly, the style specified was a rear-entrance half-cab layout identical to the original Routemaster, but now considered obsolete elsewhere in Britain.
, running against the incumbent Ken Livingstone, announced that he was contemplating introducing a modern-day Routemaster bus. In December 2007, the UK automotive magazine Autocar
commissioned the bus designer Capoco, designer of the innovative Optare Solo
, to come up with detailed proposals for a new-generation Routemaster. Their design, dubbed the RMXL, was a hybrid
technology low-floor bus
with a lightweight aluminium space frame, with four more seats and twice the standing capacity of the old Routemaster, and still crew operated with a driver and conductor
.
The design incorporated disabled access through a closing front door behind the front wheels, while retaining an open platform rear access, with the staircase still located at the rear. The hybrid drivetrain has a front-mounted continuous-revving hydrogenised petrol engine; this charges front-mounted batteries, which power the rear wheels through rear-mounted electric motors. This arrangement, through not requiring a mechanical transmission, allows for a low floor and a step free entrance into the lower deck from the rear platform.
Hydrogen storage tanks would be located under the rear staircase. The design was covered by the national press but attracted criticism from Ken Livingstone as being too costly to justify and still not safe, despite proposals to monitor the rear platform with cameras.
Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson backed the Autocar / Capoco design in principle and suggested that he would hold a formal design competition to develop a new Routemaster if he was elected London mayor in 2008. He won the election on 4 May 2008 and two months later, on 4 July, he announced the New Bus For London competition.
An initiative of Transport for London
, the competition invited anybody, both companies and members of the public, to submit ideas for consideration. The competition had two categories, an Imagine category for general ideas and concepts, and a Design category, for more detailed proposals. In both categories, entries could be either "whole bus" submissions, or proposals for parts of the bus.
The Imagine category called for the submission of imaginative ideas for a red double-decker bus
with a rear open platform, and one other entrance/exit with doors. The Design category called for detailed designs of a low floor
red double-decker bus
with at least one internal staircase, a rear open platform, and one other entrance/exit with doors, to be crewed by a driver and conductor, and suitable for carrying 72 passengers seated and standing. The designs were required to satisfy a table of mandatory and suggested design specifications, and "be practical and economic and capable of being put into mass production". The competition offered cash prizes for entrants, with £25,000 for the winner, and smaller awards for good ideas.
Some initial proposals gained media attention after being unveiled during October 2008, namely a "smiley bus" known as the H4 (designed by the H4 Group). Future Systems
offered a "space age" alternative powered by hydrogen.
Foster and Partners
submitted a glass roofed design.
The competition was closed, and the winners announced on 19 December 2008. On closing, the competition had received 225 entries to the Design category, and 475 entries for the Imagine category. The competition entrants were judged by a panel of six, made up of a Tfl board member, two Tfl managers, two London Buses
managers, and an independent judge, a former commercial director of Alexander Dennis
.
The £25,000 prize for winning the whole bus Design category was shared between two entries, one from Capoco Design, a bus, coach and truck design firm, and one from a joint submission made by architects Foster and Partners
and automotive company Aston Martin
On 22 May 2009, six bus manufacturers were invited to negotiate for the contract to design and build the new bus. The six manufacturers were Alexander Dennis
, EvoBus
(which includes Mercedes-Benz buses
), Hispano Carrocera
, Optare
, Scania AB
, Wrightbus
, having all met Transport for London's criteria for pre-qualification for tendering, which included demonstrating they had a manufacturing capacity of building 600 buses over 3 years. Volvo Buses
declined to enter the bidding process. Transport for London set a deadline of 14 August for the submission of detailed tenders, and Scania and Evobus subsequently both pulled out before this deadline. Scania did not believe the timeline for introduction of the first prototype was feasible for them, while Evobus had concerns over their lack of a double-decker in the current line-up.
On 23 December 2009, Northern Ireland-based vehicle manufacturer Wrightbus
was awarded the contract to build the Future Routemaster. The contract called for a bus with a capacity for at least 87 passengers, two staircases, three doors, and an open rear platform, able to be closed off when not required, such as at night. The bus would be a hybrid bus, utilising technology to make it 40 per cent more fuel efficient than conventional diesel buses, and 15 per cent more fuel efficient than London hybrid buses already in operation, also reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 40 per cent and particulate matter by 33 per cent compared with conventional diesel buses.
On 17 May 2010, the final design for the new Routemaster was unveiled by Wrightbus, featuring asymmetric glass swoops as its signature "futuristic" styling feature. Transport for London and Wrightbus worked with Heatherwick Studio to produce the styling for Wrightbus' final design. As an iconic bus for London, Transport for London has applied to the Intellectual Property Office for Registered Design Protection for the Wrightbus exterior design.
The bodywork features two diagonal glass windows from top to bottom decks, one curving around the rear, the other on the right hand side towards the front, which serve to illuminate the interiors of both staircases with natural light. The rear staircase is in the same position as the original Routemaster, curving around the rear section, while the front staircase is straight, ascending on the right hand side of the chassis over the driver's cab, opening out in the front of the upper deck.
, with fleet number V3, having two staircases.
The London transport commissioner Peter Hendy
acknowledged in 2008 that there were economic challenges in requiring current private London bus operators to tender for routes if they required the outright purchase of the new bus for London. He acknowledged this could lead to higher bids overall, due to the fact a rear platform bus was unlikely to appeal to operators outside London, and with the questionable utility of hybrid technology to more rural operations.
An independent review of London buses by KPMG
for Transport for London's London Buses
Ltd division, who oversee the day to day network and route tendering system, but do not own or operate buses, found that in the current credit climate, the private London bus operators were reluctant to take on the residual value risk posed by the New Bus for London route contracts, while Transport for London would not be able to own the bus fleet due to capital restrictions. It therefore recommended that, to allow use of the new buses, that either route contracts be extended to the expected life of the buses, to use a leasing company to own the whole fleet, or to otherwise guarantee in some way that the residual risk to operators could be reduced.
's The One Show
airing a segment on 18 May 2010 reviewing the 100 year history of the London standard double-decker, with John Sergeant
reviewing the history of, and riding preserved examples of, the 1910 built LGOC B-type
, the RT-Type
, and finally the original Routemaster
.
Winning design
Design competition
Retrospective of old Routemasters
FRM and XRM
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
as a bus built specifically for use in London. It is to be built by Wrightbus
Wrightbus
Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.-History:...
, and will feature the 'hop-on hop-off' rear open platform of the original Routemaster, but will meet the requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
, and will incorporate an electric hybrid driveline
Hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles , which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.-Power:...
. A prototype is expected to be on the road by late 2011, with the first buses due to enter service in early 2012, in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
.
The original Routemaster was a standard London bus type with a rear open platform and crewed by both a driver and conductor
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...
. It was withdrawn from service (except for two Heritage Routes) at the end of 2005 by London Mayor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, in favour of a fully accessible one person operated modern fleet, none of which feature a rear open platform. The withdrawal of the Routemaster became an issue of the 2008 London mayoral election
London mayoral election, 2008
The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
, and the new Mayor Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
was subsequently elected Mayor pledging as part of his campaign to introduce a new Routemaster. Following an open design competition held during 2008, at the end of 2009 Wrightbus were awarded the contract to build the bus, announcing their final design in May 2010.
The design for the new bus features three doors and two staircases to be able to use a rear platform and allow accessible boarding. Unlike the original standard RM Routemaster used in central London, the new bus has a conventional flat front end and a rear platform that can be closed when not needed, rather than the protruding bonneted 'half cab' design and permanently open platform, to allow the bus to be operated by one driver in off peak times.
Bus transport framework in London
Public transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
s were deregulated in 1986, meaning the majority of routes are now operated by private companies, with both timetabling, routes and vehicle policy decided by commercial factors.
The privatisation of London bus services
Privatisation of London bus services
The privatisation of London bus services was the progressive process of the transfer of operation of London Buses from public bodies to private companies....
however, was structured slightly differently, whereby private bus operators operate routes won on a commercial tender basis from London Transport
London Transport
London Transport could refer to:*London Transport Transport authorities that operated services under the brand:*London Passenger Transport Board *London Transport Executive *London Transport Board...
(and its later successors), as the new government body responsible for the regulation of bus services in London.
On 4 May 2000 the office of Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
was created, with more wide ranging powers over transport policy for London, who now implemented London wide transport policy through the Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) executive agency.
Prior to 1986, there had developed a 'standard' London bus type which was manufactured with features unique to London, as specified by the government procurer and operator of buses, London Transport. After a brief relaxation, the idea of a London specific bus continued through deregulation by the inclusion of required features of buses to be used on contract awarded routes, a practice continued under TfL.
Under this model, the companies operating buses in London are private enterprises, but the choice of vehicles they operate is essentially decided by TfL, governed by the need for manufacturers to supply a choice of buses to operators to the London specification. The Future Routemaster therefore, if offered by a manufacturer, can be introduced to London by being specified as the only acceptable type for certain route contracts.
Original Routemaster in London
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
bus were built between 1956 and 1968, following a design effort started in 1947. So robust was the design that the Routemaster outlived newer buses intended to replace it, into the deregulated era. It was not eventually withdrawn from regular London passenger service until December 2005.
From 31 December 2000 it had become mandatory for all new buses delivered in the UK to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010 , except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies...
, leading to the development of the wheelchair accessible low-floor bus
Low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
. Through the TfL contract renewal process, after 2000, the Routemaster began to be isolated as the most common example of a non-wheelchair accessible bus type used on TfL routes.
The inaugural London Mayor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
had shown support for the Routemaster during his first term, indicating the type would be retained in a limited capacity on contract renewals as before. In 2004, after election as Mayor for a second term, Livingstone changed the policy on the Routemaster, preferring to convert the entire London fleet to modern bus types.
While older buses were exempt from the disability discrimination requirements until 2017, after the 2004 election, TfL adopted an internal policy aim of requiring all of its bus routes to be operated by low-floor buses, thereby requiring the withdrawal of the Routemaster from London. Contributory factors to the withdrawal were said to be the risk of litigation over accidents arising from using the rear platform, and the cost savings of one man operation, and that passengers preferred the comfort levels of modern buses to the now vintage Routemaster.
The Routemaster continues in operation on two Heritage Routes awarded as TfL contract tendered routes, but they do not contravene the TfL accessible public transport policy requirement as they are paralleled over their entire route by low-floor vehicles of the same route number.
FRM and XRM
An attempt to design a rear-engined front-entrance version of the Routemaster in 1964–1965 led to the construction of FRM1 (Front-entrance RouteMaster) in 1966. This prototype shared approximately 60% of its components with a standard Routemaster, and was the first integrally-constructed rear-engined double-decker built in Britain. Because of its single door (a serious drawback for a high-capacity bus) and continued mechanical problems associated with its unique design, the FRM was considered a "dead end", although it did provide "proof of concept".In 1968 London Transport went back to the drawing board for another replacement of the Routemaster, with an anticipated introduction date of 1985. The initial result was a four-axle low-floor design that would have been suitable for automatic fare collection. By 1975 the project was well in hand and had been named XRM (for eXperimantal RouteMaster). Features of the new design included a side-mounted engine for maximum flexibility in door and seating layout, and hydraulic drive
Hydraulic drive system
A hydraulic drive system is a drive or transmission system that uses pressurized hydraulic fluid to drive hydraulic machinery. The term hydrostatic refers to the transfer of energy from flow and pressure, not from the kinetic energy of the flow....
to four small-wheeled axles for the lowest possible floor. Experiments in the mid-1970s yielded disappointing results, and in 1978 the XRM morphed into a more-conventional-looking vehicle, albeit with the rear door located behind the rear axle. Other proposed features were LPG fuel and hydraulic suspension to lower the floor entry floor at stops. XRM design work was cancelled in September 1980, as it was calculated that it would cost only £13.5m to rehabilitate 2,700 Routemasters vs. £153m to build 2,500 new XRMs.
A decade later London Transport once again looked for another replacement. In 1989 designs were solicited from Dennis Bus
Dennis Specialist Vehicles
Dennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
, Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Company and Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder and operater based in Falkirk.-History:Walter Alexander, notice a lack expasion by the Falkirk and District Tramways Company's especially in to Grangemouth which never hdd a tram line. In 1913 Alexander's Motor Service was created to...
. Somewhat surprisingly, the style specified was a rear-entrance half-cab layout identical to the original Routemaster, but now considered obsolete elsewhere in Britain.
Initial Capoco proposal
On 3 September 2007 the then Conservative Mayoral candidate for London, Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
, running against the incumbent Ken Livingstone, announced that he was contemplating introducing a modern-day Routemaster bus. In December 2007, the UK automotive magazine Autocar
Autocar
Autocar is a weekly British automobile magazine published by Haymarket Motoring Publications Ltd. It refers to itself as "The World's oldest car magazine".-History:...
commissioned the bus designer Capoco, designer of the innovative Optare Solo
Optare Solo
The Optare Solo is a low-floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension.The innovative...
, to come up with detailed proposals for a new-generation Routemaster. Their design, dubbed the RMXL, was a hybrid
Hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles , which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.-Power:...
technology low-floor bus
Low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
with a lightweight aluminium space frame, with four more seats and twice the standing capacity of the old Routemaster, and still crew operated with a driver and conductor
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...
.
The design incorporated disabled access through a closing front door behind the front wheels, while retaining an open platform rear access, with the staircase still located at the rear. The hybrid drivetrain has a front-mounted continuous-revving hydrogenised petrol engine; this charges front-mounted batteries, which power the rear wheels through rear-mounted electric motors. This arrangement, through not requiring a mechanical transmission, allows for a low floor and a step free entrance into the lower deck from the rear platform.
Hydrogen storage tanks would be located under the rear staircase. The design was covered by the national press but attracted criticism from Ken Livingstone as being too costly to justify and still not safe, despite proposals to monitor the rear platform with cameras.
New Bus For London competition
 |
 |
| The two joint winners for the "whole bus" detailed design category. | |
Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson backed the Autocar / Capoco design in principle and suggested that he would hold a formal design competition to develop a new Routemaster if he was elected London mayor in 2008. He won the election on 4 May 2008 and two months later, on 4 July, he announced the New Bus For London competition.
An initiative of Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
, the competition invited anybody, both companies and members of the public, to submit ideas for consideration. The competition had two categories, an Imagine category for general ideas and concepts, and a Design category, for more detailed proposals. In both categories, entries could be either "whole bus" submissions, or proposals for parts of the bus.
The Imagine category called for the submission of imaginative ideas for a red double-decker bus
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
with a rear open platform, and one other entrance/exit with doors. The Design category called for detailed designs of a low floor
Low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
red double-decker bus
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
with at least one internal staircase, a rear open platform, and one other entrance/exit with doors, to be crewed by a driver and conductor, and suitable for carrying 72 passengers seated and standing. The designs were required to satisfy a table of mandatory and suggested design specifications, and "be practical and economic and capable of being put into mass production". The competition offered cash prizes for entrants, with £25,000 for the winner, and smaller awards for good ideas.
Some initial proposals gained media attention after being unveiled during October 2008, namely a "smiley bus" known as the H4 (designed by the H4 Group). Future Systems
Future Systems
Future Systems was a London-based architectural and design practice, formerly headed by Directors Jan Kaplický and Amanda Levete.Future Systems was founded by Kaplický after working with Denys Lasdun, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and Richard Rogers...
offered a "space age" alternative powered by hydrogen.
Foster and Partners
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
submitted a glass roofed design.
The competition was closed, and the winners announced on 19 December 2008. On closing, the competition had received 225 entries to the Design category, and 475 entries for the Imagine category. The competition entrants were judged by a panel of six, made up of a Tfl board member, two Tfl managers, two London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
managers, and an independent judge, a former commercial director of Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited is the largest bus builder in the United Kingdom. It incorporated the three last surviving bus manufacturers which started bus production before World War II: Dennis, Alexander and Plaxton.- History :Alexander Dennis was formed as TransBus on 1 January 2001, after the...
.
The £25,000 prize for winning the whole bus Design category was shared between two entries, one from Capoco Design, a bus, coach and truck design firm, and one from a joint submission made by architects Foster and Partners
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
and automotive company Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
Tendering process and final design
The winning and other merited entrants of both the Imagine and Design categories for both 'whole bus' submission and part submissions were passed by TfL to bus manufacturers, for them to draw up detailed final designs meeting all the relevant present day legislation, and later presented to TfL for consideration on a competitive tender basis. By April 2009, a formal invitation to express interest in the project was published in the Official Journal of the European UnionOfficial Journal of the European Union
The Official Journal of the European Union is the official gazette of record for the European Union . It is published every working day in all of the official languages of the member states. Only legal acts published in the Official Journal are binding.It was first published on 30 December 1952 as...
On 22 May 2009, six bus manufacturers were invited to negotiate for the contract to design and build the new bus. The six manufacturers were Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited is the largest bus builder in the United Kingdom. It incorporated the three last surviving bus manufacturers which started bus production before World War II: Dennis, Alexander and Plaxton.- History :Alexander Dennis was formed as TransBus on 1 January 2001, after the...
, EvoBus
EvoBus
EvoBus GmbH is a bus manufacturer, integrated into the Daimler AG Group. Setra is also a member of the EvoBus GmbH.-History:In 1995, Mercedes-Benz and Setra amalgamated under the umbrella of EvoBus...
(which includes Mercedes-Benz buses
Mercedes-Benz buses
Mercedes-Benz has been making buses since 1895 in Mannheim in Germany. Since 1995, the brand of Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches is under the umbrella of EvoBus GmbH, belonging 100 % to the Daimler AG.-Heritage:...
), Hispano Carrocera
Hispano Carrocera
Tata Hispano Motors Carrocera , based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, is one of the largest manufacturers of bus and coach cabins in Europe. It is a fully owned subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. Tata Motors acquired control of the company in 2005, after purchasing a 21% stake in the company...
, Optare
Optare
Optare plc is a bus manufacturer and importer based in Leeds and Blackburn, UK. The company operates from three main business units, Bus Manufacturing, Coach Sales and Unitec....
, Scania AB
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...
, Wrightbus
Wrightbus
Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.-History:...
, having all met Transport for London's criteria for pre-qualification for tendering, which included demonstrating they had a manufacturing capacity of building 600 buses over 3 years. Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Göteborg....
declined to enter the bidding process. Transport for London set a deadline of 14 August for the submission of detailed tenders, and Scania and Evobus subsequently both pulled out before this deadline. Scania did not believe the timeline for introduction of the first prototype was feasible for them, while Evobus had concerns over their lack of a double-decker in the current line-up.
On 23 December 2009, Northern Ireland-based vehicle manufacturer Wrightbus
Wrightbus
Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.-History:...
was awarded the contract to build the Future Routemaster. The contract called for a bus with a capacity for at least 87 passengers, two staircases, three doors, and an open rear platform, able to be closed off when not required, such as at night. The bus would be a hybrid bus, utilising technology to make it 40 per cent more fuel efficient than conventional diesel buses, and 15 per cent more fuel efficient than London hybrid buses already in operation, also reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 40 per cent and particulate matter by 33 per cent compared with conventional diesel buses.
On 17 May 2010, the final design for the new Routemaster was unveiled by Wrightbus, featuring asymmetric glass swoops as its signature "futuristic" styling feature. Transport for London and Wrightbus worked with Heatherwick Studio to produce the styling for Wrightbus' final design. As an iconic bus for London, Transport for London has applied to the Intellectual Property Office for Registered Design Protection for the Wrightbus exterior design.
The bodywork features two diagonal glass windows from top to bottom decks, one curving around the rear, the other on the right hand side towards the front, which serve to illuminate the interiors of both staircases with natural light. The rear staircase is in the same position as the original Routemaster, curving around the rear section, while the front staircase is straight, ascending on the right hand side of the chassis over the driver's cab, opening out in the front of the upper deck.
Production
A static mock-up was unveiled at Acton depot on 11 November 2010: the first prototype is likely to be delivered in late 2011, in time for the first new buses entering service in early 2012. The first engineering prototype was driven by Boris Johnson at a public demonstration on 27 May 2011.Operation
According to the Greater London Authority, the three door and two staircase design is intended to aid speedier and smoother boarding. The rear door would be closed off at quieter times, for example, during the night. The use of three doors and two staircases is not new to London: London Transport previously evaluated a prototype bus in the 1980s as part of the Alternative Vehicle Evaluation program, which consisted of a specially modified Volvo Ailsa B55Volvo Ailsa B55
The Volvo Ailsa B55 was a front-engined double-decker bus chassis built in Scotland by Ailsa, Volvo's British commercial vehicle agency. It was in production from 1973 to 1985, and was a relatively successful alternative to the ubiquitous rear-engined Bristol VR, Leyland Atlantean and...
, with fleet number V3, having two staircases.
Ownership
Under the modern bus contract tendering system for London, routes are often updated with new buses every seven years, with new buses owned or leased by the operator, whether the route operator changes or not. Redundant buses, if not used on other London contracts, or sold to other London operators, often go on to further use outside London, either cascaded within the fleets of the large national operators who own several of the London operating companies, or sold to other regional companies.The London transport commissioner Peter Hendy
Peter Hendy
Peter Hendy, CBE is the current Commissioner of Transport for London.-Early career:He started his career in the public transport industry in 1975 as a London Transport graduate trainee...
acknowledged in 2008 that there were economic challenges in requiring current private London bus operators to tender for routes if they required the outright purchase of the new bus for London. He acknowledged this could lead to higher bids overall, due to the fact a rear platform bus was unlikely to appeal to operators outside London, and with the questionable utility of hybrid technology to more rural operations.
An independent review of London buses by KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
for Transport for London's London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
Ltd division, who oversee the day to day network and route tendering system, but do not own or operate buses, found that in the current credit climate, the private London bus operators were reluctant to take on the residual value risk posed by the New Bus for London route contracts, while Transport for London would not be able to own the bus fleet due to capital restrictions. It therefore recommended that, to allow use of the new buses, that either route contracts be extended to the expected life of the buses, to use a leasing company to own the whole fleet, or to otherwise guarantee in some way that the residual risk to operators could be reduced.
Media
The launch of the design for the New Bus for London led to BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
airing a segment on 18 May 2010 reviewing the 100 year history of the London standard double-decker, with John Sergeant
John Sergeant (journalist)
John Sergeant is a British television and radio journalist and broadcaster.-Biography:The son of a missionary who was also a distinguished linguist, Sergeant is of Russian Jewish origin on his mother's side. Sergeant's early life meant that he followed his father's work, and was raised in...
reviewing the history of, and riding preserved examples of, the 1910 built LGOC B-type
LGOC B-type
The LGOC B-type is a model of double-decker bus that was introduced in London on 1910. It was both built and operated by the London General Omnibus Company .-History:...
, the RT-Type
AEC Regent III RT
The AEC Regent III RT was a variant of the AEC Regent III. It was a double-decker bus produced jointly between AEC and London Transport. It was the standard red London bus during the 1950s.-Prototype:...
, and finally the original Routemaster
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
.
See also
- Articulated buses in London
- Buses in LondonBuses in LondonThe London Bus is one of London's principal icons, the archetypal red rear-entrance double-deck Routemaster being recognised worldwide. Although the Routemaster has now been largely phased out of service, with only two heritage routes still using the vehicles, the majority of buses in London are...
- List of bus types used in London
- London Buses route 9 (Heritage)London Buses route 9 (Heritage)London Buses route 9 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest.It is a short working of the standard route 9...
- London Buses route 15 (Heritage)London Buses route 15 (Heritage)London Buses route 15 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London and is a short working of the standard route 15.-History:...
External links
Official links- A New Bus for London Greater London AuthorityGreater London AuthorityThe Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...
, 2010-05 - A New Bus for London Transport for LondonTransport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
, 2010-05-15
Winning design
- Exclusive preview of new £8m London bus BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
video preview of new bus with mock-up, 2010-09-16
Design competition
- New Routemaster winners announced, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 2008-05-07 - New look for Routemaster bus BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
video featuring three proposals, 2008-11-03 - Entry for design competition Capoco Design Limited
- Entry for design competition Foster + Partners and Aston Martin, 2008-12-19
- The bus with a 'smile': New design for Routemaster aims to cheer up London commuters Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
article on the H4 Group and Foster + Partners designs
Retrospective of old Routemasters
- In pictures: Routemaster retrospective BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
slideshow of images, 2005–12 - Your Routemasters BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
gallery of images of Routemasters, some renovated, some around the world, submitted by the public - Routemasters - LastStop! nostalgic restrospective, routemasters.co.uk, 2006
FRM and XRM