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76-806: The New Routemaster , originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus , is a low-floor hybrid diesel–electric double-decker bus operated in London , England . Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by Wrightbus , it is notable for featuring a "hop-on hop-off" rear open platform similar to the original Routemaster bus design but updated to meet requirements for modern buses to be fully accessible . It first entered service in February 2012 with Arriva London on route 38 . The original AEC Routemaster

152-518: A 15-mile (24 km) East to West segregated 'Crossrail for bikes'. At the General Election of 7 May 2015, Johnson was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip , He continued to serve as mayor until the mayoral election in May 2016, when Sadiq Khan was elected. Sadiq Khan introduced the 'bus hopper' fare on TfL buses, which allows passengers to board a second bus within one hour for

228-560: A 400   kWh battery. The Equipmake New Routemaster electrification programme may allow the New Routemaster fleet to have a longer service life in London, as conversion of these vehicles to fully-electric will provide a cheaper alternative to purchasing replacement brand new electric buses. Hybrid electric bus The introduction of hybrid electric vehicles and other green vehicles for purposes of public transport forms

304-444: 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,

380-550: A bus of this capacity) and continued mechanical problems associated with its unique design, the FRM was considered a dead end although it provided 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,

456-631: 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 Union . In May 2009, six manufacturers were invited to negotiate the contract to design and build the new bus. They were Alexander Dennis , EvoBus (which includes Mercedes-Benz ), Hispano Carrocera , Optare , Scania and Wrightbus , having all met TfL's criteria for pre-qualification for tendering, which included demonstrating they had

532-457: A conductor on board. The other routes did not operate with conductors from the start, and the rear platform remained closed while the bus was moving. In 2014, the TfL board was told that new routes would have no conductors and would operate with the rear door closed while moving. The annual cost of employing conductors from 06:00 to 19:00 on weekdays was about £62,000 per bus per year. In July 2016, it

608-498: A feature of the extreme traffic density in London. The Wright Pulsar Gemini HEV bus uses a small Diesel engine with electric storage through a lithium ion battery pack. The use of a 1.9-litre Diesel instead of the typical 7.0-litre engine in a traditional bus demonstrates the possible advantages of serial hybrids in extremely traffic-dense environments. Based on a London test cycle, a reduction in CO 2 emissions of 31% and fuel savings in

684-533: A fixed term of four years, with elections taking place in May. Prior to the Elections Act 2022 , the supplementary vote method was used. There are no limits on the number of terms a mayor may serve. The mayor is elected by the largest single-member electorate in the United Kingdom. As with most elected posts in the United Kingdom, there is a deposit (in this case of £10,000), which is returnable on

760-572: A fuel containing 20% biodiesel (BD20) would further reduce greenhouse emissions and petroleum consumption. Current manufacturers of Diesel–electric hybrid buses include Alexander Dennis , Azure Dynamics Corporation , Ebus , Eletra (Brazil), New Flyer Industries , Tata (India), Gillig , Motor Coach Industries , Novabus , Orion Bus Industries , Daimler AG 's Mitsubishi Fuso , MAN , Designline , BAE Systems , Volvo Buses , VDL Bus & Coach , Wrightbus , Castrosua , Tata Hispano and many more. Toyota claims to have started with

836-507: A manufacturing capacity of building 600 buses over three years. Volvo Buses declined to enter the bidding process. Transport for London set a deadline of 14 August for the submission of detailed tenders; Scania and Evobus pulled out before this deadline. Scania did not believe they could produce the first prototype in the time stipulated, and Evobus had concerns as they were not at the time manufacturing any double-decker. On 23 December 2009, Northern Ireland-based vehicle manufacturer Wrightbus

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912-778: A mayoral election debate on the BBC 's Question Time in April 2008, stated that the primary reason he supported the Olympic bid was to secure funding for the redevelopment of the East End of London . In July 2007, he brought the Tour de France cycle race to London. In May 2008, Boris Johnson introduced a new transport safety initiative to put 440 high visibility police officers in and around bus stations. A ban on alcohol on underground, and Docklands Light Railway, tram services and stations across

988-402: A mechanical transmission, allowed 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 Livingstone as being too costly to justify and still not safe, despite proposals to monitor the rear platform with cameras. Johnson backed

1064-501: A modern-day Routemaster. 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

1140-441: A non-wheelchair-accessible bus type used on TfL routes. The first Mayor of London , Ken Livingstone , supported the Routemaster during his first (2000–2004) term, indicating the type would be retained in a limited capacity on contract renewals as before. He also promised to convert the whole London bus fleet to low-floor with an original targeted timeline of 23 October 2009, which then was pushed earlier to 1 January 2006, requiring

1216-560: A part of sustainable transport schemes. A hybrid electric bus may have either a parallel powertrain (e.g., Volvo B5LH ) or a series powertrain (e.g., some versions of the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC ). Since 2003, Allison Transmission has produced dual-mode hybrid drive units which take the place of a conventional transmission, mostly for transit buses in North America; as the name implies, it

1292-403: 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

1368-535: A three-month trial of a pair of New Routemasters in Dundee . Buses LT312 and LT313 were used daily on the conductor-operated route 'Tayway 73' from Arbroath to Ninewells Hospital . The Stagecoach Strathtay trial ended early in mid-December 2014, after the two vehicles proved incapable of running to the timetable and suffered a series of high-profile breakdowns in service. As of March 2024, 997 New Routemasters are in TfL operation, representing more than one-ninth of

1444-489: A three-year period in school bus fleets across the nation. The vehicles will be capable of running in either electric-only or hybrid modes and will be recharged from a standard electrical outlet. Because electricity will be their primary fuel, they will consume less petroleum than standard vehicles. To develop the PHEV school bus, Navistar will examine a range of hybrid architectures and evaluate advanced energy storage devices, with

1520-564: A year. As of 2021, the heritage routes with Routemaster are withdrawn. An attempt to design a rear-engined front-entrance version of the Routemaster in 1964/65 led to the construction of the FRM1 (front-entrance Routemaster) in 1966. The 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

1596-525: Is a fund which is supporting bus companies and local authorities in the UK to help them buy new electric buses. Egypt IMUT: http://www.i-mut.net/en/about-us . [REDACTED] Media related to Hybrid-powered buses at Wikimedia Commons Mayor of London Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant The mayor of London

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1672-502: Is able to switch between series and parallel modes. A plug-in hybrid school bus effort began in 2003 in Raleigh, NC, when Advanced Energy began working between districts across the country and manufacturers to understand the needs of both. The effort demonstrated both a technical and business feasibility and as a result was able to secure funding in 2005 from NASEO to purchase up to 20 buses. The resulting RFP from Advanced Energy

1748-1126: Is another HEV using in-wheel motors. It was tested in winter 2003–04 in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. In Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso have developed a diesel engine hybrid bus using lithium batteries in 2002, and this model has since seen limited service in several Japanese cities. The Blue Ribbon City Hybrid bus was presented by Hino , a Toyota affiliate, in January 2005. For the North American transit bus market, New Flyer Industries , Gillig , and Nova Bus produce hybrid electric buses using components from either BAE Systems (series hybrid, initially branded HybriDrive and now branded Series-E), or Allison Transmission (parallel/series hybrid, branded Hybrid EP or H 40/50 EP). In May 2003 General Motors started to tour with hybrid electric buses developed together with Allison. General Electric introduced its hybrid electric gear shifters on

1824-576: Is certified to EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval and ECE Regulation 107, according to the manufacturers. The use of three doors and two staircases is not new to London: London Transport evaluated a prototype bus in the 1980s as part of the Alternative Vehicle Evaluation programme: a specially modified Volvo Ailsa B55 with two staircases. These trials were curtailed due to the running-down and eventual closure of London Transport's bus Engineering Research department. A static mockup

1900-703: Is scrutinised by the London Assembly and, supported by their Mayoral Cabinet , directs the entirety of London, including the City of London (for which there is also the Lord Mayor of the City of London ). Each London Borough also has a ceremonial mayor or, in Croydon , Hackney , Lewisham , Newham and Tower Hamlets , an elected mayor. The Greater London Council , the elected government for Greater London,

1976-634: Is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority . The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom . The current mayor is Sadiq Khan , who took office on 9 May 2016. The position was held by Ken Livingstone from the creation of the role on 4 May 2000 until he was defeated in May 2008 by Boris Johnson , who then also served two terms before being succeeded by Khan. The mayor

2052-561: The 2012 London mayoral election , former mayor of London and Labour candidate Ken Livingstone said that, if elected, he would buy no more New Buses for London because of the price. However, Boris Johnson won the election and in September 2012 approved the order for 600 of the new buses, with public funding required estimated at £160 million. The prototypes remain in service on route 38. The eight prototypes were registered on GB registration plates . A block series of Northern Ireland plates in

2128-614: 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 May 2008. After winning, on 4 July 2008 Johnson 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

2204-773: The Coaster Hybrid Bus in 1997 on the Japanese market. Since 1999, Hybrid electric buses with gas turbine generators have been developed by several manufacturers in the US and New Zealand , with the most successful design being the buses made by Designline of New Zealand. The first model went into commercial service in Christchurch since 1999, and later models were sold for daily service in Auckland , Hong Kong , Newcastle upon Tyne , and Tokyo . The Whispering Wheel bus

2280-611: The Greater London Authority Act 2007 , the Localism Act 2011 and Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 . The mayor's main functions are: The remaining local government functions are performed by the London borough councils . There is some overlap; for example, the borough councils are responsible for waste management, but the mayor is required to produce a waste management strategy. In 2010, Johnson launched an initiative in partnership with

2356-568: The AEC Routemaster, the new bus has a full front end rather than the protruding, bonneted "half cab" design, and a rear platform with a door that can be closed, rather than being permanently open. The layout of the new bus allows it to be operated by the driver alone. The cost of each bus was £355,000 over the four-year procurement period. The last of the 1,000 New Routemasters was delivered in December 2017. The final design has doors at

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2432-734: The Design category, and 475 entries in the Imagine category 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 + Partners and automotive company Aston Martin . The winning and other merited entrants in 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 relevant legislation, and later presented to TfL for consideration on

2508-485: The LTZ 1xxx series was reserved for the production examples with the xxx correlating with the fleet number. The prototypes were reregistered. The first 272 were delivered with Euro 5 engines except for six, which were fitted with trial Euro 6 engines. The remaining deliveries received Euro 6 engines. In 2014, a further 200 were ordered taking the total to 808. This was later cut back to 805. In January 2016, an additional order

2584-682: The Multi-academy Trust AET to transform schools across London. This led to the establishment of London Academies Enterprise Trust ( LAET ) which was intended to be a group of ten academies, but it only reached a group of four before the mayor withdrew it in 2013. The mayor is a member of the Mayoral Council for England and the Council of the Nations and Regions . The following is a table comparing power over services of

2660-639: The New Routemaster fleet. A number of older New Routemasters underwent an internal refresh during this time, being fitted with new seats and refreshed seat moquette. At the Euro Bus Expo in November ;2022, Norfolk -based electric vehicle manufacturer Equipmake unveiled the first electric vehicle conversion for the New Routemaster, with Metroline -operated vehicle LT11 on display at the event with its hybrid propulsion system having been removed and replaced by Equipmake fully-electric motors and

2736-498: The Routemaster became an issue during the 2008 London mayoral election with Boris Johnson elected mayor with a campaign pledge to introduce a new Routemaster. Following an open design competition in 2008, Wrightbus was awarded the contract to build the bus at the end of 2009, and the final design was announced in May 2010. The design for the new double-decker bus was inspired by the original AEC Routemaster and features three doors and two staircases to allow accessible boarding. Unlike

2812-502: The UK government to take part in a global trade mission covering 16 countries in four continents over 12 months. In October 2013, LT3 was sent on a demonstration tour to Hong Kong and then to Singapore in February 2014. As at August 2014, LT1 was stored in Abu Dhabi pending a decision on the future of the programme while the other two had returned to England. In August 2014, LT2 commenced a six-month trial with First West Yorkshire . It

2888-483: The UK to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 , leading to the development of the wheelchair-accessible low-floor bus . Older buses were allowed to continue operating in London until 23 October 2009, and in the rest of the United Kingdom until 22 October 2014. Through the TfL contract renewal process, after 2000, the Routemaster began to be identified as the most common example of

2964-819: The United Kingdom Parliament of civil partnerships and later still, Same-sex marriage . Unlike civil partnerships, the London Partnerships Register was open to heterosexual couples who favour a public commitment other than marriage. As Mayor of London, Livingstone was a supporter of the London Olympics in 2012 , ultimately winning the bid to host the Games in 2005. Livingstone encouraged sport in London; especially when sport could be combined with helping charities like The London Marathon and 10K charity races. Livingstone, in

3040-727: The boroughs to the GLA and mayor. Initiatives taken by Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London included the London congestion charge on private vehicles using city centre London on weekdays, the creation of the London Climate Change Agency , the London Energy Partnership and the founding of the international Large Cities Climate Leadership Group , now known as C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group . The congestion charge led to many new buses being introduced across London. In August 2003, Livingstone oversaw

3116-487: The candidate's winning of at least 5% of votes cast. The most recent London mayoral election was held on 2 May 2024. The results of the election were announced on 4 May 2024. Sadiq Khan was re-elected as mayor and became the first to be elected for 3 terms, beating the Conservative Susan Hall . Most powers are derived from the Greater London Authority Act 1999 , with additional functions coming from

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3192-561: The capital was introduced. Also in May 2008, he announced the closure of The Londoner newspaper, saving approximately £2.9 million. A percentage of this saving was to be spent on planting 10,000 new street trees. In 2010, he extended the coverage of Oyster card electronic ticketing to all National Rail overground train services. Also in 2010, he opened a cycle hire scheme (originally sponsored by Barclays , now Santander ) with 5,000 bicycles available for hire across London. Although initiated by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone ,

3268-451: The chance to submit proposals for two tranches of funding. Successful bids for Phase 1 included Enfield, Muswell Hill and Bexley town centre. The recipients of phase 2 funding were still to be announced As of 2011 . In January 2013, he appointed journalist Andrew Gilligan as the first Cycling Commissioner for London. In March 2013, Johnson announced £1 billion of investment in infrastructure to make cycling safer in London, including

3344-599: The design of the Routemaster. Dubbed the Q Master, it found little favour within London Transport and by manufacturers that Curtis approached. Transport for London announced that it would look at developing a Routemaster replacement, but the project was confirmed as dead in June 2003. On 3 September 2007 the Conservative mayoral candidate for London, Boris Johnson , announced that he was contemplating introducing

3420-421: The driver operates all three doors. When in two-person operation, a conductor stood on the rear platform and that door stayed open even while the bus was moving. At stops, the conductor pressed a button to inform the driver that the platform was clear; the driver operated the other two doors as was done for one-person operation. Only routes 9, 10, 11, 24, 38 and 390 initially operated with an open rear platform and

3496-432: The driver. This applied even when a conductor was on board, as the conductors did not take fares or check tickets. There is a new pattern of moquette for the seating, manufactured by Camira Fabrics. The internal lighting is provided by LED clusters, and there is a climate-controlled ventilation system. There is a system to display text and provide audio announcements via loudspeakers, and T-loop for users of hearing aids;

3572-399: The end of 2016, it was announced that London Mayor Sadiq Khan had discontinued procurement of the vehicles to save money and help pay for a promised four-year public transport fares freeze. No new Routemaster buses will be purchased for London, the funds instead going towards upgrading the city's existing fleet with the latest sustainable technologies. In May 2013, LT1 and LT2 were loaned to

3648-475: The entire fleet, to reduce fare evasion which had been double that on other buses. To address issues caused by air-conditioning failures, in September 2015, it was announced a programme would commence to retrofit opening windows. Entering the early 2020s, as the oldest New Routemasters began to approach ten years old and London bus operators began to commit more heavily to purchasing only electric buses , there were considerations regarding what should be done with

3724-519: The final design was unveiled by Wrightbus, with 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. TfL has applied to the Intellectual Property Office for Registered Design Protection for the exterior design. The body has two diagonal glass windows from top to bottom decks, one curving around

3800-458: The former discontinued in July 2014. The heritage routes, shorter than the full 9 and 15 routes, were awarded as tendered routes by TfL and did not contravene the TfL accessible public transport policy requirement, as frequent wheelchair-accessible buses also operate on these routes. The provision of Routemaster buses was drastically curtailed on 2 March 2019 to availability on weekends only for 60 days

3876-494: The front door, with the middle and rear doors becoming exit-only. This was done to reduce fare evasion, which had been double that of other London buses. Designed for and largely operated in London , over 2,800 AEC Routemasters were built between 1956 and 1968, with a design so robust that the Routemaster outlasted newer buses intended to replace it, remaining in use until 2005, well into the deregulated era. From 31 December 2000, it became mandatory for all new buses delivered in

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3952-440: The front, centre and rear. The front and rear doors lead to staircases to the upper deck. The rear entrance initially had a platform and pole similar to the original Routemaster, with a door kept open for hop-on, hop-off operation when a conductor was on board. Readers for the contactless Oyster card used for payment for transport in London are provided at each of the three boarding points. Other types of tickets must be presented to

4028-445: The goal of developing a vehicle with a 40-mile (64 km) electric range . Travel beyond the 40-mile (64 km) range will be facilitated by a clean Diesel engine capable of running on renewable fuels. The DOE funding will cover up to half of the project's cost and will be provided over three years, subject to annual appropriations . A report prepared by Purdue University suggests introducing more hybrid Diesel–electric buses and

4104-487: The information typically includes the route number, destination, name of the next stop and that the bus is stopping. The bus is a hybrid diesel–electric driven by a battery-powered electric motor, charged by a diesel fuelled generator and recovering energy during braking by regenerative braking . In 2020, Transport for London announced that the New Routemasters would be converted so passengers only enter by

4180-465: The introduction of the Oyster card electronic ticketing system for Transport for London services. Livingstone supported the withdrawal of the vintage AEC Routemaster buses from regular service in London. Livingstone introduced the London Partnerships Register which was a voluntary scheme without legal force for same sex couples to register their partnership, and paved the way for the introduction by

4256-466: The market in 2005. Several hundreds of those buses have entered into daily operation in the U.S. In 2006, Nova Bus , which had previously marketed the RTS hybrid before that model was discontinued, added a Diesel–electric hybrid option for its LFS series. In the United Kingdom, Wrightbus has introduced a development of the London " Double-Decker ", a new interpretation of the traditional red buses that are

4332-464: The old Routemaster, and operated solely by a driver. The design incorporated disabled access through a closing front door behind the front wheels while retaining open platform rear access, with the staircase still at the rear. The hybrid drivetrain had a front-mounted continuous-revving hydrogenised petrol engine; this charged front-mounted batteries, which powered the rear wheels through rear-mounted electric motors. This arrangement, through not requiring

4408-458: The project was well in hand and had been named XRM (Experimental Route Master). 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 but with

4484-469: The range of 40% have been demonstrated, compared with a "Euro-4" compliant bus. Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies (HEVT) makes conversions of new and used vehicles ( aftermarket and retrofit conversions), from combustion buses and conventional hybrid electric buses into plug-in buses. Transit authorities that use hybrid electric buses: Federal funding generally comes from the federal Diesel Emissions Reduction Act . etc. The Green Bus Fund

4560-509: The rear door behind the rear axle. Other proposed features were LPG fuel and hydraulic suspension to lower the floor at stops. XRM design work was cancelled in September 1980, as it was calculated that it would cost £153   million to build 2,500 new XRMs but only £13.5   million to overhaul 2,700 Routemasters. London Transport had, by then, committed heavily to the Leyland Titan , to which they had significant design input and it

4636-399: The rear, the other on the right-hand side towards the front, which provides natural light to the interiors of both staircases. The rear staircase is in the same position as in 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. The bus

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4712-419: The same fare. Under Khan, paper, coin and cash transactions became obsolete. The Oyster system was expanded to include debit and credit cards. This initiative was started under his predecessor, Johnson. Upon election, Khan outlined a vision to make London the "greenest city" by investing in walking and cycling infrastructure while reducing polluting vehicles. In 2019, the " Ultra Low Emission Zone " scheme

4788-593: The scheme rapidly acquired the nickname of "Boris Bikes". Johnson withdrew the recently introduced high-speed high-capacity " bendy buses " from service in 2011 which had been bought by Livingstone, and he instead supported the development of the New Routemaster which entered service the next year. In 2011, Boris Johnson set up the Outer London Fund of £50 million designed to help facilitate improve local high streets. Areas in London were given

4864-493: The total fleet. New Routemasters currently run on the following routes: New Routemasters previously operated on the following routes. In November 2018, route 10 was withdrawn and its New Routemaster buses were transferred to route 27. In March 2019, route 88 was restructured and its New Routemaster buses were transferred to route 87. On 11 October 2019, route 48 was withdrawn. Route 91's New Routemaster buses were transferred to Routes 17 and 332. When in one-person operation,

4940-510: The winner, and smaller awards for good ideas. One initial set of proposals gained media attention after being unveiled during October 2008, for 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 winners were announced on 19 December 2008. There were 225 entries in

5016-702: 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, the cost savings of one-person operation and the fact that passengers preferred the comfort levels of modern buses to the vintage Routemaster. Livingstone said that the Routemasters were too dangerous, with approximately twelve people per year dying after falling from them during his mayoralty. The last examples were withdrawn from regular London passenger service in December 2005. The Routemaster continued in operation on heritage routes 9 and 15 , with

5092-480: Was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 . Strategic functions were split off to various joint arrangements. Londoners voted in a referendum in 1998 to create a new governance structure for Greater London. The directly elected mayor of London was created by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 in 2000 as part of the reforms. The mayor is elected by the first-past-the-post system for

5168-426: Was announced by TFL that the conductor would be phased out on all six previously crewed routes in September 2016. In August 2019, the middle and rear doors on New Routemasters on routes 8/N8 became exit-only with passengers now only able to board through the front door like on conventional double-decker buses. In 2020, it was announced that conversion so passengers only enter by the front door would be made permanent on

5244-627: 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 a rear platform which could be left open, or closed with a door when there was no conductor on board. The bus would be a hybrid, utilising technology to make it 40% more fuel-efficient than conventional diesel buses, and 15% more than London hybrid buses already in operation, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 40% and particulate matter by 33% compared with diesel buses. On 17 May 2010,

5320-464: Was launched which taxes highly polluting vehicles in its covered territory. London declared itself the world's first "National Park City" (effective from July 2019), reflecting its unusually high amount of green space for a city of its size. The Government postponed all elections due in May 2020, including for the mayor of London, for one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Khan had therefore served

5396-488: Was placed, bringing the total to 1,000. In June 2015, The Guardian reported that the rear door design had been changed, so the door could not be opened between stops, and the platform pole removed, abandoning the original "hop-on, hop-off" open platform design objective. One (ST812) was built to a shorter wheelbase , with eight fewer seats and a length of 10.1   metres instead of the normal 11.3   metres, entering service in 2016 with Metroline on route 91 . At

5472-541: Was regarded as a more viable option. A decade later, London Transport once again looked for a replacement. In 1989, designs were solicited from Dennis Bus , Alexander and Northern Counties . The style specified was a rear-entrance half-cab layout identical to the original Routemaster, but by now, it was considered obsolete elsewhere in Britain. In 1999, London Transport received an unsolicited design from its former vehicle engineering manager, Colin Curtis, who had overseen

5548-540: Was repainted green, branded as the New Bus for West Yorkshire . The bus was displayed at numerous industry and bus enthusiasts' events, but it ultimately never saw public service in West Yorkshire and was returned in London in 2015; the green livery was later modified to form the basis of a London Country Bus Services retro livery, one of several heritage schemes carried by New Routemasters since their introduction. In November 2014, Stagecoach Strathtay commenced

5624-604: Was unveiled at Acton depot on 11 November 2010: the first engineering prototype was driven by Boris Johnson at a public demonstration on 27 May 2011. The first working prototype was unveiled in December 2011 and driven from City Hall to Trafalgar Square . Within days of its unveiling, the first prototype was reported to have broken down on the M1 motorway north of London, but this was due to human error; it had run out of fuel. The first new bus (fleet number LT 2) entered service with Arriva London on 27 February 2012, on route 38 . During

5700-425: Was used as the standard London bus type, with a rear open platform and crewed by both a driver and conductor . After half a century, it was withdrawn from service at the end of 2005 (except for two heritage routes which operated until 2014 and 2019 respectively), in favour of a fully accessible one-man-operated modern fleet (including articulated buses ), none of which featured a rear open platform. The withdrawal of

5776-513: Was won by IC Bus using a product jointly produced with Enova for a 22-mile plug-in hybrid product with a $ 140k premium over existing buses. The buses performed well in testing with 70% reductions in fuel usage although only in specific conditions. The United States Department of Energy (USDOE) announced the selection of Navistar Corporation for a cost-shared award of up to $ 10 million to develop, test, and deploy plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) school buses. The project aims to deploy 60 vehicles for

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