Campaign for New Routemaster Buses on E Dulwich routes

[rgutsell]

ANYTHING that comes from the Boris is suspect.

The only reason he idealises them, is that he has a romanticised view of "plebeian" life, which of course he never had to endure. He thinks that life for us working class "chums" was a matter of great fun as we gleefully, and charmingly, hung on to the rear of those crappy, tiny, noisy, innefficient Routemasters, and risked death falling off them.

They were retired for a very good reason; They were innefficient, not cost effective, and dangerous.

A Myth has grown up about them, and as a person who used to drive them, I can state categoricaly that modern units are vastly superior, and that the "pre-selection" gear box fitted to the original was confusing and problematic.

Bring back the berndies; not attractive, but much better sense.

[RosieH]

yesyesyes - BRING BACK THE BENDIES

[Bic Basher]

I wonder if the residents of the LL/Friern Road junction would like those buses back? The amount of times I used to see the 40's getting stuck along there thanks to those bendies.

[Applespider]

I liked the option of being able to hop off the old Routemasters if they got stuck in traffic. Now as a cyclist, I'm less keen on the idea of an open platform. Otherwise, the old Routemasters looked fabulous (they make me smile when I see one around now)but were horrible temperature-wise and comfort-wise. You did end up being very close with whoever sat next to you; and I'm not particularly big.

The bendy buses were horrible. During the Olympics, they brought them out of retirement to transport the ceremonies volunteers and I remembered why I did't like them. The seats are uncomfortable and the layout isn't great. The standing space doesn't have as many places to hang onto as it could do and the backward seats were always the last to be taken for a reason. And they were horrendous both to overtake and be overtaken by on a bike.

I do like the new Routemasters; I see them regularly at Victoria and they just look so much more like a London icon than all the other boring red buses out there.