Travel
London’s Iconic Routemaster Bus Rolls Again, With a Modern Design
The famed red double-deckers make a celebrated, if controversial, return to London's streets.
By Nick Carbone | @nickcarbone | March 2, 2012 | 1
inShare20
Sang Tan / AP
Sang Tan / AP
A new Routemaster double decker bus passes Piccadilly Circus in London on its first first day of service on February 27, 2012.
There are few things more iconic about London than the classic double-decker Routemaster bus. Surely you’ve seen it in countless souvenir shops: it’s the curvy, bright red bus with the open staircase cut into the back left corner. But here’s a secret – those 1950s-style buses haven’t rolled through London’s streets since 2005. They were replaced with various breeds of double-deckers no longer specifically built for the British capital.
But Londoners should have a renewed sense of local pride: the Routemaster was introduced back into service Monday, with a remarkably 21st-century look. It’s a fully British-born product, assembled in the plains of Northern Ireland, and it has all the perks of a modern bus (a hybrid-diesel engine is among the most ecofriendly additions), plus one legacy feature that has been restored. The “hop-on, hop-off” function that made the Routemaster fly through London’s stop-and-go traffic will once again be in operation, thanks to the rear platform and staircase. Passengers can get on and off the bus whenever the bus is stopped at a red light, effectively decreasing stopping time. There is a hitch, though: the rear door requires a conductor to operate it, so it will only be functional during daytime hours.
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/02/londons-iconic-routemaster-bus-rolls-again-with-a-modern-design/?iid=nf-article-mostpop1#ixzz1oEQDhtWD
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন