10 year anniversary of the New Routemaster design – How it has improved bus designs over the years

It has been 10 years since TfL, the London Mayor (now currently Prime Minister) Boris Johnson and Heatherwick Studios unveiled the final design of the most controversial three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus known as the New Routemaster,back in 2010.

We take a look at the press release from TfL when they unveiled the final design of the New Routemaster on 17^th May 2010.

From TfL press release

The final design of the New Bus for London, based on the much-loved Routemaster, was today unveiled by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and London's Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy.

Pioneering design

The bus will use the latest green technology. It will be 15 per cent more fuel efficient than existing hybrid buses, and 40 per cent more efficient than conventional diesel double decks and much quieter on the streets.

The real reason why TfL and the Mayor ended the New Routemaster rollout in favour of legacy vehicles containing NRM design cues

First of all, welcome to 2020 and I wish all of my readers a very Happy New Year.

The purpose of this article is to show how the 'London' bus design has evolved from the New Routemaster (NRM) bus to the pure battery-electric and zero-emission Enviro400EV City, jointly manufactured by Alexander Dennis and BYD.

Ten years ago, the New Routemaster design with three-doors and two-staircases was first unveiled back in May 2010 and designed by Heatherwick Studios; the prototypes entered service in February 2012 and the full production of the New Routemaster commenced in September 2012. The original purpose of the New Routemaster project was to reinstate the rear open platform with conductor and the arrangement only served on six routes up until September 2016.

Opinion: Design criticisms of Wrightbus Gemini 3 and SRM

This is more of an 'essay' type article because I have some criticisms with the design of the Wrightbus double deck products such as the Gemini 3 and SRM. I have criticised the Wrightbus double deck products in my previous articles and therefore I will lay out my ideas which could possibly inspire the manufacturer to make changes.

Enviro400 City buses for Southern Transit

The number of Enviro400 City buses on our roads is set to increase as Southern Transit has purchased two for their fleet.

From Alexander Dennis

ENVIRO400 CITY BUSES JUST THE TICKET FOR ‘SPLENDID TRIPS’

Southern Transit, a unique transport business based in West Sussex and famed for its diverse mix of iconic and new-generation vehicles, took a giant step into the future today with the introduction of two state-of-the-art Enviro400 City buses from Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL).

The New Routemaster opens the door for more stylish conventional buses

The New Routemaster (NRM) rollout has ended with route 267 being the last route to convert to these buses. We now move on to the next chapter where we are seeing more stylish and conventional buses holding NRM design cues being rolled out not just for London, but for Britain as well!

The original plan of the New Routemaster (formerly known as New Bus for London) project was to bring back the rear platform, but instead, since the conductors were withdrawn back in September 2016 it has evolved to a three-door, two-staircase hybrid bus. The rear platform and design was inspired by the original AEC Routemaster. There are now 1,000 New Routemaster buses built for London bus services.