New Routemaster bus hits London streets

The very first new Routemaster hybrid bus began its first day of service in London today.

The bus, whose exterior and interior were designed by Londoner Thomas Heatherwick, retains the distinct character of the old Routemaster – British as the London taxi and red telephone boxes – but is far more modern in its design and construction.

The new Routemaster's main design features are its three sets of doors and two staircases, which it is hoped will ease the strain during rush hour in regards to alighting and entering the bus. This includes an open hop-on-hop-off rear deck like the original, manned by a ticket inspector.

The design makes use of lightweight materials, with glass highlighting key features and illuminating both sets of staircases with natural light during the day while the overall theme of the interior is reminiscent of the Art Deco era.

Not everyone is convinced, however. Jonathan Glacey, the Guardian newspaper's architecture and design correspondent said the bus had "a jazzily, and unnecessarily, asymmetrical front elevation, a claustrophobic windowless rear and a jagged run of windows up the stairs that might have been adopted from a deconstructivist museum designed by Daniel Libeskind."

The new Routemaster was created as a part of the New Bus for London competition, announced by Boris Johnson after he was appointed Mayor of London, which called for ideas for a new Routemaster bus for London.

The competition offered cash prizes for entrants, with £25,000 for the winner, and smaller awards for good ideas. Entries included the H4 Group's H4 'Smiley Bus', Future Systems' 'Space Age' alternative powered by hydrogen, and Foster and Partners' glass-roofed design.

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 Aston Martin.

Northern Ireland-based vehicle manufacturer Wrightbus was awarded the contract to build the Future Routemaster.

By Rufus Thompson