"Roger Traviss" wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/d...bus-for-london

I see they may give it the offical name of "Routemaster".


That's not quite what Dave Hill says in his blog post:
---quote---
Peter Hendy told me the other week that he doubted the New Bus would be
called a Routemaster, but whatever formal name it is eventually given I
think the Mayor wouldn't mind if that bus name of London legend was revived
by the public and applied to the bus just in time for the next election -
either that or his own name. [...]
---/quote---

The following drew allusions in my mind with the designed to be
maintenance-friendly Routemaster:
---quote---
There's a lot of pride in the project at TfL. Hendy drew attention to the
bodywork down the side, sections of which can be easily removed if damaged
and replacements swiftly screwed in place - no point having a
luscious-looking bus if it too easily starts looking knocked about.
---/quote---


Lastly, Dave Hill has written a separate Guardian news article on the new
bus to accompany the blog post, which is available he
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/201...ils-london-bus

In said article I noted the following, which answers one significant
question about the crewing of the new bus:

---quote---
Johnson confirmed that the new bus would also have a conductor on board some
of the time.

Peter Hendy, Transport for London commissioner, said that staff would be
trained and recruited for the task rather than being, for example, police
community support officers, as Johnson once suggested they might be. Hendy
stressed their role would include "doing some of the things people expect of
a person in uniform", such as assisting passengers on and off the rear open
platform and ensuring people have swiped their Oyster cards.

Hendy and Johnson explained that the rear platform could be kept open during
journeys with a second staff member present, enabling passengers to "hop on
and hop off" between stops. However, with only a driver present the rear
platform would be closed off between stops with an automatic door, operated
by the driver.
---/quote---

What it doesn't answer is where and when that conductor will be present -
will it only be peak hours, busy stretches of the route, central London only
etc etc?

Anyhow, it seems as though this whole project might just possibly work out,
though I do remain worried about the bigger picture - essentially the cost
of it all, not just of the buses themselves but of the extra crewing. The
worry being specifically that funding for the majority of the unsexy but
highly useful and well patronised London bus network might get diverted to
support this project - and furthermore, if it is indeed a success amongst
the public at large then there will inevitably be demands that the new buses
come to their local bus route, and that conductors stay on the bus for
longer.

Which, when compared to the sleek look of the prototype, all sounds very
boring - but if the network as a whole loses out (less frequent, worse
service etc), and fares are ratcheted up, and fewer people travel by bus as
a result, that would not be a win. The London bus service over the past
decade is so much better than it was over the preceding ten that it'd be a
great shame if this progress was lost.