Finally, some action from Boris on a new Routemaster for London. No designs to see yet, but an official launch of the anticipated competition with a list of must haves for London’s new bus.
“I made a commitment during the election campaign to hold a competition to design a brand new bus for London, based on the much-missed Routemaster. This competition is the first step in making that commitment a reality.”
The contest has been opened to two groups of entrants, ‘professional designers’ who will conceive an entire vehicle, to or the man, woman or child on the street who ‘uses buses every day’ and may have thoughts on specific festures for the new double decker. Successful participants can win anything from a £25 voucher for London’s Transport Museum to £25,000.
The contest has been opened to two groups of entrants, ‘professional designers’ who will conceive an entire vehicle, to or the man, woman or child on the street who ‘uses buses every day’ and may have thoughts on specific festures for the new double decker. Successful participants can win anything from a £25 voucher for London’s Transport Museum to £25,000.
Boris says the Routemaster ranks alongside ‘Nelson’s Column, Tower Bridge, The London Eye and our city’s ubiquitous black cabs” as an icon for the capital. The rules of entry also give us some concrete must haves for the new bus. These include the some familiar features:
- The design must be for a red double-decker bus with at least one internal staircase.
- An open platform at the rear near side corner.
- The bus must be operate with a second crew member.
Plus some new additions not present in the original:
- At least one other entrance/exit with closing double doors.
- Low floor.
- Wheelchair ramp.
There’s also a list of numerical specifications:
- Maximum length = 13.5m (original was 8.4m to 9.1m)
- Maximum width = 2.55m (2.44m)
- Maximum height = 4.42m (4.36m)
- Maximum number of axles = 3 (2)
- Minimum passenger capacity = 72 (72)
The deadline for designs is 12:00 noon British Summer Time (BST) on 19 September.
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