Routemasters

Do you remember the old double-decker buses in London, where you could hop on and off at the back of the bus? They were called Routemasters, and they are back.  Here is a New Routemaster approaching Parliament Square on the number 11 route.  You can just see the London Eye in the background.

Sometimes a conductor stands at the back, and the door stays open.  If not, then you have to wait until the bus stops, when all the doors open at once – at the front, middle and rear.

Inside the bus feels similar to the old Routemasters, but with all the new technology needed for Oystercards and contactless payment cards.

I’m happy to find a connection between London and Northern Ireland in these buses: they are  built by Wrightbus in Ballymena.

If you are interested in vehicle number plates, you may be keen to know that the Routemasters have “LTZ” plates, which come from the Northern Ireland system of numbering, not the London system.

If your only concern is to get off the bus in the right part of Marylebone (maybe to get away from the passenger talking about number plates?), just press this button and leave through one of the many doors.

And if you want a souvenir of your London bus trip, why not join in the Bus Art charity auction and bid for a bus sculpture?

This is the Westminster Bus designed by Jenny Leonard.

The auction closes on 24th March 2015, so don’t miss the bus – click here for more details.

 

28 Photos Later: Day 27 in London

Welcome to Day 27 of “28 Photos Later”.

Yesterday I showed you the view from a bus; today I’ve moved on to the trains.  Here is Mornington Crescent station on the Northern Line of the London Underground system.

Here is another photo from the other side of Mornington Crescent tube station, showing one of the “Legible London” signs recently installed by Transport for London.

I find these signs helpful, even in a world of satnav and phone apps.  They show local streets and landmarks, and they have two special features.  First, rather than having north at the top, they use “heads-up mapping”, which means they’re orientated to face the same way as the user is facing.  Then they show you a circle of “5 minutes walk from here” and “15 minutes walk from here”.

Here is a photo of another “Legible London” sign from my local neighbourhood of Marylebone.

I would have spent a lot more time lost on my Bleeding London expeditions without these signs, so thank you Legible London.