A red double decker bus, as the icon of London, together with David Beckham, Appeared at yesterday’s Beijing Olympic Games closing ceremony, as the headline of eight-minute Olympic handover performance.
My first London tour was in July 2004, Those Red Double Decker Buses did not retire then, So I was asked by iWalk to write something about this icon of London.

Double decker buses are very popular in the United Kingdom, The most famous of them is red double decker buses in London. They almost appeared in every film about London within last 50 years.

The red double decker bus in London was named the Routemaster bus, Let me introduce it’s history in short words:

1947–1956:
was developed by a team led by Douglas Scott

1956:
was introduced to London

1956-1981:
The heyday of Routemaster operation

From the 1980s:
many of the surplus Routemasters were sold to other operators or transferred to training fleets

9 December 2005:
the last official running day

From above, We know the Routemaster saw continuous service in London until 2005, In all, 2,876 Routemasters were built, and about 1,300 still in existence. Because people love them so much, Some of them were reconstructed into a Bar or restaurant. And other of them got the second chance in Honshu,Hague, Moscow, Paris, Barbados and Jamaica.

Currently, There are two heritage routes in central London remain use Routemasters in order to appeal to tourists:

Heritage route 9:
Royal Albert Hall — Hyde Park Corner — Piccadilly Circus — Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych.

Heritage route 15:
Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych — Fleet Street — Cannon Street — Monument — Tower Hill.

These red red double decker buses were specially restored from remaining examples, But with new clean environmental engines and modern electrics and sealed windows.

I think Olympics already gave it a new chance. People all over the world would feel wonderful to travel London by a 50 years old London icon in the Olympic year.

If you love them, You can also buy a model from the souvenir shops along Oxford Street.

Copyright © iwalku2.com All Rights Reserved

Specially Choice the Best From Amazon for you: iWalkU2’s Travel Book Store