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First London AEC Routemaster, RML 2473 (JJD 473D), on route 7 towards Ladbroke Grove tube station, April 2002.

The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was unveiled in 1954. It was introduced in London on 8 February 1956 and has become one of the famous icons of London. It is still in service on two heritage routes in central London.

A row of Routemaster buses at Acton Depot.

The bus was developed during the period 1947-1956 by a team led by Douglas Scott and Colin Curtis, the brief being to replace the trolleybuses, which had themselves replaced trams, in London. The buses were originally constructed at the AEC works in Southall. The original concept included the maintenance of the Routemaster at Aldenham Works (operated by London Transport). Here the buses could be completely stripped down and rebuilt, engines changed etc. which was an important part of the original concept. However, as the number of Routemasters in London got smaller this concept was abandoned, and Aldenham Works closed in the mid-1980s.

In 1960s, AEC also developed the front-entrance, rear-engine version of Routemaster, but only one such Routemaster was built.

London Transport received four prototype Routemasters, these were placed in service between 1956 and 1958.

Production examples, at first to the 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 metres) length then permitted, were placed in service from 1959 to replace trolleybuses, this was completed in May 1962. Subsequent Routemasters, the last 500 of which were 30 feet (9.1 metres) long RML types, began replacing the previous generation of RT-type AEC Regent buses and their similar Leyland Titan RTL and RTW counterparts. These are often mistaken for Routemasters by the public and by the media. The last Routemaster, RML 2760, entered service in March 1968.

The Routemaster proved very popular with Londoners and tourists alike. It perpetuated features common to earlier buses: the open platform at the rear and the presence of a conductor to collect fares, required by the isolated driver's cab. The platform allowed large volumes of passengers to alight and board quickly at stops, and indeed at traffic lights and slow speeds. The conductor collected fares whilst the bus was travelling, thus minimising delays at stops.

There were some shortcomings in the Routemaster series. Both the standing headroom of the lower floor and the walking headroom on the upper floor (standing is not allowed on the upper deck of UK buses) were rather restricted. Another shortcoming was inadequate legroom for seated passengers. Also, due to the lack of a door at the rear entrance, passengers were not well protected from cold or windy weather.

London Transport also received one rear-engined Routemaster in 1966, the bus was given the fleet number FRM1.

A Routemaster on Route 14 crossing Piccadilly Circus.

Many of London's bus routes were converted to driver-only operation in the 1970s, out of a desire to reduce operating costs and address staff shortages. However, it has been found that the increased waiting time at stops resulting from boarding passengers having to pay the driver causes delays, especially on busy routes, and leads to "bunching" of buses and poor service. In an attempt to improve matters, in central London bus tickets are now bought from street-side machines before boarding. The Oyster card has also made an impact in this regard.

Withdrawal of Routemasters began in 1982 but was largely halted by 1988, with comparatively few withdrawn between then and 1992. The unique rear-engined Routemaster was withdrawn in 1983 and was transferred to London Transport Museum for preservation.

A number of withdrawn Routemasters were transferred to other cities, including Manchester (serving towns between Didsbury and Piccadilly via the Universities and Rusholme between circa 1988-1993) and Southend, for further service.

In 1992, a programme was instituted to refurbish 500 of the RML type for ten years' further service. This work, which included updating the interior to modern tastes and re-engining, was carried out by Mainline, TBP and Leaside Buses, and was completed in 1994 in time for the privatisation of the subsidiaries of London Buses Limited. This saw the Routemaster fleet divided amongst nine new companies.

In spite of an earlier public promise to retain the Routemaster, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, later announced the phasing out of the type in order to provide a bus service in the capital fully accessible to wheelchair users. Government legislation requires full accessibility by 2017 under the Disability Discrimination Act. As a consequence the Routemaster was officially withdrawn from general service on 9 December 2005, although it remains in regular service on two 'heritage' routes (see below).

London Central AEC Routemaster RM 758 (re-registered 209 UXJ) on route 36 at Vauxhall bus station, 6 January 2005.

London Sovereign AEC Routemaster RM 1204 (204 CLT) on route 13 outside Golders Green tube station, 17 October 2005.

Withdrawals began on the dates below as the routes' five-year contracts expired.

• Route 15: 29 August 2003
• Route 11: 31 October 2003
• Route 23: 14 November 2003
• Route 94: 23 January 2004
• Route 6: 26 March 2004
• Route 98: 26 March 2004
• Route 8: 4 June 2004
• Route 7: 2 July 2004
• Route 137: 9 July 2004
• Route 9: 3 September 2004
• Route 390: 3 September 2004
• Route 73: 3 September 2004, replaced by bendy buses
• Route 12: 5 November 2004, replaced by bendy buses
• Route 36: 28 January 2005
• Route 19: 1 April 2005
• Route 14: 22 July 2005
• Route 22: 22 July 2005
• Route 13: 21 October 2005
• Route 38: 28 October 2005, replaced by bendy buses
• Route 159: 9 December 2005, departed Marble Arch at 12:10

The Routemaster was gradually phased out of service from most of its remaining routes during 2005. By December only one route was left: the 159 (Marble Arch - Streatham), and Thursday 8 December was selected as the final day for the Routemaster's official "regular service". To commemorate this, on the "day before the last" a large number of preserved RMs and RMLs, plus a number of their predecessors from the "RT" family, made guest appearances on the 159. A huge number of people, not just enthusiasts, took the opportunity to take a ride on one of the buses to say farewell to these famous icons.

RM2217 freshly painted, arrives at the Garage in Streatham on the 159 for the last time. As thousands of people bring the four-lane road to a standstill, police try to clear the way to enable it to cover the last few yards for the last time. December 9, 2005.

The last three routemasters RM5 (Right), RM6 (Gold/Centre), RM2217 lined up at Brixton Garage minutes after the last run. December 9, 2005.

December 9 started as any other, with Routemasters on the road as normal. From 10am, though, they were replaced at the garage one for one as they arrived back. However around 11:45 more than a dozen routemasters could be counted around Marble Arch. Many were already preserved, with enthusiasts joining the occasion with their own immaculate examples (including RM1000, 2278, 2613, 2715, 2741, 2755 and more). Ominously around noon, there were none. At 12:10 RM54 reached the Marble Arch bus stop and departed, and at 12:18 RM5, gleaming in 1960s style, arrived and went to the bus stop. At this point Oxford St stopped and the police had to contain the crowd. RM6 followed but had to wait nearly 10 minutes for RM5 and the traffic to move. RM6 departed at 12:31 leaving just RM2217 preceded by an open top bus for the press. Meanwhile at 12:49 RM6 was in Piccadilly, and RM5 and RM54 caught up and were swamped by the public on Westminster Bridge, taking 15 minutes to cross. RM6, catching public attention in Golden Jubilee GOLD colours, sailed through Westminster Bridge overtaking RM54 and RM5 to pass school children, thousands in the crowd, and regular people who waved one last time. When RM6 arrived at Streatham Hill at 13:48, thousands of people blocked the four-lane road, bringing all traffic to a stand. As the passengers left the bus, police cleared the roads, and photographers dodged the bus as it slowly moved to the depot. Minutes later the scene was repeated as RM54 arrived, the informed shouting that this actually was not the last one. Preserved Routemasters also passed by adding to the excitement. RM5 came to view complete with a Union Jack in the driver's window, the crowd photographing the bus, the bus driver photographing the crowd. A member of the crowd leaped out and gave flowers to the bus driver as RM5 slid into the depot, as if carried by the crowd. Finally, RM2217, shining like new, dropped her passengers, the crowd shouting to stop. RM2217 took 10 minutes to turn the corner into the depot, as crowds ran behind chasing the bus to the very limits of the garage. The bus left the public highway at 14:07. The crowd took over an hour to leave.

After a short time, RM5 and RM6 slid from the southern exit of the garage and down the street to the old LCC Tramways depot at Brixton, followed a few minutes later by RM2217. The lucky few, and the lucky passers-by, were granted an extra chance at a photograph as RM5, RM6 and RM2217 were lined up side by side for the press in the quieter surroundings of the old tramways depot, which still has tramlines visible. Finally the door was closed and the crowd took the regular, less distinctive, normal buses back home, leaving the last three alone.

RM54, meanwhile, continued in service to the Streatham Station stand (at the former Streatham Garage site) and, at 14:09, unloaded the last of its passengers. As it ran out of service to storage at Norwood Garage, it had, through late running, unintentionally become the last in service on route 159 and so the last Routemaster on a 'mainstream' working in London.

RM54 was purchased from TfL in April 2006 for preservation.

A Heritage Routemaster on The Strand, November 2005.

For many people, Routemaster buses evoke nostalgic feelings, and the announcement spawned a campaign to save the bus. Two heritage routes have been introduced to keep the Routemaster alive in London. These use the most recently refurbished Routemaster vehicles and operate on the central London sections of existing regular routes as follows:

• Heritage route 9: Royal Albert Hall — Hyde Park Corner — Piccadilly Circus — Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych. Operated by First London, this is a short working of existing route 9.

• Heritage route 15: Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych — Fleet Street — Cannon Street — Monument — Tower Hill. Operated by East London, this is a short working of existing route 15.

Both routes operate every 15 minutes from 0930 to 1830. They are operated under contract to TfL and accept standard Travelcards, Oystercards or cash fares.

Northern General introduced 50 new 30-foot, front-entrance Routemaster buses in 1964/1965, later followed by one more which was a demonstrator and was originally built for London Transport. These were withdrawn in late 1970s/early 1980s, some of them were transferred to London for sightseeing purposes.

British European Airways introduced 65 new 27.5-foot, front-entrance Routemaster buses (with trailers) in 1966/1967 for use on airport bus service to and from Heathrow Airport, all of them were sold to London Transport after being withdrawn in mid/late-1970s.

A Routemaster in Montreal, still owned by its Perth-based operator, Stagecoach, and still in daily use carrying tourists around the city.

Many, if not most, major cities in the world have a Routemaster, or an older RT variant somewhere, often privately owned and used for many different purposes (from Preservation to Hot Dog stands, tour bus to shop). Routemasters can be found far from home in places such as Sri Lanka, Australia, China, Malaysia, even Fairbanks, Alaska. Most Routemasters today are not in regular service, and most that are used are for private hire or very limited tourism use. There are, however, a few places where small fleets of Routemasters remain in daily service.

Some Routemasters can still be seen around London. Fewer than 20 Routemasters have been retained for use on a tourist service running during daylight hours between some of London's notable landmarks. Regular fares apply. The buses were specially restored for this service and have clean environmental engines and modern electrics and sealed windows. Although open to all passengers the service is more aimed at tourists as a landmark and is not frequented by commuters.

A number of Stagecoach-owned Routemasters have been exported to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where Stagecoach now provide a tourist service around the city. This is an unusual case of London Routemasters being operated on a daily service in a foreign country by an original London Routemaster operator.

A number of Routemasters owned by Stagecoach operated between Piccadilly and Fallowfield in Manchester, England after industry deregulation in the early 1990s. The service was unsuccessful and only operated for a short while.

Routemasters made a welcome return from retirement in East London on 5 July 2007. They were drafted in along with other vehicles as emergency London Underground replacement buses after a derailment on the Central Line between Liverpool Street and Leytonstone.

Of the 2760 London Routemasters produced there are now only 1200 left.

Whilst Routemaster operation is now reserved for the heritage routes, the bus nevertheless remains intensely associated with London, with much tourist paraphernalia continuing to bear Routemaster imagery. Such is the popularity of the Routemaster that many calls continue to be made for a new version of the vehicle to be produced. The London Bus Campaign was set up following the demise of regular Routemaster operation in 2005 and calls for a return of Routemaster operation in the capital, by way of a new fleet of Routemaster vehicles being commissioned. More promisingly for fans of the Routemaster was the announcement by Conservative Mayoral candidate for London, Boris Johnson, on 3 September 2007, that he was contemplating introducing a modern-day Routemaster bus (and scrapping bendy bus operation). As yet Londoners await firm proposals.

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The number plates of the remaining London based Routemaster buses that have been observed travelling along the Heritage Routes (15 and 9) are:
  • WLT 324 (RM324)
  • WLT 652 (RM652)
  • WLT 871 (RM871)
  • ALD 933B (RM1933)
  • ALD 941B (RM1941, also has a red light attached to the roof at the front of the bus)
  • ALD 968B (RM1968)
  • ALM 50B (RM2050)
  • ALM 60B (RM2060)
  • ALM 71B (RM2071)
  • ALM 89B (RM2089)
  • SMK 760F (RML2760)

• The number plates of the remaining London based Routemaster buses that have been observed travelling along the Charing Cross section of Route 9 include:
  • 204 CLT (RM1204)
  • 218 CLT (RM1218)
  • 280 CLT (RM1280)
  • 562 CLT (RM1562)
  • 627 DYE (RM1627)
  • 640 DYE (RM1640)
  • 650 DYE (RM1650)
  • 735 DYE (RM1735)
  • 776 DYE (RM1776)
  • ALM 913B (RM1913)

• The number plate of a Routemaster discovered on the H1 route to Loughton:
  • WTS 418A

• London Buses route 9 (Heritage)
• London Buses route 15 (Heritage)
• Category:Bus transport in London
• Category:Bus routes in London
• Routemaster rampage

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Routemaster vehicles

• Routemaster UK photographic site
• London Bus Campaign Website
• Save the Routemaster
• Routemaster Operators and Owners Association
• The London Bus Page
• The AEC Society
• AEC Southall
• Short article on the demise of the Routemaster in London
• The Ensignbus Vintage Bus Museum at Purfleet, Essex
• Replacing the Routemaster: "How to undo Ken Livingstone's destruction of London's best-ever bus" (Think Tank article with contributions from Simon Jenkins, Andrew Gilligan, Zac Goldsmith, Kate Hoey MP and others)
• Photos from the removal of the Routemasters from London's route 73
• Some photos from the last day of the routemaster
• Report and photographs of the last day of the Routemaster
• Day out from London to Bristol on RML903
• Farewell Routemaster film - short films celebrating the double-decker bus