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Sports car manufacturer Aston Martin has won the competition to design a new Routemaster bus for London. The Warwickshire-based firm's winning entry was a team effort with leading architects Foster and Partners. They share the £25,000 first prize with bus, coach and truck design firm Capoco Design, based in Wiltshire. There was over 700 entries from five different continents. A Transport for London spokesman said the first of the greener and more accessible, hop-on hop-off, double-deckers could be in service by 2011.
Features
The Aston Martin-Foster bus design envisages a highly-manoeuvrable, zero-emissions vehicle, with solar panels built into a glass roof, full accessibility, warm lighting and wooden floors. The Capoco design combines what the company describes as "the best of the old with the best of the new" Mayor Boris Johnson said: "We have had a phenomenal response, with ideas submitted from around the globe, and we now have, in our joint winners, two stunning designs that allow us to go forward and produce a truly iconic bus fit for 21st Century London." However Labour's transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, Val Shawcross told the BBC: "This is not a serious way to make policy and not a worthwhile use of public money." Five months ago Mayor Boris Johnson put plans to bin the bendy bus and reintroduce a 'modern' version of the iconic London vehicle.
Cost implications
There have been criticisms over the cost in designing and manufacturing an entire new fleet of busses off the back of a populist transport policy. Company Design Director Alan Ponsford told BBC London that a new Routemaster would take around three years from drawing board to road, with the project costing around £5-10 million. A new Routemaster is estimated to cost around £200,000 each as apposed to £150,000 for conventional double-deckers that can be bought straight from the shelf.
Senior transport figures have hinted that the new Routemaster will operate on a scale far wider than expected - but that the competition was a 'sideshow' and a 'consultation' exercise. 800 are expected to be ordered, almost double the initial estimate. 'Mobile youth clubs' Commuters have complained of anti social behaviour and thuggery on the Lower Clapton through Dalston to central London route. A report by the Metropolitan Police Authority called the articulated vehicles "mobile youth clubs" meaning the route will revert to the traditional double-decker. "Many Londoners, particularly cyclists, see the awkward elongated bulk of the bendy bus as completely unsuitable for the city's streets, and during the Mayoral election this became a huge issue. I am making sure the buses are removed in the most cost-effective way, and today's new contract announcement marks the beginning of the end for the bendy bus in London.” Manifesto pledge Mayor Boris Johnson made the phasing out of the buses a key pledge of his election manifesto. The route was served by a Routemaster until three years ago. Johnson has spoken out on the dangers to cyclists and increased fare evasion on the vehicles. Watchdog not impressed However, not everyone was celebrating the beginning of the end of the controversial busses - London Travelwatch; London's independent travel watchdog says the decision represents poor value for money. Chief executive Janet Cooke said: "We have estimated, and TfL has not disputed the figure, that additional costs on these three routes alone could be in the region of 12 to 13 million pounds per annum. "London TravelWatch believes that the use of articulated buses on routes with a high volume of passengers has overwhelming advantages, in terms of accessibility, manoeuvrability in limited road space and loading and dwell times." Opponents have warned the move could mean crowded and slower journeys with higher ticket prices.
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