Tickets please!
March 29th 2009 12:59
As regular readers will know, AUTOLOUD is an unashamed nostalgia freak. As a child one of my favourite pastimes was to sit at the upstairs front window of a double Decker bus, I was a kid okay!
Anyway! If you have ever been to London you will know the ubiquitous London double decker bus the “Routemaster” (which is an unfortunate turn of phrase for us OZtralians!) is no longer in daily service.
Those big red buses had been in service for fifty years when, former Lord Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, decided that London actually needed some sharp new bendy buses. On removing them from London streets they also took at lot of the character that was inherent with the English capital.
This has now been rectified, thanks to new Lord Mayor Boris Johnson. Dubbed “BoJo” by the English press, as part of his election platform he instigated a design competition to bring back a new take on the London bus, suitable for a new century.
The entrants drew their inspiration from the old-timer and translated it to our brave new world. Features like hybrid diesel/electric drive; bonded windows, flat floors and even recycled wooden floors all point to transportation with a green conscious!
The competition was jointly won by Aston Martin with the help of famed designer Sir Norman Foster and Capaco. With a projected arrival date of 2012, both designs are right up to date in execution and the best part is they look like they belong in a 1950’s postcard!
Anyway! If you have ever been to London you will know the ubiquitous London double decker bus the “Routemaster” (which is an unfortunate turn of phrase for us OZtralians!) is no longer in daily service.
Those big red buses had been in service for fifty years when, former Lord Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, decided that London actually needed some sharp new bendy buses. On removing them from London streets they also took at lot of the character that was inherent with the English capital.
This has now been rectified, thanks to new Lord Mayor Boris Johnson. Dubbed “BoJo” by the English press, as part of his election platform he instigated a design competition to bring back a new take on the London bus, suitable for a new century.
The entrants drew their inspiration from the old-timer and translated it to our brave new world. Features like hybrid diesel/electric drive; bonded windows, flat floors and even recycled wooden floors all point to transportation with a green conscious!
The competition was jointly won by Aston Martin with the help of famed designer Sir Norman Foster and Capaco. With a projected arrival date of 2012, both designs are right up to date in execution and the best part is they look like they belong in a 1950’s postcard!
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