The new 'party bus' - No29 service among first for the revamped Routemaster

Published: 20 May 2010

THE No29 bus service – notorious for nuisance behaviour and fare dodgers – is in line to become one of the first new Routemaster ser­vices.

Transport for London (TfL) unveiled the £7million designs for the new version of the famous old London bus and have confirmed that after they are rolled out in 2012 they will replace the No29 vehicles, which run from Trafalgar Square through Camden to Wood Green. 

Dubbed the “party bus”, due to the crush of people who use the ser­vice and the often rowdy behaviour on board, the 29 and its night service are expected to get bus conductors which, according to TfL, will help cut down anti-social behaviour.  

The new look was designed by Thomas Heatherwick, who lives in King’s Cross.

He said: “The stair­cases are normally dark as you walk upstairs. We are making the windows flow so you will be able to see out. It becomes quite distinctive: bus users will be able to see London.” 

The first new Routemasters, currently being built at a factory in Northern Ireland, will be ready to hit the streets in 2012. TfL hope to have 300 in service, and they will cover all major routes in Camden. Details such as the interior have yet to be finalised but TfL say it will be the greenest bus available, with a hybrid engine and lightweight frame. 

But others are not so keen on the design. Pressure group Disability In Camden’s director Akin Olukiran said he hoped TfL would make sure the designs were tweaked to ensure older and partially abled people find them accessible. 

He added: “I fear this is a step backwards. There was not enough consultation with disabled people in design terms. The emphasis has been on green technology and the sleek aesthetics – but not about its practicality. Jump on, jump off has obvious issues for us, and we are also concerned about the space inside.”

Highgate author Travis Elborough, who wrote The Bus We Loved: London’s Affair With The Routemaster, the definitive biography of the classic bus, said: “I am vaguely optimistic about this. An open platform at the back was a quintessential element of it so it is good to see that has returned.” 

But Mr Elborough was guarded in comparing the new bus with the older models. He added: “It looks supercharged, as if the old bus has spent time in a gym. The old Routemaster was incredibly advanced for its time in terms of engineering, but not so much in look. People, when it was first on the streets, criticised its look as being old-fashioned.”