Boris Johson today made further progress in fulfilling another pledge from his London mayoral campaign - getting a 21st Century Routemaster bus onto the streets of the capital.
During the mayoral campaign, he took great pleasure in reminding voters that Ken Livingstone famously said in 2001 that "“only some ghastly, dehumanised moron would want to get rid of the Routemaster” - before promptly doing just that himself.
So on his election as London mayor, Boris launched a competition to design a new version of the iconic vehicle, which attracted 700 entries, of which the following two are the joint winners (each receiving £25,000), according to the Evening Standard:
1. A streamlined space-capsule bus designed by Todd Hutton, a collaboration between car-maker Aston Martin and architect Lord Foster
2. A Fifties-style vehicle designed by Alan Ponsford of Capoco
Boris Johnson said of the results:
"When I launched the competition, I asked for stylish and imaginative designs which would resonate with Londoners. 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. I know that, like me, Londoners will be waiting eagerly to see how these ideas evolve into the final design that will appear on our roads."
The first of the vehicles is expected to be on the road by 2011.
Update: There is more information on the designs at the TfL website
Jonathan Isaby
