Polluting for pleasure ?

Big Red London Buses

WITH AUDIO: ► Click to open/close audio player then hit the ► play button

They've changed over the years; they're not the same today as they were thirty years ago; but big red double-decker buses are icons of London, and they are recognised (and found) all over the world
Routemasters
Classic Routemaster buses in Oxford Street, around 2000 What is the most recognisable symbol of London? Big Ben? The statue of Eros in Picadilly Circus? Or could it be something much less artistic than that? Could it be the big red London double-decker bus?
It certainly could. Big red buses are recognised all over the world as symbols of London. Visitors climb into London buses to go and see the Niagara Falls. London buses can be seen driving round Europe to advertise big department stores, or British events . They don't need to have the words "London Transport" on the side of them. They are instantly recognised by millions of people !
London bus Red London buses in 2016 It was over 100 years ago, on October 25th 1911, that the London General Omnibus Company ran their last horse-drawn omnibus through the streets of the capital. From then on, the monarchs of the road in London have been those famous red motor buses.
The idea of the "double decker" is actually much older than the motor bus. It is simply a continuation of the system that was used for public transport in the age of horse-drawn vehicles, when some of the passengers sat inside, and the rest travelled on the roof. Too bad if it was raining!
The earliest double-deckers omnibuses in London were horse-drawn vehicles. Like some of today's double-deckers, they had steps at the back, to let people climb up onto the roof. The main difference was that in those days, there was no protection for the people travelling on top. If it rained, they could pull a sort of oil-cloth cover out of the back of the seat in front of them, and pull it over them; but you still got pretty wet.
It wasn't until the 1930's that all new buses came equipped with roofs over the upper deck! Increasingly powerful engines meant that buses could be bigger and heavier. Like trams, they could then have roofs.
The most famous London buses, however, are not those that filled the Capital's streets in the 1930's, but the powerful "Routemasters" which dated from the 1950's and 60's. These are the buses that have been taken all over the world, the buses that feature in the tourist brochures, and the ones which have been sold, in miniature, to millions of visitors and souvenir hunters.
The Routemaster is an icon in itself! These buses were designed specially for London, by people who knew what London needed, and they served their purpose well, and did so for half a century !
Things started to go wrong for the London bus in the late 1960's. That was when the Ministry of Transport decided that it would only give financial help to bus companies that bought new buses with doors! Suddenly London Transport found they could no longer buy any more of their favourite Routemasters, that they had designed. They had instead to choose other models. They have been buying other models ever since.
(End of audio text)

The end of the story

In the late 20th century, five hundred of the solid and popular old buses were extensively renovated, and put back on the road as good as new, if not better! But not even the Routemaster could resist the winds of change. Modern transport systems require one-man buses, not buses with both a driver and a conductor. So in 2005, the old Routemasters were finally taken out of normal service.
Still, it's not too late to enjoy travelling on one of these historic buses. Some of the old buses have been preserved, and were used for a while on two "heritage routes" through the centre of London, specially for tourists. Route 9 went from the Royal Albert Hall to Aldwych, via Piccadilly circus and Trafalgar Square; but the last Routmasters were used on this route in 2014. As of 2020, the only route left is Route 15, which goes from Trafalgar Square to the Tower of London, via St. Paul's Cathedral. But other old Routemasters are used by the tourist bus companies, which offer trips round the centre of London.
Today, every day, thousands of Londoners use the big red buses to move - often slowly - around town. Lots of tourists know that a one-day London bus pass, valid on all regular bus routes, offers a wonderful way to see Britain's capital city.

Word guide

WORDS: advertise: publicise, promote conductor: on a bus, the man who sells tickets, not the driver. - department stores: big shops with lots of different departments - double decker: with two levels - drawn: to draw, to pull - events: occasions, special presentations - horse-drawn: pulled by horses - hunt: look for- increasingly: more and more - omnibus: bus - pass: an unlimited ticket - serve their purpose: do what they are meant to do - trams: buses that run on rails - are valid: can be used.