London's all-new Routemaster unveiled

You have to hand it over to the citizens of the West for the way in which they take pride and ownership over anything vintage and classic. The above statement is inclusive of public transport also, the prime examples being the London Bus and the London Taxi, both of which enjoys a cult following across the world, more so in UK. After decades of service, they have become symbols of London so much so, that the itinerary of most of the tourists visiting London would have a planned trip in the London Bus (actually called the Routemaster) as a standard fixture.

It seems that one of the election manifestos of the current Mayor of London, Mr. Boris Johnson was the reintroduction of the Routemaster in a modern yet classic avatar. True to his words, the Mayor recently unveiled the full-size mock-up of the all-new Routemaster at the London Transport Museum. To be made by Wright Bus, a UK based coach-maker and all set to enter service in 2012, these new double-decker buses will fill the void left by the classic Routemasters once they were stopped from service in 2005 and confined to do duty on a couple of heritage routes in the city in limited numbers.

The new Routemaster stays true to its predecessor and lives up to the heritage of its brand. It has been modeled after the classic original with modern yet retro styling cues bringing in much needed style and flair in an extremely good-looking package. The standout feature will be an open platform at the rear of the bus thus allowing passengers to really get a 'Hop-On Hop-Off' experience. The circular LED headlights look wow while the rear design looks less convincing. Any which way it is, the new Routemaster will reignite the passion and pride of Londoners for which the old buses were so famous for.

Image Source: Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) & Wright Bus (www.wrightbus.com)