The Routemaster double-decker bus was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles (PRV). The first prototype was completed in 1954 and the last one was delivered in 1968. The layout of the vehicle was traditional for the time, having a half-cab, front mounted engine and open rear platform - although the coach version was fitted with rear platform doors. Forward entrance vehicles with platform doors were also produced as was a unique front entrance prototype with the engine mounted transversely at the rear. The first one entered service with London Transport in 1956 and the last ones were withdrawn from mainstream service in 2005, although two heritage routes retain Routemaster operation in central London.
The Routemaster was developed by AEC & PRV in partnership with London Transport, the customer for nearly all new Routemasters, although small numbers were also delivered to the airline British European Airways (BEA) and the Northern General Transport Company. 2,876 Routemasters were built, with approximately 1,000 still in existence.
A pioneering design, the Routemaster outlasted several of its replacement types in London, survived the privatisation of the former London Transport bus operators and was used by other operators around the UK. In modern UK public transport bus operation, the old-fashioned features of the standard Routemaster were both praised and criticised. The open platform, while exposed to the elements, allowed boarding and alighting away from stops; and the presence of a conductor allowed minimal boarding time and optimal security, but with greater labour costs.
The Routemaster became one of London's most famous symbols, with much tourist paraphernalia continuing to bear Routemaster imagery, and with examples still in existence around the world. Despite its fame, the earlier and more numerous London bus classes that the Routemaster replaced (the RT-type AEC Regent and its Leyland Titan RTL and RTW counterparts) are often mistaken for Routemasters by the public and by the media.
Despite the retirement of the original version, the Routemaster has retained iconic status, and in the late 2000s work began on an updated version, which entered service in February 2012.
Read more about Routemaster: Design, Prototypes, Production, Colourful Routemasters, In Popular Culture, New Bus For London, Skopje City Master