Transport for London has decided to retire the last regular service of Routemaster buses.

Twenty of the iconic buses (pictured) were running during the summer months on the Route 15, but it has been decided it is uneconomic to continue based on lower ridership due to Coronavirus and subsequent government restrictions.

London’s Evening Standard reports that after reviewing the bus network to “ensure it responds to customer demand”, TfL told the paper it had concluded that the heritage buses on a section of route 15 are “not needed for the current and predicted customer demand on the corridor,” and that “combined with concerns about the environmental and accessibility limitations – they are not step-free or ULEZ-complaint – meant that their continued operation was no longer viable.”

The heritage route, which only operated seasonly between 10am-6pm on summer weekends and bank holidays between March and September only, had not operated since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. The Standard says this saved TfL £825,243 in contract payments to operator Stagecoach.

(Picture – Yay Images)