London Retires Classic Red Double-Deckers

Londoners bade a fond farewell Friday to the red double-decker Routemaster buses that for half a century have been as symbolic of London as Big Ben.

Reporters and enthusiasts jostled for position and people lined the streets as the No. 159 set out on the last regular trip by a Routemaster, journeying from Oxford Street to the Brixton bus garage in South London.

Loved by tourists and residents alike, the distinctive buses started service in 1956. But they became expensive antiques and were gradually retired.

A few will still run on two heritage routes catering to tourists.

True to form, the last bus left behind schedule. But this time it was flanked by police and well-wishers running alongside.

The iconic double-deckers -- with a conductor, cord-pull bells and an open rear boarding platform that allowed passengers to jump on and off even when the bus was moving -- are viewed by many as irreplaceable classics.

“They are part of London. They are part of my history,” said retired electrician John Rickard, 70. “The conductors made the trip special. You used to get some real characters. Sometimes it was like a one-man comedy show.”

“I love being out in the open air but it can get bitterly cold standing on the platform in winter,” said Lloyd Winston Licorish, 61, the 159’s conductor. “Most customers are OK. Some of them even have a kind word and a cheery wave.”

Since the late 1950s, countless visitors to London have climbed the buses’ narrow stairs and settled into the front seats for an inexpensive bird’s eye tour of the city’s top attractions. At their peak, 2,760 trundled throughout London.

As the 159 neared its final destination, schoolchildren waved the Union Jack and shrieked as it passed. Hundreds of enthusiasts mingled with curious locals at Brixton garage and cheered as the bus left the highway.