Last December 15th, the London mayor, Boris Johnson, and Peter Hendy, London's transport commissioner, announced the winners of a contest to design a replacement for our. much loved open-platform Routemaster.
A joint first prize of £25,000 has been shared by a collaborative design from Aston Martin and the architects Foster and Partners and another entry by Alan Ponsford's Capoco Design, a design team with 30 years' experience in the bus industry.
The winning designs make imaginative use of hybrid-drive technology, lightweight materials and a wealth of fresh engineering ideas. The designs pay homage to the well-known shape of the Routemaster, a particularly fine city bus that defied fashion and changes in the ownership and control of London's buses.
The C
apoco bus looks very like a Routemaster and features a front engine, RM-style radiator grille, curved bodywork and an open rear-platform. It also features a separate door for disabled access and a well thought out low-energy power train.
apoco bus looks very like a Routemaster and features a front engine, RM-style radiator grille, curved bodywork and an open rear-platform. It also features a separate door for disabled access and a well thought out low-energy power train.