Good bye Bendy

It’s been a long time coming but today we see the end of bendy buses in London.

Brought in by Ken, seen off by Boris, the bendy bus always divided opinion. Certainly the extra space meant they were excellent for people with push chairs or, as I witnessed on one occasion, vast quantities of sofa cushions to take around town. However one down side was the fact they weren’t massively cycle friendly and could intimidate those on bikes (although I’m told they’ve never killed a single cyclist).

The Evening Standard typically brands them as “the fare-dodgers’ favourite” but many Londoners have fonder recollections and Diamond Geezer has taken one last trip to reminisce.

Over at Liberal Conspiracy Sunny sees today as the day Boris launches new Routemasters. Other new developments include the fitting of environmentally friendly contraptions to 1,000 London buses. A new dawn which apparently requires a whole new set of higher fares.

But let us take a moment to remember the old girls before they go out of service. Londonist reminds us that “9th December marks exactly six years since the final Routemaster was taken out of regular service” which seems fitting somehow. He also reassures us that the buses will continue to see active service as the fleet has been sold to Brighton and Leicester. Good luck to them I say.