where to get a ride on a routemaster?
 

hi there,i would like to go for a ride on a public routemaster in london.

where is the easiest place to catch one? do they work the usual hours of the day or just tourist hours?

thx

In addition to responses you get here, you might want to check the www.slowtrav.com website, and also post on their bulletin board.

--Marv

Gosh darn, not sure how that got mixed up. I was actually resonding to some other post, and it showed up on this one!

I am not sure what a routemaster is, but if it is anything like a rotorooter, I do NOT want a ride. I will go to my proctologist if it gets THAT bad.

--Marv

A Routemaster is the final version of the traditional London double-decker bus with an open platform at the back, and both a driver and conductor (who checks tickets). They are still used on some routes passing through London's West End. Just buy a Travelcard or bus pass, then walk along Oxford Street or around Trafalgar Square, wait at a bus stop and when you see one, hop on. Production of these buses finished in the 1960s, and later double-deckers have doors at the front and are worked by one man, the driver; these double-deckers are to be found all around London and most other towns and cities in the UK.

Go now, they are being phased out this year. At the moment, the following routes are served by Routemasters:

13, 14,19, 22, 36. 38 and 159 but these will gone by the autumn.

Apparently you can buy one for around £2000.00. plus shipping costs. Start saving now!

As of last June, the #9 route also had a lot of Routemaster buses.

If you have an interest in the old buses, you may find the London Transport Museum interesting. They have all the old vehichles used in London transport - back to the horse-drawn Omni-bus. And you can climb aboard many of them.

<b>www.ltmuseum.co.uk</b>