Only the highly tolerant or easily pleased would ever claim that modern public transport is glamorous. However, the Routemaster bus certainly struck a chord with its many satisfied customers. The London bus routes simply aren’t the same without it.

The original Routemaster was the successor to a series of double-decker buses. The earliest of these were the horse-drawn buses of Victorian days, which were replaced in turn by trams and trolley-buses. The earliest Routemasters took to the London streets in 1958. They were the last buses to have been entirely designed by London Transport. This may not sound like much of a recommendation but LT certainly got it right, producing a vehicle which, in many ways, was ahead of its time.
The technically-minded among the 1950s clientelle would have been
profoundly impressed by the light alloy body, separate front and rear subframes, independent front suspension, power steering, fully automatic gearbox and power-hydraulic braking. Most users would have appreciated the comfortable seats, the wonderful views from the top deck (especially from the coveted front row) and, above all, the ease of access and egress made possible by the open rear platform. ‘Running for the bus’ really meant something during the Routemaster era. Hardly anyone bothers now since modern buses have doors and can only be entered at bus stops. (Also rather few people CAN run!). Things were quite different on the Routemaster routes.

Anyone who was quick or foolhardy enough could mount a bus (or get off) at any point on the journey. All that was needed was the ability to dash up to a bus at the traffic lights or simply in slow-moving traffic and jump on. This very
feature of the bus contributed to its demise. The open platform was the very stuff to keep ‘health ’n safety’ operatives awake at night, pondering the many and varied ways in which customers could expect to be killed or (worse still since litigation could arise) injured when getting on or off. In fact, very few people ever seem to have come to grief in this way.
Undoubtedly, though, the Routemaster was not accessible to the wheelchair-bound, unlike its modern successors, and this also contributed to its withdrawal from service in 2005.

Another key feature of the Routemaster, and a major factor in its
disappearance, was that it was operated by a two-person team: a driver and a conductor. The driver was safely cosseted up front in the separate cab, able to concentrate on the driving. Fare collection was the duty of the conductor but, in practice, he or she performed many other invaluable tasks. These included helping people on and off, pointing out the correct stops to tourists and other non-regulars and general supervision of the passengers. Fares were collected on the move, which meant that
Routemasters spent much less time at bus stops than is inevitable with their ‘pay-as-you-enter’ replacements. The early conductors must have been a fit crowd, spending many hours a day dashing up and down the stairs – rumour has it that some of their more recent counterparts were a little more reluctant to serve the top deck, making it possible to travel short distances without being asked for payment ! The extinction of the bus conductor is a sad loss indeed.

A total of 2,568 Routemasters were built of which something like 800 survive in Britain and over 400 overseas. The RM, the original model was a 27 foot 64-seater, which was built between 1958 and 1965. It was then replaced by the RML, which was 30 feet along and a 72-seater, built from 1961 to 1968. The extra length was an afterthought and achieved by ‘adding a bit in the middle’: you can easily tell an RML from an RM by the square windows which go with the supplementary section of the RML.

The Routemaster is often described as ‘iconic’, a tribute to its association with London. Certainly many a film in which the action switches to London made the location abundantly clear by including a procession of Routemasters, more often than not with a backdrop of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The Routemaster belongs in a short list of public transport facilities which are themselves landmarks, in company with Venetian gondolas, Oriental rickshaws and the Caledonian MacBrayne ferries to the Scottish isles. It has gone now, except for two ‘heritage’ routes in London, but its robust engineering and devoted following ensure that it will not fade entirely from public awareness.

Our bus SMK690F is one of the later examples of the RML, number 2690.
Her life hitherto seems to have been utterly routine. She entered service with London Transport at Aldenham depot in September 1967. Ownership passed to Metroline in October 1994 who kept her until March 2004 when she was withdrawn from service. Two further private owners looked after her until the defining moment in her life – her very reason for being - occurred in May 2007; her launch as the 'Rootmaster restaurant. ‘
Rootmaster’ is proud to be based on this wonderful vehicle. Bon appetit !