 |
On the afternoon of Thursday
8th December Routemaster RML 2545 (JJD 545D) passes
Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square - in one
picture the heart of London serving the heart of
London. But not any more - it's all gone.
London's symbol, not only of its once-proud
status as the greatest city of the world, but of
a system of transport that was more comfortable,
more convenient, more efficient, and more
friendly than anything that has ever been
attempted since, has been squandered, and for nothing. This piece
introduces the two-part story of Thursday 8th and
Friday 9th December, the last two days of
London's Routemasters. On the Thursday two dozen
guest vehicles ran on the 159 alongside the
normal allocation of 31 Routemasters from Arriva
London South's Brixton garage, and on Friday a
changeover to soulless OPO buses was effected
from mid-morning. The last journey into town was
accomplished by RM 85 as BN143, and at Marble
Arch, to incredible scenes witnessed by crowds of
thousands, handed over to RM 2217, the last short
Routemaster built, to take the last journey home.
After a two-hour parade through London's streets,
all of which were lined with cheering crowds,
photographers, media and just your everyday
ordinary Londoners that still want and need this
bus, RM 2217 arrived at Brixton garage at five
past two. There a crowd of several thousand
cheered it in, and that was that. London
Transport, once the best transport organisation
in the world and a beacon of professionalism
worldwide, has finally destroyed itself. In its
place? Soulless corporate commercialism, the
ruination of countless livelihoods, the constant
pandering to militants, vandals and thieves,
gross inefficiency, incompetence and profligacy,
and all accomplished under a cloud of hypocrisy,
arrogance, corruption, greed, spite and neglect.
And all totally unnecessary, because there was
room in this game for everybody. With a little
imagination and consensus, every level of ability
could have been accommodated in safety and
comfort, but that was never good enough, was it?
So now everybody has to suffer the cruel sham
that is 'inclusivity', and lose the pride that
made London a viable place in which to live,
travel and work. London's Mayor and Transport for
London could have been great - as great as the
superb professionals that make up the workforce
in gruelling and trying conditions against
passengers that rarely appreciate the hard work
they put in day in, day out - but they would
rather be third-rate, and their actions are a
disaster for this city.
Click here to go to the story
of the 159's running day of Thursday 8th
December.
|
