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AEC Routemaster

Buses and Road Mass Transit Vehicles

The AEC Routemaster is a British double decker bus introduced in 1956 for London Transport, built with an open rear platform that allowed passengers to board and alight between stops while a conductor collected fares. It became one of the most recognizable symbols of London and remained in front line service on some routes until 2005, decades after most other British operators had retired similar designs.

Facts
Year
1956 1
Significance
Voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons in 2006, alongside Concorde, the Mini, the Supermarine Spitfire and the London tube map. 1
Manufacturer or Builder
Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles 1
Connections

Exemplifies

Bus Transport, Modes
Sources
1. Wikipedia: AEC Routemaster
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, first sentence
    The AEC Routemaster is a front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles.
  • Lead section, entered-service sentence
    The first Routemasters entered service with London Transport in February 1956 and the last were withdrawn from regular service in December 2005, although two TfL heritage routes were subsequently operated by Routemasters in central London until 2019.
  • Design-icon paragraph, 2006 sentence
    In 2006, the Routemaster was voted one of Britain's top 10 design icons which included Concorde, the Mini, the Supermarine Spitfire, the London tube map, the World Wide Web and the K2 telephone box.
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