Journey's End

Move Along the Bus and Hold on Tight

Running for the bus and scrambling frantically onto the back as it pulls away is as much part of life in the capital as Beefeaters and Big Ben. But soon this perilous pleasure will be a thing of the past as London’s classic Routemaster buses are being withdrawn from service. Despite the outpouring of affection that greeted their fiftieth anniversary last month these iconic vehicles look set to be on the scrapheap of history by the end of next year.

Transport for London are steamrollering across the widespread cries of dissent on the grounds that these iconic vehicles are too expensive to maintain and cause problems for the elderly and disabled. A spokeswoman said: “The Routemaster is coming towards the end of it’s life and is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain. We do hope to keep some on as tourist buses, but eventually they will all disappear from the main London bus network.”

TFL claim to be dedicated to providing an inclusive service that will ensure maximum comfort for all passengers. It’s a shame then that their record in relation to buses is an embarrassing catalogue of cock-ups, design flaws and wasted funds. The much hyped bendy buses which will replace Routemasters on several routes have been beset by difficulties since their introduction last December. Three buses caught fire for no apparent reason and the entire fleet was withdrawn from service for a week last March, causing a lot of red faces and lampooning of TFL by the media.

On the basis of this evidence it seems almost farcical that they are withdrawing from service a fleet of working buses whose durability, safety and popularity has been proven over the last fifty years.

Routemasters may hold less people but their open back design provides great relief in summer from the capital’s sweltering smog and the presence of the conductor adds a human touch so lacking from all other forms of public transport. Routemaster Owners and Operators Association's Andrew Morgan said: “It is a great shame that we are losing such a huge icon for London.”

Sales of the historic buses don’t look set to raise much cash for beleaguered bus companies either with some going for as little as £2000 and others fetching on average between £8,000 and £10,000. There are plans to retain a few as tourist buses but nobody seems to know how many or for what exact purposes. Soon the only place you will be able to hear those immortal words “move along the bus and hold on tight” will be on a tour of London’s Transport museum.

All Over for Oliver

Jamie Oliver’s much hyped restaurant Fifteen is failing to live up to initial expectations. Harden’s London Restaurants Guide has given the Hoxton eaterie a scathing review and placed it eighth for most disappointing cooking. Set up two years ago to give disadvantaged youngsters the chance to train as chefs, it has been slammed as "amateurish" in Harden’s 2005 guide. A meal at Fifteen will set you back about £70 a head and the current waiting list is two months. The guide quotes one visitor to Fifteen as saying: "Just because it's a charity doesn't give them the right to rip people off."

Dulwich Dreamin'

Dulwich Park will be the setting for this summer’s Dreamspace instillation. This temporary construction is the work of public artist Maurice Agis. From the 21 August visitors are invited to enter the colourful PVC construction and wander freely inside. Natural light penetrates the plastic sheets flooding the space with a spectacular display of continuously changing colours and music. Dreamspace has been a feature of summer in the capital since 1996. This summer 24 new units have been added to extend the 2002 piece.

MOBO Awards

Britain is well represented at this year’s Music of Black Origin (MOBO) awards. Jamelia, The Streets and Lemar are among the nominees and Joss Stone’s Soul Sessions fights it out with Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Kanye West, OutKast and Usher for the coveted Best Album award. The star-studded ceremony is in danger of being disrupted by protesters, over the homophobic lyrics of Jamaican dancehall nominees Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel.

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