The Bus We Loved: London's Affair with the Routemaster

In terms of postcards, books, films, and cheap souvenirs, and in the eyes of the world, the Routemaster represents the city just as much as Big Ben. It was the last bus to be have conductors as well as drivers, the last bus to ring familiar shouts that are at least a century old—Fares please, Full up inside but room on top, Next stop the British Museum! It was the last bus, in other words, to be a proper bus. In this fond history, Travis Elborough tells the story of the routemaster’s invention, rise and decline, of the people who worked on it, and of the enthusiasts who were mad about it.