This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/7790082.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Aston Martin designs Routemaster | Aston Martin designs Routemaster |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Sports car manufacturer Aston Martin is joint winner of a competition to design a new Routemaster bus for London. | Sports car manufacturer Aston Martin is joint winner of a competition to design a new Routemaster bus for London. |
| The Warwickshire-based firm's winning entry was a team effort with leading architects Foster and Partners. | The Warwickshire-based firm's winning entry was a team effort with leading architects Foster and Partners. |
| They share the £25,000 first prize with bus, coach and truck design firm Capoco Design, based in Wiltshire. | They share the £25,000 first prize with bus, coach and truck design firm Capoco Design, based in Wiltshire. |
| A Transport for London spokesman said the first of the greener and more accessible, hop-on hop-off, double- deckers could be in service by 2011. | |
| The original Routemasters were phased out from regular service by the end of 2005 as they were inaccessible to wheelchairs or pushchairs. | The original Routemasters were phased out from regular service by the end of 2005 as they were inaccessible to wheelchairs or pushchairs. |
| Tendering process | Tendering process |
| The competition, in which children were also invited to take part, attracted about 700 entries. | The competition, in which children were also invited to take part, attracted about 700 entries. |
| The winning designs will now be passed on to bus manufacturers, following a competitive tendering process, to develop into a final proposed design. | The winning designs will now be passed on to bus manufacturers, following a competitive tendering process, to develop into a final proposed design. |
| The Aston Martin-Foster bus design envisages a highly-manoeuvrable, zero-emissions vehicle, with solar panels built into a glass roof, full accessibility, warm lighting and wooden floors. | The Aston Martin-Foster bus design envisages a highly-manoeuvrable, zero-emissions vehicle, with solar panels built into a glass roof, full accessibility, warm lighting and wooden floors. |
| The Capoco design combines what the company describes as "the best of the old with the best of the new". | The Capoco design combines what the company describes as "the best of the old with the best of the new". |
| The Capoco Design retains the Routemaster-style front engine | The Capoco Design retains the Routemaster-style front engine |
| It has a low flat floor to allow easy access and will be low emission, but will also retain the Routemaster-style front engine and open rear platform. | It has a low flat floor to allow easy access and will be low emission, but will also retain the Routemaster-style front engine and open rear platform. |
| The youngest winners were nine-year-olds Thomas Staricoff, from Brighton, and Olivia Carrier, from north-west London, who received £200 worth of bicycle vouchers for their drawings of what a new bus should look like. | The youngest winners were nine-year-olds Thomas Staricoff, from Brighton, and Olivia Carrier, from north-west London, who received £200 worth of bicycle vouchers for their drawings of what a new bus should look like. |
| London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "We have had a phenomenal response, with ideas submitted from around the globe, and we now have, in our joint winners, two stunning designs that allow us to go forward and produce a truly iconic bus fit for 21st Century London." | London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "We have had a phenomenal response, with ideas submitted from around the globe, and we now have, in our joint winners, two stunning designs that allow us to go forward and produce a truly iconic bus fit for 21st Century London." |
| But Labour's transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, Val Shawcross, said: "The design competition may have been fun and the winning designs are extremely impressive, but this is not a serious way to make policy and not a worthwhile use of public money. | But Labour's transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, Val Shawcross, said: "The design competition may have been fun and the winning designs are extremely impressive, but this is not a serious way to make policy and not a worthwhile use of public money. |
| "I have yet to hear one convincing argument for why London needs a new double-decker bus and until Boris comes up with some, Londoners will see this as little more than a vanity project." | "I have yet to hear one convincing argument for why London needs a new double-decker bus and until Boris comes up with some, Londoners will see this as little more than a vanity project." |
| Advertisement | |
| More than 700 entries were submitted for the new version of the double-decker bus |