The Routemaster Heritage Route 15
The Routemaster Heritage Route 15
This article was originally written in January of 2020 when there was a reduced service in Route 15. As at March 2021, Route 15 is no longer in service and this article is a READ ONLY article for information, complementing all other articles on London. I welcome you to read about this classic icon of London and be transported back, with a little imagination to what it may have been like in the 70s, 80s and 90s on London’s buses.
As part of Discover London with Georgina, I bring to you The Routemaster Heritage Route 15!
Routemaster Heritage Route 15
The Routemaster Heritage Route 15 is a British iconic heritage on London roads and it has been a few years since I saw one of these! When I did, of course I chased after it and started to click away. I can certainly take a tour in this bus but where is the fun in it for a photographer if not but to chase after iconic images! 😊 Thankfully it stopped at the traffic lights!
Read > 5 reasons why you will enjoy a visit to Sky Garden in London
Routemaster Heritage Route 15 – A symbol of London
If you ask any visitor to London to name something about the transport in London, chances are that they will identify London’s Red Buses as a symbol of London. For many, they will identify the Routemaster, a double-decker bus which is front-engined, with the open-platform at the rear where a friendly conductor stands by the steps that takes you up to the top floor of the bus. In the old days, one could just hop onto the rear platform while the bus was still moving slowly, taking off when you are late etc – not a safe thing to do but it worked! These days, London operates a modern fleet of buses, double-decked and still red, but with doors, heating and flat floors giving easy accessibility.
However, the Routemaster is special and this London Bus Route 15 is the only contracted bus route by Transport for London, operated by Stagecoach London which runs between Tower Hill and Trafalgar Square, which is a shorter working of the standard route 15. So, you can still get a taste of what bus travel used to be like in London back in the 60s and 70s or at least until 2012 when the new and improved red buses were introduced on London roads.
The London Heritage Routemaster on Route 15 operates every 20 minutes between Trafalgar Square and the Tower of London via St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Reduced services on the Routemaster – July 2019 Update
Services on the Routemaster 15 is being reduced to Weekends and Bank Holidays only – to find out more on its current availability please check Transport for London official website, link below.
Previously, the Routemaster 15 had the following schedule:
Daily except Christmas Day
Runs from 09:30 to 18:30
From Tower Hill Station at 09:35
From Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Station at 09:41
That is the Routemaster Heritage Route 15 in a nutshell. Hope you will catch her on your next visit to London if she is still running!
Happy discovering London with Georgina.
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