London Retires Famed Double-Decker Buses

After half a century, London´s famous red Routemaster buses are rattling into retirement. Thousands of fans said farewell to the famous hop-on, hop-off buses Thursday, the last full day of regular service for the icon that has been the subject of thousands of tourists´ photographs and postcards.

City transport bosses say the venerable vehicle cannot accommodate disabled people and must be replaced by more user-friendly buses.

The bus is not disappearing completely. Sixteen Routemasters, restored to gleaming 1960s glory, will remain on two "heritage routes" that run through central London between 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The snub-nosed, open-backed Routemaster entered service in the mid-1950s as a replacement for electric trolley buses. It was the last bus to be designed specifically for London, by engineers who had worked on World War II bombers.