London Mayor, Sadiq Khan has scrapped the “Boris buses” which were introduced in 2012 by his predecessor Boris Johnson. The new generation double-decker Routemasters were touted as a major step towards cutting emissions but each cost £350,000, £50,000 more than a standard bus. Mr Khan had promised to halt purchase of the vehicles, in a bid to cut cost and possibly avail funds to finance the four-year public transport fares freeze.
Before he was elected, he wrote in The Standard, he said: "They are the most expensive buses in the world, with extra millions spent replacing the ludicrous windows that don’t open.
"Their batteries are too expensive to replace and their diesel engines cause too much pollution."
According to The Guardian, Transport for London’s business plan reads: “New capital investment will be reduced significantly as we discontinue purchases of new Routemaster buses.”
"We will carry on investing in the fleet however, by retro-fitting 3,000 vehicles with Euro VI standard emission technology by 2020."
Mr Khan is said to be planning to concentrate on transport solutions that are more affordable, and greener as pollution continues to be a matter of concern.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Sadiq will not be making any further purchases of the New Routemasters.
"Londoners deserve a bus fleet that is greener, more affordable and more functional than these vanity buses.
"That is why he is investing in the next generation of ultra-low and zero-emission buses as part of his hard-hitting measures to clean-up London’s toxic air.”
The mayor’s decision to axe the ‘Boris buses’ will come as a big blow to Mr Johnson’s legacy as he had planned to have 2,000 of the buses on the road by 2020.