New Routemaster bus has open platform, but will passengers be allowed to use it?

London’s new Routemaster hybrid unveiled this week features an open platform, but it is not yet clear whether passngers will be free to hop and off whenever they choose.

The new bus is 40 per cent more efficient than the city’s current double deckers and cleaner than existing hybrid designs. Crucially, the 87-seater retains the open platform of the original Routemaster, a feature that allowed passengers to ‘hop-on or hop off whenever the bus came to a stop.

The modern Routemaster will have a ‘door master’ to oversee the open platform, which has a shutter that allows it to be closed if need be.

Hop on, hop off

However, despite the open platform being staffed and there being alternative, wheelchair-friendly alternative doors at the front of the vehicle for those who prefer a more conventional means of boarding, it remains to be seen how much hopping on or hopping off will be allowed.

Transport for London have not yet answered our questions about how the open platform will operate in practice.

The downfall of the original Routemaster was hastened by litigious passengers injured while jumping on and off the open platform and a lack of wheelchair access.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The new design does not appear to be as innovative as the original Routemaster was when first launched, but it is greener than its predecessors and will be more practical if passengers can hop on and off when they like.”