I can recall the fascination of boarding the Routemaster bus as a boy when my family moved to London. This iconic bus has run in London over 50 years. It can never be separated from my growing up years. I feel (and many agree with me) that the design of this bus was ahead of its time. This seems to be the only bus that outlived many other contemporary buses of its times. It was flexible; it had speed and had the highest build quality.

It was replaced only on the grounds of age and operating costs. The time I heard the news that the Routemaster bus would no longer be on roads and gradually phased out, I felt a sense of leaving someone. I felt that travelling in London would not be same anymore. However, I appreciate that people can still enjoy the Routemaster rides on two heritage routes in London. I was lucky enough to visit Finsbury Park in London on the 25 July in 2004, where over 100 preserved Routemasters were lined up for display along with their operators. It was to celebrate 50 years of the Routemaster existence in London.