There is a new London HoHo bus, the T15, using Routemaster buses. From Piccadilly Circus (with some extensions to or from Waterloo) to the Tower of London.
Quite an interesting concept, as it shadows the route of two normal TfL routes, and also apparently does point to point fares. It seems to me to be a good (and affordable) way to me to ride a heritage bus.
Quite exciting actually. The 15 route had some Routemasters as a special service up until fairly recently. Good to see it back (sort of).
I had the pleasure of seeing some Routemasters on the 38 route fairly recently. I think it was a special running day from the London Bus Museum.
https://www.londonbusmuseum.com/route-38-heritage-event/
Here's a link to the event where I saw the Routemaster 38s. I saw one early in the afternoon on its route and I saw three buses at Clapton Pond, presumably when they were finishing their day later on. There's a nice history of the 38 in that link. I knew it was one of the oldest routes in London, but I didn't realise quite how old.
At risk of becoming nerdy Route 15 is even older still, dating back to 1908. I am posting a Wikipedia link because I don't want to post a bus history page which goes into far too much more detail- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Buses_route_15#:~:text=Route%2015%20was%20introduced%20in%20November%201908%20between,Common%2C%20with%20a%20Sunday%20extension%20eastwards%20to%20Plaistow.
The buses I'd see in Ludgate Hill running the 15H service were quite used looking. The ones I saw recently on the 38 were proper museum pieces. Like new. I wonder what the buses on this new service will be like.
I'll occasionally watch some Youtube channels dedicated to Routemaster restoration. Really interesting when you see the mechanicals. A brilliant design with some good old British flaws, just like Issigonis' Mini.
Thanks for the information! I will look forward to riding this route when we are in London again. I loved the old Routemasters and it’s been several years since we were on one. I missed their shudders, shakes and sputtery noises.
At least some of the buses are those that were used on the old H15.
This company started running Routemasters in London abut a year ago but at first they ran a route from Waterloo to Trafalgar Square. There is still a reference to this (which they called 'Route A') in the website FAQ but it seems to have been dropped in favour of this one with more tourist appeal. Plus they are charging more!
