London's New 'Green' R
ed Buses 伦敦新巴士惊艳亮相
What is red but green, open but closed and old but new? Answer: London's
stunning
new double-decker buses.
The traditional red double-deckers are a symbol of London. Their
iconic
status was
seal
ed in 2008 when one bus made the longer-than-usual trip to Beijing to collect a very special passenger: the Olympic Flame.
Now a new bus design has been unveiled and it has been wowing Londoners.
The new bus uses more efficient green technology and has two staircases and an open platform,
enabling
people to
hop on and hop off
. It also has a
unique
asymmetric
design for the front end, which gives it a
futuristic
look.
Despite its innovations the design is not all new. Its exterior is very
reminiscent of
London's faithful old double-decker, the Routemaster.
In December 2005 the original Routemaster was withdrawn from general service for
accessibility
and environmental reasons, but it can still be seen on two heritage routes in London.
In July 2008 a competition was launched by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, to design a new Routemaster bus for the capital. There were over 700 entries, with several designers jointly winning the £25,000 (244,000 Yuan) prize.
The new double-deckers, which have three doors to