Back in 2005 the Routemaster was approaching its 50th anniversary of years in service – but was also about to be withdrawn from UK streets, hailing the end of regular half cab operation in Britain. Up and down the country bus enthusiasts arranged rallies and events to celebrate this iconic bus and also mourn its impending loss - and in this      programme we record a pageant of such rallies, detailing a great range of liveries and applications of this much loved vehicle. Now remembered internationally as the greatest exponent of the big red London bus we also witness some of the final outings on the streets of London 
 
Using contemporary and archive film of Routemasters, this programme follows their history and development, featuring them in active service both in London and other cities, recording the individual careers of specific buses and showing how their popularity shows no signs of abating since their retirement from general service. The story of the very last Routemaster of all, RM2760, is compared to that of the first in service and many other individual examples are seen and described, displaying a wide variety of liveries from the classic red through the green of London Country to the unique “triple-decker” in the purple livery of the wizard Harry Potter.
 
The Routemaster continued to serve as a tourist attraction for many years, but is now no longer visible on city streets, as Transport for London finally axed the Routemaster heritage route number 15 in 2021, bringing down the curtain on the proud and illustrious career of this iconic and much loved vehicle.Back in 2005 the Routemaster was approaching its 50th anniversary of years in service – but was also about to be withdrawn from UK streets, hailing the end of regular half cab operation in Britain. Up and down the country bus enthusiasts arranged rallies and events to celebrate this iconic bus and also mourn its impending loss - and in this programme we record a pageant of such rallies, detailing a great range of liveries and applications of this much loved vehicle. Now remembered internationally as the greatest exponent of the big red London bus we also witness some of the final outings on the streets of London Using contemporary and archive film of Routemasters, this programme follows their history and development, featuring them in active service both in London and other cities, recording the individual careers of specific buses and showing how their popularity shows no signs of abating since their retirement from general service. The story of the very last Routemaster of all, RM2760, is compared to that of the first in service and many other individual examples are seen and described, displaying a wide variety of liveries from the classic red through the green of London Country to the unique “triple-decker” in the purple livery of the wizard Harry Potter.The Routemaster continued to serve as a tourist attraction for many years, but is now no longer visible on city streets, as Transport for London finally axed the Routemaster heritage route number 15 in 2021, bringing down the curtain on the proud and illustrious career of this iconic and much loved vehicle.