Matt Ashby wrote:

With Three fully refurbished Routemasters (Marshall Standard) being
available for the cost of a single modern vehicle it appears sensible to
maximise the Passenger carrying ability of ANY route by retaining them and
distributing them throughout the network as the situation demands.
...
Save the Routemaster Indeed......But only if it remains capable of
performing its task !!

Unfortunately the Routemaster isn't capable of performing the task
required of it - safe and accessible road transport. Routemasters are
not accessible to wheelchairs, buggies

Isn't that why so many Routemaster routes have very long shared sections
with other routes?

or the elderly,

Not always - my grandmother has found she can use some Routemasters but
not others. Apparently the platform heights vary.

and are extraordinarily unsafe (as demonstrated by the people you
occasionally see trying to push other people off the platform).

I've never seen those!

Their engines also contribute far more than modern buses to our city's
pollution levels.

Are there any AEC engined routemasters left in service? I thought it was
only the ones with the clean engines that were left!

A few months ago on ITV's "Ask Ken" there was a cabbie rather annoyed
with the fact that the Routemasters were still on the road while he'd
been required to switch to a new vehicle. The fact that Ken's response
gave no indication that they had new engines made me wonder if he even
knows they have. Next time they do such a programme, maybe someone from
this ng should ask him why they're getting rid of the Routemasters when
they've recently had new engines installed!

They might be cheap, and they might be the subject of some nostalgia,
but they have nevertheless outlived their usefulness.

'Tis really a case of how you use them. I think the best way of using
them would be as a peak only supplement to the regular service: on very
busy routes (the ones where buses are sometimes too full to get on), in
addition to modern buses, there should be a good supply of Routemasters
to accomodate the commuters. They should make no attempt to stick to a
timetable - the new buses that they share the route with could do that.
Instead the drivers should start at regular intervals (say every three
minutes) with the instruction to go as fast as they comfortably and
safely can. This way:

A lot of capacity could quite cheaply be provided when and where it's
needed.
Routemasters would regain their reputation for being fast.
Those who have trouble using Routemasters would be able to use the route
more easily (as crowded new buses can be just as bad)

Interpeak some of them could be used on routes that are popular with
tourists.