Very True Martin.
The combination of low gross vehicle weight and new engine/transmision
technology allow the Routemaster to return embarrasingly good economy
figures indeed.
Where present RM operations fall down is due to individual operators taking
a decision to reduce maintenance input,ie:non-replacement of damaged body
panels or leaving failed interior light tubes unattended to.
However yet again it is a mark of the Vehicles overall good design that it
takes far more to disable a RM than for example a Volvo B7tl which can and
does become immobile at the soft Ding of a warning bell.
My points are not intended as an anoraks "Keep the RM at all costs" but as a
recognition that the vehicles continue to have a necessary and important
role in Central London Public Transport provision.