http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8165471.stm

Bendy buses taken out of service

A group of bendy buses is being taken out of commission in London by
mayor Boris Johnson.

The nine vehicles, operating on Route 507, will be replaced by new buses
after their final day of service.

He pledged to scrap the "much-loathed" buses last year, saying they were
dangerous and enabled fare evasion.

But passenger group London TravelWatch and the London Assembly's Labour
group said there was no evidence bendy buses caused more accidents.

Removing bendy buses was one of Mr Johnson's key pledges during last
year's mayoral election, and he plans to phase them all out by 2011.

Buses on Route 507, which travels between Waterloo and Victoria, will be
replaced by a new, more frequent single-decker bus on Saturday.

Mr Johnson said: "These writhing whales of the road have swung their
hefty rear ends round our corners for the final time."

He said the new buses will emit less CO2 than the bendy buses, which
will be sent back "to their spiritual home, an airfield in the Midlands"
next week.

Transport for London (TfL) said it would cost an extra £12m per year to
replace the vehicles.

However, a spokeswoman said: "We would expect to see an increase in
revenue of about £5m per annum thanks to a reduction in fare evasion on
these routes."
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