"Aidan Stanger" wrote in message ...
What I want to know is what's happening after they're withdrawn. Are TfL
selling them to people who could sell them back to TfL next time there's
a policy backflip?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...982982,00.html

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But for some bus fans, reports of its death are greatly exaggerated. As quickly as Transport for
London decommissions them, enthusiasts are buying them back.

Peter Newman runs a second-hand bus dealership in Essex, and for him the demise of the
Routemaster has meant an unexpected boom in business. "I have got literally 200 inquiries
sitting on my desk from interested buyers," he says.

"All of them have come in the last two months since the Routemaster began being sold off.
One guy from London has bought five and just parked them in a barn, as an investment."

Depending on the condition, you can pick up a Routemaster for as little as £2,000, although
in good repair the price rises to £15,000. Newman says America is a lucrative market and
that while private buyers want the buses purely for nostalgia, some businesses are
becoming increasingly interested too.

"We’ve had estate agents buying them to advertise their services like a mobile billboard, a
school wants one to house their computer class, I’ve even got an order from a church that
wants a Bible bus," he says.

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Robin