London buses will be finally be getting opening windows - at the end of the summer

Ah Boris, the wonderful mayor that gave London the Olympics (he didn't, Ken did), the Boris bike (he didn't, Ken did), a newly-ugly skyline, a gift of a stadium from the taxpayer to a Premier League club and a load of pointless, expensive new buses that are hotter than the sun when the air conditioning doesn't work (it NEVER does). It's a good job he might be our Prime Minister soon, isn't it?

Having spent around £280m on 800 buses, the designers neglected to feature opening windows on any of them, promptly receiving criticism for turning the top deck into an airless furnace when the air cooling system fails, with temperatures often reportedly reaching in excess of 30 degrees. However, TfL has now announced that a 'Windows upgrade' on the whole fleet will be soon be completed. Just in time for the end of summer.

A TfL spokesperson said: "As a result of feedback from our passengers, we’ve asked Wrightbus to fit opening windows to all New Routemaster buses. Passengers will have already seen the new windows on some routes, and other routes will follow over the summer, to be completed by late September." 

The cost of the window replacement is estimated at £2m.

Great work all round guys, great work.

[via Gizmodo]

(Image: Rex)