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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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double-decker
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The characteristic London bus, deriving ultimately from the two tiers of the horse-drawn omnibus (the two-sided bench known as the knife-board was first placed on the roof of a London omnibus in 1847). The best-known version is the Routemaster, introduced in the 1950s and designed by Douglas Scott (1913–90), with the great merit of an open platform at the back for ease of access. This excellent model unfortunately requires a conductor as well as a driver and so has been gradually phased out since the 1980s, replaced by fully enclosed double-deckers operated by the driver alone (cheaper but much slower, since he has to deal with tickets before driving on from a bus stop).
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