The iconic London double-decker bus is getting a 21st century, eco-friendly makeover. The futuristic design from Thomas Heatherwick beat out some 700 entries in the A New Bus for London competition. The design itself isn’t a far cry from the old familiar Routemaster buses; the real significant differences lie in the “green” updates.

The new buses will be 40 percent more fuel efficient than current diesel buses, and a full 15 percent more fuel efficient than existing hybrid ones. Emissions will be far below those of current diesel models, and lightweight materials will further increase the eco-friendly nature of the buses.

It will also be easier to get on and off of the newly-designed vehicles; with open platforms, three doors per bus and two staircases, embarking, finding a seat and disembarking will all be seamless…or as seamless as riding a bus in London can ever be.

Above all of these practical design elements, the new bus actually looks very cool. The swooshing glass feature provides a bit of sunlight in the interior of the bus and highlights the staircase. The rounded corners and asymmetrical features give the buses a modern-but-retro feel that hopefully won’t begin to look dated for quite some time. The first of the redesigned buses should go into service sometime in 2012.

The post Red and Green All Over: London’s Futuristic New Bus Design first appeared on Gajitz.