It's as recognisable as St Paul's Cathedral, but London's iconic red Routemaster bus is reaching the end of the road.
The city's transport authority, which has been quietly taking the old buses off the road for months, says Routemasters will be withdrawn from half of their remaining routes by the end of the year, and almost all will be gone by 2005.
"We are in the process of phasing them out of front-line service," a Transport for London spokesman confirmed.
The Routemaster's disappearance - long rumoured and often denied - has saddened supporters of the bus, which first rolled onto London streets 50 years ago and has starred in countless postcards and holiday snapshots.
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