I can still remember the reaction when I took my mother on a Routemaster bus for the first time. It was of surprise, slightly of bemusement and much of wonder. "This is like buses used to be when I was a child" was along the lines of what she said as we sat on the top deck in 2001.
Routemasters. I've also always felt some excitment about travelling on them. Jumping on the platform... Those curved stairs. That wonderful design. Those cramped piddly seats... The fact you can't get a wheelchair on...
Anyone in London can't have missed Oystercards - the new smart card travel ticket from Transport for London. But how do you use them on London's open-backed Routemaster buses?