Boris Johnson's new bus for London unveiled - The Guardian

The first fully working version of Boris Johnson's new bus for London, formerly described as a "21st century Routemaster", has been unveiled in Northern Ireland with the capital's mayor at the wheel of what he called "a beautiful, beautiful thing".

Launched at the Ballymena headquarters of the bus manufacturer, Wrightbus, which already supplies many of London's 7,500 buses, the vehicle was hailed by Johnson as "not just a bus but a visible statement of confidence in what British industry can do". He said the new bus "goes back to the traditions of London transport".

His sentiments were echoed by the Northern Ireland secretary, Owen Paterson, who described the bus as "a fantastic long-term export opportunity" and said he expected versions of it to eventually be running on the streets of Las Vegas and Hong Kong as well as in London.

The creation of the bus – a Johnson policy during his successful 2008 mayoral election campaign, has been rubbished by the Tory mayor's Labour opponents as a costly vanity project.

Transport for London, whose board Johnson chairs, paid Wrightbus £7.8m to develop the vehicle, but will receive royalties if and when orders are secured from elsewhere.

The bus has an environmentally friendly serial hybrid engine and, in London transport terms, it will blend an element of throwback appeal with the utility of the articulated "bendy" buses that Johnson has been steadily removing from the capital. In political terms, it will show Johnson honouring a high-profile pledge and give another boost to Brand Boris.

Like the Routemasters, the last bus London's transport authority produced, it has a distinctive open platform at the back allowing passengers to get on and off when they want, rather than only at bus stops.

It has three doors to speed up entry and exit, and its two staircases are expected to further lessen "dwell time" at stops. It will carry two crew members most of the time – probably between 7am and 9pm, according to one senior member of the project team – thereby introducing a contemporary equivalent of a conductor.

Johnson said the word "conductor" would probably be used to describe the second crew member even though, in the age of the Oyster card, the job will not involve issuing tickets.

The cost of employing these extra staff has also been attacked by the mayor's opponents, who cite a written answer from him which put the annual cost for just five buses at approximately £360,000, although Johnson told the Guardian he thought that was "probably a bit high".

The mayor emphasised the bus's "contemporary take" on some elements of the Routemaster's design, including its interior lighting and grooved flooring on the staircases and entrance, and stressed its environmental advantages.

Wrightbus says tests show these include lower fuel consumption than any other London bus and substantial reductions in emissions of both oxides of nitrogen air pollutants and carbon dioxide.

The introduction of the new bus will be very gradual, with the first arriving in London in December to tour the boroughs, including a photo opportunity stop in Trafalgar Square.

TfL is committed to having two of the buses carrying passengers by February, on routes that have yet to be decided. Eight of the vehicles have been ordered so far, but the mayor predicted they would be "just advance party" for "a legion of their type".