English: A view of the
Palace of Westminster in London, with a classic
Routemaster bus on route 159 in the middle ground, and a classic
red telephone box in the foreground. The photographer is standing on the west side of Parliament Street, next to the HM Revenue building, looking south east, across the junction with (Westminster) Bridge Street, into St Margarets Street and Abingdon Street. (Bus stop C, Westminster, Parliament Square, and the subway sign for
Westminster tube station are partly obscured by the telephone box). The Palace view is of the west facade, with the roof of the Westminster Hall and
Victoria Tower in view. The bus is operating
route 159 headed north to
Trafalgar Square, having presumably just come across Westminster Bridge into Bridge Street and turned right into Parliament Street. The 159 was the last non-heritage bus route to operate with the iconic Routemaster bus, and they were withdrawn from the route the day after this photo was taken, which may or may not explain the presence of the other photographers. The bus is wearing advertising for the heritage Routemaster routes which began operating a month beforehand, in November 2005. There is also another 159 in the background heading south, with route blinds set for
Marble Arch (which is to the north). A possible explanation for this paradox is that this bus is operating a short working of the route, possibly to cater for the extra demand due to its imminent conversion, and it is going to use Parliament Square to turn around and head north, with the conductor having already changed the route blinds in anticipation (due to the one way system, southbound 159 buses headed for
Streatham also go straight on and around the square, instead of simply turning left into Bridge street).