Buses in London runs through the Strand Underpass), in May 2009. The last were withdrawn on 9 December 2011. In May 2010 Mayor of London Boris Johnson unveiled the design of the New Routemaster, the proposed replacement for the Routemaster as an iconic standard bus for exclusive use in London. The buses, designed by Heatherwick Studio and built by Wrightbus feature two staircases, three doors and an open platform allowing passengers to hop on and off, and commenced operating in 2012. In December 2011 the British car magazine "Autocar" road-tested the New Routemaster. It said it had "brilliant economy and an interior to
2012 English mayoral referendums On 26 January 2012 electors in Salford voted in favour of an elected mayor by 17,344 votes to 13,653. There was an inaugural Salford mayoral election, 2012 on the same day as United Kingdom local elections, 2012. The concept of directly elected mayors in the United Kingdom were first introduced by Tony Blair's Labour Government with the creation of the Mayor of London. The Local Government Act 2000 then provided all councils in England and Wales with a range of options as to how to operate its executive functions, including the option of a directly elected mayor. The Act also