Articulated buses in London conductor. In August 2012, following the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London, it was announced the bendy buses would be withdrawn as their five-year operating contracts expired, starting from May 2009, and completed by 2013 (or 2015 depending on contract extensions). This was brought forward to December 2011. Research by London TravelWatch indicated that such a withdrawal could prove costly to TfL. A study conducted in September 2008 found that replacing articulated vehicles on routes 38, 507, and 521, whilst maintaining overall route capacity, would cost an additional £12.6m per annum, due to the additional vehicles necessitated. Additional
Lord Mayor of London Mayor of London has worn a Royal Livery Collar of Esses. However, the collar's origins are not royal, Sir John Alleyn, thrice Lord Mayor, having bequeathed it to the next Lord Mayor and his successors "to use and occupie yerely at and uppon principall and festivall dayes." It was enlarged in 1567, and in its present shape has 28 Esses (the Lancastrian ‘S’), Tudor roses and the tasselled knots of the Garter (alternating) and also the Portcullis, from which hangs the Mayoral Jewel. The collar is worn over whatever the Lord Mayor may be wearing, secured onto their underdress or