From this weekend, the bendy bus will become a thing of the past on London’s transport network as the final journey of the number 207 bendy bus will conclude in the early hours of this Saturday morning, signalling an end of the elongated bus’s life on the capital’s roads.

The bendy bus was hit with controversy since its introduction by TFL back in 2002 as the single-decker buses offered a free-for-all for fare dodgers who were easily able to avoid paying for their journey as the vehicles had several entrances which meant the driver was unable to check that every passenger was swiping their Oyster Card.

TFL started sending inspectors onto bus routes to try to clamp down the this type of fare dodging, however they were unable to monitor every service so it was still possible for some passengers to slip through the net. It’s been estimated that the scrapping of the bendy buses will save TFL £7.4 million annually as fewer fare dodgers will be able to take advantage of the system.

As well as enabling some passengers to get away without paying for their travel, the bendy buses were regarded as too large for the streets of London with many believing the posed a danger to the public and passengers.

Whether you were for or against the London bendy bus, from this weekend they won’t be seen on the city’s roads. The 350 bendy buses are being replaced with another 500 vehicles, 50 of which are hybrid double-decker buses. In addition, from early next year the very first modernised, eco-friendly, open platform Routemaster buses will grace London’s transport system once again.