Modern usage China Bus conductors are still existing on some articulated buses in Beijing, such as route 1, 2, 5, 300, 347. However, these bus conductors do not take responsibilities to sell tickets, their duties are mostly supervising on-boarding passengers of fare collection like inserting note and coins, or card swiping. Britain and Ireland By the early 1980s, bus conductors were largely obsolete in all cities except London and Dublin. Two-person crews continued to operate a number of bus routes in central London until late 2005, well beyond their demise in the rest of the country. This reprieve for conductors was due to continued use of the famous Routemaster bus. In May 1987, following the start-up of Solent Blue Line, conductor buses returned to Southampton, where services were run in competition against Southampton Citybus on speeding up journey times, using second-hand Bristol VRTs. In retaliation, Southampton Citybus brought in ex-London Routemasters with a crew of conductors, these arrangements lasting until autumn 1989. The Routemaster was purpose-built for London conditions and remained well suited to the busiest routes in the most congested parts of central London. This was because of its maneuverability, fast passenger loading/unloading capability, and fare collection by the conductor instead of the driver. The Routemaster construction was of high quality, the design robust, and mechanical and body parts could be easily rebuilt and refurbished. Importantly, the "traditional red bus" is also a unique tourism icon for London, instantly recognisable around the world. Though the majority of bus services in the London metropolis (and all routes outside the central area) have been operated by modern driver-only vehicles since the late 1980s, twenty regular routes retained Routemasters and their conductors. Between 2003 and 2005, all of these were progressively converted to low-floor modern vehicles and one-person operation. The process was largely driven by political views on disability accessibility and was encouraged, to some extent, by the increase in litigious passengers claiming injuries due to the Routemaster's open rear platform. There were also increasingly frequent robberies and attacks on conductors, who could find themselves working in an isolated and vulnerable environment. The last regular Routemaster-operated service was on route 159 from Marble Arch to Streatham. Conductor operation finally ceased on the 159 on 9 December 2005. However, heritage bus routes utilising the Routemaster were introduced that year, these numbered route 9H and 15H. Route 9H was withdrawn in 2014, whilst route