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Optare Solo has joined the now 11-strong service
bus fleet of Peterborough City Council following
positive comments about the model from
passengers attending the annual Bus User Forum.
The low-floor vehicle was commended for its
user-friendly features and particularly its easy
access. It’s being used on the Council’s
Local and Village Link network of nine scheduled
and on-demand services. These enable people in
outlying villages to get to and from their
workplaces and schools in the city centre at
peak times and to access shopping, leisure and
medical facilities during the day and evening.
The latest Solo has gone on to the Local Link
411 service covering small communities to the
north of the city. It runs Mondays to Fridays
from 7.00 am connecting Newborough and
Dogsthorpe with Queensgate bus station. At each
end of the day the service is extended to
include a number of other nearby villages and
the King's School.
James Collingridge, Senior Transport and
Technical Officer at the Council, says that at
37 seats the new Solo is just the right size for
the service. “Previously we used smaller buses
that simply couldn’t cater for the higher
passenger numbers at peak times.
“The new Solo has plenty of capacity to handle
the peak time loads and yet is very economical
to run at quieter times when passenger numbers
are considerably lower. As we learned from our
consultations with users, the Solo is also well
liked, especially by elderly passengers who
appreciate the low entry height and flat
floor.”
Peterborough’s latest Solo is a full-width
10.2 metre model, the longest in the range. It
joins a fleet that includes both full-width and
SlimLine Solos from 24 seats upwards.
Fitters in Peterborough Council’s City
Services workshop, where the Solos are serviced,
are reported as finding it an easy vehicle to
work on, Some have been trained to use the
workshop’s recently acquired diagnostic
equipment, which greatly improves fault tracing.
The new Solo has 34 fixed Esteban VO seats and
three tip-ups in the wheelchair/buggy bay.
Mobitec electronic destination equipment is
fitted and there are plans to install CCTV.
Power is from the Mercedes-Benz 904L engine,
which uses SCR technology to meet Euro 4
emissions standards. This delivers 115 kW (154
bhp) matched to a five-speed Allison 2100
automatic transmission.
For further information please contact:
David Rowlands, Automotive PR, +44 (0)20 7494
8050, drowlands@automotivepr.com
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