D&G Bus have taken delivery of 3 Optare Solos to add to their fleet. The buses join 27 Optare Solos (including one low carbon Solo), 11 Optare Versas and 3 Optare Metrocity buses already in the D&G Bus fleet.
The 9.2m, Solo with Mercedes, 115kW, Euro 5, engine and Allison 2100 transmission, seats up to 31. The buses will operate on service 12, linking Leighton Hospital, Crewe Bus Station, Brookhouse Estate and Shavington, running up to every 30 minutes seven days a week.
David Reeves, Managing Director, D&G Bus said, “This latest purchase of Optare Solos brings the total investment in new buses made by D&G Bus over the last year to £1.5million.”
Steph Baker, Business Development Manager, Optare, said, “I am delighted that D&G Bus have again chosen the Solo with its excellent reputation for fuel efficiency and its versatile performance over both city and rural applications.”
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Howards Travel Group have added an Optare Metrocity to their bus fleet. The family firm operates a fleet of modern executive coaches and buses across Warrington, Widnes & Runcorn.
The 10.8m, Metrocity with 115kW Mercedes, Euro 5 engine, seats up to 40 is finished to a high standard with e-leather seating and wood effect flooring and will operate on route 289 from Knutsford to Altrincham.
Ian Howard, Managing Director at Howards Travel Group, said, “We were extremely impressed by the performance and build quality of the demo Metrocity vehicle we trialled earlier this year. Our new Metrocity has only just gone into service but we are already seeing a 13% improvement in fuel efficiency when compared to other single deck vehicles within our fleet operating on that route.”
Steph Baker, Regional Sales Manager, Optare, said, “I am delighted to see the Metrocity delivering fuel efficiency savings for yet another customer.”
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A&M Group (Flexibus) have added another new Optare Solo to their bus fleet. Family run A&M Group currently operate a fleet of 8 Optare Solos all fitted with seatbelts.
A&M Group (Flexibus) have successfully operated in partnership with Warwickshire County Council since 1998. Flexibus is a bus service open to everyone but particularly helpful to people with mobility problems. The 9.2m, Solo with 150kW Cummins, Euro 5 engine, seats up to 31 and will operate on routes around Warwickshire.
Ian Thompson, Director at A & M, said, “We have run Solos for many years and have been extremely happy with their fuel efficiency. The wheel forward design of the Solo means access into the vehicle is excellent for customers with mobility problems, therefore when it came to buying a new vehicle, the Solo was the obvious first choice for us.”
Steph Baker, Regional Sales Manager, Optare, said, “We are thrilled to be supplying A&M with another new Optare Solo.”
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Award-winning Reading Buses has placed an order for four Optare Solos. Optare celebrated the occasion with Reading Buses (pictured) earlier this month at Euro Bus Expo 2016. The Euro 6, 9.2m vehicles will serve a prestigious corporate contract from Reading Buses’ Newbury depot.
Reading Buses have one of the most modern fleets of single and double deck buses in the country. Since 2003, the operator has invested millions in over 100 new fully-accessible, ultra-low emission buses for their Premier Routes and the subsequent evolution of its network, leading to strong growth in patronage and customer satisfaction.
Martijn Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer, Reading Buses, commented, “The new Optare Solo’s will feature the very latest in environmentally friendly Euro 6 engine technology and a bespoke high quality interior developed in partnership with our client. The environmental performance of the Optare product will help us to continue to lower CO2 emissions and our impact on the environment in the communities we serve. Furthermore their flexible approach has allowed us to develop a vehicle which I’m sure will prove to be class leading in terms of efficiency, accessibility and customer appeal.”
Robert Drewery, Commercial Director, Optare said, “I am delighted that the ever-popular Solo model will soon be entering service with one of the greenest fleets in the UK and herald the return of Optare products to this prestigious fleet.
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Optare, presented a new Metrocity xFE midi-bus to the industry on its stand at Euro Bus Expo 2016 (November 1-3; NEC, Birmingham), following a successful trial of a Euro 6 bus featuring an Allison xFE transmission with a FuelSense® Max software package. Independent testing saw xFE-equipped Metrocity deliver an 8 percent improvement in fuel economy.
“We are pleased to launch and exhibit the new Optare Metrocity xFE bus at Euro Bus next month,” says Robert Drewery, commercial director at Optare. “During recent independent testing conducted under conditions representative of actual service, the Euro 6 Metrocity with a T3270R xFE™ transmission and FuelSense® Max returned a fuel economy improvement of 8 percent over the previous model. We’re confident that this new package will be of interest to our customers who already enjoy the comfort, productivity and maintenance benefits of the Metrocity with a fully automatic transmission.”
Allison’s xFE transmissions feature the latest advances in fuel-saving technology. Incorporating optimized gear ratios coupled with the FuelSense® Max package, xFE transmissions have been designed to deliver significantly more lock up operation and operate at lower engine speeds in higher ranges for further fuel economy improvements. In addition to the new T3270R xFE™ launching at Euro Bus Expo, Allison now offers three new xFE models in Europe: the T3280 xFE™, T3325 xFE™ and T3375 xFE™.
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Yesterday, Optare celebrated the handover of the pre production 10.5m. Transport for London (TfL) specification Metrodecker demonstrator vehicle to Go-Ahead London, for a series of extensive trials which will see Optare’s new double deck put through its paces operating on routes from Go-Ahead’s Bexleyheath bus garage.
Go-Ahead London provide nearly a quarter of London’s buses with vehicles travelling 80 million miles annually on over 199 day, night and school routes.
Richard Harrington, Engineering Director for Go-Ahead London, commented: “Go-Ahead are committed to taking care of our customers changing needs, today, tomorrow and always, so we are delighted to be able to put the Metrodecker through its paces in London and monitor its performance in terms of reliability, serviceability and fuel efficiency and also gain both customer and driver feedback on this new double deck.”
Robert Drewery, Commercial Director, Optare said, “Across all trials we have conducted outside of London we are seeing the vehicle consistently deliver best in class mpg performance in service.. I am delighted that the Metrodecker will now be setting out to prove itself in the capital. We will be monitoring its performance closely and we look forward to the feedback from Go-Ahead London.
The Metrodecker, powered by the Mercedes-Benz OM934LA, Euro 6, four cylinder engine with ZF Ecolife transmission, is Optare’s newest addition to its vehicle portfolio. The low floor double deck has a fully integral frame, boasts light weight credentials, enviable fuel economy and class leading seating capacity. The Metrodecker is available in two lengths the two door TfL specification measures in at 10.5metres the single door provincial specification at 11.1metres.
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Utopia Coaches have added another Optare Solo to their fleet. Established in 1994, Utopia Coaches are a family owned and run coach and bus company located in Sherburn in Elmet, just a stone’s throw away from the Optare production facility.
The Euro 5, 7.2m slim line Solo seats up to 19 and features belted seats. The bus will operate on services between York, Pontefract and Selby and was purchased to enable a more frequent timetable to be introduced.
Owen Thorpe, Owner of Utopia Coaches said, “We already have five Optare Solos in our fleet, and they have proven to be ideal for the rural nature of most parts of our service routes. The new Solo will operate on routes with a 7.5 tonne weight restricted bridge, so the Solo’s manoeuvrability, lightweight and slim line design make it perfect for operation on this route.”
Chris Hunt, Regional Sales Manager, Optare, said, “Optare are proud to be able to supply a bus with the versatility to suit a weight restricted route to an operator right on the doorstep and help support the economy in the local area in the process.”
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Bus company Transdev have started to take delivery of their £4 million order of new buses which have allbeen designed and manufactured in Yorkshire at innovative bus specialists Optare. The 28 single deck Versa and Solo buses, which pride themselves on having the very latest on-board technology, started going into service across Yorkshire and Lancashire at the end of June.
Over the past 12 months Transdev have made extensive investments in services, and have announced their commitment to improving public transport across both counties by leading with ground-breaking innovations such as contactless payment options and empowering drivers to use sat-nav to speed up express bus journeys.
The customer experience will be enhanced further on these new buses as users can take advantage of superfast free WIFI, next stop announcements, USB power points at every seat, new comfortable seats with leather headrests, and the pioneering use of ‘countdown’ destination displays, letting people know exactly when the bus will depart.
Alex Hornby, CEO at Transdev, said:
“It is vital that our products reflect customers’ expectations and needs. Their views have been crucial in developing these new buses and our new brands, with the first four buses introducing The Keighley Bus Company, and more relevant, local identities will be unveiled shortly. But this isn’t just a name change – it’s all part of us positioning our product to fit the needs of the modern traveller and to attract more people to the bus. This £4 million investment in Yorkshire manufacturing and new, better buses across the north is all part of our aim to become, quite simply, the amazing bus company for our teams and our customers.”
Robert Drewery, Commercial Director, Optare, commented:
“We are delighted to continue our long standing relationship with Transdev and support them in their mission to become ‘the amazing bus company’ by providing more high specification Optare buses that will operate close to where they are designed and manufactured in Sherburn in Elmet.”
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Central Buses have acquired three new Optare Metrocity buses. The award winning operator runs services across the Midlands area.
The three 150kW Cummins Euro 5, 10.8m with Allison 2100 transmission seat up to 40 and will operate on Route 125 between Stourbridge, Kidderminster and Bridgnorth. The vehicles are fitted with Centrad CCTV and 4G Wifi.
Geoff Cross, Owner, Central Buses, said, “We were already very impressed with the Optare Versas in our fleet and we purchased the new Metrocity buses after hearing such good feedback about the fuel efficiency and Optare’s product support from other operators.”
Steph Baker, Regional Sales Manager, Optare, said, “I am delighted at all the positive feedback we continue to receive with regards to the Metrocity product and also around the improvements we have made to Optare’s product support.”
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D&G Bus have taken delivery of an Optare MetroCity and Solo to add to their fleet. The buses join 26 Optare Solos (including one low carbon Solo), 11 Optare Versas and 2 Optare Metrocity buses already in the D&G Bus fleet.
The 10.8m Optare Metrocity bus with Cummins, 150kW, Euro 5, engine and Allison 2100 transmission, seats up to 40, while the 9.2m Solo with Mercedes, 115kW, Euro 5, engine and Allison 2100 transmission, seats up to 31. Both buses will operate on route 16 between the Potteries, Leek and Buxton.
David Reeves, Managing Director, D&G Bus said, “We have always found that the Optare products perform very well when it comes to fuel economy and we have been extremely pleased with the performance of the Metrocity vehicles we purchased last year.
Steph Baker, Business Development Manager, Optare, said, “I am delighted to hear that D&G Bus are benefitting from the excellent fuel economy that the Metrocity delivers and that this longstanding customer of Optare has chosen to purchase more Optare vehicles.”
Sherburn in Elmet, June 2016
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