South West based Bus and coach Hire Company, WebberBus has added an Optare Solo to its expanding fleet. The Euro 5, 9.25m, Solo seats up to 30.
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M&H Coaches have added an Optare Solo to their fleet. Since their humble beginnings as a family business in 1984 they have grown significantly but their dedication to a safe, personal, friendly level of service has not changed.
The Euro 5, 7.9m Slim line Solo seats up to 23 and is finished to a high specification, featuring belted seats. The bus will serve the Conwy County Council route across Abergele, Pensarn and Llanfair Talhaiarn.
Margaret Owen, Owner at M&H Coaches said, “We have operated a number of Solos for many years and have always found them to be superb. The Solo is compact in size without compromising on seating capacity and its excellent manoeuvrability is just what we need for the challenging rural terrain where this bus will operate.”
Steph Baker, Business Development Manager, Optare, said, “M&H are a longstanding customer of Optare and they operate an all Solo fleet of service buses which is testament to how ideally suited these vehicles are to interurban routes.”
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Perryman’s the multi award winning operator with depots in Berwick upon Tweed and St Boswells have taken delivery of another Low Carbon Certified Solo. This vehicle joins two other Low Carbon Certified Solos in operation on cross border services in and around Northumberland, the Scottish Borders & East Lothian.
The Optare Low Carbon Certified 9.9m Solo SR seats up to 34 and is fitted with three point seatbelts, an eight Camera CCTV system and vehicle tracking.
Perryman’s are continually looking at ways of making travel cleaner and more appealing to the public to encourage people to make the switch from car to bus. The entire service fleet is low floor and fitted with CCTV. Over the past 2 years 15 new Optare vehicles have joined the Perryman’s fleet bringing the average age of the buses in their service fleet down to only 3 years old.
Roddy Perryman, industry award winning Operations Manager at Perryman’s, said, “The Low Carbon Certified Solos were the first of their kind operating in our area and they’ve certainly turned a few heads with the new subtle ‘Green’ branding which has drawn attention to the vehicles green credentials.
Once again we are very happy with the Optare product. Our relationship with Tim and the Team at Optare continues to be excellent and the aftersales support network is always on hand if required.”
Tim Matthews, Head of UK Sales at Optare, said, “The Perryman’s family have 24 Optare vehicles in their fleet and have been valued customers of Optare for the last 15 years and I am proud to continue the relationship. It is great that the Low Carbon Certified Solos get the Perryman’s seal of approval once again. These buses are particularly attractive to operators because of the environmental benefits they can offer and also because they are more fuel efficient, so can deliver operators a return on investment in the form of reduced ownership costs, such as fuel consumption.”
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APH have added seven more Optare MetroCity buses to their airport parking fleet. The buses are operating between APH’s Award Winning car parks and airport terminal buildings at both Manchester and Gatwick Airport. APH run an all Optare low-floor fleet and the MetroCity buses were purchased as part of a fleet replacement programme replacing existing Solo and Tempo buses.
The four 10.1m and three 10.8m Euro 5, MetroCity buses seat up to 24 and are fitted with luggage racks and feature a full vinyl wrap.
Nick Caunter, Managing Director of APH, said, “We have operated an all Optare low floor fleet for many years and have been extremely pleased with the performance of both the Solo and Tempo. We take our corporate responsibility, to have as little impact on the environment as possible, very seriously and we are committed supporter of World Land Trust’s work to ‘protect the world’s most biologically important and threatened habitats acre by acre. In keeping with our green philosophy we chose the Optare MetroCity for its impressive fuel economy and emissions performance.”
Tim Matthews, Head of UK Sales at Optare, said, “I am delighted that APH have opted to purchase more Optare vehicles and continue their working relationship with us. The new MetroCity is proving to be a popular choice with many operators and I am pleased it hits the mark for APH.”
For more information about APH’s work with the World Land Trust please visit their website at http://www.aph.com/community/charity/world-land-trust/
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Optare is celebrating 30 years of the name Optare this year and to commemorate the occasion is producing a number of 30th anniversary special edition MetroCity and Solo buses.
Robert Drewery, Commercial Director, said, “We are thrilled to celebrate 30 years of leading the way in bus design. These vehicles also mark the introduction of Optare’s customer focused business excellence program which will further improve product support, deliver operational and quality improvements and fund research and development to deliver attractive products for both operators and passengers.”
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A new Optare Solo has started operation as a shuttle bus on Hamilton Island, the well-renowned island resort located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. The island is car free with only golf buggies and a free shuttle service moving guests around the resort.
The 7.5m slim Solo is fully air conditioned and works 18 hour days covering 200km. Until recently the island has utilized 18-21 seat Midibuses for its shuttle service. The new Solo’s, are the first in their fleet replacement program.
The Solo offers low floor access and a dedicated wheelchair or buggy space. The slim Solo can navigate tight roads on the island not suited to other low floor midi buses and passenger boarding and alighting time is decreased. The Solo has capacity for up to 50 passengers meaning there is reduced waiting time at the island’s bus stops as the Solos have greater capacity than the previous midi buses and passenger boarding and alighting times are also reduced.
Tony Fairweather, Managing Director of Patico Automotive, the exclusive Optare distributor for Australia said, “We are pleased to be partnering with Hamilton Island to improve their transport solution and the guest experience.
The Solo 7.5m is perfectly suited to a mix of passenger loads and provides the ideal combination of peak and off peak passenger numbers in the one vehicle – this is crucial to any bus deployment whether urban routes or tourist activity.”
Enrico Vassallo CEO Optare, said, “I am delighted to see that the Solo is quickly becoming a favourite with our Australian customers as it has been with our UK Operators for many years now.”
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Lloyds Coaches have placed an order for two Optare MetroCity buses following the excellent performance of the Optare Versa and Solo models purchased last year. The MetroCity buses will join a fleet of 30 buses at Lloyds Coaches and serve the T2 TrawsCymru route.
Wyn Lloyd, who founded Lloyds Coaches in 2002, commented: “After reviewing the impressive fuel efficiency figures of other Optare MetroCity buses operating on TrawsCymru routes and the great performance of the Versa and Solo vehicles we purchased last year, the MetroCity was the obvious choice.”
Robert Drewery, Optare’s Commercial Director, said: “I know Lloyds Coaches has previously bought buses from rival manufactures, so I am delighted that the performance of the Optare product has impressed them enough to choose Optare once again.”
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The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) announced the Low Carbon Champions for 2014-15 last night at a packed gala dinner held in association with Cenex in Milton Keynes. The Champions Awards celebrate achievement and innovation in low carbon road transport.
Optare had a very successful evening, with the Optare Electric Buses gaining the accolade of Low Carbon Heavy Duty Vehicle Manufacturer of the Year and the ‘Grand Prix’ award for Outstanding Achievement in Low Carbon Transport (winner of winners) in a celebration hosted by TV personality Robert Llewellyn. First Bus with City of York were also awarded runner up Low Carbon Vehicle Operator of the Year for their project with Optare Electric Buses in York.
Commenting on the ‘Grand Prix’ award, the judges said that this recognition was because Optare is the UK market leader in electric buses and has taken significant commercial risk in achieving this position. Optare’s buses have made an important contribution to improving air quality in UK towns and cities as well as reducing the well-to-wheel carbon footprint by over 50% in comparison with equivalent diesels.
The judges’ statement said, “Optare has a real pedigree in terms of battery innovation and has worked extremely well in building partnerships with local authorities.”
Alex Burns, Chief Executive of Millbrook, the Champions Awards headline sponsors, said, “The UK is a major force in the production of electric buses and we are pleased to present the award for this category to an outstanding organisation that is helping to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality.“
“As an organisation committed to the test, validation and engineering of low carbon transport, Millbrook is proud to present the ‘Grand Prix’ award to Optare.”
Enrico Vassallo, CEO of Optare, said, “ I am honoured to receive such prestigious awards on behalf of Optare and that we have been recognised for Outstanding Achievement in Low Carbon Transport as well as gaining the accolade of Low Carbon Heavy Duty Vehicle Manufacturer of the Year.
Optare aspires to embrace the environment with our range of Electric and Low carbon Euro 6 vehicles. We will be celebrating this achievement and 30 years of the Optare brand at the end of the Month at Coach and Bus Live where we will have a TFL specification MetroCity EV Demo on display and also a Low Carbon Solo Euro 6.
But it won’t end there, Optare has plans to further develop the EV technology to improve efficiency and extend range over the next 18 months, Optare truly believes in creating sustainable transport solutions for the here and now and for the future”
The networking dinner was attended by over 380 industry representatives and low carbon transport stakeholders.
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Five new Optare Solos have entered service with Coastal Coaches and are the final vehicles of a fleet replacement programme of eight vehicles. Family run Coastal Coaches currently operate an all Optare fleet of Optare Solos. The Solos will operate on routes 76 and 78, around Blackpool, rural Fylde and Lytham St Annes.
The 7.9m Euro 5 slim line Solos seat up to 27. Following a tradition of naming the buses after family and close friends these buses are named Master Jack, Master Peter, Miss Lucy, Sir Stuart and Miss Ruby, and join Master Luke, Master Liam and Miss Elvi who went into service earlier this year.
Bill Holder, owner at Coastal Coaches, said, “We have operated Solos for many years and have been extremely happy with the performance of the vehicle and I am delighted to say that we were not disappointed with the first of our fleet replacement vehicles that went into service earlier in the year. We have found them to be economical and reliable and they have been extremely well received by our customers and drivers alike. The routes these vehicles serve are quite narrow in places so the slim line Solo is ideal for this purpose.”
Tim Matthews, Head of UK Sales, Optare, said, “I am pleased to hear that the first three buses have been so well received. Coastal Coaches have been a loyal customer and supporter of Optare since 2003, and we are delighted to complete the replacement of their fleet of Solos with the latest model and we are delighted to complete the replacement of their fleet of Solos with the latest model.
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Optare plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Drewery as Commercial Director with effect from Monday 24 August 2015.
Robert has over 15 years of national and international sales and marketing experience gained within the bus and commercial vehicle industries at a senior level.
Robert’s career in the commercial vehicle and bus industry started with Leyland Daf where he gained extensive experience in both sales and aftersales, followed by the role of business development director of the truck maintenance company, Pullman Fleet Services.
More recently Robert led the Wrightbus sales team to win a number of major UK and international contracts supplying Wrightbus products. Robert also oversaw the introduction and support of the New Routemaster.
Speaking of Mr Drewery’s appointment, CEO Enrico Vassallo, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Robert to his new role in the company. He brings with him a wealth of global sales experience in the bus and commercial vehicle industry. Robert’s appointment will strengthen the commercial team and support the company in achieving national and international growth.”
Speaking of his new role as Optare Sales, Commercial Director, Robert Drewery said: “I am looking forward to supporting the company in achieving its plans for growth, starting with overseeing the customer trials of the MetroDecker. I also hope to use my international sales experience to help expand Optare’s presence in overseas markets, where it is already achieving some encouraging results with support from Ashok Leyland.”
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