A design classic which never saw the same level of popularity in the UK as on the Continent has been withdrawn from service in Brighton & Hove. Nick Larkin reports
Brighton & Hove has bade goodbye to its final Mercedes-Benz Citaro G ‘bendybuses,’ which have been a feature of the local transport network for more than a decade.
The former London vehicles, which can carry up to 140 passengers, mainly saw use on the heavily used university service 25. Normal operation finished on 31 October, with a final tour, publicised on social media, taking place on the following Monday, with no fares charged but riders invited to make a donation to charity.
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Ed Wills, Managing Director at Brighton & Hove and Metrobus said: “We have said goodbye to the final few bendybuses in our fleet. Finding the parts we need to maintain and keep them safe has proved to be a challenge, so we made the decision to update route 25 with buses that are much better for the environment and more efficient too.”
Brighton & Hove’s ‘bendy’ story started in 2009 with a single bus on loan from London, where Mayor Boris Johnson had pledged to ban the type, to see how it would perform on the local streets. In February 2010, the operator received its first four bendies, which were converted to dual-door from the previous three-door layout. An additional four buses came in November 2011 and, after conversion, they entered service in December 2012. Over the following five years, 22 additional Citaros were added to the fleet, others retiring. In later years bendies were also used to great effect on the football park & ride service to and from the city’s Amex Stadium. From 2016 several buses received creative wrap designs to promote different topics and these were well received by students and the public alike.
The Citaros have all been sold to a single operator; the type remains in front-line service with First Aberdeen and First York, along with examples used for special services with smaller operators.
