Six vehicles are added to the council fleet, which already uses dozens of Orions from the manufacturer
Nottinghamshire County Council have taken delivery of six vehicles from Mellor Coachcraft.
The first are a pair of Mellor Stratas, which were purchased because of their ability to operate easily on narrow streets and rural routes without compromising on passenger numbers.
The Strata is based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516. Mellor claims the low-floor vehicle deliver reduced running costs compared to other similar-sized vehicles. Each minibus comes complete with a Ventura rapid sliding entrance door, Mobitec display equipment to the front, side and rear, and an Eberspächer D5 Water Climate System.
Both vehicles provides seating for 21 passengers or can be configured to seat 18 with one wheelchair.
In addition, the Council has received four Orion Plus minibuses, which replace VW LT 45 Mellor vehicles. The Orions will serve a dual role on local bus routes and to transport people to day centres.
Based on the Fiat Ducato Maxi, the Orions seat 16 or are configurable to seat nine with three wheelchairs. These ‘ultra-flat low-floor’ vehicles include two manual rear doors, a rapid side sliding electric front entry door, front ramp and 2.5m long fold-out ramp to rear, front display equipment, Eberspächer 4Kw Diesel climate control and Cant rail and bodyside mounted tracking.
Andy Frogg, Nottingham County Council’s Fleet Operations Manager, commented: “The Strata vehicles have been accepted well by all of the drivers and customers using the local bus service.
“They are a lot better suited to dedicated local bus than the previous vehicles.
“It is nice to see them out every day and the first choice for the drivers. At present they are covering around 1,000 miles per week and averaging just over 20mpg.
“The Orion’s are being used to replace the old high floor tail lift vehicles and all passengers appreciate the versatility of the low floor. We now have 35 of these vehicles and they are proving beneficial to our service.”
