Empress Coaches of Hastings is still operating what is believed to be the last example of a pioneering low-floor minibus design in service – which could be available to a good preservation home.
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The CVE Omni was built by City Vehicle Engineering in County Durham under licence from Steyr of Austria, production beginning in 1988. The body was fibreglass and the whole structure extremely strong; this allied to air suspension represented an excellent package. The Omni was available as a PSV and a welfare vehicle and it seemed poised for success. However, this never came, though it did win custom from operators ranging from London Buses to CMT of Liverpool and Cambridgeshire-based Whippet.
The Omni was deemed unreliable in some circles, not helped by the choice of 2.5-litre Land Rover power for the vehicle. This was eventually replaced by a Perkins Phaser. Series production ended in 1996.
Empress Coaches bought two Omnis new including the survivor, H389KPY, and a further two second-hand. “Our surviving Omni has now done 274,000km and is still in regular use and a very useful vehicle,” said Steve Dine, Managing Director at Empress. “Having said that I would like to hear from potential preservationists who would be interested in keeping the vehicle long-term and not converting it into a motor home.”
Empress Coaches can be contacted on 01424 430621 or www.empresscoaches.com
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