Jonathan Welch heads to Ayrshire to take a closer look at Shuttle Buses’ first Mellor Sigma 8s
Mellor has made quite a fanfare about the introduction of its new Sigma range, which in one fell swoop offered new alternatives to the handful of established vehicle types in pretty much every segment of the single-deck market, from full-size 12-metre buses down through short-wheelbase Evora and Enviro200 territory, to knock on the door of the once-ubiquitous Optare Solo with its shortest 7m and 8m models. And as is often the case with buses, you wait for ages then two come along at once. Hot on the heels of the similarly-sized but very different Yutong E9 we tested in issue 1568, we took the opportunity to try out our second Sigma model. Having already looked at the 10-metre option at the very end of last year, we paid a visit to Ayrshire-based Shuttle Buses to have a look at a Sigma 8, Mellor’s eight-metre low-floor all-electric offering.
The smart yellow livery of Kilwinning-based Shuttle Buses makes the Sigma 8 stand out, our test bus being one of a pair acquired by the operator for local bus service work. After my experience of the E9, I was keen to compare and contrast the cute-eyed Sigma, both vehicles aiming at the growing market for smaller – or to use Mellor’s language, ‘size appropriate’ – buses.
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