McColl’s Coaches Mercedes-Benz Sprinter/EVM Cityline
The minibus revolution…again.
McColl’s Coaches, the Dumbarton based company, has had some success recently in winning tendered services from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), leading to them appearing increasingly within Glasgow. A recent tendered success for the company is the 141 SPT-supported service between Gartnavel Hospital on Glasgow’s West End to Partick via Broomhill. Until recently, this was operated by McGill’s Buses, which is an interesting role reversal. I say that as McGill’s had purchased the bus operations of McColl’s in 2012 in part of an expansion north of the River Clyde, where McColl’s competed very vigorously with First Glasgow on services from Dumbarton to Glasgow. However that venture didn’t prove as successful as McGill’s had hoped and they closed it down barely two years later, with First Glasgow being the main beneficiary. What was left of McColl’s ended picking up the slack and it’s entered back into the bus market.
Minibuses based on van chassis seem to be staging a comeback of sorts for bus use, after falling out of favour. Although the use of minibuses can be traced to well before deregulation, they pretty much exploded amongst fleets after it. Whilst many of the initial conversions were pretty crude and based on little more than panel vans with windows and some seats, eventually builders began to design some pretty decent and stylish bodies for them. The idea was that these buses would provide high-intensity services. Basically instead of a double-decker once or twice an hour, multiple minibuses could be used to provide the same level of seats. The minibuses could be acquired cheaply - five or six for one double-decker - and they could offer a ‘turn-up’ and go frequency, basically negating the need for a timetable as such. They could also take the place of a bigger vehicle on lightly loaded or tendered services, reducing costs. Many larger operators also used them as competitive tools, flooding a route with these types of buses to see off a competitor. There was also the cost of repairing them. Indeed, it was stated that you could replace an entire engine on a van-based minibus for the cost of Leyland National alternator.
Increasingly Mercedes-Benz vans became the basis for the minibus of choice. Most major fleets ran some although after a while some bus manufacturers designed purpose built minibuses, such as the MCW Metrorider. These offered bus style engines and transmission and were less-compromised than their van based brethren but were more expensive as a result. However the Mercedes-Benz still was the preferred choice, with Plaxton’s Beaver body as the market leader, followed by Alexander’s AM-body.
However, the world was changing. Accessibility was becoming an important issue to passengers and minibuses had to adopt it. However, to the van builders like Mercedes-Benz, minibuses were but a very small part of their overall output. There was little demand from other commercial van users for a low floor option and despite a lower chassis frame being available with later designs, even it still meant a step entrance. So there was no rush by manufacturers to offer accessible versions for use as buses.
As such, purchases of van conversions for low-demand or high-intensity services declined by bus companies, increasingly in favour of buses like the short wheelbase Optare Solo or the Mini Pointer Dart. The perception was that these purpose built buses were better suited to bus use but still offered the benefits and nippiness of minibuses. There was some method in this, as the very minibuses that had encouraged people back on to public transport were becoming victims of their own success, as passengers found they’d no where to put their shopping on their cramped design. As such, increasingly they were replaced by these purpose built buses or indeed even larger versions of these purpose built buses.
This was despite some builders accommodating wheelchair lifts into their designs for the Mercedes-Benz minibuses to meet disability requirements or even adapting the Mercedes-Benz into a low floor version - some better than others it has to be said - but despite van based minibuses slowed to an absolute trickle. Builders came and went for such vehicles, despite some coming up with attractive designs. I’m thinking there of the Bluebird based version of the FIAT Ducato van, although I acknowledge that particular van didn’t have the best of reputations for bus work.
Then a few years ago van-based minibuses made a comeback. Initially on demand based services to reduce cost of larger vehicles in smaller towns and villages, some with more success than others. However, increasingly they’ve been selected as a lower-cost option for independent operators for small tendered services to provide socially desirable but essential services, such as RF21HCK seen here. The wheel, as they say, comes full circle.
McColl’s Coaches Mercedes-Benz Sprinter/EVM Cityline
The minibus revolution…again.
McColl’s Coaches, the Dumbarton based company, has had some success recently in winning tendered services from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), leading to them appearing increasingly within Glasgow. A recent tendered success for the company is the 141 SPT-supported service between Gartnavel Hospital on Glasgow’s West End to Partick via Broomhill. Until recently, this was operated by McGill’s Buses, which is an interesting role reversal. I say that as McGill’s had purchased the bus operations of McColl’s in 2012 in part of an expansion north of the River Clyde, where McColl’s competed very vigorously with First Glasgow on services from Dumbarton to Glasgow. However that venture didn’t prove as successful as McGill’s had hoped and they closed it down barely two years later, with First Glasgow being the main beneficiary. What was left of McColl’s ended picking up the slack and it’s entered back into the bus market.
Minibuses based on van chassis seem to be staging a comeback of sorts for bus use, after falling out of favour. Although the use of minibuses can be traced to well before deregulation, they pretty much exploded amongst fleets after it. Whilst many of the initial conversions were pretty crude and based on little more than panel vans with windows and some seats, eventually builders began to design some pretty decent and stylish bodies for them. The idea was that these buses would provide high-intensity services. Basically instead of a double-decker once or twice an hour, multiple minibuses could be used to provide the same level of seats. The minibuses could be acquired cheaply - five or six for one double-decker - and they could offer a ‘turn-up’ and go frequency, basically negating the need for a timetable as such. They could also take the place of a bigger vehicle on lightly loaded or tendered services, reducing costs. Many larger operators also used them as competitive tools, flooding a route with these types of buses to see off a competitor. There was also the cost of repairing them. Indeed, it was stated that you could replace an entire engine on a van-based minibus for the cost of Leyland National alternator.
Increasingly Mercedes-Benz vans became the basis for the minibus of choice. Most major fleets ran some although after a while some bus manufacturers designed purpose built minibuses, such as the MCW Metrorider. These offered bus style engines and transmission and were less-compromised than their van based brethren but were more expensive as a result. However the Mercedes-Benz still was the preferred choice, with Plaxton’s Beaver body as the market leader, followed by Alexander’s AM-body.
However, the world was changing. Accessibility was becoming an important issue to passengers and minibuses had to adopt it. However, to the van builders like Mercedes-Benz, minibuses were but a very small part of their overall output. There was little demand from other commercial van users for a low floor option and despite a lower chassis frame being available with later designs, even it still meant a step entrance. So there was no rush by manufacturers to offer accessible versions for use as buses.
As such, purchases of van conversions for low-demand or high-intensity services declined by bus companies, increasingly in favour of buses like the short wheelbase Optare Solo or the Mini Pointer Dart. The perception was that these purpose built buses were better suited to bus use but still offered the benefits and nippiness of minibuses. There was some method in this, as the very minibuses that had encouraged people back on to public transport were becoming victims of their own success, as passengers found they’d no where to put their shopping on their cramped design. As such, increasingly they were replaced by these purpose built buses or indeed even larger versions of these purpose built buses.
This was despite some builders accommodating wheelchair lifts into their designs for the Mercedes-Benz minibuses to meet disability requirements or even adapting the Mercedes-Benz into a low floor version - some better than others it has to be said - but despite van based minibuses slowed to an absolute trickle. Builders came and went for such vehicles, despite some coming up with attractive designs. I’m thinking there of the Bluebird based version of the FIAT Ducato van, although I acknowledge that particular van didn’t have the best of reputations for bus work.
Then a few years ago van-based minibuses made a comeback. Initially on demand based services to reduce cost of larger vehicles in smaller towns and villages, some with more success than others. However, increasingly they’ve been selected as a lower-cost option for independent operators for small tendered services to provide socially desirable but essential services, such as RF21HCK seen here. The wheel, as they say, comes full circle.