No sooner has Wilts & Dorset dropped Optare, along comes another local replacement client in Transdev Yellow Buses.
TYB is to order 11 more Optares—this time, Tempos. Flush from the success of the recent 11 tadpole-like Optare Versas—and passengers like them—TYB’s second new batch of buses are more conventional in design. But they’re likely to include a number of interior enhancements common to the Versas. TYB's Tempos will seat 40+.
Optare introduced its Excel replacement Tempo in 2004. Since then, sales may best be described as steady. The type hardly features among the Big Five and only then because of contract awards or similar. And although nationally Transdev has taken to the Versa in quite a big way, it has not done so with the Tempo. Yet.
You have to ask why all this is. My own limited experience (when new) of the Tempo from behind the wheels (the front wheels that is, as a passenger) indicates that it’s a capable bus, with a good ride and it certainly accelerates well. But Trent Barton, a relatively significant Tempo user, has found a number of issues with the integrals. Trent even went as far as to state publicly that Tempos represented five per cent of its fleet but 16 per cent of its failures. TYB’s order is on the strength of safeguards given by Optare as to product reliability and rectification. TYB's batch is expected by April 2009.
At Euro Bus Expo 2008 last week, Optare played up its new Rapta and Solo+. But also present was a Soroco minibus and a TfL-spec hybrid Tempo for ComfortDelGro’s Metroline.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Upping the Tempo
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3 comments:
I hope the Yellows know what they are doing!
if they wanted longer single decks they wouldn't buy eclipses or citaros would they! that leaves the very utilitarian env300 and not much else. i think the trent barton thing is more to do with the general falling out of TB with optare!
Why Nero3 shouldn't TYB purchase Eclipses or Citaros? There are plenty of examples of neighbouring authorities using the same buses side by side.
If the answer is because neither Irisbus/Mercedes nor Wrightbus would sell any to TYB because of relationships with Wilts, more fool TYB and it's predecessor for coming to the party too late to play.
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