A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between 8 metres (26 ft 3 in) and 11 metres (36 ft 1 in) long. While used in many parts of the world, the midibus is perhaps most common in the United Kingdom , where operators have found them more economical , and to have a sufficient number of seats compared to full size single-decker buses.
6-469: The Bedford JJL was an innovative but ultimately unsuccessful midibus model built by Bedford . The JJL could have been a success, but was ahead of its time in predicting the boom in the midibus market, as seen by the success of the Dennis Dart . Only four JJLs were produced, along with a pre-production prototype , starting in 1979. The production vehicles produced were as follows: The build date of
12-448: A collision with a tree. HKX 553V was sold to Bournemouth Transport (trading as Yellow Buses) in 1983, and then onto The Goodman Group, where it saw service with Rambler and Goodmans coaches. It is the last JJL in service and has been exhibited at rallies. HKX553V was sold in 2018 to a collector from Aylesbury In 1985, Bedford considered reviving the JJL. Marshall SPV had the idea to reintroduce
18-565: The Orion VII transit bus to serve routes that include some of the steeper and curvier hills. In charter / tour roles, there is indeed a gap between the minibus (12–28 seats) and the touring coach (47–50 seats). Several shuttle bus companies such as Goshen Coach and Crystal have manufactured rear-engined vehicles with 30–35 seats, but no generic term has ever been applied to them. They are usually lumped together with smaller "minibuses", and called "minibus" or "shuttle bus". The only other alternative
24-648: The Scania OmniTown , are heavier and therefore more durable. In some places such as Hong Kong, some bus routes have to be served by midibuses due to the winding roads along such routes. The term "midibus" is not in common use in the United States ; such smaller and lighter-duty buses are not used for public transit there except in some very specialized instances. For example, Muni in San Francisco operates both 30-foot (9.1 m) and 40-foot (12 m) versions of
30-579: The JJL under the Marshall Bus brand, although the deal never caught on. Tricentrol of Dunstable produced a short version of Bedford's YMQ chassis, the YMQ/S, ten years after the JJL. [REDACTED] Media related to Bedford JJL at Wikimedia Commons Midibus Midibuses are often designed to be lightweight to save on diesel fuel (e.g. smaller wheels than on larger buses), making them not as durable as heavier 'full size' buses. Some midibuses, such as
36-454: The first chassis may indicate that this was the prototype that was converted to a production bus, although the bodywork numbers and build dates conflict with those found in. Maidstone Borough Council took delivery of the JJLs in 1981/82. UKK 335X and AVS 903T were sold to Brighton Buses , and then to Northern Bus, Sheffield in 1992. EKX 648T also went to Brighton, but was scrapped in 1988 after
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