55-615: The Optare Sigma was a step-entrance single-deck bus body manufactured by Optare between 1994 and 1996 on the Dennis Lance chassis. Launched in April 1994, the full-size Sigma body was produced exclusively on the Dennis Lance chassis, beginning an effort by Optare to produce bodies for a more diverse range of chassis following the collapse of the United Bus manufacturing group. The Sigma body
110-665: A midibus , with the introduction of the Dennis Dart . Optare soon introduced a competitor, the Vecta, albeit slightly bigger and wider than the Dart at that time, seating 40 in a full width 2.5m body. The chassis was the MAN 11.190 and featured a ZF gearbox and full air suspension. The bodywork was a scaled down version of the Delta. The CityPacer and StarRider were phased out in the years after Optare purchased
165-406: A Great Tradition" vehicles and were in those liveries until the late 1990s. Deregulation occurred on 26 October 1986. The WYPTE bus division was renamed Yorkshire Rider and with it a new livery of dark olive green and cream and a stylised "YR" emblem. Five double-decker buses were operated in each of the municipal council's colours (already included were the two Huddersfield buses), with words on
220-459: A further five standing passengers, a size that met the minibus vogue of the late 1980s. While its competitors looked like the modified vans they were, the CityPacer had attractive styling notable for its large one-piece raked windscreen. London Regional Transport bought 52, and other major operators bought small batches. More than 290 CityPacers were produced in total between 1986 and 1992. In 1987,
275-583: A plant in India for its electric vehicle business. Later, it acquired the EV division from parent company Ashok Leyland via a slump sale of ₹240 crores (~£23 million). Switch Mobility has two subsidiary companies. The first subsidiary is Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd, which brings together Ashok Leyland's Indian based EV operations with the expertise of the UK-based bus manufacturing division. The second subsidiary
330-519: A second step taking passengers into a seating compartment with capacity for up to 51 seated passengers; the Sigma's seats were mounted on tracking floor rails, allowing for seating to configured to the individual needs of operators. Other interior features included options for luggage racks and air conditioning, as well as tinted side and rear windows. Compared to the Vecta, a significantly smaller number of Optare Sigmas were produced. Only three operators bought
385-480: A success for Optare. With a unique design of a front axle forward of the door, it allowed a low-floor layout in a very short bus, and also came equipped with kneeling suspension for even greater access. Its styling and innovation led to a Millennium Products award and the Queen's Award for Innovation. In 2000, Optare was bought by Hungarian owned North American Bus Industries (NABI). This gave Optare products exposure in
440-474: Is a subsidiary of Indian company Ashok Leyland . The company is responsible for the EV operations of the group with Ashok Leyland focusing on its core business of diesel-powered vehicles as well as work on alternative fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen . After being rebranded from Optare to Switch Mobility in November 2020, it announced plans in 2021 to set up
495-584: Is named OHM Global Mobility Private Ltd which provides Mobility as a Service (eMaaS) solutions in India. In September 1984, Leyland Bus closed its Charles H Roe vehicle bodywork building business in Leeds . In response, Russell Richardson, a former plant director at Roe, backed by the West Yorkshire Enterprise Board and many redundant former employees, formed Optare in February 1985. The company
550-824: The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) the same month. The Optare parts and service division Unitec has locations at the former Rotherham factory, as well as in Thurrock , Essex. Since 1997, many of Optare's electrical systems have been designed and constructed in collaboration with Actia. In August 2008, the minicoach models Toro, Solera and Soroco were imported by Optare from the Spanish manufacturer Ferqui, and marketed as Optare products. They were luxury minicoach bodies built on Mercedes-Benz chassis, however, due to significantly reduced demand for mini and midi coaches, as part of its restructuring process, Optare took
605-483: The Darwen Group 's parent company chairman Ron Stanley. Optare initially remained an independent company but by 17 July 2008, a reverse takeover by Darwen Group had been completed. Darwen was the much smaller company, but its Alternative Investment Market listing saw the enlarged Optare gain a stock exchange listing itself as Optare plc. The combined business employed 830 people with a £90 million turnover. With
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#1732873704737660-761: The Local Government Act 1972 , the Executive had to operate within the policy guidelines of the County Council Public Transport Committee, coordinating the operation of all public transport in the county. The Executive inherited approximately 1,500 buses along with 6,000 staff and the associated garages and street furniture. The Executive relinquished ownership of local buses following the Transport Act 1985 , creating arms-length operating companies. It continued to coordinate public transport as
715-557: The Local Transport Act 2008 . The Metro brand was adopted in 1988. Buses are operated by private companies, with early morning, late evening, Sunday and rural services often supported by Metro. There is a special rural bus section, which promotes a combination of minor local links and major long-distance routes. On 1 April 1974, the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive was created by merging
770-858: The National Bus Company (NBC) formed a new integrated transport system known as the "Metro-National Transport Company Limited". All PTE and NBC buses began to appear with a new emblem, which consisted of the MetroBus WY's in one box and the NBC "double N" or "N-blem" appearing in another to the right of the PTE emblem, and slightly lower. The boxes were linked to show the integration. They also appeared with MetroBus fleetnames with " The easy way from here to there in West Yorkshire ". The new "Metrobus" fleetname being applied not only to PTE owned vehicles on which WYPTE lettering
825-645: The StarRider , based on the Mercedes-Benz 811D chassis, was introduced. This was a heavier chassis with a proven reliability record and had seating for 33 passengers. London Regional Transport took 123 StarRiders and a total of just under 320 were built between 1987 and 1994. In an attempt to break into the export market, the ColumboRider was subsequently developed, named after the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka , where
880-569: The United Bus , which included DAF Bus . Having already used a DAF SB220 chassis on the Delta, now as part of United Bus, Optare collaborated with DAF to design the Optare Spectra . It was based on the modified design of the MCW Metrobus purchased by Optare, and combined parts from it and the SB220 to form a new double deck chassis, designated DB250 , with Optare bodywork called Spectra. Due to
935-526: The Vecta . After the collapse of United Bus in 1993, Optare was again returned to independent status with another management buyout . The reaction to the collapse of United Bus was the release in the next two years of two Delta derived single deck buses on different non-DAF chassis, the Sigma and Prisma, the latter being on the Mercedes-Benz O405 chassis which had a Mercedes-Benz style front end rather than
990-687: The "Metrocoach" banner, with brown added for "Metrocoach Executive". Later Bingley's depot received double-deckers transferred from the Leeds District. In early 1981 a reorganisation of operating districts was implemented with the East District becoming responsible for the Leeds depots and United Services, whilst the West District took control of Bradford , Halifax , Todmorden and Huddersfield . Three new Leyland National 2s were acquired for United Services, in blue livery. In July 1981, MetroBus and
1045-804: The 158 and 321s which were leased to the Northern franchise holder. There are 12 commuter railway lines serving West Yorkshire: Airedale , Calder Valley Line , Dearne Valley , Hallam , Harrogate , Huddersfield , Leeds-Bradford , Penistone , Pontefract , Wakefield , Wharfedale and York & Selby . The majority of these lines run into Leeds and most continue into neighbouring areas, serving towns and cities such as Barnsley , Blackpool , Doncaster , Harrogate , Liverpool , Manchester , Nottingham , Preston , Sheffield and York . Some lines overlap each other, which means that stations such as Castleford, Huddersfield and Wakefield Westgate are served by more than one line. Most lines have frequent services, but
1100-447: The 9000-series, due to the allocated body numbers. As standard, the 9000-series community transport minibus had a front door, nine passenger seats and a rear tail lift for wheelchair access. All thirteen examples built were delivered to Leeds City Council between March and May 1990, and no further orders were ever placed. In 1988 the first full size Optare product appeared, the Delta . This
1155-754: The Excel marked the start of a sustained period of selling integral bus products rather than body on chassis combinations, which continued until the Darwen merger briefly brought East Lancs models to the range. With modifications of the DB250 chassis to become the DB250LF, in 1997, the Spectra became the first fully low-floor double decker bus on offer in the UK. Also in 1997 the Solo was launched and became
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#17328737047371210-621: The Leeds plant. In 2012, the former East Lancs site also closed putting all manufacturing processes under one roof. In June 2015, Optare was delisted from the Alternative Investment Market. In October 2017, Ashok Leyland increased its shareholding to 98%, and in 2018 to 99%. In November 2020, Ashok Leyland announced that Optare would be rebranded Switch Mobility. In July 2021, Switch Mobility Ltd announced plans to roll out its electric (E) buses and light commercial vehicles (LCV) from
1265-608: The North American market, with an export version of the Solo finding success at several US airports and with Miami-Dade Transit in Florida. The NABI era saw the introduction of the Alero low-floor minicoach in 2001, filling a gap in the market for a low floor vehicle for use on low intensity services such as demand responsive transport , already covered at the higher capacity by the Solo. In 2004
1320-566: The Optare family face. Optare acquired Autobus Classique in 1996, shortly after the launch of their Nouvelle luxury minicoach. Optare significantly redesigned and rebadged it in 1997 as the Nouvelle 2, and it served similar markets to the StarRider/MetroRider coach versions. Also in 1997 a relationship with a Spanish mini and midi coach manufacturer named Ferqui SL began, with the importation of
1375-679: The Optare plant in 2005. Starting in August 1986, Optare built fifteen minibuses converted from the Freight Rover Sherpa 350 vans for the WYPTE. In 1986, Optare introduced the CityPacer minibus. This was based on a heavier version of the Volkswagen LT 50 van chassis, to which Optare made modifications prior to bodying. The engine was a six-cylinder 2.4-litre and the body seated 25, with space for
1430-431: The PTE acquired the old-established Kinsley based United Services from WR & P Bingley. As well as providing the PTE with more coaching operations, this took it into an area of West Yorkshire where it had previously had no presence. United Services was maintained as a separate subsidiary and retained its distinctive blue livery, whilst a new livery of red & ivory was adopted for the PTE's coaches, which operated under
1485-532: The PTEs verona cream and buttermilk livery so as to present a corporate image. From this date the "WY" logo on the front of buses was replaced by the "Metro-National" emblem in mid-1983, to celebrate 100 years of public transport in Huddersfield, MetroBus paint two vehicles in old liveries: Leyland Atlanteans carried Huddersfield Corporation red livery and Huddersfield Corporation Tramways livery. They became "Building on
1540-497: The Sigma in large batches: the largest was Brighton & Hove , who took delivery of 20 Sigmas in 1996, while Trent Buses additionally took delivery of 17 Sigmas in late 1995. Gateshead & District took delivery of 14 Sigmas in 1994 for use on services in Bishop Auckland competing with local independent OK Motor Services . Two other operators purchased single a Sigmas each. These were Ipswich Buses , who took delivery of
1595-660: The Solera luxury midicoach into the UK. While part of United Bus, Optare also for a time became the exclusive UK dealer for the distinctive full size Bova Futura coach. Optare began introduction of low-floor buses in the UK in 1995 with the launch of the Optare Excel full size single decker. Although low floor single decker buses had begun to appear as early as 1993. Initially, the Excel used Cummins engines and Allison Transmissions with later examples (Excel 2) having Mercedes-Benz engines available as an option. The introduction of
1650-495: The United bus relationship and joint design, the Spectra was built exclusively on the DB250 chassis. As well as having a striking front end, the Spectra was also recognisable for having no rear window. Introduced in 1990 it was described as a "partly low-floor double-decker". Despite the association with DAF, in 1991 Optare also launched a conventional height midibus on the MAN 11.180 chassis,
1705-456: The WYPTE bus fleet, also took early vehicles. When the Roe business closed down, WYPTE had an unfulfilled order for five Leyland Olympian coach-seated double-decker buses in place for its Metro coach operation. These five part finished buses went from Roe to Eastern Coach Works as shells for completion, but subsequently ten more were completed as Optare buses but to the Roe design, the first of which
Optare Sigma - Misplaced Pages Continue
1760-610: The West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority on 1 April 2014. The West Yorkshire County Council was the transport authority from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1986. It was replaced by the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority that was made up of elected councillors from the districts of West Yorkshire. The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority was renamed the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority following
1815-542: The West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority when the metropolitan county was abolished in 1986. New buses were purchased in large numbers at the outset. In 1976 Baddeley Brothers of Holmfirth was purchased providing the PTE with additional coaching and stage-carriage duties. In 1980 the Baddeley Brothers business was also disposed of, although the Metrocoach operation was retained. In 1976 modifications were made to
1870-667: The aim to reduce carbon emissions by over 14,500 tonnes every year. A month later, parent company Ashok Leyland published an EV road map with plans to launch its first e-LCV in December 2021. In January 2022, Switch Mobility announced plans to build a new manufacturing and technology centre on a greenfield site in the Soto de Medinilla area of Valladolid , Spain. A month later, it announced that 40 new electric buses would be operational in Chandigarh . These zero-emission buses would be delivered to
1925-455: The current My bus contractors were City Travel, First Student UK ( First Calderdale & Huddersfield , First Leeds ), HCT Group , Keighley Bus Company , Rollinson Safeway, Tiger Blue and TLC Travel . As of 2012 the following companies are owned by WYPTE, subject to Metro conditions and ticketing: [REDACTED] Local and inter-urban rail services within West Yorkshire and
1980-679: The decision to concentrate on its bus manufacturing activities and the relationship with Ferqui was formally ended in 2012. Current West Yorkshire Metro Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive ( WYPTE ), at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire. The Metro brand has been used from
2035-621: The design for the MCW Metrorider in July 1989, rebranding it as the Optare MetroRider . This was a larger design than the CityPacer, and more robust when compared to the StarRider. It was Optare's first venture into fully integral vehicle manufacturing, and became the mainstay of the Optare midi/minibus offering until the low floor Solo was introduced in 1997. In 1990, Optare joined a group called
2090-474: The first examples were sold. The ColumboRider was a semi-integral version of the StarRider, based on a chassis made by a consortium including Optare, Japanese technology company Itochu and local Sri Lankan manufacturer Ceylinco . The ColumboRider was replaced by an export version of the MetroRider. In 1990, Optare bodied thirteen Renault S50 minibuses with a welfare bodywork which has since come to be known as
2145-510: The first production Sigma in 1994, the only Sigma built to dual-door configuration, and Busways Travel Services , who took delivery of a Sigma later in 1994 for use on a Newcastle upon Tyne to Gateshead MetroCentre shuttle service. [REDACTED] Media related to Optare Sigma at Wikimedia Commons Optare Switch Mobility ( Optare until 2020) is a British bus manufacturer based in Sherburn-in-Elmet , North Yorkshire. It
2200-530: The future of Optare was ended with the announcement that Optare had, once again, been acquired by its management. This change did not affect the further roll out of the new range, leading to the Versa and a radically restyled Solo (the Solo SR), both with a distinctive raised part of the roofline towards the front of the bus. On 12 March 2008, Optare was purchased by Jamesstan Investments, an investment company controlled by
2255-508: The group's UK and Indian plants. In December 2021, Switch Mobility Ltd announced the setting up of a manufacturing and technology centre in Castilla y León , Spain, at an investment of about €100 million spread over the next 10 years. Switch Mobility announced in November 2021 plans to supply 300 technologically advanced twelve-metre electric buses and the charging infrastructure to Bengaluru's Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) with
Optare Sigma - Misplaced Pages Continue
2310-423: The livery. Originally there were three stripes at the sides of the destination box, which wrapped round to the sides and swept down. This took time to apply, and a trial was made with one thin line. In 1977 the lines were removed and the green area at the skirting of was raised up, so there was slightly more green. The other change was the fleet name to MetroBus in 1976, removing the district names. On 25 April 1977,
2365-673: The municipal bus fleets of Bradford City Transport , Leeds City Transport , Huddersfield Corporation Passenger Transport and Halifax Joint Omnibus Committee , which earlier in the 1970s swallowed up Todmorden Joint Omnibus Committee. The operation was divided into four districts and a new livery of cream and verona green replaced the Bradford light blue & cream, Huddersfield red & cream, Leeds two-tone green and Halifax & Calderdale orange, green & cream. Created following
2420-492: The new derivatives of Solo were introduced offering a longer variant and also a narrower 'SlimLine' model to further capture the market. Also introduced in 2004 was the first new bus model since the Solo, the Tempo, a full size single decker with another striking design, even when considered in the environment of increasingly stylish competitor products. On 1 August 2005, NABI found itself in financial difficulties, and speculation about
2475-437: The outset and, since the formal abolition of the WYPTE on 1 April 2014, it has remained the brand name of public transport in the region, overseen by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority , which is also responsible for the delivery of transport policies. Metro is a public transport brand of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority which is, through its transport committee, the transport authority for West Yorkshire . It replaced
2530-427: The production of Esteem single-deck bodywork was ceased, and the manufacturing site at Rotherham was closed. In summer 2010, Ashok Leyland (the former Indian subsidiary of British Leyland ) bought a 26% stake in Optare. Subsequently, in December 2011 Ashok Leyland increased its stake to 75%. In 2011, a new fully enclosed 13,000-square-metre (140,000 sq ft) factory opened in Sherburn-in-Elmet , replacing
2585-482: The respective histories of the two entities, Optare plc could be considered the successor company to the historical British bus manufacturers Charles H Roe (through Optare), founded in Leeds in 1923, and East Lancashire Coachbuilders , (through Darwen), founded in 1934 in Blackburn . The Optare website was relaunched with a new logo, and with the ex East Lancs Olympus and Esteem models marketed as Optare products. At
2640-965: The sides between the decks saying "Building on a Great Tradition". The bus services and fare/bus pass/timetables division was renamed Metro. My bus is a school bus service provided by West Yorkshire Metro with certain features which set it apart from normal school transport services in the United Kingdom : The service, using buses painted yellow with coordinated My bus branding gained significant mode shift: 64% of primary school users were previously driven by car. Under this scheme, these buses were not allowed to be used for non-school purposes. West Yorkshire Metro claims benefits from 'My bus' ranging from reductions in car use, traffic congestion , air pollution , traffic accidents , social exclusion , truancy and late student arrivals and improvements to education , safety for pedestrians and cyclists, integration of people with special needs and children's experiences of public transport . As of August 2009
2695-454: The surrounding areas, part funded by Metro, were advertised under the MetroTrain brand. In the 1990s, some Class 141 , 144 , 155 , 158 , 308 , 321 and 333s were painted in Metro livery. The Class 333 was painted in Metro livery when built. All apart from the 333s were later repainted in Northern Rail livery. Some of the 144s and 155s were originally purchased by the WYPTE but were later sold to Porterbrook . Metro retained ownership of
2750-434: The time of merger, Optare manufactured buses from three sites, the primary sites being in Leeds (the former Leyland Bus site) and Blackburn (the former East Lancs site), with a further facility in Rotherham . The merger brought together the single deck and midibus portfolio of Optare and the primarily double deck order book of Darwen. After the merger, Optare began rationalisation of its bus manufacturing business. In 2009
2805-417: Was a single-deck bus based on the DAF SB220 chassis. The Delta bodywork featured contemporary styling and was aluminium with a bolted frame licensed from Alusuisse. The Delta successfully found a niche in the full-size single deck bus market, which was very limited at that time. Approaching 370 Deltas were built before production ended in 1998. Dennis had effectively created a new market segment, known as
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#17328737047372860-399: Was carried beneath the fleet name, but also buses of NBC subsidiaries West Yorkshire Road Car Company , West Riding Automobile Company , Yorkshire Woollen Transport Company and Yorkshire Traction , carrying "West Yorkshire", "West Riding", "Yorkshire" and "Yorkshire Traction" names below the Metrobus name. Some years later some of those buses (excluding Yorkshire Traction) were repainted into
2915-434: Was completed in September 1985, the 17th Optare bus body. Five went to WYPTE, and five to its successor Yorkshire Rider, and a further five standard seated Olympians were also delivered to WYPTE, two as convertible open top buses . The first Optare designed bodies were fourteen Dennis Dominos for the SYPTE built starting in February 1986. Optare also bodied fifteen Leyland Cubs for the WYPTE. A preserved Cub later visited
2970-414: Was constructed using the same Alusuisse bolted aluminium frame system used on the Vecta mid-size bus body, and the styling closely resembled the Vecta, albeit in longer form. Options included guide wheels for use on a guided busway , dual door configuration as well as a centre offside door for use on airport bus services. The Sigma had a low entrance step height of 314 millimetres (12.4 in), with
3025-412: Was created at a very difficult time for the bus and coach industry, with the challenges of privatisation and deregulation meaning very few orders for new vehicles. The first orders came from the still publicly owned West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE). The publicly owned but arms-length company Yorkshire Rider , as successor to
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