The Volvo B6BLE was a 5.5-litre engined low-entry midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1999 and 2001, with three unfinished or unsold chassis being bodied in 2004 and 2005.
16-744: The Volvo B6BLE was presented in November 1998 as a replacement for the B6LE . Compared to the B6LE it had a new lower chassis frame with increased low floor area, independent front suspension giving more than 10 cm wider gangway between the front wheel arches, and front end "kneeling", giving a 25 cm entrance height. Like its predecessor, it continued to compete with the Dennis Dart SLF . A total of 346 known B6BLEs were produced between 1999 and 2001, including two for Australia, nine for Norway and two for Sweden. When
32-754: A 40-year partnership, the shared interests were terminated, with the Lewis family taking full ownership of Rover and the Mordue family taking full ownership of Hunter Valley Coaches, based in Maitland . At the same time, the Mordue family repurchased Linsley Brothers, Wallsend from Linsley Brothers, whom they had a partnership in the business with until the 1950s. The Mordue family then rebranded their Raymond Terrace routes, Hunter Valley Coaches and Linsley Brothers into Blue Ribbon Coaches. In October 1989, Fellowes Bus Service in Swansea
48-584: The Asia-Pacific region. The initial pre-production series of around 30 (or more) chassis were manufactured by Volvo subsidiary Steyr Bus GmbH in Vienna , Austria. This would however not be the case with the production series, as Volvo moved it to Scotland. Most of the pre-production units were built as coaches. Only nine of these units were delivered in the United Kingdom. In March 1993, serial production of
64-647: The Russian embassy in 1998, being unsold since 1995. No further RHD B6-45s were ever built. For the RHD markets also the entire step-entrance B6 lineup was discontinued in 1997, while the LHD version was available until the introduction of the B6BLE in 1999. The step-entrance B6 never received a proper successor. Between 1993 and 1997 a total of 627 B6s were delivered in the UK. The B6 were labelled as
80-463: The Volvo B6R in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia , Blue Ribbon purchased five, Southtrans four and Whyalla City Transport two. Citybus of Hong Kong took delivery of one Alexander bodied B6R. The B6LE was initially only available as left-hand drive, but in 1995 it also became available as right-hand drive, to compete with the Dennis Dart SLF . However, after sales proved promising,
96-557: The B6 started up at Volvo's brand new bus chassis plant in Irvine , Scotland. The B6-50 length was instantly popular. The short-wheelbase B6-36 sold a few from the start, but customers soon chose the B6-41 instead. The B6-45 midicoach suffered from disappointingly low sales in the UK - by 1995, when the RHD version was withdrawn from sale, only fourteen had been built. The last one being delivered to
112-834: The B6LE completely replaced the B6 in some markets in 1997 before it was itself replaced by the B6BLE in 1999. A total of 394 B6LEs were produced for the UK between 1995 and 1999; this includes two modified vehicles used as the testbed for the then-upcoming B6BLE. The B6LE were labelled as the Volvo B6RLE in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia , Brisbane Transport purchased two B6RLE. Three were purchased by National Bus Company in Brisbane . Citybus (Hong Kong) took delivery of 20 Plaxton Pointer bodied B6LEs, with 10 being single door and 10 being double doors. There’s also 10 bodied with ALX200 that had overhead luggage racks and 30 B6LE bodied with
128-801: The Coastal Liner brand is retained as a division of Hunter Valley Buses. Since 2008, Hunter Valley Buses' services have formed Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Regions 2 and 4 . In particular, route 140 operates between the Newcastle CBD and Raymond Terrace . After the purchase of Coastal Liner in August 2018, the service area of Hunter Valley Buses expanded to include Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Region 11 . As of September 2024, Hunter Valley Buses (excluding Coastal Liner) operates 306 buses and coaches across five depots: In Region 11, as of September 2024, Hunter Valley Buses operates 29 buses and coaches from
144-555: The Fogg's Motor Service. The family business grew and held interests in many bus companies in the area. Amo's brother Sid Fogg later managed the family business before leaving the business to form Sid Fogg's in the 1950s. The Foggs family business was later managed by Amos's daughter Mavis and her husband Stewart Mordue. The Fogg/Mordue family had shared interests with the Lewis family in Rover Motors and Hunter Valley Coaches. In 1986, after
160-533: The Irvine plant was closed in 2000, production moved to Sweden. The last buses were registered as late as April 2002, but the model year on the chassis VINs reveal that they were built in 2001, waiting to be bodied. A further B6BLE was delivered for Plaxton 's Bus 2000 concept in 2004, followed by a second Bus 2000 B6BLE in 2005, but the VINs indicate that they were initially manufactured in model year 2000. A third chassis
176-636: The local Jit Luen bodywork. TD63 , 5478 cc , in-line 6 cyl. turbodiesel (1991-1995) D6A , 5478 cc , in-line 6 cyl. turbodiesel (1995-1999) Hunter Valley Buses Hunter Valley Buses is an Australian bus operator who operates bus, coach and charter services in the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales . Previously known as Blue Ribbon , it was one of the first companies to be bought by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge in 2005, now ComfortDelGro Australia . The origins of Hunter Valley Buses can be traced back to 1926 when Amos Fogg founded
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#1732876461029192-550: Was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE . In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart , and with the MAN 10.xxx HOCL and 12.xxx HOCL / 12.xxx HOCL-NL throughout Europe. When launched in 1991, it was presented as being available in several different lengths; 8.5 metres (28 feet) ( B6-36 ), 9.0 metres ( B6-41 ), 9.9 metres ( B6-50 ) and a 9.1-metre coach version ( B6-45 ). For LHD markets it
208-578: Was available for the Bus 2000 project in 2005; however, it was not required, and was instead sold to New Zealand and bodied by Kiwi Bus Builders . This chassis had 1999 as model year. In some markets, the B6BLE was followed by short-wheelbase variants of the B7RLE . D6A , 5478 cc , in-line 6 cyl. turbodiesel (1999-2001) Volvo B6LE The Volvo B6 was a 5.5-litre (1.2-imperial-gallon) engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It
224-554: Was available with a 350 mm (14 in) low-entry floor, while the RHD markets had to wait until 1995 before this option became available. Most B6s were built for the UK market, but 61 were exported to Hong Kong and some to Australia . They were also sold in mainland Europe, both in bus and in coach versions. When launched in the UK, it was marketed as the B6R, but this name would later only be used in
240-752: Was purchased by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge and rebranded as Hunter Valley Buses. In August 2007, Morisset Bus Service, Sugar Valley Coachlines and Toronto Bus Service were purchased from Robert Hertogs and consolidated into the Hunter Valley Buses operation. Toronto Bus Service used to be controlled by the Foggs until it was sold to the Hertogs family in 1960. On 1 August 2018, Coastal Liner , its Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Region 11 services and charter operations were acquired. The Region 11 services are now officially operated by Hunter Valley Buses, even though
256-562: Was purchased followed by Singleton Bus Service in March 1992. In December 1993, most of the coach operations were sold to Sid Fogg's in exchange for the latter's route services. In 1999 the Maitland, Wallsend and Raymond Terrace depots were consolidated at a new site in Thornton . In February 2000 Blue Ribbon was sold to National Bus Company with 162 buses and coaches. In October 2005 Blue Ribbon
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