The
Dennis Jubilant was a front engine double decker bus chassis built by
DennisDennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
between 1977 and 1981. It was specifically designed for contemporary operating environment (hilly roads and "one-man-operation" with a farebox) in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
The chassis design featured a set-back front axle, which enabled the front door to be located in front of the front axle, and a strengthened chassis frame.
The
Dennis Jubilant was a front engine double decker bus chassis built by
DennisDennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
between 1977 and 1981. It was specifically designed for contemporary operating environment (hilly roads and "one-man-operation" with a farebox) in
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
The chassis design featured a set-back front axle, which enabled the front door to be located in front of the front axle, and a strengthened chassis frame. It could be fitted with Gardner 6LXB engine and Voith D851 automatic gearbox.
The orders
Kowloon Motor BusThe Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...
(KMB) received four Dennis Jubilant prototypes for evaluation, they were fitted with KMB's own bodywork (utilising parts from British Aluminium Company) and entered service in 1977/1978. After the trial of the prototypes, KMB introduced 209 Jubilants with
AlexanderWalter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder based in Falkirk.-History:In 1922, the founder of the company, Walter Alexander, decided that it would be beneficial to make buses for his own bus company , so he, with the help of his son, launched W...
KB bodywork between 1979 and 1981, and 150 Jubilants with
Duple MetsecDuple Metsec is a former bus bodywork builder based in West Midlands of the United Kingdom, which usually supplied body kits for assembly in the overseas....
bodywork between 1981 and 1982.
China Motor BusChina Motor Bus Company Ltd. , often abbreviated as CMB, was the first motor bus company in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-decker buses to Hong Kong Island....
(CMB) in Hong Kong ordered 30 Dennis Jubilants with Alexander CB bodywork, they entered service in 1980.
One Jubilant chassis was delivered to
Cape TownCape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
and was fitted with bodywork supplied by Bus Bodies (South Africa) Limited.
Air-conditioned Jubilant
Kowloon Motor Bus also received one air-conditioned Jubilant coach with Alexander KB bodywork and put it into service in 1980. The air conditioner was driven by a separate engine mounted at the rear. However, the air conditioning was proved unreliable and was removed in 1983. The coach was downgraded to a bus few years later.
Withdrawal
China Motor Bus wrote off one of its Dennis Jubilants (fleet number DS14) after the bus was destroyed by fire in 1993. The other 29 buses were transferred to
New World First BusNew World First Bus Services Limited , abbreviated as First Bus and "NWFB", was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Bus's franchise on 1 September 1998 to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus...
on 1 September 1998 after the franchise of CMB was terminated, they were replaced by new buses before September 1999.
Kowloon Motor Bus also had two of its Jubilants prematurely withdrawn, and in 1994 KMB started to withdraw the rest of its Jubilants. During the process of withdrawal, some of the Jubilants took over the role of the
Leyland Victory Mk2Leyland Victory Mk2 is a front-engine double-decker bus chassis built by Leyland between 1978 and 1981. Like its competitor Dennis Jubilant, it was specifically designed for contemporary operating environment in Hong Kong.The chassis was developed from the Guy Victory J, which was also chosen by...
(the competitor of Dennis Jubilant) in the fleet. The last bus was withdrawn in January 2000.
Trivia
- The Dennis Jubilant was also known as "duck" in Hong Kong because the Alexander
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder based in Falkirk.-History:In 1922, the founder of the company, Walter Alexander, decided that it would be beneficial to make buses for his own bus company , so he, with the help of his son, launched W...
-bodied Jubilants looked like the Leyland Victory Mk2Leyland Victory Mk2 is a front-engine double-decker bus chassis built by Leyland between 1978 and 1981. Like its competitor Dennis Jubilant, it was specifically designed for contemporary operating environment in Hong Kong.The chassis was developed from the Guy Victory J, which was also chosen by...
which was also known as "chicken" in Hong Kong.
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