The
OptareOptare plc is a bus manufacturer and importer based in Leeds and Blackburn, UK. The company operates from three main business units, Bus Manufacturing, Coach Sales and Unitec....
MetroRider was a
midibusA midibus is a classification of single decker buses which are identified as neither being minibuses or full size buses, and can be anywhere between 8m and 11m long...
built by
OptareOptare plc is a bus manufacturer and importer based in Leeds and Blackburn, UK. The company operates from three main business units, Bus Manufacturing, Coach Sales and Unitec....
between 1989 and 2000. Optare based the original design on the
MCW MetroriderThe MCW Metrorider, launched by MCW at the 1986 Motor Show was a midibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths, 7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an integral bus, marking it out from its van-based rivals of the time.It was the second...
after Optare bought the rights following a decision by
MCWMetro Cammell Weymann was once a major player in transportation manufacturing in the UK and Europe. It was formed in 1932 by Weymann Motor Bodies Ltd and Metro Cammell's bus bodybuilding division to produce bus bodies....
to end bus production. This model also replaced the less successful
StarRiderThe Optare StarRider was a midibus/midicoach body produced by Optare between 1987 and 1994. It was based on a Mercedes-Benz 811D/814D chassis, with its body made from a steel frame with aluminium alloy and GPR exterior panels....
.
The MetroRider was an integral bus, which means the chassis and body were constructed as a single structure. It had many options, and was available in three lengths and two widths.
The
OptareOptare plc is a bus manufacturer and importer based in Leeds and Blackburn, UK. The company operates from three main business units, Bus Manufacturing, Coach Sales and Unitec....
MetroRider was a
midibusA midibus is a classification of single decker buses which are identified as neither being minibuses or full size buses, and can be anywhere between 8m and 11m long...
built by
OptareOptare plc is a bus manufacturer and importer based in Leeds and Blackburn, UK. The company operates from three main business units, Bus Manufacturing, Coach Sales and Unitec....
between 1989 and 2000. Optare based the original design on the
MCW MetroriderThe MCW Metrorider, launched by MCW at the 1986 Motor Show was a midibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths, 7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an integral bus, marking it out from its van-based rivals of the time.It was the second...
after Optare bought the rights following a decision by
MCWMetro Cammell Weymann was once a major player in transportation manufacturing in the UK and Europe. It was formed in 1932 by Weymann Motor Bodies Ltd and Metro Cammell's bus bodybuilding division to produce bus bodies....
to end bus production. This model also replaced the less successful
StarRiderThe Optare StarRider was a midibus/midicoach body produced by Optare between 1987 and 1994. It was based on a Mercedes-Benz 811D/814D chassis, with its body made from a steel frame with aluminium alloy and GPR exterior panels....
.
The MetroRider was an integral bus, which means the chassis and body were constructed as a single structure. It had many options, and was available in three lengths and two widths. In addition, Optare offered the option of a protruding, more substantial, destination display (blind-box), as opposed to the flat on the body destination display.
In later years, the MetroRider could be ordered with a one-piece rather than a standard two-piece windscreen which, in turn, became standard.
Among the most popular version was the basic model, with short length, standard door and no blind-box.
These buses are widely dispersed across the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and were, for example, popular with some independent operators in rural settings such as
Emsworth and DistrictEmsworth & District founded in 1977 is an independent bus operator in Hampshire and Sussex, owned by Paul and Marion Lea and their daughter Caren. Despite its name, its buses are most likely to be seen in Havant, the town neighbouring Emsworth....
and
Compass BusCompass Bus, or Compass Travel, is an independent bus and coach operator based in Durrington, Worthing, West Sussex. They operate over 50 bus services throughout West Sussex and Surrey, linking many places other bus companies do not serve. They operate commercial and contracted routes, including...
in Worthing, the latter operating the last ever MetroRider (W426 CWX), from April 2000. In its prime, the MetroRider was also sold abroad in kit form, in countries such as
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
.
Now there are a large number of MetroRiders operated by
Arriva North EastArriva North East is a division of the transport group Arriva. It is a major provider of bus services around North East England, alongside Stagecoach North East, and Go North East. The company has its origins in United Automobile Services , encompassing the current day operations of Arriva...
and are operated on long distance services such as the 723 between Durham and Darlington, the 242 between Durham and Hartlepool and the 230 between Sunderland and Hartlepool.
The successor of the MetroRider is the
low-floorA low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
Optare SoloThe Optare Solo is a low floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, UK since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance that is "so low" from the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension...
.
Electric version
An electric version of the MetroRider was produced in 1993. The transport authority placed four vehicles into service on a city centre circular service in
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
. They were operated initially by the
Oxford Bus CompanyOxford Bus Company is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England and is the trading name of City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd . It is now a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group...
but later briefly passed to
Stagecoach GroupStagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
before withdrawal owing to a cessation of subsidy. They were later used on
JerseyThe Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes the nearly uninhabited islands of the Minquiers, Écréhous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs. Together with the bailiwick of Guernsey...
and
IslayIslay , a Scottish island, known as "The Queen of the Hebrides" , is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It lies in Argyll just to the west of Jura and around north of the Irish coast, which can be seen on a clear day...
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/the-islay-wave-bus-the-worlds-first.
Natural gas version
Two MetroRiders were produced for Stagecoach Cambus in Cambridge, powered by a dedicated
CNGCompressed Natural Gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane fuel. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill .CNG is made by compressing...
engine developed by
CumminsCummins Inc. is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems...
.