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VDL SB120

 
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VDL SB120
 
 
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The VDL SB120 (previously known as the DAF SB120) is a low-floor light-weight midibus
Midibus

A midibus is a classification of single decker buses which are identified as neither being minibuses or bus, and can be anywhere between 8m and 11m long....
 produced from 1999 by VDL Bus International
VDL Bus International

VDL Bus Chassis is a Netherlands-based bus builder which originated from the bus-building business of DAF Trucks.Originally named DAF Bus International after being separated from the truck-building business of DAF, it joined the United Bus in 1990....
 (formerly DAF Bus International) of the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 primarily for the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 market.

The SB120 is similar to its major competitor Dennis Dart SLF. Powered by a Cummins
Cummins

Cummins Inc. is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel engines and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems....
 B Series 6-cylinder Euro II engine (later Cummins ISBe 4-cylinder Euro III engine), the SB120 is available in lengths from 8.5m to 10.8m, similar to the Dart SLF.






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The VDL SB120 (previously known as the DAF SB120) is a low-floor light-weight midibus
Midibus

A midibus is a classification of single decker buses which are identified as neither being minibuses or bus, and can be anywhere between 8m and 11m long....
 produced from 1999 by VDL Bus International
VDL Bus International

VDL Bus Chassis is a Netherlands-based bus builder which originated from the bus-building business of DAF Trucks.Originally named DAF Bus International after being separated from the truck-building business of DAF, it joined the United Bus in 1990....
 (formerly DAF Bus International) of the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 primarily for the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 market.

The SB120 is similar to its major competitor Dennis Dart SLF. Powered by a Cummins
Cummins

Cummins Inc. is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel engines and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems....
 B Series 6-cylinder Euro II engine (later Cummins ISBe 4-cylinder Euro III engine), the SB120 is available in lengths from 8.5m to 10.8m, similar to the Dart SLF. It was initially only available with the Wright Cadet
Wright Cadet

The Wright Cadet was a midibus body built by British coachbuilder Wrightbus, solely on the VDL SB120; it was sold via VDL Bus dealer Arriva Bus & Coach....
 body, built by Wrightbus
Wrightbus

Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright....
 in Ballymena
Ballymena

Ballymena is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the United Kingdom Census 2001....
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
, but since the end of 2005, the Plaxton Centro
Plaxton Centro

The Plaxton Centro is a bus body manufactured by Plaxton. It was launched on the VDL SB120 in February 2006. It has since been made available on the VDL SB180, VDL SB200, MAN 12.240, MAN 14.220 chassis and more recently the full size Volvo B7RLE....
 body is also offered.

Unlike the larger VDL SB200
VDL SB200

The VDL SB200 is a light-weight 12m citybus produced from 2001 by VDL Bus International . It replaced the DAF SB220, the longest of the DAF bus chassis in the United Kingdom before the renaming of DAF Bus International....
, the SB120 has found a sizeable market, especially with Arriva
Arriva

Arriva plc is a United Kingdom-based international public transport operator, headquartered in Sunderland, County Durham. It has bus and/or rail operations in Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the United Kingdom....
 (VDL importer in the UK) in both the UK and the Netherlands. Other sizeable customers include Go North East
Go North East

Go North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland....
, Birmingham Coach Company and East Thames Buses
East Thames Buses

East Thames Buses is the only government owned bus operator of London Buses.In 2008, East Thames awarded their exclusive contract for bus-side advertising to Titan outdoor for five years....
.

The SB120 was also sold in UK by Volvo
Volvo Buses

Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of Volvo which became an independent division in 1968.It is the world's second largest bus manufacturer, with a complete range of heavy buses for passenger transportation....
 on the Wright Cadet body. This version, however, was sold as the Merit and does not carry either Wrightbus, VDL or Volvo branding. This version has been sold to several operators including Yellow Buses, Bournemouth. However, with the change to Euro IV emissions from October 2006, Volvo and VDL have ended this arrangement.

The SB120 was also sold for use in the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
. In 2002, eight SB120 with Wright Cadet dual door bodywork were delivered to Arriva in the Netherlands for citybus service in Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden

Leeuwarden is the capital city of the Netherlands province of Friesland. It is situated in the north of the country....
.

The SB120 chassis was also adopted by Wrightbus for the development of its hybrid-powered midibus, Wright Electrocity
Wright Electrocity

The Wright Electrocity is a type of hybrid bus built by Wrightbus. There were originally two prototypes, one was based on Dennis Dart SLF chassis and the other based on DAF SB120 chassis, which have been demonstrated by operators around the United Kingdom....
.

The successor to the SB120 is the VDL SB180.

See also


Other VDL buses sold in the UK:
  • DB250
    VDL DB250

    The VDL DB250 is a double-decker bus sold in the United Kingdom through VDL Bus International's UK dealer Arriva. Apart from the UK, a small number of DB250 had been sold for service in Istanbul, Turkey....
  • SB200
    VDL SB200

    The VDL SB200 is a light-weight 12m citybus produced from 2001 by VDL Bus International . It replaced the DAF SB220, the longest of the DAF bus chassis in the United Kingdom before the renaming of DAF Bus International....
  • SB4000


Competitors:
  • Dennis Dart SLF
  • MAN 14.220
  • Optare Solo
    Optare Solo

    The Optare Solo is a low floor midibus manufactured by Optare in Leeds, United Kingdom since 1997. The name "Solo" is a play on the low-floor status of the bus, the manufacturer believing its vehicle having an entrance "so low" to the floor, namely 200 mm with kneeling suspension....


External links