VDL SB200
Encyclopedia
The VDL SB200 is a light-weight 12m citybus produced from 2001 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.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). It replaced the SB220
DAF SB220
The DAF SB220 is a city bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International in the 1980s and 1990s.It has been superseded by the DAF/VDL SB200 and SB250.-United Kingdom :*Optare Delta*Ikarus Citibus...

, the longest of the DAF bus chassis in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 before the renaming of DAF Bus International.

It is originally designed for use by Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...

 (VDL dealer in the UK) in order to save fuel over heavy-weight citybuses which are designed for Continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

 where buses carry large numbers of standing passengers, whereas in the UK they do not.

The SB200 sells very well in VDL's home market, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 mainly using VDL Berkhof bodywork. They are operated by all large transport companies in the Netherlands, Connexxion
Connexxion
Connexxion is the largest public transport bus company in the Netherlands, operating in the west, middle, east and far northern part of the country. It was formed in 1999 as result of a fusion between the public transport companies NZH, ZWN, Midnet and Oostnet. Its name is a mutation of the French...

 (including Hermes), Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport is the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia Environnement...

 and Arriva. Arriva also uses SB200 with Wright
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.-History:...

 bodywork.

In the UK sales have been slow, not helped by the increased success that Volvo
Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Göteborg....

 and Scania
Scania AB
Scania Aktiebolag , commonly referred to as Scania AB or just Scania, is a major Swedish automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles - specifically heavy trucks and buses...

 are having with heavy-weight citybuses. Apart from Arriva other notable users include Claribels in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 (which took the first bus) and Fishwick of Leyland
Leyland, Lancashire
Leyland is a town in the South Ribble borough of Lancashire, England, approximately six miles south of the city of Preston.Throughout the 20th and 21st century, the community has seen a large growth in industry, population and farming, due to the establishment of Leyland Motors, housing...

. Initially the SB200 built for the UK was only available with Wright Commander
Wright Commander
The Wright Commander is a low-floor single-deck bus body built by Wright on DAF/VDL SB200 chassis. Examples entered service in the UK between 2002 and 2007, the majority with Arriva subsidiaries...

 bodywork, but from 2006, it has been available with Plaxton
Plaxton
Plaxton is a builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough, England.-History:The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton.-Beginnings:...

 Centro
Plaxton Centro
The Plaxton Centro is a bus body designed by Bluebird Vehicles and manufactured by Plaxton. It was launched on the VDL SB120 in February 2006. The Centro was also made available on the VDL SB200 chassis in 2006. In 2007 the Centro was made available on the MAN 12.240 and the Volvo B7RLE chassis....

 (the first of these examples went to Fishwick) or Wright Pulsar
Wright Pulsar
The Wright Pulsar is a bus body built by Wrightbus for the VDL SB200 lightweight bus chassis. It is the replacement for the "Classic" style Commander, Merit and Cadet....

 (successor of the Wright Commander) bodywork.

See also

Competitors:
  • Alexander Dennis Enviro300
  • Mercedes-Benz Citaro
  • Scania L94UB
    Scania L94
    The Scania L94 is a longitudinal inclined-engined bus built by Scania AB, which was a direct replacement of Scania L113. It is used widely in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia...

  • Scania OmniCity
    Scania OmniCity
    The Scania OmniCity is an integrally-constructed transverse-engined low floor citybus available on the European market. The OmniCity is a complete product built in Poland by Scania AB, a company based in Sweden....

  • Volvo B7L
    Volvo B7L
    Volvo B7L was a low floor citybus chassis with a rear engine mounted vertically on the left of the rear overhang, it was built as a replacement for the Volvo B10L...

  • Volvo B7RLE
    Volvo B7RLE
    Volvo B7RLE is a low-floor single-deck citybus launched initially in Australia in 2001, and then in the United Kingdom in 2003 to supplement the B7L single-decker, which was unsuccessful in both countries. It is similar to the B7L's predecessor, the B10BLE...



Other VDL Bus products:
  • DB250
    VDL DB250
    The VDL DB250 is a double-decker bus sold in the UK through VDL Bus International's UK dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. A small number of DB250s have also been exported to Istanbul, Turkey.-DB250:...

  • SB120
    VDL SB120
    The VDL SB120 is a low-floor light-weight midibus produced from 1999 by VDL Bus International of the Netherlands primarily for the UK market....

  • SB250
    VDL SB250
    The VDL SB250 is a full-size low-floor city bus launched in 1997, which was designed specifically for Continental Europe market by the Dutch bus builder VDL Bus International ....

  • SB4000

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK