Misplaced Pages

#828171

30-672: The DAF DB250 was launched in October 1991 and originally only available with Optare Spectra bodywork with 260 built, mainly for operators in the United Kingdom. 25 DAF DB250s with Optare Spectra bodywork were delivered to London Buses in 1992, with all but one delivered to the London Central subsidiary with a single door arrangement; Metroline received a single dual door example for evaluating replacements for MCW Metrobuses on route 16 . Capital Logistics also received

60-661: A Wright alternative arose because Arriva wished to buy both the Wright body and DB250 chassis. Unable to do so, it instead purchased over 100 Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TLs . Wright subsequently developed the Pulsar Gemini in 2003 in order to win more orders from Arriva. Arriva London purchased and acquired 632 DB250s between 1998 and 2005 with Alexander ALX400 (389), Plaxton President (110) and Wright Pulsar Gemini (133) bodywork. Arriva Midlands and Arriva Yorkshire also purchased examples. The DB250LF chassis

90-591: A delayed order of six dual door Spectras in 1999 for their operation of route 60 . 31 left-hand drive examples were exported to Turkey in 1994, with 26 being delivered to IETT in Istanbul and the remaining five being delivered to İzulaş in İzmir . The DAF DB250 later became available with Northern Counties Palatine II bodywork in 1994. Cowie London purchased 13 Palatine IIs on the DB250 chassis, while Harris Bus would also acquire fleets of DB250s. The DB250LF,

120-522: A flat floor ranging between 760 and 1,370 mm (30 and 54 in) above the top of the railhead (ATOR). To enhance accessibility and optimize dwell times , railway platform heights at stations are sometimes standardised to allow level boarding for commuters on high platforms. According to one definition, level boarding means the gap between the platform and the floor of the track varies by no more than 76 mm (3 in) horizontally and 16 mm ( 5 ⁄ 8  in) vertically. Level boarding

150-503: A new underground light rail line is equipped with platforms for low-floor trams and will be permanently operated with low-floor vehicles. This form of design and construction will avoid the need for subsequent rebuilding of stops on tram routes, even though both cities already have underground lines with high-floor platforms. Buses in the UK were traditionally step-entrance built, however this has created problems for people who use wheelchairs as

180-434: A railcar more rapidly if they do not have to climb stairs to enter, reducing dwell time at a stop, and reducing overall travel time. In addition, high-platform railcars have more floor space for passengers if space is not required for stairways, and wheelwells needed to accommodate train bogies . Because bilevel rail cars have two passenger levels within a standard height rail car, the lower level, where passengers board,

210-507: A result, larger gasket windows would come as standard. Reading Buses took delivery the first production model of the Spectra, going on to purchase an additional 25 more until 2001. London Buses would follow by taking delivery of 25 Spectras between 1992 and early 1993 as replacements for AEC Routemasters , with all but one delivered to the London Central subsidiary for use on London Buses route 3 ; Metroline would take delivery of

240-789: A single Spectra from this order built to dual-door specification for evaluation on route 16 . East Yorkshire Motor Services , meanwhile, took delivery of a single Spectra in September 1992 that was similarly used to evaluate the type for inclusion in the company's fleet replacement programme. The first two low-floor Optare Spectras on DAF DB250LF chassis were handed over to the National Express Group in October 1997, being allocated to Travel West Midlands and Travel Dundee respectively. These were followed by 20 more Spectras being delivered to Travel West Midlands to upgrade West Midlands bus route 50 . Wilts & Dorset were

270-423: A total of 71 passengers, as well as being included with a pushchair rack, and was equipped with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system that could be monitored from the driver's cab. Additional options included soft trim, elements, tinted side windows, internal heating and air conditioning. In 1995, the low-floor DAF DB250LF chassis was launched. Two years later, Optare launched an updated low-floor version of

300-717: Is also known as stepless entry since passengers do not have to negotiate a staircase to board the passenger car. For newly constructed routes, routes primarily located in tunnels, or routes with a dedicated right of way and enough space, high platforms are usually preferred, since high-floor vehicles are cheaper to manufacture, and have better operating characteristics. High platforms do have significant advantages beyond level boarding for wheelchair accessibility. Physically disabled passengers (e.g. those using wheelchairs or who have difficulties climbing stairs) also benefit, as do travelers pulling wheeled luggage or small folding shopping carts. Even physically non-disabled passengers can board

330-430: Is generally lower than a conventional high-floor car. Hence level boarding with a bilevel car is accomplished using a lower platform, as low as 460 mm (18 in) ATOR. Because tram/light-rail/streetcar vehicles often share loading gauge sizes with heavy rail vehicles, these passenger vehicles usually also use high floor designs. Existing tram/streetcar/light-rail networks generally feature low platforms as many of

SECTION 10

#1732787230829

360-566: Is the city railway in Cologne; in the mid-1990s, it was decided to divide that city's partially high-platform network into two separate networks: high-floor and low-floor. In contrast with some light rail underground lines, which are often provisionally equipped with low platforms or with tracks laid on raised ballast, there are new developments in the German cities of Düsseldorf (Wehrhahn line) and Dortmund (east–west line). In each of these cities,

390-544: The low-floor version of the DB250, was the first low-floor double-decker bus chassis available in the United Kingdom. The DB250LF is readily identified by the centrally-exiting exhaust at the rear, which can cause problems with extreme changes of slope. A revised version of DB250LF was launched in 2004 as the DB250+. The design has received a number of modifications, one of which is the use of independent front suspension. The first DB250LFs received Optare Spectra body, which

420-402: The Spectra built on the chassis, the United Kingdom's first low-floor double-decker bus. Though sharing many features with the step-entrance model, the new Spectra featured a longer wheelbase, allowing for an extra 17 seats in single-door configuration, and the body's height was lowered to 4.17 metres (13.7 ft), making the bus suitable for services requiring lowbridge double-deck buses . As

450-545: The buses are not wheelchair accessible, as well as being somewhat difficult for passengers with reduced mobility and parents who may be carrying prams and pushchairs. Despite low-floor buses first being phased into the UK in 1994, a large number of step-entrance buses remained in use as well as being manufactured. However with the popularity of low-floor buses expanding by the late 1990's due to their easy accessibility for elderly passengers with reduced mobility, passengers with disabilities and parents carrying prams and pushchairs,

480-542: The city's mayor was impressed by the liveries of London Central's Spectras. Other operators of the Optare Spectra include Eastbourne Buses , who took on 12 Spectras in 1997, Capital Logistics , who received a delayed order of six dual-door Spectras in 1999 for use on London Buses route 60 , and Isle of Man Transport , who had three low-floor Spectras delivered in 2000. Abus of Bristol 's first low-floor Optare Spectra entered service on 4 February 1998, becoming

510-890: The end of their economic or maintainable life. To get around this, a wheelchair compliant step-entrance bus introduced by Wrightbus, the Eclipse SchoolRun was produced in 2006, fitted with a wheelchair lift to allow wheelchair-bound passengers onto the bus, but no further wheelchair compliant step-entrance bus designs were produced. Due to the Terms Of The Disability Discrimination Act requiring all buses in public service to be wheelchair accessible, non-compliant step-entrance single deckers and their low floor counterparts were outlawed after 31 December 2015, with non-compliant step-entrance double deckers and their low floor counterparts following suit after 31 December 2016, however exemptions apply for

540-507: The first low-floor, fully accessible double-decker bus to enter service in the United Kingdom hours ahead of the Travel West Midlands Spectra. Production of the Optare Spectra ceased when the final two rolled off the line in late 2006, with the last Optare Spectra being built for Anglian Bus . [REDACTED] Media related to Optare Spectra at Wikimedia Commons High-floor High-floor describes

570-404: The interior floor of these vehicles. The term is used in contrast with low-floor designs, which offer a decreased floor and entry height above the street surface. Since low-floor designs generally were developed after high-floor vehicles, the older high-floor design is sometimes also known as conventional or the “traditional” design. A rail vehicle of conventional or high-floor design usually has

600-473: The interior flooring of commuter vehicles primarily used in public transport such as trains , light rail cars and other rail vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses . Interior floor height is generally measured above the street surface or above the top of the rail. High-floor designs usually result from packaging requirements: mechanical items such as axles, motors, crankshafts, and/or transmissions, or luggage storage spaces are traditionally placed under

630-639: The largest operator of Optare Spectras in both step-entrance and low-floor format, ordering 78 from the early 1990s to 2002. Arriva Yorkshire , the second-largest operator of the type purchased a total of 42 low-floor Spectras, purchasing 18 in 1999 and another 24 in 2002. 31 left-hand drive dual door Spectras were produced for operators in Turkey, with 26 being produced for IETT in Istanbul and five being produced for İzulaş in İzmir . İzmir's Spectras were finished in London Buses red and tapegrey livery as

SECTION 20

#1732787230829

660-550: The limited use of non-compliant heritage buses on vintage bus services, as well as Transport For London's Heritage Routemasters due to their service being overlaid on the high-frequency low-floor Route 15. In San Francisco , the Muni Metro light-rail system, which has both on-street and underground stations, uses a combination of high and low platforms, and the vehicles feature retractable stairs to accommodate both platform types. For on-street stations, stairs are deployed within

690-541: The production of step-entrance buses slowed, with the last ever non-compliant step-entrance bus design being the double-decked East Lancs Pyoneer in 1997. The production of step-entrance buses in the UK almost fully ceased by 31 December 2000, with the legal requirement for new buses produced to be wheelchair accessible, which forced bus manufacturers to concentrate on making low-floor buses, however bus operators were still allowed to order secondhand non-compliant step-entrance buses and run them on their services until they reach

720-550: The retrofitting of high platforms on existing routes, while still providing improved accessibility. Although low-floor vehicles began to be developed in the 1920s, the first low-floor tram is generally recognized as the Duewag / ACM Vevey design of 1984 deployed in Geneva, providing a floor height of 480 mm (19 in) ATOR. Tourist coaches generally have very high floors, sometimes greater than 1,000 mm (39 in) above

750-709: The road surface, in order to have ample room for luggage under the floor. Since boarding must be allowed directly from flat ground, long and steep staircases are needed. Transit buses also use high floors to provide mechanical clearances for solid axles, but the use of dropped axles has enabled the creation of low-floor buses and by 2008 in the United States, the majority of new transit bus orders were for low-floor types. Today, in Germany, all rapid transit railways, most commuter trains , and many light rail vehicles operate as high-floor networks. A notable exception

780-440: The stations or stops are in the streets. The high construction/conversion cost of high platforms and the difficulty of making high platforms compatible with other features of the urban landscape are a significant obstacle to converting tram networks these into urban or commuter rail networks with high platforms. These problems were a major motivation for the development of low-floor trams , which allow transit operators to avoid

810-422: Was a double-decker bus body built on both the step entrance DAF DB250 and low-floor DB250LF chassis between 1991 and 2006. The Spectra was developed as a joint United Bus project between Optare and DAF , based on the designs of the successful MCW Metrobus , the design rights of which had been jointly purchased by United Bus in 1989 following the collapse of Metro Cammell Weymann . The Spectra body

840-722: Was also adopted by Wrightbus for the development of its hybrid-powered double-decker bus , the Wright Pulsar Gemini HEV . Production of the DB250 ended in 2006, although examples continued entering service until 2008. Its successor, the Wright Gemini 2 integral double decker with VDL chassis modules, was launched in November 2008. [REDACTED] Media related to DAF DB250 at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Media related to VDL DB250 at Wikimedia Commons Optare Spectra The Optare Spectra

870-427: Was constructed on the DB250 chassis, capable of kneeling 100 millimetres (3.9 in) down to the kerbside for access to a single entrance step, on an Alusuisse aluminium frame. The design is notable for the exclusion of a lower deck rear window, replaced by a lift-up flap above the engine bay covering the Spectra's air filter and coolant expansion tank . The step-entrance Spectra in single-door format typically seated

900-691: Was sold exclusively on the DB250. The first low-floor variant entered service on 4 February 1998 with Abus of Bristol , narrowly beating a Travel West Midlands DB250LF to operate the first low floor double-decker bus service in the UK. Travel West Midlands would later go on to order 20 more Spectras in 1999. Additional operators of the DB250LF with Optare Spectra bodywork included Reading Buses , who purchased 26, and Wilts & Dorset , who purchased 78. Later DB250 chassis were fitted with Alexander ALX400 , Plaxton President , East Lancs Myllennium Lowlander and Wright Pulsar Gemini bodies. The development of

#828171