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CVE weighs up 33-seater Omni
Page 25
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• City Vehicle Engineering (CVE) is considering manufacturing a bigger version of its Omni minibus seating between 30 and 33 passengers.
Commercial director Grant Lockhart says the idea has not had official company approval but several feasibility studies have been carried out.
One of the main selling features of the Omni minibus has been its low (315inm) entrance step and flat floor.
En order to overcome the problems of bigger wheels on a new midibus version, CVE says it would incorporate air suspension, allowing the vehicle to "kneel" by the kerb.
Pneumatic suspension is already available on the Omni welfare bus, allowing the rear of the vehicle to drop to within a close distance of the ground.
Lockhart believes a 33seater Omni could help the firm's flagging sales to PSV operators. Only 10% of its business is with bus operators.
"There are no accessible 33seaters on the market. All models have very high floors," says Lockhart.
The company is also developing a mobile workshop version of the Omni, "which will give people enough room to stand up and work inside the vehicle." An ambulance derivative is also being manufactured.
"People travelling in an ambulance usually have something wrong with them, so why toss them about like a packet of cornflakes," says Lockhart.