Mercedes 30,000 miles on
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The two Mercedes-Benz 0.305 buses specially-bodied for the PTE by Northern Counties and put on the road last year have just returned to Greater Manchester after a spell with Lancashire United. They have now covered something in the order of 30,000 miles each. Last week's visit provided my first opportunity to ride on the vehicles in service on an arduous route from Oldham to Uppermill. I was impressed with the overall sophistication of these vehicles which it is reported have performed very well. So far, however, there are no detailed fuel consumption figures available.
On the long climb out of Oldham the bus fairly romped away with a remarkable lack of noise or fuss even though it is not claimed to be especially quietened. Gear changes on the twostage transmission were first rate.
The body — of a design which is still unique — seemed to have stood up well to service life. Only a rattling emergency door handle provided a source of vibration.
The suspension coped well with some nasty potholes and the vehicle as a whole gave a good account of itself. Clearly this "chassis" and body combination have a considerable potential for UK use.