New City-Bus to be manufactured in North East
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• City Vehicle Engineering, a new company founded by four former Midlands public transport executives, aims to build 500 mini-buses a year, based on a design bought from SteyrDaimler-Puch. The company is based at Shildon, in Durham.
Commercial director Barry Connor says: "The CVE CityBus is front-wheel drive, which allows a tremendously low floor level. Passengers have to step up only 30cm, or 15cm from the curb."
A range of engines and transmissions will be available for the City-Bus; the most popular driveline is expected to be a Daimler-Benz diesel 0M364 engine with a manual or automatic ZF gearbox.
City-Buses will have an average of 23 seats and a luggage pen. The overall length of the body will be 6.3 metres on a wheelbase of 3.4 metres. Bodies will be based on square cross-section steel frames which are designed to withstand a roll-over accident.
Connor claims the CVE CityBus will have a much longer life than its competition: similar Steyr-Dairriler-Puch minis are still in operation in Austria after 15 years' service. "We have a sound knowledge of the operator's needs and what we are offering is built-in long life at a low price," he says. The first City-Buses will come off the production line in August; they will cost between £15,000 and £20,000.