Everything about The Vdl Db250 totally explained
The
VDL DB250 (launched as the
DAF DB250 in 1991) is a
double-decker bus sold in the
UK through
VDL Bus International's UK dealer
Arriva Bus & Coach. Apart from the UK, a small number of DB250 had been sold for service in
Istanbul,
Turkey.
The original DB250 was sold on a variety of bodies, including the
Optare Spectra and
Northern Counties Palatine. The original design was based on the
MCW Metrobus for which Optare and DAF Bus International (then VDL) bought the rights after
MCW decided to end bus production.
The DB250
LF, the
Low
Floor version of the DB250 chassis, is perhaps more well known as the first low floor double-decker bus chassis in the UK. The DB250LF is readily identified by the centrally-exiting exhaust at the rear, which can cause problems with extreme changes of slope. The new version of DB250LF was launched in 2004 which is officially known as
DB250+. The design has received a number of modifications, one of which is the use of independent front suspension.
The first DB250LFs were bodied by
Optare, with the modified Spectra body which was sold exclusively on the DB250. Later the
Alexander ALX400,
Plaxton President,
East Lancs Myllennium Lowlander and
Wright Pulsar Gemini (which was almost identical to the
Eclipse Gemini sold on the
Volvo B7TL chassis) also became available. The development of a Wright alternative arose because
Arriva wished to buy both the Wright body and VDL chassis. Unable to do so, Arriva took delivery of over 100 Wright-bodied Volvo B7TLs. Wright subsequently developed the Pulsar Gemini in order to win more orders from Arriva.
The low floor variant entered service in 1997 with AB Buses of
Bristol, which narrowly beat a
Travel West Midlands DB250LF from being the UK's first low-floor double-decker bus.
Despite the DB250LF arriving early to the market, DAF had always struggled to find orders. Travel West Midlands (TWM) ordered 20, for example, but after
Dennis and
Volvo entered the market with the
Trident 2 and
B7TL respectively, TWM never ordered any more. Despite this DB250s are quite numberable, by far the biggest number owned by the operator
Arriva, mostly for its
London subsidiary, but a number of the type can be found with
Arriva Midlands and
Arriva Yorkshire on both the East Lancs body and unusually on the Wright Pulsar Gemini body, these being some of few Pulsar Gemini single-door bodies. Apart from Arriva, other sizeable operators are Travel West Midlands and
Wilts and Dorset.
Production of the DB250 ended in 2006, but still with examples entering service in the UK in 2008. Its successor, a VDL/Wright integral double decker, was announced in December 2007 and expected to be launched in 2008.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Vdl Db250'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://vdl_db250.totallyexplained.com">VDL DB250 Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
