Volvo B10L
Encyclopedia
The Volvo B10L is a rear-engined, low-floor single-deck city bus chassis built by Volvo
Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Göteborg....

 between c. 1993 and c. 2005. An articulated version of the B10L, known as the B10LA, was also produced.

United Kingdom

The B10L was available in the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1994 and 1999, with a choice of two types of bodywork, the Alexander
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder and operater based in Falkirk.-History:Walter Alexander, notice a lack expasion by the Falkirk and District Tramways Company's especially in to Grangemouth which never hdd a tram line. In 1913 Alexander's Motor Service was created to...

 (Belfast) Ultra and the Wright Liberator
Wright Liberator
The Wright Liberator is a low-floor single-deck bus body built on Volvo B10L chassis by Wright.Around 146 were built between 1996 and 1999. It was discontinued in favour of the Renown on Volvo B10BLE chassis, which in turn was superseded by the Eclipse series, on Volvo B7L and later B7RLE chassis,...

. The Alexander Ultra body was based on the Swedish design produced by Säffle (a subsidiary of Volvo), who built the body on the first B10L imported to Britain. The Wright
Wrightbus
Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.-History:...

 bodywork proved slightly more popular.

In the UK, the articulated B10LA was bodied exclusively by Wrights for First
FirstGroup plc
FirstGroup plc is a public transport company, registered in Scotland at its headquarters in Aberdeen, operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Canada and the United States...

 subsidiaries in Manchester (15), Leeds (15) and Glasgow (10). The Wright body for the B10LA is named Fusion
Wright Fusion
The Wright Fusion is a low floor articulated single-deck bus body built by Wright on Volvo B10LA chassis. It was the articulated version of the Wright Liberator.The only customer for the Fusion was FirstGroup for its Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow subsidiaries...

.

The B10L enjoyed limited success in Britain. In 1997 the Volvo B10BLE
Volvo B10BLE
The Volvo B10BLE is a low-entry city bus chassis which was popular in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Australia. It was launched around 1992 with the engine mounted on the rear overhang of the bus. It was the successor of the citybus version of Volvo B10B and is used as a base for single-deck...

 was introduced to the British market, and this chassis rapidly became more popular. The B10BLE was cheaper than the B10L, and shared more in common with the step-entrance B10B
Volvo B10B
The Volvo B10B was a rear-engined high-floor bus chassis manufactured by Volvo Buses from 1990 to 2002. It superseded the Volvo B10R and its successor was the Volvo B12B....

, examples of which were already owned by many of its customers.

Customers

  • The largest fleet of Volvo B10L buses in the UK was purchased by Travel West Midlands (now National Express West Midlands
    National Express West Midlands
    National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...

    ), consisting of 80 conventional diesel-powered chassis with Wright Liberator bodywork, and 14 CNG
    Compressed natural gas
    Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...

    -powered buses with Alexander Ultra bodies. The Alexander Ultra models are now converted to run on conventional diesel, with seven having been transferred to the training fleet before being returned to normal passenger use to replace Volvo B10Bs withdrawn from the fleet.

  • The second largest fleet was purchased by Translink
    Translink (Northern Ireland)
    Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....

    , whose Citybus (later Metro)
    Metro (Belfast)
    Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways....

     and Ulsterbus
    Ulsterbus
    Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink , which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast and Flexibus.-Services:Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus...

     divisions acquired sixty new, plus a further two ex-demonstrators. All have Alexander Ultra bodies. There have been a small number of withdrawals but most remain largely intact as of January 2007, operating services in the Belfast and Derry areas. The B10Ls with Alexander Ultra bodies have proved unpopular with the drivers and the engineering due to poor electrics.

  • Travel Dundee
    Travel Dundee
    National Express Dundee is a bus operator based in Dundee, Scotland and operates services mainly within Dundee City. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of National Express Group.-History:...

    , formerly Tayside Public Transport, now known as National Express Dundee, received 30 Wright-bodied examples which began to enter service in February 1997.


Other UK operators who purchased B10Ls include:
  • CMT Buses of Aintree, Liverpool (later part of Stagecoach Merseyside
    Stagecoach Merseyside
    Stagecoach Merseyside is a major operator of bus services in the English city of Liverpool and in the surrounding area of Merseyside. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group...

    ) - 10 Wrights
  • First Greater Manchester North (Superbus branded routes, Wigan) - 5 Wrights
  • First Glasgow - 10 Wrights
  • First Northampton - 9 Ultras (of which 6 CNG-fuelled)
  • Timeline, Wigan - 6 Ultras


The pioneer Säffle-bodied B10L was new to Mainline (now First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire
First South Yorkshire is the largest bus operator in South Yorkshire, England. As a division of FirstGroup the company's legal name was, for a time, Mainline which operated it between 1993 and 1998, following the sale South Yorkshire Transport to its employees.-History:SYT was eventually sold to...

) but they did not order any further examples and quickly disposed of it. As of November 2006 it was being used around Lincoln by Stagecoach subsidiary RoadCar
Stagecoach in Lincolnshire
Stagecoach Lincolnshire is a bus company, formerly known as Lincolnshire RoadCar, which runs services throughout Lincolnshire.Stagecoach in Lincolnshire is the trading name of the Lincolnshire RoadCar Company Limited, which is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and part of its East Midlands...

. Ironically, the 15 Wright-bodied examples in the FirstGroup are all due to be transferred to First South Yorkshire.

Ireland

Eleven Wright-bodied B10Ls are operated by Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...

 in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

, and sister CIÉ
CIE
-Organizations:* Cambridge International Examinations, an international examination board* Cleveland Institute of Electronics, a private technical and engineering educational institution — the International Commission on Illumination...

 company Dublin Bus
Dublin Bus
Dublin Bus is a public transport operator in Ireland. It operates an extensive bus network of 172 radial, cross-city and peripheral routes and 18 night routes in the city of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area. The company, established in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann which is...

 purchased five Alexander-bodied B10Ls for use in Dublin. A sixth, experimental LPG-powered, vehicle was leased and later returned.

Finland

Helsingin Bussiliikenne has 41 Volvo B10L buses with Carrus City U bodies purchased between 1995 and 1999. 21 of these are gas-powered.
Pohjolan Liikenne
Pohjolan Liikenne
Oy Pohjolan Liikenne Ab is the road services division of the state-owned VR Group. It is a major bus and road haulage operator in Finland.-Freight:The company has three freight companies / business divisions:...

 has bought four Volvo B10L buses with Lahti 402 bodies in 1999.

Tampereen kaupunkiliikenne has eight articulated Volvo B10LA buses with Carrus City U bodies bought between 1996–1998 and in 2008.
Jyväskylän Liikenne has 29 Volvo B10L buses with Carrus City U bodies built between 1997 and 1998. Part of these buses have been bought from Kuopion Liikenne.
Koiviston Auto has five Volvo B10L buses with Carrus City U bodies bought in 1997 and 1998.
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