Low-Floor Single-Deckers

Written by an expert in buses. Fully illustrated with colour images. Part of Britain's Buses Series.

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For years, passengers with disabilities, wheelchair users and parents with children in buggies were unable to use single-deck buses with steep steps leading to a high floor. However, in the 1980s, a new breed of bus was being developed, with stepless entrances and flat floors. These were first seen in the UK in 1992, and gradually, operators moved away from older single-deckers as new models became available. These were often adaptations of existing models from mainland Europe, but UK-based manufacturers like Dennis, Optare and Wright have developed simpler and cheaper models tailored for the home market, the most notable being the best-selling Dennis Dart, which developed into the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 range. Where once every new low-floor single-decker was invariably diesel-engined, in the early 2000s, environmental concerns led engineers to rethink the concept, first with diesel-electric hybrids, then gas buses, battery electric buses and now hydrogen-powered buses. There are signs that diesel models are on the way out as new zero-emission models are becoming increasingly popular. With over 150 images, this book traces the development of low-floor single-deckers from the first tentative steps 30 years ago, up to the latest gas, electric and hydrogen models.