Mercedes-Benz Sprinters provide a lifeline

Elderly and infirm residents of East Dunbartonshire are travelling in style and safety, in a quartet of new Mercedes-Benz minibuses.

East Dunbartonshire Council has added four Mercedes-Benz Sprinters to its fleet. Supplied by Glasgow dealer Western Commercial, each has been converted by Bluebird Vehicles, of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, to carry 16 passengers.

The Sprinters are used to collect people from their homes and ferry them to council-run day centres where they can enjoy a hot meal and some company.

“It’s an important service that prevents people being stuck in their own homes all day, and really improves their quality of life,” said Councillor John Dempsey, Vice Convener of the council’s Development & Infrastructure Committee, “and the Sprinters are the ideal vehicles for the job.”

All 5.0-tonne 513CDI Extra-long models, the new minibuses are fitted with tail-lifts and are fully wheelchair-accessible. Power comes from clean, ‘green’ Euro 5 common-rail turbodiesel engines – Mercedes-Benz was the first van manufacturer to meet the latest round of EU emissions limits.

Councillor Dempsey continued: “We stood down some older vehicles to make way for our new Sprinters and, as a result, every one of our 14 accessible buses is now a Mercedes-Benz.

“Experience has proved the Sprinter to be superbly reliable and comfortable, which explains why it’s so popular with our staff as well as service users. It’s also one of the safest vehicles on the road and keenly priced too, while the support we receive from Western Commercial and Mercedes-Benz is excellent.”