Solos are flagships of re-launched Connect 2 Wiltshire network

Ahead of the re-launch and re-branding in September of its Wigglybus demand-responsive local bus services as Connect 2 Wiltshire, the County Council has taken delivery of three Optare Solo SEs.

At 21 seats, the Solos will be some of the largest vehicles in Wiltshire’s demand-responsive fleet, which currently consists of over 20 vehicles from five-seater accessible MPVs upwards.

Connect 2 Wiltshire results from a comprehensive review by the County Council of the demand-responsive element of its public transport policy by Loughborough University. The outcome is the introduction of a re-modelled network of six flexible bus routes let on five-year contracts to local operators participating in the scheme and an expansion of the flexible taxi style service that the County Council were already running. Existing schemes, including the innovative Wigglybus service, will be incorporated into the network under the new name.

The Solos will be used on the more heavily patronised routes and will operate on a scheduled hourly basis, six days a week. Each of the buses is equipped with Mobisoft’s MobiRoute equipment through which the driver can be informed of any pick-ups on his route 20 minutes before departure.

This GPS based system will then direct him or her direct to the pick-up point where the passenger, who has booked through the call centre, is waiting. The driver can register passengers onto the bus and keep the call centre informed of pick-ups by using the touch screen.

Tim Reynolds, Passenger Transport Development Manager at Wiltshire County Council, says that the Solo SE is exactly right for this type of service. “The popularity of our demand-responsive services required additional passenger capacity, particularly at peak times. At the same time we are constrained by route issues, particularly narrow country roads and lanes.

“With the introduction by Optare of the Solo SE we found a bus that is absolutely right for our needs. It’s quick and nippy as well as being short and narrow, all of which make it ideal for a rural service. It has all the easy-access features for which the Solo is renowned and it’s also a bus with a bit of character, which we believe will be appealing to passengers. We know from a wide-bodied Solo that we’ve been running for a couple of years that it’s a very reliable and economical vehicle to operate.

“Optare won the business through a competitive tendering process and they subsequently impressed us with their willingness to accommodate our very precise specification. This includes seat belts on all the forward facing seats and Unwin tracking on the lower level so that we can quickly increase the capacity to carry passengers in wheelchairs.

“We also wanted a full-width aperture across the rear roofline into which to fit the Bright-Tech destination equipment and that was not a problem for Optare. We’ve opted for Bright-Tech’s new high-definition green LED display, which is fitted to the front, side and rear.”

The Wiltshire County Council Solo SE’s are 7.1 metres long and 2.33 metres wide. Power is from the Mercedes-Benz 904LA engine rated at 95kW and using SCR technology to achieve Euro 4 emissions compliance. The engine is matched to an Allison fully automatic transmission.

Two of the SEs will be operated by Hatts Quality Travel of Foxham and the third by APL Travel of Christian Malford. Both companies will have the vehicles on their ‘O’ licences and will provide drivers, fuel, valeting and garaging facilities.