Shuttle Buses of Kilwinning has added four diesel-powered Optare Solo midibuses to its fleet, with those vehicles being among the last of the long-running model to be produced. All are 25-plates that seat 28 within an 8.5m length.
Shuttle Buses Director David Granger notes how the Ayrshire operator is “very proud” have some of the final Optare Solos built and that it has run the type since 2003. Presently 25 are within the business’s fleet – nine original examples and 16 of the later SR type.
“We use them mainly on local service work in North, East and South Ayrshire and Renfrewshire, but also on MyBus demand responsive transport services under contract to Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, rail replacement, and the occasional hire requiring a low-floor vehicle,” he says.
Production of the Optare Solo was restarted by Switch Mobility after it previously said that manufacture of diesel vehicles had ceased. In March, it announced plans to close the Sherburn-in-Elmet factory where the Solo is built. The first Solos were registered in May 1998.
