Central Bedfordshire Council held a ceremony in April for the delivery of 15 new minibuses by Treka Bus; the manufacturer has given ‘as much support as we needed’ during the purchasing process
Following its announcement of a three-year vehicle supply framework agreement with Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC), Brighouse-based Treka Bus delivered the first 15 of the local authority’s new accessible minibuses.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at CBC’s head office in Shefford on 6 April to unveil the first of the new minibuses.
The 10 Treka 16 coachbuilt minibuses have 16 removable seats with three-point, all-age belts, or they can hold up to 16 wheelchair users.
The minibuses also benefit from an Eberspächer dual heating system, and wipe-clean GRP interiors
A PLS Access II passenger lift is fitted to each minibus with the longest and widest platform available. Its safe working limit is 400kg and it has a plug-in remote control as standard. Both the coachbuilt and converted minibuses have fully flat floors.
Driver Sharon Prickett was on hand to cut the red ribbon as staff from CBC, local councillors, and senior management from Treka – including Chairman Mark Clissett, Sales Director Helen Day and Production Director Morgan Clissett – looked on.
‘Excellent experience’
The day was a real celebration for CBC as it has waited a long time for authorisation to replace its ageing fleet of accessible minibuses, which are used for community work, mainly for passengers with special educational needs.
Arthi Appathurai, CBC Fleet Service Managers, says: “Treka has assisted us throughout the buying process from start to finish, and it gave us as much support as we needed along the way.
“We have had an excellent experience working with Treka, and it is a relationship that we hope will continue in the years to come.” CBC has 65 vehicles in its fleet, and the new minibuses have replaced much older examples.
Based in West Yorkshire, Treka is the largest independent manufacturer of coachbuilt wheelchair-accessible passenger carrying vehicles in the UK.
