We all agree that the law is in place and medium-term exemptions from PSVAR compliance are ending. We can make vehicles PSVAR compliant where necessary and when not already done so. But there is a lot of reluctance from operators; after all, what is the point of buying vehicles with wheelchair user lifts, when in many cases, they can’t physically be used?
While many operators are on their way to being ready for compliance requirements, inasmuch as they have a percentage of their fleets already PSVAR compliant and with vehicles in place for certain contracts, there are still those refusing to accept what is coming.
PSVAR is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Vehicle supply is going to become limited. We have always had a trickle of former National Express vehicles into the used PSVAR market, but we are now in an era where National Express favours tri-axle models, leaving very few 12.6m Caetano Levantes left on the network.
At over 14m, the newer National Express tri-axles are not ideal to do school contracts because of their length and accessibility issues. A lot of operators seem to be very anti-tri-axle anyway, even though a 13m model is far more manoeuvrable and rides better.
Another thing nobody has thought about is the lack of supply of full PSVAR compliant diesel double-deckers.
London has traditionally supplied the country, but with transitions to alternative fuel in London, Nottingham and Reading, that mainly leaves Lothian for a supply of good quality double-decker diesel buses.
Demand for those is going to go up, exacerbating the lack of ex-National Express supply, especially for those that need high capacity. If you can’t go up, you have to go long — and that brings us back to the 14m tri-axle issue.
We’re going to get into a situation where there are no practical vehicles available for school contracts, and this is something that needs to be discussed.
Darren Critchley,
Odyssey Coach Sales
