Reinvented as the UK’s first all-new battery electric double-decker, a MetroDecker designed for London went into trial service in York in mid-August, shortly before the city won government funding to electrify its entire park-&-ride service. ALAN MILLAR reports on what Optare hopes will bring its first order for a vehicle launched over three years ago as a diesel and now apparently ahead of competitors.
Optare’s return to the doubledeck market has been painfully slow, but it looks like its faith in its integral MetroDecker as an all-electric vehicle may finally be rewarded with an order that could put a double figure quantity into service in York.
To remind ourselves of the story, Optare built nearly 300 Spectra bodies on DAF — later VDL — DB250 chassis between 1991 and 2004, then one of its changes of ownership saw it apply the Optare name to the products of East Lancs from 2008 until the Blackburn factory closed in 2011.
An integral double-decker had been in and out of development at least since 2000, but it took until May 2014 and a high profile launch at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden for it finally to bring one to market in the shape of a 10.5m dual-door MetroDecker painted meta…
