Midibus

Early version of a midibus, the Bedford JJL

A midibus is a classification of single decker buses which are identified as neither being minibuses or full size buses, and can be anywhere between 8m (26 ft.) and 11m (35 ft.) long. While used in many parts of the world, the midibus is perhaps most common in the UK where operators have found them more economical, and to have a sufficient number of seats compared to full size single-decker buses.

Midibuses are often designed to be light weight to save on fuel (eg. smaller wheels than on larger buses), making them not as durable as heavier 'full size' buses. Some midibuses, such as the Scania OmniTown, are heavier and therefore more durable. An early unsuccessful attempt at a purpose built midibus was the Bedford JJL.

Recently Europe has seen the introduction of the Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 and VDL SB200, both predominately aimed at the UK market which while being full size buses (in the fact that they are or nearly 12m long) are related to midibuses in being light weight. These have been dubbed Super-Midibuses or Maxibuses by some people.

US designation

The term midibus was not used commonly in the US. US transit markets simply do not use these smaller and lighter-duty buses except in some specialized uses. San Francisco, for example, has some buses much smaller than its regular Orion transit buses for the routes that include some of the steeper and curvier hills. However, midibuses are simply not used in transit roles in the US as they are in Europe.

In charter / tour roles, there was indeed a gap between a minibus (12-28 seats) and a touring coach (47-50 seats). Several shuttle bus companies such as Goshen and Crystal have manufactured rear-engined vehicles that has 30-35 seats, but no generic term was ever applied to them. They are usually lumped together with their smaller "minibus" brethrens and called "minibus", or "shuttle bus". The only other alternative was to import a "short" (two-axle) version of European touring coaches, known often as "baby coaches" of about 30 ft long and holds about 30-32 seats.

In early 2000s ABC Companies did introduce a "mid-sized coach", the M1000 series, which is based on Freightliner large truck frame. Compared to regular touring coaches, this mid-sized coach is about half the price (150k USD vs. 300k USD), but offers no luggage space under the cabin (any luggage space must be carved out of the main cabin) and maximum of 40 seats (w/o any luggage). It is also front-engined, making it somewhat noisier than rear-engined vehicles. However, it is based on a reliable chasis, and thus reliability is excellent.

Other manufacturers such as Goshen and Crystal introduced similar vehicles based on other large truck frames, including GMC.

Makes of midibus

• Bedford JJL
• Dennis Domino
• Dennis Dart
• Dennis/Transbus/Alexander Dennis Dart SLF
• Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Dart
• FAP A-402
• Leyland Swift
• MAN 14.220
• MAN 14.240
• MCW Metrorider
• Marshall Minibus
• Mercedes-Benz O520 Cito
• Mercedes-Benz O530K (Citaro K)
• Optare Excel
• Optare MetroRider
• Optare Solo
• Optare Versa
• Scania OmniTown
• VDL SB120
• VDL SB180
• Volvo B6/B6LE
• Volvo B6BLE

Related buses

• Alexander Dennis Enviro 300
• VDL SB200