15004-7
Following
issues with the Mellor Mercedes Sprinter vehicles
resulting in a number already being returned to the
leasing company Diamond Bus trialled an Illesbus bodied
Mercedes Sprinter 517 at 0their Tividale depot see below
under fleet number 20993. This proved successful and an
order for 20 such vehicles was placed. The vehicles are
designed to replace more of the Mellor bodied vehicles
plus the remaining two xxx and xx plate vehicles at
Redditch which are mainly used on the Bromsgrove Demand
Responsive Service which is due to be expanded to run in
the Wythall area. At least two vehicles are due to go to
the Burton on Trent depot for use on the 70/7A service
in Derby. The first fifteen vehicles will have 24 plate
registrations with the remainder due after September and
will have 74 plate registration. The first two vehicles
arrive in early June 2024 and were delivered in all over
white and took the fleet numbers 15004 and 15005. These
vehicles are destined to have a special livery applied
as a vehicle wrap for the Bromsgrove DRT service. 15005
entered service at Redditch on 19th June 2024 and has
mainly been used on the services 182 and 183. 15004
initially went to Tividale depot and was used on the
contract services in Wolverhampton the company gained
with the issues around the existing operator Travel
Express who trade as Lets Go.
Registration Number | Fleet Number | Vehicle Chassis | Seating Capacity | Date into Service | Allocation |
BF24KSF | 15004 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 | B20F | 14/06/24 | Redditch |
BL24VGP | 15005 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 | B20F | 19/6/24 | Redditch |
BP24KSJ | 15006 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 | B20F | 26/06/24 | Tividale |
BU24NDF | 15007 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 | B20F | 27/06/24 | Tividale |
20987-9
Rotala
has over the years purchased small numbers of Mercedes
based sprinter based minibuses for use on contract work
around mainly Heathrow Airport. These particular
vehicles were used on a NCP car park contract at
Heathrow and were painted in a striking bright yellow
livery. When the opportunity came about for contract for
a new demand responsive bus service in Bromsgrove called
Bromsgrove on Demand. Three such vehicles were moved
into the midlands Diamond Bus fleet. The service was
launched on Monday 19th July 2021 and was operated until
March 2022 from the Redditch deport using two of the
vehicles. The third vehicle is based at the Tividale
depot and is used on Transport for West Midlands
contract bus services mainly in the North Birmingham
area. In readiness to create extra garage space at
Redditch with the purchase of the Johnson's bus services
the operation the Bromsgrove Demand Responsive service
was move to the Kidderminster Depot in May 2022. With
the loss of the Warwickshire bus services over the
Summer the operation of the Bromsgrove demand responsive
bus service moved back to Redditch. Additionally the
sister vehicle 20889 also moved from Tividale to
Redditch to provide a back up vehicle for the service.
Registration Number | Fleet Number | Vehicle Chassis | Seating Capacity | Allocation |
BU14SZF | 20987 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 WDB9066572S871534 | B14F | Withdrawn 2/24 |
BU14SZG | 20988 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 WDB9066572S871536 | B14F | Redditch |
BL16FZV | 20989 | Mercedes Sprinter 45 WDB9066572P215292 | B14F | Redditch |
20993 BD73UAN
20993
joined the Diamond bus fleet in late January 2024 as a
brand new vehicle to the fleet. Ilesbus launched a new
low floor Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based minibus, known as
the I-City to the UK market in late 2023. It is
currently available in two different specifications,
with either 17 seats and space for nine standees, or
with 20 seats and seven standee places. It has been
designed to match the familiar styling of luxury mini
coaches the manufacturer produces. The I-City features
USB ports at each seat; 3-point seatbelts; a separate
12kW rear air-conditioning system, additional saloon
heating, double gazing; ‘smart’ lighting; front, side
and rear destination screens. The vehicle has been
allocated to the Tividale and is used on a variety of
Transport for West Midlands contract services that
require or it is able to use this sized vehicle on them.
Registration Number | Fleet Number | Vehicle Chassis | Seating Capacity | Allocation |
BD73UAN | 20993 | Mercedes Sprinter | B20F | Withdrawn March 2024 returned to the leasing company |