Optare Sigma

The Optare Sigma was a step-entrance single-deck bus body manufactured by Optare between 1994 and 1996 on the Dennis Lance chassis. The body was constructed from Alusuisse aluminium alloy with fiberglass front and rear panels.[1][2] It was the single-deck version of the Optare Spectra.[3]

Optare Sigma
Atbus Optare Sigma bodied Dennis Lance in 2009
Overview
ManufacturerOptare
Production1994 - 1996
AssemblyCross Gates
Body and chassis
Doors1-2
Floor typeStep entrance
ChassisDennis Lance
RelatedOptare Spectra
Chronology
SuccessorOptare Excel

The Sigma was not a low-floor bus although its floor height of 40cm is considered low for a step-entrance design. The first built had two doors, the remainder only one.[2] It was also similar in design to the Optare Delta.[4] The Vecta had the same body styling as the Sigma but was designed for medium-length chassis, the Sigma was for full length chassis.[5][6]

Only 54 were produced, primarily being purchased by Brighton & Hove (20), Trent Barton (17) and Gateshead & District (14).[6][2][7]

Unlike the Spectra, it did not last long enough to be developed into a true low-floor bus and was replaced by the Optare Excel in 1995.[5]

References
  1. Merc underframed Prisma Commercial Motor 30 March 1995
  2. Daughters of Delta Buses issue 690 September 2012 page 40
  3. Companion to Road Passenger Transport History. Walsall: Roads & Road Transport History Association. 2013. p. 360. ISBN 9780955287633.
  4. "DAF - Life after United". Buses (March 1994 issue). United Kingdom: Ian Allan Publishing. February 1994. p. 9.
  5. The Model Page Bus & Coach Preservation ISSN 1462-1886 February 2018 page 64
  6. Jenkison, Keith (2020). The History of Optare. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445696942.
  7. Optare Sigma Bus Lists on the Web

Media related to Optare Sigma at Wikimedia Commons


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