Nottinghamshire County Council has ordered seven Orion Plus buses to add to its majority Mellor fleet.

This is a repeat order following the specification of nine Orion Plus vehicles in July last year. The Orion Plus is engineered to run on narrow streets and rural routes without compromising on passenger numbers and delivering reduced running costs. 

Simon Roberts, Nottinghamshire County Council's Assistant Fleet Operations Manager, said: 'We awarded the business to Mellor following a competitive tender process. We have had a great experience with our current Orion Plus', which have served us well; the vehicle meets our size, layout and specification requirements.

'We operate a fleet of 80 vehicles, 75% of which are Mellor. We invested in a number of Orion Plus in the past two years and cannot fault the excellent fuel efficiency and performance of the vehicles and feedback from our drivers and passengers has been extremely positive.

'The vehicles are liveried in our new corporate colours and look superb. The order and delivery turn around were also really good'

The new buses will mostly be used for social service work and school contracts. An adaptable interior is important when carrying passengers who may have limited mobility. These Orion Plus buses have been ordered with a 16-seat configuration to offer wheelchair access but can seat up to 22 passengers.

Jane Dransfield, Area Sales Manager (Central England and North Wales) for Mellor, said: 'We are pleased to once again be supplying vehicles to the team at Nottinghamshire County Council following our successful tender bid. We have a longstanding relationship and our vehicles fit the needs of the council and their passengers. We look forward to working with them again in the future'