Cowdenbeath based Bay Travel Coaches has taken delivery of a new Mellor Strata low floor small bus after being awarded a new route contract.

Built on the renowned Mercedes Sprinter chassis, the Strata low floor has 22 passenger seating capacity and quick and easy wheelchair access. Bay Travel was looking for a new small bus after being awarded the contract to operate on the Inverkeithing route in August following a tender process.

Niall Douglas, service operations manager for Bay Travel Coaches, explained:

“We had previously undertaken a trial with the Strata low floor and liked what we saw. Like any coach and bus operator today, fuel economy is very important to our business and we knew the vehicle would provide us with what we needed. We’d also received very good feedback from other operators in the area and this led us to place the order for the Strata.
“In the last few months since we took delivery, the bus is in operation six days a week and I can confirm we are receiving excellent fuel consumption. The drivers like it too as it is compact in its design and construction, which is great for maneuvering on roads where space is limited. Strata has also been very well received by our passengers who like that while it is a small bus, it still has the airy feel and features and benefits of a larger bus.”

Strata low floor carries the low emission bus (LEB) accreditation, meaning it meets all the low emission zone requirements of many of the towns and cities in the UK, thereby future-proofing Bay Travel’s fleet and operations.

Mellor describes the Strata as being engineered with accessibility in mind while offering a variety of internal layout configurations to accommodate the needs of less able passengers. Its compact size and design ensure it is able to operate in areas that could prove problematic for some traditional, larger buses due to their size and weight.

In recent years the Strata has gained a reputation for being the model of choice for many operators due to its modern feel, class-leading performance and excellent cost of ownership.

Bay Travel Coaches was founded in 2008 and as well as operating local bus routes and school contracts, offers private hire of small buses up to 53 seat executive coaches.