Dennis Dart

early (1989) Duple Dartline bodied Dennis Dart in Crewe The Dennis Dart was conceived when Hestair Group (owner of Dennis and Duple) decided to produce a bus between a minibus and a full-sized single-decker. It was launched in October 1988 at the British International Motor Show and was originally only available with Duple Dartline bodywork. It was wide and was initially available in the length of , but later available in lengths of and . It was powered by a Cummins 6BT engine and coupled to the Allison AT545 gearbox. In 1989, the Dart chassis was made available for bodying by other manufacturers. In 1990, Wadham Stringer became the next builder to body the Dart with a body called the Portsdown, but it was sold in small numbers and replaced by the UVG Urbanstar in 1995. In the same year, Wright bodied the Dart with the Handybus. In early 1991, Plaxton launched the Pointer (which was initially designated as Reeve Burgess Pointer as it was built at Reeve Burgess's plant, until later in the same year when it was transferred to Plaxton's Scarborough plant). Later in 1991, East Lancs bodied the Dart with its EL2000. In the latter half of 1991, Alexander launched the Dash. As the low-floor single-decker buses became more popular in late 1990s, orders for standard-floor Dart dropped heavily and production ceased in 1998. Over 3,400 first generation Darts were produced. Alternative fuels In 1993, Southampton Citybus adapted six Dart 9SDL Carlyle bodied buses to use compressed natural gas, the cylinders being mounted in a pod on the roof. In 1996 a further 10 adapted vehicles were ordered. At the time of the delivery of the Darts, Southampton Citybus were the largest operator of gas-powered vehicles in the United Kingdom. They were fitted with an engine developed in the United States by Cummins and Westport. First Cityline in Bristol trialled a pair of Plaxton Pointer bodied Dart MPDs in 1996, which were powered by six CNG canisters mounted on their roofs. These buses were branded by First as 'GasBus'. ==Second generation (Dart SLF)==

Plaxton Pointer 1 bodied Dennis Dart SLF in 2009 In 1996, Dennis launched a low-floor version of the Dart known as the Dart SLF, with the letters SLF standing for Super Low Floor in reference to the new low-floor design. It was wide and initially offered in lengths of and , with air suspension introduced in place of the taper leaf used in the original design. East Lancs Spryte bodied Dennis Dart SLF in Bath in 2013 It was initially offered with the low floor version of the Pointer bodywork (which was notable for being wider), replaced by the updated Pointer 2 in 1997. It was also offered with a wide variety of bodies, namely the East Lancs Spryte, UVG Urbanstar (later renamed as the Caetano Compass; replaced by the Nimbus in 1999), the Wright Crusader, Alexander ALX200 (discontinued in 2001 with the formation of TransBus International and being replaced by the Pointer 2), Marshall Capital (developed from the C37; later built by MCV), Caetano Nimbus and MCV Evolution (since 2005 - a further evolution of the Marshall bodywork). With the move to Euro III emissions in October 2001, the new Cummins ISBe engine was launched, with the four-cylinder -litre model being used in all lengths except the version, which uses the more powerful six-cylinder, version. The Cummins ISBe Euro IV engine became available on the Dart SLF chassis since late 2006. In 2007, the Dennis Dart SLF was superseded by the Alexander Dennis Enviro200. Over 9,100 low floor Darts were built, the last entering service with Park Island Transport in March 2008. Dart SPD Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Alexander Dennis Dart SPD in 2016 In 1997, the Dart SPD (short for Super Pointer Dart) was launched with a length of 11.3m (about the same length as a long Leyland National), typically seating 40 to 44passengers. It was launched at the American Public Transportation Association Expo 1999. Initially built with a Cummins engine, it was later sold with a Mercedes-Benz engine. After sales failed to line up to expectations, the joint venture was dissolved in 2003. ==Exports==

Wright Crusader bodied Dennis Dart SLF in Canberra in 2009 Although primarily sold in the United Kingdom, some were sold overseas: Australia In Australia, ACTION of Canberra took delivery of 25 Wright Crusader bodied Dennis Dart SLFs in 1997, Brisbane Bus Lines (3), Invicta Bus Services (27), TransAdelaide (2) and Transperth (2) purchased Darts. Canada In British Columbia, BC Transit took delivery of 90 Dart SLFs with Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies from 1999 to 2001 for services in the resort municipality of Whistler and its other transit system companies in the province. In Macau, Transmac took delivery of ten dual-door and air-conditioned Pointer-bodied Darts in January 1996. Malta Four Dennis Dart SLFs with Eaton six-speed manual transmissions were delivered to Paramount Garage of Malta in 1997. The first two Darts were delivered with a East Lancs Spryte body equipped with large hopper windows and electronically-operated sun visors, while the remaining two were later delivered with Plaxton Pointer bodies. A Transbus Dart SLF built with Neobus bodywork was delivered to Malta in 2002 by Gasan Transport Systems Ltd and presented to members of the Maltese Public Transport Association. A second demonstrator was built by Transbus but was not exported to Malta, later entering service in the United Kingdom with Flimwell independent operator Hams Travel. Netherlands Arriva Netherlands purchased 50 Darts with Alexander ALX200 bodies. Portugal Stagecoach Group had 10 Dart SLFs bodied locally in 1999 for its Portuguese subsidiary in Lisbon. Singapore In Singapore, Singapore Bus Service purchased 10 Duple Metsec-bodied Dennis Darts in 1994 for smaller bus routes (M1, M2, M4 and 183). All 10 units were retired by 2011. They were powered by Cummins 6BT engine and fitted with an Allison AT 545 transmission, similar to Specification buses in China. Air-conditioning pod model was supplied by Sutrak of Germany. ==References==