The Amfibus is an

amphibious bus An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian), is a vehicle that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, railway vehicles, combat vehicles an ...

, developed and built by DAT (Dutch Amphibious Transport) Vehicles B.V., in

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, which was considered as a replacement for the

Renfrew Ferry The Renfrew Ferry is a passenger ferry service linking the north and south banks of the River Clyde in Scotland. The service, operated by Clydelink without subsidy, crosses between Renfrew and Yoker, close to Glasgow City Centre and is the las ...

across the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

Renfrew Ferry

When SPT ceased to operate the

on 31 March 2010, one option for replacement was the Amfibus, capable of both driving on the road and sailing across the river. The Amfibus had previously been trialled by Splashtours in Rotterdam Harbour, where it successfully coped with the wash from tugs and

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

s. Trials on the Clyde took place on 8 and 9 February 2010. It was not without problems as one of the bus' airbags worked loose. The Amfibus was not selected to continue the service. However, in July 2011 a similar vehicle started a tourist cruise service running direct from Schiphol airport to the Amsterdam canals. The contract to run the

was awarded to Silvers Marine, of

Rosneath Rosneath (''Ros Neimhidh'' in Gaelic) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch, northwest of the tip of the Rosneath Peninsula. It is about by road from the village of Kilcreggan, which is sited ...

, who took over the running of the ferry from 1 April 2010 using fast boats.

Service

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

proposed operating the Amfibus on a route between

Braehead Braehead ( sco, Braeheid, Gaelic: ''Ceann a' Bhruthaich'') is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particularly notable ...

and

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

, entering and leaving the Clyde via existing

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

s at

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

and

Yoker Yoker ( gd, An Eochair) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, on the northern bank of the Clyde east of Clydebank, west of the city centre. From the fourteenth century, the Renfrew Ferry has linked Yoker with Renfrew on the south bank. Although ...

Design

The Amfibus is based on a

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

chassis and made by Dutch Amphibious Transport (DAT) Vehicles BV,

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. An Amfibus cost £700,000 in 2010. Propulsion in the water is by water jets. The Amfibus is capable of on land and on water. File:Splashtours_I_(ship,_2009)_003.jpg,

Impeller An impeller or impellor is a rotor used to increase the pressure and flow of a fluid. It is the opposite of a turbine, which extracts energy from, and reduces the pressure of, a flowing fluid. In pumps An impeller is a rotating component ...

s for in the water are built into the rear File:Splashtours_I_(ship,_2009)_004.jpg, Amfibus ''Splashtours 1'' side and rear view File:Splashtours 2010.jpg, In the water in Rotterdam, 2010

References

{{Reflist

External links

Dutch Amfibious Transport Vehicles BV website

Technical specifications 010 (archived)

Technical specifications 020 (archived)Review of the Rotterdam Amfibus tours
Wheeled amphibious vehicles Amphibious buses Buses Bus transport in Scotland Stagecoach Group

Renfrew Ferry

Service

Design

See also

References

External links