The Mellor Strata is a minibus body manufactured by Mellor Coachcraft since 2016 on

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle ( van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, ...

chassis. It is available as the Mellor Strata HF 16, a step-entrance version aimed at the access bus market, so named for its maximum seated passenger capacity of sixteen; or as the Mellor Strata LF, a low-floor variant targeting the service bus market, with a capacity of up to 21 seated passengers. The light and economical van-based Strata was launched to compete with the more traditional, but heavier and less economical, bus-based short wheelbase

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC (sold as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200) is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014, as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMC ...

and

Optare Solo SR The Optare Solo is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Optare in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketing its vehicle as having an entrance that is ...

, as well as other van-based minibus designs, as the United Kingdom bus market was starting to go through the 'second minibus revolution' of the mid to late 2010s. The Strata LF is built on the long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 516 CDI chassis, while the Strata HF 16 is available on both the 514 CDI (with a less powerful engine) and 516 CDI variants of the Sprinter. Since 2018, Mellor have offered two longer versions of the Strata, the 8.1m Strata Plus and the 8.7m Strata Ultra. The first Strata Ultra was delivered in 2019.

Operators

Strata HF 16

The first two Strata HF 16s were delivered to Melksham Community Transport in early 2017.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council East Riding of Yorkshire Council is the local authority of the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government serv ...

have placed the largest order for Strata HF 16s to date, taking delivery of nine examples in July 2017.

Strata LF

The first two Strata LFs entered service with

McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the histo ...

network. The Strata LF has seen strong sales with local councils for community transport operations, with deliveries going to

Dumfries & Galloway Council Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

's SWestrans operation (three examples, leased to Houston's Coaches of

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, gd, Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about from Glasgow, and from the border with England. The United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town ...

);

Nottinghamshire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election ...

(two examples); and Redcar and Cleveland Council (three examples). Additionally, a single Strata LF has been delivered to

Cheshire West and Chester Council Cheshire West and Chester Council is the local authority of Cheshire West and Chester. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services ...

and leased to

Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire is a major operator of bus services in North West England. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and has its origins in the purchase of Ribble Motor Services in 1988 from the National Bus Company ( ...

for operation on the Blacon Greyhound community bus service between Blacon and the Greyhound Retail Park in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. The first order from a major group came in 2017, with

Arriva North West Arriva North WestCompanies House extract company no 1990871

taking delivery of nine Stratas for services in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industry ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Rotala Group Rotala plcCompanies House extract company no 5338907
Rot ...

operations

Preston Bus Preston BusCompanies House extract company no 2004022
Pres ...

and Diamond Bus have also ordered a number of these model for their

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...

operations and

Transport for West Midlands Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services in the West Midlands metropolitan county in England. It is an executive body of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), with bus franch ...

tendered contracts.

References

{{Mellor Coachcraft Mercedes-Benz vehicles Mellor Coachcraft Minibuses

Operators

Strata HF 16

Strata LF

See also

References