A midibus is a classification of single-decker

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, ...

es which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the midibus is perhaps most common in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where operators have found them more

economical An economic system, or economic order, is a system of production, resource allocation and distribution of goods and services within a society or a given geographic area. It includes the combination of the various institutions, agencies, entitie ...

, and to have a sufficient number of seats compared to full size single-decker buses. Midibuses are often designed to be lightweight to save on

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and ...

(e.g. smaller wheels than on larger buses), making them not as durable as heavier 'full size' buses. Some midibuses, such as the

Scania OmniTown The East Lancs OmniTown was a low-floor midibus body sold in the United Kingdom by East Lancs and Scania. It used the Scania N94UB chassis, which is the single-decker version of the N94UD double-decker chassis, with East Lancashire Coachbuil ...

, are heavier and therefore more durable. In some places such as Hong Kong, some bus routes have to be served by midibuses due to the winding roads along such routes.

United States designs

The term "midibus" is not in common use in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, such smaller and lighter-duty buses not being employed in

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

roles there except in some very specialized instances. For example, Muni in San Francisco operates both and versions of the

Orion VII The Orion VII was a line of low-floor transit buses available in 30' rigid, 35' rigid, and 40' rigid lengths manufactured by Orion Bus Industries between 2001 and 2013 in three generations. The conventional powered buses, either with longitudinal ...

transit bus to serve routes that include some of the steeper and curvier hills. In charter / tour roles, there is indeed a gap between the minibus (12-28 seats) and the touring coach (47-50 seats). Several shuttle bus companies such as

Goshen Coach Goshen Coach was an American cutaway bus builder located in Salina, Kansas. The company was founded in 1985 and was owned by Thor Industries from 2005 until August 2013, when Thor sold the company to Allied Specialty Vehicles (later renamed REV ...

and Crystal have manufactured rear-engined vehicles that have 30–35 seats, but no generic term has ever been applied to them. They are usually lumped together with their smaller "minibus" brethren and called "minibus", or "shuttle bus". The only other alternative was to import a "short" (two-axle) version of European touring coaches, known often as "baby coaches", around long and equipped with some 30–32 seats. Examples of these include the TEMSA TS 30/TS 35 and the MCI J3500. In the 2000s, some manufacturers introduced mid-sized bus models based on large truck frames.

Models

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 ...

Gillig Low Floor The Gillig Low Floor (originally named Gillig H2000LF and also nicknamed Gillig Advantage) is a transit bus manufactured by the Gillig Corporation. The second low-floor bus introduced in the United States (after the New Flyer LF), the Low Floor ...

(29 and 35 ft variants) *

New Flyer Xcelsior The New Flyer Xcelsior is a line of transit buses available in 35' rigid, 40' rigid, and 60' articulated nominal lengths manufactured by New Flyer Industries since 2008. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses are sold with a ...

(35 ft variants) *

ARBOC Specialty Vehicles NFI Group is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The company employs 8,000 people across 50 facilities in nine countries. NFI Group owns Alexander Dennis, ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, Motor Coach Industries, New ...

BYD Auto BYD Auto Co., Ltd. ("Build Your Dreams") is the automotive subsidiary of the publicly-listed Chinese multinational manufacturer BYD Company, headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. It was founded in January 2003, following BYD Com ...

K7/K7M *

Thomas Built Buses Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly known as Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages. Currently, its production is concentrated on s ...

Saf-T-Liner HDX (25, 30, 35 ft variants) *

Agrale MT12 Agrale, previously called AGRISA, is a Brazilian vehicle manufacturer. Established in 1962, it is based in Caxias do Sul in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Agrale manufactures tractors, commercial vehicles, military vehicles, bus, chassis and ...

(chassis) *

Autosan Sancity 9 LE Autosan Sp. z o.o. is a Polish bus and coach manufacturer. The company is located in Sanok, Poland. Its sales network includes European (also non-EU countries), African and Asian countries. Currently it produces approximately 300 buses a ...

Autosan Sancity 10LF Autosan Sancity 10LF a single-decker bus built by Autosan S.A. in the European Union. Production of Sancity 10LF started in 2012 and till January 2013 buses were sold to Poland and Italy. Autosan Sancity 10LF is 100% low floor citybus. It has ...

- (

Low floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

integral) *

Albion Nimbus The Albion Nimbus was an underfloor-engined, ultra-lightweight (dry weight 2.4 tonne) midibus or coach chassis, with a four-cylinder horizontal diesel engine and a gross vehicle weight of six tons. It was largely operated on light rural bus duti ...

- from 1955–65 *

Bedford VAS Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst th ...

- From 1961-87 *

Bedford JJL The Bedford JJL was an innovative but ultimately unsuccessful midibus model built by Bedford. The JJL could have been a success, but was ahead of its time in predicting the boom in the midibus market, as seen by the success of the Dennis Dart. ...

- an early unsuccessful attempt at a purpose built midibus 1975-81 *

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

SU - 1960-6 * Chance Coach/Optima Opus *

Daewoo BS090 Zyle Daewoo Bus, formerly "Zyle Daewoo Commercial Vehicle" is a South Korean manufacturer of buses and is majority owned by Young-An Hat Company, based in Busan. It was established in 2002 as a successor to previous merger, Daewoo Motor Compan ...

Royal-Midi *Daewoo BC095 *

Dennis Domino The Dennis Domino was a step-entrance midibus chassis manufactured by Dennis in Guildford, England in 1984 and 1985. It was in essence, a scaled down single-decker version of the Dennis Dominator. Developed for intensive urban work, the Domin ...

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, In 1996 the low-floor seco ...

(chassis) * Dennis/Transbus/Alexander Dennis Dart SLF (chassis) *

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

- also manufactured and marketed in North America by

New Flyer Industries New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...

as the New Flyer MiDi * ElDorado EZ Rider II MAX/BRT * FAP A-402 *

Grande West Vicinity Vicinity Motor Corp. (formerly Grande West Transportation Group) is a Canadian bus manufacturer headquartered in Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada. History In 2008, BC Transit and Ottawa's OC Transpo issued a Requested for Proposal (RFP) for ...

* Hino Melpha *

Hino Rainbow The Hino Rainbow (kana:日野・レインボー) is a medium-duty single-decker bus marketed by the Japanese manufacturer Hino since 1980. The range can be built as either a complete bus or a bus chassis. It was also available for the city bus ...

Heuliez Heuliez was a French company that worked as a production and design unit for various automakers. It specialized in producing short series for niche markets, such as convertibles or station-wagons. The business activity ended on 31 October 2013. ...

GX117 *Heuliez GX127 *

Hyundai Aero Town The Hyundai Aero Town (hangul:현대 에어로타운) is a medium-duty midicoach manufactured by the truck & bus division of Hyundai. It was introduced in 1985. It is primarily used as a midcoach and a smaller intercity bus as either a complete ...

* Hyundai Global 900 * Hyundai GreenCity * Mercedes-Benz Trekka * Ikarus 405 *

Ikarus E91 Icarus is a character in Greek mythology. Icarus or Ikarus may also refer to: People * Roger Squires (born 1932), crossword compiler who has used the pseudonym Icarus * Icarus (wrestler) (born 1982), wrestler with the Chikara organization Pla ...

Ikarbus Ikarbus a.d. (''Ikarbus - Fabrika autobusa i specijalnih vozila a.d.'') is a Serbian bus manufacturer based in Zemun. It was originally established as an aircraft manufacturer in 1923, under the name Ikarus. In 1954, it commenced bus production ...

ik-107 * Irisbus Citelis 10 * Isuzu Erga Mio * Isuzu Gala Mio * Isuzu Journey-K * Isuzu Novo * Isuzu Turquoise * Iveco EuroMidi * * Kravtex Credo EN9,5 *

Leyland Swift The Leyland Swift was a midibus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1987 and 1990 as a successor to the Leyland Cub. It shared many components with the Roadrunner light truck but with the engine relocated to behind the front axle which was ...

* MAN 10.xxx HOCL/ MAN 11.xxx HOCL (chassis) * MAN 12.xxx HOCL/

MAN 12.xxx HOCL-NL A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

(chassis) * MAN 13.xxx HOCL (chassis) * MAN 14.xxx HOCL/ MAN 14.xxx HOCL-NL (chassis) * MAN Lion's City M * MAZ-206 * MAZ-256 *

MCW Metrorider The MCW Metrorider, launched at the 1986 Motor Show, was a minibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann (MCW) between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths, 7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an integral bus, marking it out from its va ...

* Marshall Minibus * Mercedes-Benz O520 Cito * Mercedes-Benz O530K (Citaro K) * Mercedes-Benz OH1115LSB (chassis) * Mitsubishi Fuso Aero Midi MJ/MK/Aero Midi-S *

D30LF / 35LF * Neoplan Centroliner *

Nissan Diesel Space Runner JP The Nissan Diesel Space Runner JP (kana:日産ディーゼル・スペースランナーJP) was a medium-duty single-decker bus produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan Diesel from 1994 until 2010. The range was primarily available as a pub ...

Nissan Diesel Space Runner RM The Nissan Diesel Space Runner RM (kana:日産ディーゼル・スペースランナーRM) was a medium-duty single-decker bus produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan Diesel (now known as UD Trucks) from 1975 until 2010. The range was only ...

* Nissan Diesel RB80 (chassis) *

Optare Excel The Optare Excel was a low-floor full-size single-decker bus manufactured by Optare. Manufactured as an integral bus, the Excel was launched in 1995 as one of the first low floor single-deck vehicles, replacing the step-entrance Optare Sigma. T ...

Optare MetroRider The Optare MetroRider was a midibus manufactured by Optare between 1989 and 2000. History Optare based the original design on the MCW Metrorider after it bought the rights from Metro Cammell Weymann after the latter decided to cease production ...

Optare Solo 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 ...

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 ...

Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018.Otokar Navigo Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi A.Ş., also known simply as Otokar, is a Turkish bus and military vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey. Otokar is a subsidiary of Koç Holding. History Otokar was founded in 1963 as Turkey's ...

/Sultan * PAZ-3237 * PAZ-4230 *

SOR CN 8.5 Sor may refer to: * Fernando Sor (1778–1839), Spanish guitarist and composer * Sor, Ariège, a French commune * SOR Libchavy, a Czech bus manufacturer * Sor, Azerbaijan, a village * Sor, Senegal, an offshore island * Sor River, a river in the Or ...

* Temsa Prestij *Thaco Town TB82S *Thaco Town TB85S *Thaco TB94CT *Thaco Meadow 85S *Thaco Meadow 89CT *

VDL SB120 VDL may refer to: * Vancouver Dodgeball League * Van Diemen's Land, the former name of the smallest Australian state of Tasmania * Van Diemen's Land Company in Tasmania * VDL Groep, Dutch manufacturing company * VDL (radio), a name used by two ...

* VDL SB180 *

Volkswagen Volksbus The Volkswagen Volksbus is a range of step-floor city bus chassis assembled in Germany and produced by the Brazilian manufacturer Volkswagen Truck & Bus from 1993 to present. Today Volkswagen Truck & Bus produce bus chassis in the 5 to 18 ...

* Volvo B6/B6LE (chassis) *

Volvo B6BLE The Volvo B6BLE was a 5.5-litre engined low-entry midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1999 and 2001, with three unfinished or unsold chassis being bodied in 2004 and 2005. History The Volvo B6BLE was presented in November 1998 as a rep ...

(chassis) *

Wright StreetLite The Wright StreetLite is a low-floor midibus introduced by Wrightbus in 2010. It was originally available in only one body style (wheel forward) before the door forward and StreetLite Max variants were introduced in 2011 and 2012 respectively. ...

Ashok Leyland Jan Bus Midi Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

United States designs

Models

See also