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. ...

city bus A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skå ...

DAB DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * ''Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dąb, ...

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Katrineholm, Sweden. From 1999 it was also built at the plant in

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specifi ...

, Poland. Production in Silkeborg ended in early 2000, and Katrineholm in 2004, with only a few test buses in 2005 to 2006. Since then all have been built in Poland. In 2006, the OmniCity was upgraded from the 4-series to the new N-series, which also included a thorough facelift, with the large rectangular front headlamps being replaced by smaller, round items, and further tweaks carried out to the rear styling. The Scania Citywide was launched in 2011 as a replacement for the OmniCity, except for the right-hand drive markets, where Scania have chosen to rely on external bodywork manufacturers, including Alexander Dennis. With a total of more than 2200 units for the United Kingdom, the last few OmniCities were built in 2012.

Europe

The single-decker and articulated Scania OmniCity were popular in continental Europe. Omnicities were popular in most of the Nordic countries. In Norway, Omnicities were delivered to operator Norgesbuss AS in 2006 for service in the capital

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. Some of these would later be sold on for further use in the Polish city of

Koszalin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-stat ...

in 2015. Omnicities were also sold to Concordia Bus in Norway, Linjebuss in Sweden, the

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Public Transport Authority and to Strætó bs in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a pop ...

. OmniCities were also sold to the Estonian cities of

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast o ...

. OmniCities were also popular in many regions of Poland. 108 rigid OmniCities were delivered to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

operator PKS between 2007 and 2008. Two buses replacing accident-damaged models were also delivered to PKS in 2011. In

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

, 15 articulated OmniCities were delivered from 2001 to 2003, while OmniCities also entered service in the cities of Koszalin, Konin, Grudziądz and

Słupsk Słupsk (; , ; formerly german: Stolp, ; also known by several alternative names) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specifi ...

, where a batch of OmniCities running on ethanol fuel were delivered in 2007. In France,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

ian municipal operator RATP ordered over 300 OmniCities from 2006 to 2010 in both rigid 12m and articulated 18m lengths, the latter of which were operated on 'Orlybus' express services to

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...

. 50 Omnicities were also ordered in 2003 for service in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, while fleets of OmniCities were sold to operators in

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

. OmniCities were sold to Italian operators in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

,

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes C ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, while in Spain,

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

n operator EMT purchased a total of 81 rigid Omnicities from 2000 to 2004.

United Kingdom

Single-decker

The single-decker OmniCity was first introduced in 2002 in right-hand drive for the United Kingdom market. The earlier version of the single-decker OmniCity was known as the CN94UB. The Euro IV version was known as the CN230UB or CN270UB, the 230 and 270 indicate the maximum power (in hp) of the engine. The Scania OmniCity single-decker has a rounded roof dome with a single-curvature windscreen and a separate destination display. Unlike the Scania L94UB and OmniLink, the OmniCity features a full low floor without the need for steps or ramps to reach the rear seats, similar to the Volvo B7L. The Go-Ahead Group were the most popular customer of the rigid single-decker OmniCity, purchasing a total of 132 of the type, seventy of these going to Metrobus of Crawley for both its London and south-east England operations. Additional operators of rigid single-decker OmniCities included 78 with Menzies Aviation, 42 with the

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Arriva UK Bus and

Nottingham City Transport Nottingham City TransportCompanies House extract company no 2004 ...

, and 24 with

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies t ...

. Newport Bus, a popular operator of Scania buses, purchased 38 single-deckers throughout the OmniCity's UK production run, buying no more Scania products after production ended in 2011.

Double-decker

In 2005, Scania announced the introduction of the OmniCity 2-axle

double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...

to complement its OmniDekka double-decker bus sold in the UK. It has a full low floor and is a complete

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skå ...

product, unlike the OmniDekka which features a body by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. The early 2-axle double-decker OmniCity uses the N94UD chassis, the same as the OmniDekka. A demonstrator was delivered to Travel West Midlands (now National Express West Midlands) and entered service in November 2005; orders for five more OmniCities subsequently followed. The first order was for five buses by Lothian Buses of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

which entered service during the summer of 2006 on the 'Airlink' express network. Lothian Buses subsequently ordered a further 10 buses to replace the Dennis Tridents on the network; these buses entered service in late 2007. Initially, the OmniCity double-decker was in limited production, until the Euro IV version was launched. The reason for this is because the new Euro IV Scania engine is a five-cylinder 9-litre EGR engine as opposed to its Euro III predecessor, which is a six-cylinder 9-litre engine. The chassis designation has also changed to N230UD or N270UD. 462 double-decker OmniCities were produced for London's bus operators, with London United and London Sovereign, then owned by

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of ...

, purchasing 206 OmniCities, while the East London Bus Group, the former operations of Stagecoach London owned by Macquarie Bank, purchased 174 OmniCities. London United donated their first double-decker OmniCity to the London Bus Museum in February 2022. Outside of London, many Go-Ahead companies purchased OmniCities, with Solent Blue Line,

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway (Great Britain), Southern Railway b ...

and Wilts & Dorset purchasing 61 as part of Go South Coast. 33 OmniCities were also purchased by Metrobus and Brighton & Hove.

Articulated version

The single-decker articulated (or " bendy bus") version of the OmniCity was first introduced in 1996. The articulated OmniCity built by 2006 was known as the CN94UA. In the United Kingdom, a demonstrator toured London in 2004, but failed to win any orders in place of the

Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asi ...

. After other trials around the country, this bus was bought by Lothian Buses in April 2008, and then acquired by

Nottingham City Transport Nottingham City TransportCompanies House extract company no 2004 ...

after it left Lothian Buses in late August 2009. In 2005, Travel West Midlands ordered a batch of eleven articulated OmniCities, while First Greater Manchester placed eighteen in service, predominantly between

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

and Bury. A batch of nineteen of high-specification artics also entered service with

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies t ...

in 2006 on the high-profile '

Baycar Baycar (also styled as baycar) is a bus service in Cardiff, serving the city centre and Cardiff Bay. The service forms part of the wider Cardiff Bus network, but is unique in that the entire Baycar bus system includes its own branded vehicle ...

' network. The Euro IV/V/EEV articulated version of the OmniCity was known as the CN280UA. In the United Kingdom, eleven were purchased by Menzies Aviation for use on shuttle services around Heathrow Airport, after purchasing ten on the previous chassis.

Gallery

File:Scania CN94UB in Warsaw.jpg, PKS Scania OmniCity in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

, 2007 File:Scania Omnicity 9308 RATP, ligne 63, Paris.jpg, RATP Scania OmniCity in Paris, 2016 File:Arriva North West and Wales 2061.jpg, Arriva North West and Wales 4-series OmniCity in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in 2007 File:Travel West Midlands 4697.jpg, Travel West Midlands 4-series OmniCity demonstrator in 2006 File:Southern Vectis 1109 HW58 ASU.JPG,

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight. The company was founded in 1921 as "Dodson and Campbell" and became the "Vectis Bus Company" in 1923. The company was purchased by the Southern Railway (Great Britain), Southern Railway b ...

N-series OmniCity in 2009 File:First Manchester bus 12015 (YN05 GYR), 29 July 2007.jpg, Articulated First Greater Manchester 4-series OmniCity in 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scania OmniCity OmniCity Double-decker buses Tri-axle buses Low-floor buses Articulated buses