The Scania OmniCity is an integrally constructed vertically-engined

low floor Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname) Low is an English language, English and Languages of Scotland, Scottish surname. It is also a common surname found among Overseas Chinese language, Chinese communities around the world. ...

city bus A transit bus (also big bus, commuter bus, city bus, town bus, urban bus, stage bus, public bus, public transit bus, or simply bus) is a type of bus used in public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including low-fl ...

that was available from

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

on the European market between 1996 (across Europe)/1997 and 2012. The OmniCity was introduced in September 1996 as the first product based on the 4-series bus range. The first prototypes were built in the former DAB plant in

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 52,571 (1 January 2025).Katrineholm Katrineholm (pronunciation: or ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Katrineholm Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 24,271 inhabitants in 2018. It is located in the inland of Södermanland and is the third largest ur ...

, Sweden. From 1999 it was also built at the plant in

Słupsk Słupsk (; ; ) 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 specifically in its part known in contemporary Poland as Central Pomerania ...

, 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 Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes called the ...

markets, where Scania have chosen to rely on external bodywork manufacturers, including

Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is a British bus manufacturing company based in Larbert, Scotland. The largest bus and coach manufacturer in the United Kingdom, with a 50% market share in 2019, it has manufacturing plants and partnerships in Canada, China, ...

. With a total of more than 2200 units for the United Kingdom, the last few OmniCities were built in 2012.

Europe

The single-decker rigid and articulated Scania OmniCity were popular in continental Europe. Omnicities were popular in most of the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. In Norway, Omnicities were delivered to operator Norgesbuss AS in 2006 for service in the capital

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

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

Koszalin Koszalin (; ; , ) 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-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomera ...

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

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Public Transport Authority and to

Strætó bs Strætó () is a public transport company which operates bus, city buses in the Capital Region (Iceland), Icelandic capital region, including Reykjavík and its surrounding towns. Strætó also manages rural Coach service, coach services for most ...

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. OmniCities were also sold to the Estonian cities of

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

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

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

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

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

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

Konin Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...

Grudziądz Grudziądz (, ) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its province. Grudziądz is one of the oldest citie ...

and

, where a batch of OmniCities running on

ethanol fuel Ethanol fuel is fuel containing ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol as found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. Several common ethanol fuel mixtures are in use aro ...

were delivered in 2007. In France,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

. 50 Omnicities were also ordered in 2003 for service in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, while fleets of OmniCities were sold to operators in

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

and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

. OmniCities were sold to Italian operators in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, while in Spain,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

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 The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards that regulate pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and European Economic Area member states and the United Kingdom, and ships in Europea ...

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 Go-Ahead Group Limited is a Multinational corporation, multi-national transport group based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. While the majority of its operations are within Great Britain, it also operates services in Ireland, Australia, Singapo ...

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 Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

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 Transport (NCT) is the major bus operator of the city of Nottingham, England. NCT operates extensively within Nottingham as well as beyond the city boundaries into Nottinghamshire county. Publicly owned, it is today the second ...

, and 24 with Cardiff Bus.

Newport Bus Newport Bus (the operating name of Newport Transport Limited) is the main provider of Bus transport in the United Kingdom, bus services in the city of Newport, Wales. A limited company whose shares are wholly owned by Newport City Council, it i ...

, 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 September 2004, Scania announced the introduction of the OmniCity 2-axle

double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They app ...

to complement its OmniDekka double-decker bus sold in the United Kingdom, with the first examples entering production at Scania's Słupsk factory in January 2005. The OmniCity double-decker is built to full low-floor configuration and is a complete

integral product on the N94UD chassis, unlike the OmniDekka, which features a body by East Lancashire Coachbuilders on the same chassis. An N94UD OmniCity demonstrator was delivered to Travel West Midlands in November 2005, with five more OmniCitys on Scania N230UD chassis subsequently following. The first production order was made by

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothia ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, who took delivery of five N230UD OmniCitys during 2006 for 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 was that the new Euro IV Scania engine was a five-cylinder 9-litre EGR engine as opposed to its

Euro III The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards that regulate pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and European Economic Area member states and the United Kingdom, and ships in European ...

predecessor, which was a six-cylinder 9-litre engine. The chassis designation had also changed to N230UD or N270UD. 462 double-decker OmniCities were produced for London's bus operators, with London United and

London Sovereign London Sovereign is a bus operator brand under London Sovereign Limited, trading as First Bus, which operates bus services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of First Bus London and operates bus services under contract to Transport for London ...

, then owned by

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...

, purchasing 206 OmniCities, while the East London Bus Group, the former operations of

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London, as well as some services running into Central Londo ...

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 Bluestar,

Southern Vectis Southern Vectis is a bus operator on the Isle of Wight, founded in 1921 as Dodson and Campbell. It became the Vectis Bus Company in 1923. The company was purchased by Southern Railway before being nationalised in 1969. In 1987, the company wa ...

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

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

Design

The Scania OmniCity is identified due to its unique chassis. Notably, the chassis has the engine mounted on the rear right corner (hence on the inside, there are only three seats at the very rear of the bus). However, this means the Scania is put off for intrusion of the interior. The related Scania OmniLink has a transversely mounted engine which avoids this problem. Older Scania Omnicities have the same intrusion problem, but this is present on Scania N94UD chassis instead and the radiator is nearside mounted instead of offside mounted. Positives about this are the rear seats being able to go further back due to the relocation of the engine and gearbox. An interesting quirk of these buses are the fact that these are on N230UD and N270UD chassis’ and have a rear window - albeit tiny due to the radiator and engine - but Alexander Dennis built units have a lack of a rear window downstairs, this being due to the radiator and engine components being larger than the OmniCity and also have the destination display.

Articulated version

The single-decker

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

(or "

bendy bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a singl ...

") 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 between 2004 and 2005, but failed to win any orders in place of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro. After other trials around the country, this bus was bought by

in April 2008, and then acquired by

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 First Greater Manchester is a bus operator in Greater Manchester. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, operating franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The operator was once dominant in the n ...

placed eighteen in service, predominantly on services between

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and Bury. A batch of nineteen of high-specification artics also entered service with Cardiff Bus in 2006 on the high-profile ' Baycar' 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 Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

, after purchasing ten on the previous chassis.

Gallery

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

, 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 port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

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

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

Articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

4-series OmniCity in 2007 File:BNSC 15382 R100.jpg,

Stagecoach Manchester Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654

Bee Network branded OmniCity in 2024 File:YT09BKA RATP Group London United SP41 - SP40041 Scania OmniCity.jpg, A

London United Busways London United, trading as First Bus, is a bus company operating mostly in west and south-west Greater London. The London United brand is a subsidiary of First Bus London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. Company ...

OmniCity On Route H98 to Hayes End

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scania OmniCity OmniCity Double-decker buses Tri-axle buses Low-floor buses Articulated buses Vehicles introduced in 1996