Bendi-Bus

2001-5 DAK301-4V, CLM 346T

During the late 1970s, M.A.N. (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg) was keen to establish a foothold in the British bus market. In 1978, a single articulated demonstrator, registered CLM 346T, was imported to obtain British type approval for this new style of bus. Following its successful approval, M.A.N. built a further four vehicles, registered DAK 301V–DAK 304V. These joined five similar articulated buses built by D.A.B. (now DAF), and all ten vehicles entered service with South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) in Sheffield during 1979. Although the trials proved that articulated buses had a future, South Yorkshire ultimately chose to purchase thirteen DAF-based vehicles rather than the M.A.N.s. After their time in Sheffield, the five M.A.N. buses saw further work in Oxford before being used as shuttle buses at the National Exhibition Centre during the Motor Show. In 1983, the vehicles were loaned to the National Bus Company, which decided to evaluate them with its Midland Red West subsidiary at Redditch. The buses were allocated to Redditch's New Town circular services, then numbered R8 and R9. These routes later became Midland Red routes 57 and 58, and today continue to operate under Diamond Bus. By 1983, the rapid expansion of Redditch New Town had resulted in the circular services operating every ten minutes in each direction, making extensive use of the town's purpose-built bus-only roads. The articulated buses retained their South Yorkshire PTE cream and brown livery and fleet numbers, with "Reddibus" branding added to reflect their new home. Before they could enter service, however, modifications were needed at the Plymouth Road depot. The fuelling facilities had to be adapted to accommodate the extra-long vehicles, while the inspection pit in the workshop was extended to allow routine maintenance to be carried out safely. Although primarily allocated to the R8 and R9, the buses occasionally appeared on other services and were even seen operating into Birmingham from time to time. Their arrival in Redditch coincided with a particularly awkward period, as the town's bus station was being completely rebuilt to create the second bus station on the site. Temporary stands were established in Station Way, and some services required buses to reverse in order to turn around—a manoeuvre far from ideal for articulated vehicles. During the trial, the town's bus network was also reorganised. A new R7 service was introduced, with clockwise journeys around the New Town alternating between the R7 and R9 before continuing across the town to Crabbs Cross. This arrangement lasted for only around a year before another revision saw the New Town services become the R7 and R8, while the Crabbs Cross circular was renumbered R5 and R6. Passengers generally welcomed the articulated buses, appreciating their spacious interiors and high capacity. However, reliability proved to be a persistent problem. Spare parts for the M.A.N. engines were difficult to obtain, and by the latter part of the trial DAK 304V (fleet number 2004) had been withdrawn from service and was cannibalised to provide components that kept the remaining four buses operational. At the conclusion of the experiment, Midland Red West decided that articulated buses were not suitable for its operation. In November 1985, the R7 and R8 frequencies were increased to every six minutes instead, using conventional Leyland National single-deck buses transferred from Worcester following the introduction of minibuses on the city's services. By then, M.A.N. itself was keen to dispose of the vehicles. Approaching five years old, they had become outdated as articulated bus technology had advanced rapidly during the early 1980s. Although the Redditch trial was relatively short-lived, the distinctive "bendi-buses" left a lasting impression on both local passengers and enthusiasts, remaining one of the more unusual chapters in the history of bus operation in the New Town.

Following the conclusion of the Redditch trial, all five articulated buses were purchased by Midland Red North, where they entered service from the company's Cannock depot as fleet numbers 1801–1805. Despite hopes that they would prove more successful, the company encountered many of the same operational and reliability problems previously experienced by Midland Red West, particularly with the availability of spare parts for the M.A.N. engines. By early 1987, Midland Red North had decided to withdraw the fleet. The original demonstrator, 1805 (CLM 346T), was selected as the donor vehicle and was dismantled to provide components that would enable the remaining four buses to continue in service. These four vehicles were rebuilt for export to Australia, where they found a new lease of life with Martin's Coast Tours in Cairns, Queensland. Before shipment, the buses underwent several modifications to suit their new operating environment. Most notably, the centre exit door in the front section was removed, while the exit door in the rear trailer section was retained. Having sacrificed its components to keep the others operational, 1805 never made the journey overseas. Instead, it travelled only as far as Weymouth, where it was broken up by a local scrap merchant in April 1987, bringing an end to the career of the bus that had first introduced M.A.N.'s articulated design to Britain's roads.