| Volvo B9RLE | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Volvo |
| Production | 2010-2013 |
| Assembly | Sweden |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Bus chassis |
| Body style | Single-decker bus Double-decker bus Open-top double-decker bus |
| Floor type | Low entry |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Volvo D9B |
| Power output | 380 bhp |
| Transmission | Volvo I-Shift |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 12.4–14.9 m (bodied) |
| Width | 2.55 m (bodied) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Volvo B12BLE |
| Successor | Volvo B8RLE |
The Volvo B9RLE was a 9.4-litre engined tri-axle low-entry single-decker bus and double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 2010 and 2013. The double-decker can be built as either closed top or open top. It was introduced as an interim replacement for the soon to be discontinued B12BLE in the short gap of years before they had the Euro VI compliant B8RLE ready. At the same time they introduced a tri-axle variant of the B7RLE, but in Volvo's home markets the 290 bhp that the D7E produces is considered way too little for a 15-metre bus.
A multi-axle bus is a bus or coach that has more than the conventional two axles, usually three, or more rarely, four. Extra axles are usually added for legal weight restriction reasons, or to accommodate different vehicle designs such as articulation, or rarely, to implement trailer buses.
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-decker buses are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and many former European possessions, the most iconic example being the red London bus.
Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Gothenburg.
Contents
The most likely reason for introducing the B9RLE a whole year before the end of production for the B12BLE was probably for the introduction of the first prototypes of the Volvo 8900LE in late 2010, which was also the body that most B9RLE received. Some were also bodied as open top double-decker sightseeing buses with the Unvi Urbis 2.5 DD body.
The Volvo 8900 is a single-decker city bus and intercity bus, first introduced in 2010 as a cross-breed successor to both the aluminium body 8500 and the stainless steel body 8700, taking advantage of both techniques. It is available both with 860 mm step-entrance floor and as the low-entry Volvo 8900LE.
In Sweden [1] a total of 145 were built as 8900LE low-entry city buses to various customers, like Nettbuss and Nobina Sverige, and 7 Unvi-bodied sightseeing buses. In Norway Boreal Transport received 10 as 8900LE for Stavanger and Nobina Norge received 27 (including a prototype from 2010) for Tromsø. Also a Unvi-bodied open top sightseeing bus was delivered to Oslo.
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.5 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.
Nettbuss AS is the largest bus company in Norway, owned by the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). It was established on 10 February 2000 as the continuation of the bus operations from former NSB Biltrafikk. In addition to bus services in major parts of Norway, it also operates buses in Sweden through subsidiaries.
Nobina Sverige AB, former Swebus AB, is the largest bus operator in Sweden, with 5,277 employees, 2,241 buses and net sales of 5,138 million SEK. It was owned by the Swedish State Railways until October 1996, when it was sold to Stagecoach Group, and then later, in January 2000, to Concordia Bus.
