The Amfibus is an
amphibious bus, developed and built by DAT (Dutch Amphibious Transport) Vehicles B.V., in
Nijmegen
Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...
,
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, which was considered as a replacement for the
Renfrew Ferry across the
River Clyde
The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...
.
Renfrew Ferry
When
SPT ceased to operate the
Renfrew Ferry on 31 March 2010, one option for replacement was the Amfibus, capable of both driving on the road and sailing across the river.
The Amfibus had previously been trialled by Splashtours in
Rotterdam Harbour, where it successfully coped with the wash from
tugs and
cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
s. Trials on the Clyde took place on 8 and 9 February 2010. It was not without problems as one of the bus' airbags worked loose.
[ The Amfibus was not selected to continue the service. However, in July 2011 a similar vehicle started a tourist cruise service running direct from Schiphol airport to the Amsterdam canals.
The contract to run the Renfrew Ferry was awarded to Silvers Marine, of Rosneath, who took over the running of the ferry from 1 April 2010 using fast boats.]
Service
Stagecoach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
proposed operating the Amfibus on a route between Braehead and Clydebank, entering and leaving the Clyde via existing slipways at Renfrew and Yoker.[
]
Design
The Amfibus is based on a Volvo
The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...
chassisNijmegen
Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...
, Gelderland
Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...
.[
Propulsion in the water is by water jets.]
See also
* List of buses
References
{{Reflist
External links
Dutch Amfibious Transport Vehicles BV website
Technical specifications 010 (archived)
Technical specifications 020 (archived)Review of the Rotterdam Amfibus tours
Wheeled amphibious vehicles
Amphibious buses
Buses
Bus transport in Scotland
Stagecoach Group