The VDL SB200 (originally the DAF SB200) is a light-weight,
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. ...
single decker bus chassis that was produced from 2001 (to 2014 for the UK) by
VDL Bus & Coach
VDL Bus & Coach is a Dutch vehicle manufacturer. It is an amalgamation of several bus building companies within the VDL Groep. VDL Bus & Coach has manufacturing plants in Belgium and the Netherlands. By 2018 VDL Bus & Coach sold 500 electric bus ...
(formerly DAF Bus International). It superseded the SB220.
It is originally designed for use by
Arriva
Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.
The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...
(VDL dealer in the United Kingdom) in order to save fuel over heavy-weight citybuses which are designed for Continental Europe where buses carry large numbers of standing passengers, whereas in the UK they do not.
The SB200 sold very well in VDL's home market, the Netherlands mainly using
VDL Berkhof
Berkhof Groep (later Berkhof Jonckheere Groep and VDL Berkhof) was a Netherlands based bus and Coach (vehicle), coach builder, founded in 1970 by Arthur Berkhof and his son Henk. It started with only 10 employees in a 1,000 m2 factory. During ...
type
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
and VDL Citea LLE bodywork. They were operated by all large transport companies in the Netherlands,
Connexxion
Connexxion formerly Transdev#Netherlands, Transdev Netherlands, Veolia Transport Nederland, Veolia Transport Nederlands and Connex Netherlands is a large Public transport in the Netherlands, public transport company in the Netherlands, operatin ...
(including Hermes),
Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev, later renamed Transdev. Veolia Tr ...
and Arriva. Arriva also used SB200s with Wright Commander bodywork.
Of the 831 built for United Kingdom operators,
Arriva
Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.
The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...
purchased 704,
Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Buses based in Byfleet, Surrey.
History G ...
30 and John Fishwick & Sons 23.
Initially the SB200 built for the UK was only available with Wright Commander bodywork, but from 2006 it was available with the
Plaxton Centro
The Plaxton Centro was a low entry single-decker bus bodywork designed by Bluebird Vehicles and manufactured by Plaxton.Wright Pulsar bodywork, the latter being succeeded in late 2009 by the facelifted Wright Pulsar 2.
One VDL SB200 was fitted with an
MCV Evolution
The MCV Evolution (stylised as ''eVolution''; internal designation: MCV C102) is a low floor and low entry single-decker bus body built by Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles. It was unveiled in 2003 as the successor to the MCV Stirling. The M ...