The Dennis Lance was a

single-decker bus A single-decker bus or rigid is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term ''single-decker'' refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essen ...

chassis manufactured by

Dennis Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is some ...

between 1991 and 2000, replacing the

Dennis Falcon The Dennis Falcon was a rear-engined single-decker bus, double-decker bus and coach chassis manufactured by Dennis between 1981 and 1993. It was mostly built as a single-decker bus, although some express coaches and a small number of double-d ...

. Its

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. ...

variant, the Dennis Lance SLF (Super Low Floor) was built between 1993 and 1996. Between 1995 and 1998, Dennis also built its double-deck variant, the Dennis Arrow (initially marketed as a double-deck Dennis Lance), as the replacement of the

Dennis Dominator The Dennis Dominator was Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Dennis's first rear-engined double-decker bus chassis. It was launched in 1977. History Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Dennis had been absent from the bus manufacturing market since the l ...

History

Lance

The Dennis Lance was unveiled at the 1991 Coach & Bus Show as both a larger version of the

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a Rear-engine design, rear-engined single-decker bus, single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a ...

and the successor to the

chassis. The first Dennis product to be developed at the manufacturer's new

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

factory with

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

, the rear-engined Lance chassis was designed with an inline driveline and longitudinally-mounted Cummins C6T engine, claimed to improve fuel economy by 15% when compared to conventional "angle drive" drivelines. It was also developed to fit the recommendations of the

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (also known as "DPTAC") is an expert committee established by the Transport Act 1985, to provide advice to the government on the transport needs of disabled people. Membership of the DPTAC is m ...

(DiPTAC) on improving accessibility, equipped with entrance and interior steps as standard. The Dennis Lance was available with a number of bodies, including the

Alexander PS The Alexander PS-type was a High-floor, step-entrance single-deck bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders in Falkirk, Scotland and was produced from 1988 to the late 1990s on the Dennis Lance, Mercedes-Benz O405, Scania N113 and Volvo ...

and Strider, the

East Lancs EL2000 The East Lancs EL2000 is a type of single-decker bus body built on a wide variety of bus chassis by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. Description The EL2000 has an aluminium frame. It has bowed sides and a bowed top half of the rear end, with a h ...

, the

Northern Counties Paladin The Northern Counties Paladin, also badged as the Plaxton Paladin towards the end of production, is a step-entrance single-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK, between 1991 and 1998. The replacements for the Paladin are ...

, the

Optare Sigma The Optare Sigma was a step-entrance single-deck bus body manufactured by Optare between 1994 and 1996 on the Dennis Lance chassis. Design Launched in April 1994, the full-size Sigma body was produced exclusively on the Dennis Lance chassis ...

and

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

, and the Plaxton Verde.

Ipswich Buses Ipswich BusesCompanies House extract company no 2000058
Ips ...

was the first operator in the United Kingdom to order the Dennis Lance, taking delivery of a single example with East Lancs EL2000 bodywork in 1991; the operator would subsequently take delivery of two more EL2000s and an Optare Sigma built on the Lance chassis during 1994.

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

subsidiary

Selkent South East London & Kent Bus Company Limited, trading as Stagecoach London, is a bus company operating in central and south London and some parts of north-west Kent. The Selkent brand is a subsidiary of Stagecoach London and operates services und ...

later took delivery of 16 Alexander PS bodied Lances in April 1992 for use on route 36B, replacing

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The ...

s used on the service. The Dennis Lance was most popular on the Plaxton Verde chassis, with the largest orders coming from

Badgerline Group Badgerline was a bus operator in and around Bristol from 1985 until 2003. Its headquarters were in Weston-super-Mare. Initially a part of the Bristol Omnibus Company, it was privatised in September 1986 and sold to Badgerline Holdings in a man ...

companies Midland Red West and

Yorkshire Rider Yorkshire Rider was a bus company operating in West Yorkshire, England. The company was formed in 1986 out of the bus operations of the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive. It was later bought by the Badgerline Group, who later bec ...

, the latter of which were delivered to

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

for 'Flagship' services. Orders of Verde-bodied Lances continued under

FirstBus FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.FirstBus FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Leeds City Link operation. London Buses subsidiary

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

garage would also delivery of twelve dual-door Verdes on Dennis Lance chassis in 1994 for use on London Buses route 208. Other operators of Verde-bodied Lances included

Busways Travel Services Busways Travel Services was a bus operator formed in 1986 which operated local and regional bus services in Tyne and Wear, England. The company was purchased by the Stagecoach Group in July 1994. History Formation In October 1986, to comply wit ...

, Clydeside 2000, North Western,

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 ...

, Potteries Motor Traction, and

South Wales Transport South Wales Transport was a bus company that operated services in South Wales centred on Swansea and West Wales. History South Wales Transport commenced operating on 2 May 1914 in Swansea. It operated bus services that connected with the Swan ...

. Lances built on other bodies proved particularly popular during 1993. The Caldaire Group took delivery of 30 Lances with Alexander Strider bodywork in 1993, distributing 18 of the order to Yorkshire Woollen and the remaining 12 to

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

. with municipal bus companies Grimsby-Cleethorpes Transport and

Yellow Buses Yellow BusesCompanies House extract company no 2004964
Bou ...

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

taking fleets of nine and six Lances with East Lancs EL2000 bodies respectively in the same year. 31 Lances with Northern Counties Paladin bodywork were delivered to

Metroline Metroline is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro and operates bus services for London Buses under contract to Transport for Lon ...

Cricklewood bus garage Metroline is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro and operates bus services for London Buses under contract to Transport for Lon ...

for routes

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year *113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group *113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run to ...

and 302, five with Northern Counties Paladin bodies were delivered to Eastern Counties in 1993. Towards the end of the step-entrance Lance's production, Go-Ahead Northern's Gateshead & District operation took delivery of fifteen Lances with Optare Delta bodywork in 1994, and on the Optare Sigma body, fellow

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 ...

subsidiary

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 ...

took delivery of 20 during 1996 while

Wellglade Group The Wellglade Group (WG), is a transport group operating bus and tram services in the English Midlands. History Wellglade was formed in 1986 when Brian King and Ian Morgan purchased Trent Buses from the National Bus Company (UK), National ...

operator Trent Buses took delivery of seventeen between 1994 and 1995.

British Bus British Bus was a bus group in the United Kingdom. It was sold to the Cowie Group in August 1996. History British Bus was founded in November 1992 when the Drawlane Transport Group split its bus interests from its National Express in the lead ...

subsidiary London & Country took delivery of fifteen East Lancs EL2000 bodied Lances in April 1996, while the last step-entrance Lances produced for the United Kingdom were thirteen with Northern Counties Paladin bodies for First Eastern National, followed by three for First PMT, in 1997.

Lance SLF

In March 1993, the "Super Low Floor" Dennis Lance SLF was unveiled, becoming the first low-floor bus chassis manufactured in the United Kingdom. the Lance SLF came with an independent kneeling front suspension as standard, capable of lowering the step-free entrance from to . A wheelchair ramp was also provided as standard. The Lance SLF was also the first new bus chassis in the United Kingdom to be fitted with

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...

s as standard, which were manufactured by Girling. Of around 105 Dennis Lance SLFs built, the majority were built with

Wright Pathfinder The Wright Pathfinder was a low entry and low floor single-decker bus body built on Dennis Lance SLF and Scania N113CRL chassis by Wrightbus between 1993 and 1995. History Of the 95 Pathfinders produced, London Regional Transport subsid ...

bodywork. The most notable of these were 38 dual-doored examples for

for use on the first London bus routes to be converted to low-floor operation. The recipients of this order were London United for use on route 120,

for use on route 186, and CentreWest for use on route 222. A single-door Pathfinder would later be launched in 1994, marketed towards bus operators based outside London. The first of these, part of a trial project funded by the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

, would be delivered to Go-Ahead Northern's Coastline Buses operation for use on services linking

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around ...

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

and

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

, making Coastline one of the first bus operators in the United Kingdom outside of London to place low-floor buses into service. Further Pathfinder-bodied Lance SLFs included five delivered to London & Country, with six also delivered to

Badgerline Badgerline was a bus operator in and around Bristol from 1985 until 2003. Its headquarters were in Weston-super-Mare. Initially a part of the Bristol Omnibus Company, it was privatised in September 1986 and sold to Badgerline Holdings in a man ...

for service in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, and a sole example delivered to

Western National Western National (originally the Western National Omnibus Company) was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 until the 1990s. Early history The Western National Omnibus Company was founded in 1929 as a joint venture between ...

during 1995. Ten Pathfinder bodied Lance SLFs were supplied with 40% funding from

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

West Midlands Travel National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group (formerly National Express Group) and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of the single largest in B ...

's County Bus & Coach subsidiary, Southend Transport and Hedingham Omnibus in 1994, part of the UK's first low-floor project to be funded by a county council without funding from the government or the European Union. Some Pathfinder-bodied Lance SLFs would eventually be prematurely withdrawn from service due to suspension strut failures, a result of water ingress caused by outside storage of the chassis at Wright's

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

factory before the bodies were built. The Lance SLF chassis was also built with Berkhof Excellence 1000 NL bodywork, with 30 dual-purpose specialist vehicles delivered to the

British Airports Authority Heathrow Airport Holdings is a company that operates and manages Heathrow Airport based in London, England. It was formed by the privatisation of the British Airports Authority as BAA plc as part of Margaret Thatcher's privatisation of governme ...

for use on staff shuttle duties at

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 ...

between 1994 and 1995. Five each were also delivered to Stagecoach East Kent and

Stagecoach Ribble Stagecoach North West was a major bus operator in North West England. The company was a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, and had its origins in the purchase of Cumberland Motor Services in 1987 and Ribble Motor Services in 1988 from the N ...

, the latter of which were the last Lance SLFs produced before the type was discontinued in 1996.

Arrow

A double-deck version of the Lance was launched in 1995 as a replacement for the

chassis. Later renamed to the Dennis Arrow, it was available with

Northern Counties Palatine II The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England. The Palatine was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, althoug ...

and

East Lancs E Type The East Lancs E Type is a type of double-deck bus body built on different chassis by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. Chassis Types bodied include the following: * Dennis Dominator * Dennis Arrow * Leyland Olympian * Scania N113DRB * Volvo B ...

and Pyoneer bodywork, and only differed from the step-entrance single-deck Lance through the addition of an anti-roll bar and shock absorbers being moved towards the rear of the chassis. At a maximum capacity of 84 seats and 16 standing passengers, the Arrow could carry a total of 100 passengers. The Arrow was sold to just five operators in the United Kingdom, with

Capital Citybus Capital Citybus was a bus operator in London operating services under contract to London Regional Transport. History Capital Citybus was established on 29 December 1990, with the purchase of the London tendered bus services of Ensignbus by th ...

taking a total 54 of the 73 Arrows built with both Palatine II and Pyoneer bodywork, London & Country who took ten with EL2000 bodywork, and

who took four with Palatine II bodywork. Smaller operators included Aintree Coachline, who took a single Arrow with Palatine II bodywork, London Coachlines, who took a single Arrow with Pyoneer bodywork, and two purpose-built playbuses built with both bodies. The Dennis Arrow would be superseded by the low-floor

Dennis Trident 2 The Dennis Trident 2 (the 2 standing for 2-axle) is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporat ...

Exports

The step-entrance single-deck Dennis Lance had a level of export success to

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

. In the Netherlands, a single Lance with Berkhof Excellence 1000 NL bodies were delivered to ''Noord-Zuid-Hollandsche Stoomtramweg-Maatschappij'' (NZH) in 1995, resulting in a repeat order for six being delivered to the operator for use in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

during 1996. Three Lances with

Duple Metsec Duple Metsec was a bus bodywork builder based in West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England in the United Kingdom. It usually supplied body kits for bus assembly overseas. It was originated from the bus body manufacturing busi ...

bodywork were also exported to ''Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe'' (MZA) of

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 ...

, Poland between 1992 and 1993. The Lance also proved popular in the Asian export market. A joint venture between Dennis and Malaysian manufacturer UMW Specialist Vehicles would build

complete knock-down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or r ...

Lance chassis (known as the UMW-Dennis Lance) for the Southeast Asian market. In Malaysia, a fleet of

bodied UMW-Dennis Lances were delivered to Naeila Corps, shortly before the company was bought over by

Causeway Link Handal Indah Sendirian Berhad (), trading as Causeway Link, is a private bus company with operations in Malaysia and Singapore. The company is based in Johor Bahru, and is the largest bus operator in Johor. It operates cross-border public buse ...

, while Transit Link JB also operated a small number of similar examples. In Singapore, meanwhile,

Trans-Island Bus Services SMRT Buses is the second largest bus operator in Singapore. A subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, it traded as Trans Island Bus Services until 10 May 2004. History Trans-Island Bus Services (1983–2004) In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minis ...

ordered 72 Lances, of which 52 were built by UMW-Dennis; most were fitted with Duple Metsec bodywork while the last two were fitted with

Volgren Volgren is an Australian bus and coach body manufacturer. History Volvo Buses, VolGrenda Corporation, gren was formed in 1977 by Melbourne bus operator Grenda Corporation in Dandenong, Victoria. Because Grenda held the Volvo Buses dealership i ...

bodywork. A single UMW-Dennis Lance with Duple Metsec bodywork was also operated by

Ritchies Coachlines Ritchies Transport is a New Zealand private bus operator, owned by KKR. It was established in 1972 and describes itself as "the largest privately owned bus and coach transport operator in New Zealand" with a fleet of over 1500 vehicles spread ac ...

in New Zealand. In Hong Kong, 24 Lances with

bodywork were delivered to

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating Bus services in Hong Kong, franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes, with over 4,000 buses ...

in 1992.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennis Lance Bus chassis

Lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

Low-floor buses Step-entrance buses Vehicles introduced in 1991