Optare going green with delight as orders for buses flood in

The company revealed that it had secured orders worth more than 5.5m at the Euro Bus Expo exhibition, which was held in Birmingham last week.

As a result, Optare's order book stands at more than 33m.

There was a lot of interest in hybrid or electric vehicles, including an order from Dorset County Council for battery-powered buses.

Nottingham City Transport also confirmed its order for 20 double-deck Omnideckers based on Scania chassis.

Optare chief executive Jim Sumner said that, despite the very challenging conditions in the bus operating industry, interest among visitors was high and there was a "tangible sense" of optimism in the air.

He added: "In a week that began with the handover of the first of 66 hybrids for Greater Manchester we confirmed some very significant new orders for our green buses.

"We saw two of the country's leading independent operators endorse our hybrid and EV technology.

"On top of that we've continued to show that we can deliver the most cost-efficient vehicles in the market based on conventional diesel power."

Optare can trace its roots back to the nationalised British Leyland factory in Leeds.

It was formed in 1984 when British Leyland shut the factory and made the 400-strong workforce redundant.

The factory cashed in on the de-regulation of the public transport industry.

Its designers produced new and imaginative vehicle designs which took the public transport industry by storm.

Optare vehicles could soon be seen across the country, and the firm also began to export to Europe and America.

Today Optare is one of the UK's biggest bus manufacturing companies.

It employs around 500 people at its manufacturing sites in Leeds and Blackburn in Lancashire and service centres around the country.