Volvo B10M

The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2001. It was built as the successor of the B58 and was equipped with a 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo THD100/THD101/THD102/THD103/THD104/DH10A diesel engine mounted under the floor in the middle of the chassis. An articulated version under the model name Volvo B10MA was also offered.

History
Designed as a successor to the Volvo B58, a large portion of B10M chassis were built in Sweden, but some were built in other countries.

The B10M was one of the best-selling chassis in the United Kingdom throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Having originally been produced only as a coach chassis, the B10M was made available as a bus, in which form it was also very popular.

A double-deck version of the B10M was developed for Strathclyde PTE in 1981. It was launched in early 1982, with a downrated engine from the coach, and was named Citybus (also known unofficially as B10MD or D10M). Most early examples were bodied by Alexander Coachbuilders, who provided a modified version - common to all Volvo double-deck chassis bodied by the company after 1980 - of their popular and attractive R type bodywork. Eastern Scottish and Fife Scottish bought many of these early versions in 1985-1987. Two were exported in 1984, one of them to Singapore Bus Services and the other to Kowloon Motor Bus, but was destroyed by fire in 1988. The Citybus lasted until the end of B10M production but fell out of favour after Volvo re-engineered the Leyland Olympian as the Volvo Olympian.

United Kingdom
Coach operators Park's of Hamilton, Shearings and Wallace Arnold all purchased large quanties of B10Ms.

In the 1990s, Stagecoach standardised on the bus version of B10M as their full-size single decker. Most of them receieved Alexander PS bodies but some receieved Northern Counties Paladin bodywork. Stagecoach also took numerous examples of the coach version with Plaxton's Interurban bodywork and Jonckheere's Modulo bodywork. South Yorkshire Transport and Kelvin Central Buses also purchased large numbers of the type with Alexander PS bodies.

The B10MA articulated variant was of limited popularity among bus operators in the UK. British Caledonian Airways took four in 1988, the next examples sold in Britain were supplied eight years later, with the delivery of four to Ulsterbus. Stagecoach was the biggest customer for the model in the UK, purchasing 18 in the mid- to late-1990s, with the last delivered in 1999.

Singapore
Singapore Bus Services purchased 977 between 1986 and 2001, making up a large part of its bus fleet. First delivered in 1988, they were bodied by Duple Metsec and Walter Alexander. A single 19m B10MA articulated bus was also purchased.

United States
From 1983 to 1986, a number of B10M was built and used in the United States. The American B10M was manufactured mostly in its articulated form (which was purchased by SEPTA, SamTrans, and New Jersey Transit) though a standard length B10M model was made for the RIPTA with one example going to SEPTA as compensation for delays. Canadian production of the B10M articulated under licence to Ontario Bus Industries nearly took place, however it fell through when that company negotiated a more favorable deal with Ikarus Bus.

Australia
The B10M was purchased by government operators Brisbane Transport and Metro Tasmania in Australia as well as private operators, with large fleets built up in Sydney by Westbus and in Melbourne by Grenda Corporation.

New Zealand
In New Zealand, two Volvo B10M 2-axle buses with VoV B45D bodies built by Coachwork International were ordered by Auckland Regional Authority in 1985. These are the only Volvo buses to receive the VoV body.

The articulated version of the B10M (constructed by Saracakis in 1993, 1995 and 1997) is also used in Thessaloniki.

Replacement
The B10M as a single-deck bus was complemented (and was largely replaced) by the low-floor rear-engined B10L and B10BLE chassis in some markets in the late 1990s. In 2001 the B10M was replaced by the B12B and B12M, both chassis sporting a larger 12-litre engine.