17-seat nriidibus for Middle East market
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• Believing that there is a big future in Middle East and African countries for a passenger vehicle that is bigger than a minibus yet smaller tha4 a 40-seater type, two northern coachllildn' ig firms have collaborated in the design and construction
of a 17-scat "midibus"—and have recently displayed it at the second Ghana International Trade Fair in Accra.
The two companies are John Gibson and Son, of Edinburgh, and Smith-Appleyard, of Gateshead, and the prototype is based on the latter firm's Model 70 glassfibre body with a Bedford CF 126in. wheelbase chassis. Coloured bright red, green and lemon, it has a compact appearance and features include a luggage rack the full length of the roof, reached by a tubular ladder fixed at the rer. There is also storage space beneath the rear seat.
The diesel-powered bus, which has left-hand drive, is 18ft 10in. long, 6ft 9in. wide and approximately 9ft fin. high.
Later in the year Gibson, which trades extensively with the Middle East, hopes to introduce the midibus to Baghdad.