Plaxton Centro

The Plaxton Centro was a low entry single-decker bus bodywork designed by Bluebird Vehicles and manufactured by Plaxton.[1]

Plaxton Centro
Arriva North West & Wales Plaxton Centro bodied VDL SB120 in Winsford in June 2008
Overview
Manufacturer	Plaxton
Production	2006 - 2009
Assembly	Scarborough
Body and chassis
Doors	1
Floor type	Low floor Low entry
Chassis	VDL SB120 VDL SB200 MAN 12.240 MAN 14.220 MAN 14.240 Volvo B7RLE
Powertrain
Engine	Cummins ISBe (VDL) MAN (MAN) Volvo (Volvo B7RLE)
Dimensions
Length	8.9 to 12.0 m (29 ft 2 in to 39 ft 4 in)
Width	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height	3.0 m (9 ft 10 in)
Chronology
Successor	Alexander Dennis Enviro300

Arriva North West Plaxton Centro bodied VDL SB120 interior

It was launched on the VDL SB120 chassis in February 2006 with the first built for Johnson Transport of Brae in the Shetland Islands. Arriva North West & Wales was the first big fleet order with 10 registered in late 2006.[2][3] In 2006, it was also made available on the VDL SB200, followed in 2007 by the MAN 12.240 and the Volvo B7RLE.[2][4][5] The first Volvo B7RLE was purchased by Wessex Bus for the Bristol park & ride service.[6]

In 2008, East Yorkshire Motor Services took delivery of six Centro bodied Volvo B7RLEs. In 2010, Blackpool Transport took delivery of nine B7RLEs.[7] Plaxton bodied the MAN 14.220 chassis in 2008 before this was replaced by the MAN 14.240 in 2009. Other purchasers of the Centro include Arriva, Centrebus, Diamond Bus, GHA Coaches and TM Travel.[1][2]

By 2010, the Centro was no longer available from Plaxton after parent company Alexander Dennis phased it out in favour of its own Enviro200 and Enviro300. The last deliveries were in late 2010 and were 2009 season-built bodies.