The OmniDekka was a double-decker bus body built by East Lancashire Coachbuilders on Scania chassis from 2003 to 2011. It was later sold as the Darwen OmniDekka and then as the Optare OmniDekka, and it became one of the most familiar British double-deckers of the 2000s.
East Lancs OmniDekka at a glance
| Body builder | East Lancashire Coachbuilders, Blackburn |
|---|---|
| Later names | Darwen OmniDekka, Optare OmniDekka |
| Production | 2003–2011 |
| Chassis | Scania N94UD (Euro III), N230UD (Euro IV), N270UD (Euro V) |
| Layout | double-decker, transverse inclined rear engine |
| Launched | March 2003 |
| Replaced in range | July 2006, by the East Lancs Olympus on N270UD |
| Largest operator | Nottingham City Transport, 174 |
| Other big fleets | Metrobus 110, Brighton & Hove 103, London United and London Sovereign 64, Reading Buses 34 |
| Last deliveries | 32 to Nottingham City Transport in June 2011 |
| Last withdrawals | during 2026 |
based on one source
History of the East Lancs OmniDekka
A late double-decker from Scania
Scania was late in bringing a low-floor double-deck chassis to the market. During the 1990s the company had sold low-floor single-deck buses, mainly with Wrightbus bodywork. It had, however, already worked with East Lancashire Coachbuilders in 1995, when the two launched the step-entrance East Lancs Cityzen double-decker on the Scania N113DRB chassis. In 2002 East Lancashire bodied a batch of short-wheelbase Scania N94UBs with Myllennium midibus bodywork for London Easylink; the OmniTown midibus grew out of that type, with Myllennium front panelling restyled to look like an OmniCity.
The OmniDekka of 2003
The OmniDekka itself was launched in March 2003 on the N94UD chassis, which had an inclined transverse engine. The body was a modification of East Lancashire’s earlier Myllennium double-deck design: the standard front cowl and windscreen were replaced with the front of Scania’s integral OmniCity. At first the N94UD chassis kits were assembled at the former Leyland Bus product development site in Leyland, Lancashire, after plans to build them at East Lancashire’s Blackburn factory were dropped.
End of production
In July 2006 the OmniDekka was replaced in East Lancashire’s range by the Olympus, built on the then-new Euro IV Scania N270UD chassis. Scania had already shown a Euro IV double-deck version of its integral OmniCity in September 2004, with production from January 2005, and that model ultimately replaced the OmniDekka as the Scania double-decker of choice, particularly with London contractors. OmniDekka production nevertheless ran on until 2011.
Operators
The first production OmniDekka went to the independent operator Beestons of Hadleigh in 2003, and Beestons took three more between 2005 and 2006. The largest fleet was Nottingham City Transport’s 174 vehicles on N94UD, N230UD and N270UD chassis, including the last 32 built in June 2011; Nottingham’s last OmniDekkas were withdrawn during 2026. Metrobus of Crawley took 110 on N94UD chassis plus six on N270UD, Brighton & Hove took 103, some as convertible open-toppers, London United and London Sovereign 64, Reading Buses 34 and FirstGroup 30. Smaller batches went to Yorkshire Traction, Stagecoach Midlands and Minerva Accord, and a single vehicle was loaned to Lothian Buses for trials in 2004.
Design and features
- OmniCity front end: Scania’s integral bus nose on an East Lancs double-deck body.
- Three chassis generations: N94UD, then the Euro IV N230UD and Euro V N270UD.
- Transverse inclined engine: the layout of the low-floor N94UD chassis.
- Convertible open-toppers: some Brighton & Hove examples were built in this form.
East Lancs OmniDekka versions
- N94UD (2003–2006): the original Euro III chassis.
- N230UD: Euro IV chassis used from the mid-2000s.
- N270UD (to 2011): Euro V chassis, also used by the Olympus that replaced the OmniDekka.
- Open-top convertible: Brighton & Hove examples.
The OmniDekka’s front end came from the integral Scania OmniCity, and its chassis belongs to the Scania N-series. More vehicles are in the Scania collection.
Sources
- East Lancs OmniDekka, English Wikipedia: history, chassis types, operators
