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The AEC Swift was a rear-engined single-deck bus chassis manufactured by AEC between 1964 and 1980.〔Millar, Alan (1992) ''Bus & Coach Recognition'' : Ian Allan Publishing, ISBN 0-7110-2060-4〕 The chassis design was closely related to the Leyland Panther. It was available in 33' and 36' lengths, with an AEC AH505 or AH691 engine.〔(AEC Swift 691 / PRV single-deck bus ) ''Commercial Motor'' 2 August 1968〕 The design was suitable for driver-only operation which helped bus operators to relieve the problems of labour shortages and costs, and became one of the alternatives to the traditional British double-deck buses (operated by a driver and conductor, such as the London AEC Routemaster or Bristol Lodekka), as British legislation prevented driver-only operation of double-deck buses until the late 1960s. ==London== The largest fleet was operated by London Transport and London Country Bus Services, with over 1,500 in total delivered between 1966 and 1972. Bodywork was supplied by Strachans Coachwork (prototypes only), Park Royal Vehicles, Metro Cammell Weymann and Marshall, to basically the same design. The fleet was made up of a number of variations. The Longer 36' versions were referred to as Merlins, and divided into MB (single or dual door), MBS (dual door), and MBA (dual door with turnstile payment for use on ''Red Arrow'' services) classes. The shorter 33' versions were known as Swifts. There were three variants of this model upon delivery. In the central area SM (single door saloon) and SMS (dual door with automatic fare collection) classes were painted red. London Country operated green SM-class dual door, fully seated saloons that had been ordered by London Transport. Subsequently, London Transport converted a number of SMS vehicles to conventional one-man operated saloons by adding more seats and locking the centre exit out of use. These were renamed the SMD class, but retained their original fleet number. Neither London Transport nor London Country considered either design to be a success and the first examples were withdrawn and sold, many for scrap, in 1972, after just four years service.〔(Gone for a song LTMerlins ) ''Commercial Motor'' 4 February 1977〕 Most had been replaced by 1981 mainly by Leyland Nationals and MCW Metrobuses.〔(The London Transport Merlins and Swifts ) Ian's Bus Stop〕 Some were taken by the Malta Department of Education and remained in their London form apart from a new coat of paint. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「AEC Swift」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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