1996 NDNZ Scorpion
#1807
The Scorpion SBR180SLF, built by NDNZ was selected to bring the overall fleet age of the Yellow Bus Company down. The SLF buses were low-floor and served diligently until the middle of the 2010s.
Our SBR180SLF, #1807, started its life on a special service called "The Link" to which it was set up with less seating in the main lower saloon, to promote standing for those only taking the bus a few stops before de-boarding.
This lasted in service on "The Link" for the first 11 years of its life, eventually being replaced on the service when the service refreshed to a bright green livery with a new fleet of Designline bodied Volvo B7RLEs.
After its life on "The Link" it was refurbished to have the same interior as all of the standard 1800 series NDNZ Scorpions. It was repainted into Metrolink colours and was a regular on services around Pt Chevalier, Grey Lynn and Ponsonby, although it saw service on all Metrolink service runs at some stage.
This part of its life was where our Secretary, James Peter would have likely driven it once or twice, even using it to cover services on The Link when the Volvos were in the workshop.
By 2013, with the introduction of 354 Enviro 200s, most of these SBR180SLFs had been sent to Rotten Row in Swanson. Luckily, our bus, #1807, was picked up by a member of the public, who was able to repaint, reregister and sell the bus to the team at Kiwi Coaches.
The bus served the Kiwi Coaches operation from 2016 until it was retired in 2023, when we were invited by Westy and his team to collect the vehicle for restoration and preservation. With much gratitude, we accepted the bus into our fleet in November 2023.