AEC Swift

The AEC Swift was a rear-engined single-deck bus chassis built by AEC between 1964 and 1974 [Millar, Alan (1992) "Bus & Coach Recognition" : Ian Allan Ltd., ISBN 0-7110-2060-4] . The chassis was closely related to the Leyland Panther. It was available in 33' and 36' lengths, with an AEC AH505 or AH691 engine.

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 Routemaster or Bristol Lodekka), as British legislation prevented driver-only operation of double-deck buses until the late 1960s.

The largest fleet was operated by London Transport and London Country, with over 1500 in total delivered between 1966 and 1972. LT called the 36' vehicles Merlins. They were not considered successful, and most had been replaced by 1981 (mainly by Leyland Nationals and MCW Metrobuses. [ [http://www.countrybus.org/merlswft/merlin.html The LONDON TRANSPORT Merlins and Swifts] ]

References