Plaxton Pointer
The Plaxton Pointer was a successful single-deck bus manufactured during the 1990s.
With the launch of the Dennis Dart, in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body, a boxy affair, but with a very modern appearance, on the short 8.5m chassis. Launched in 1991, at 2.25m wide, this efficient bus proved a huge hit with the big transport operators, and they sold in big numbers in London. The modular nature of both chassis and body meant for various permutations in length, with 8.5m, 9.0m and 9.8m variants being manufactured. The Pointer became the most successful midibus body. In 1994 Thamesway (now First Essex Buses) bought the 1000th Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Dart (it was also the 2000th Dennis Dart), registered M934 TEV.
The introduction of the Super Low Floor version of the Dennis Dart in 1995, the Dart SLF, saw the Pointer body redesigned at a 2.5m width, with a step-free entrance, giving easy access for the disabled. The first Dart SLF to appear was also a Thamesway-owned bus - registered N701CPU. Not long after, the body received an all-new front end design, and alterations to the rest of the body - the Pointer 2 was born, and has proved to be just as successful. This was also available in a range of lengths to suit individual needs - 9.3m, 10.1m, 10.7m, 11.3m "Super Pointer Dart" (SPD for short), and after 3 years of production, the 8.8m "Mini Pointer Dart" (MPD).
In 1998, Mayflower Group, owners of Alexander, bought out Dennis. As a result, the future of the Pointer appeared uncertain as it was thought that the Dart may well become solely bodied by Alexander. Plaxton built two bodies on the Volvo B6BLE chassis known as Bus 2000. The project was scrapped on the formation of TransBus International. Parts of Bus 2000 have since been used on other designs, most notably the Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 and Enviro 500.