Produced: 1998 to 2000 (Oréos 55), 2000 to date (Oréos 55E)
Following the demise of the Gruau MG36/41/50 range, Gruau and Ponticelli re-entered the midibus market in 1998. This time they formed a joint venture company called Gépébus, and their new product was a low-floor midibus called the Oréos 55. As with its predecessor, the Oréos 55 used a rear-mounted 4-cylinder turbocharged Renault engine. Again the bus has a front entrance and centre exit, with the low-floor section ending just aft of the exit doors.
TCL, Lyon
no. 3517 (852 VK 69) - September 2000
The best place to find the Oréos 55 in service is in Lyon, where 21 buses
were bought to replace MG36s. A subsequent increase in the number of minibus 'Navette'
routes meant that a number of the MG36s were repurchased, refurbished and put
back into service! Lyon 3517 shows the short wheelbase and relatively long front
and rear overhangs of this little bus as it waits at Place de la Croix Rousse.
TCL, Lyon
no. 3506 (1491 VH 69) and others - September 2000
A few more of Lyon's Oréos
55s, at rest inside their then home, the now-closed Parmentier depot.
Following the introduction of the diesel Oréos 55, an electrically-powered version (the Oréos 55E) was launched. This model followed a couple of experimental electric Gruau MG50s that were built for trials with RATP in 1996. The entry to service of the electric version was fraught with teething troubles, and the first production examples (for RATP) took a very long time to enter service. Even then, they suffered from poor roadholding on damp roads, a particular handicap as those for Paris are intended for use on the Montmartrobus service serving the steep, cobbled streets of Montmartre. The position of the batteries (in the roof) may not help this. Indeed, the Oréos 55 (like its predecessors the MG36 and MG50) suffers from a rather bouncy ride quality, no doubt due to its short wheelbase and comparatively long front and rear overhangs.
The Oréos 55 isn't exactly a common sight in France. Only around 50 diesel buses were built, including a batch of 21 for Lyon. Most customers were small town networks and only bought in ones and twos. In a surprising move, Gépébus opted to completely stop production of the diesel Oréos 55 completely in October 2000, with only the electric version remaining available. So far, the only examples of these in service are the 12 in Paris, one in the western Paris suburbs and another in the port town of St. Nazaire.
RATP, Paris no.
311 - October 2002
One of the Montmartrobus Oréos 55Es arriving at the southern end of the
route, Place Pigalle.
The Oréos 55Es are
now at last in full use on the Montmartrobus, however two of the Van Hool A508s
that they replaced have been kept in reserve just in case. The Montmartrobus
route climbs right over the top of the famous hill - the streets are narrow,
cobbled and tend to have cars parked in awkward spots so the use of anything
larger than this sort of bus is impossible. I seized the opportunity to travel
on an Oréos on the route and found it quite an unnerving bus to travel on. For
a start it isn't as quiet as you'd expect as the motor whirrs away loudly while
the bus is in motion. Secondly the bus has a rather unpleasant habit of rolling
backwards on starting. On a steep hill this can be very worrying!
RATP, Paris
no. 308 - October 2002
Another of the Montmartrobuses at the other end of the route, Mairie du
XVIII. The small green box visible to the left of the bus is the charging
station, to which the bus is plugged in via a rather thick cable.
RATP, Paris
no. 311 - October 2002
311 again at Mairie du XVIII.
Diesel Oréos 55s look
much the same as this from the rear, although without the battery pack on the
roof.