The Bedford JJL was an innovative but ultimately unsuccessful midibus model built by Bedford. The JJL could have been a success, but was ahead of its time in predicting the boom in the midibus market, as seen by the success of the Dennis Dart.
Only four JJLs were produced, along with a pre-production prototype, starting in 1979.Bedford promotional leaflet for the JJL (see image) The production vehicles produced were as follows:Online database of bus orders Bedford JJL chassis searchBedford midi revival? Commercial Motor 14 September 1985
Chassis numberNumber plateBodywork codeSeatingBuiltIRK0JL9008UKK 335XMarshall 260250B24F1981 IRK0JL9009AVS 903TMarshall 260251B24FNovember 1978 IRK0JL9010EKX 648TMarshall 260252B24F1978 IRK0JL9011HKX 553VMarshall 260253B24FNovember 1979
The build date of the first chassis may indicate that this was the prototype that was converted to a production bus, although the bodywork numbers and build dates conflict with those found in.
Maidstone Borough Council took delivery of the JJLs in 1981/82.Southbus webpage Maidstone Municipal Transport, A brief history UKK 335X and AVS 903T were sold to Brighton Buses, and then to Northern Bus, Sheffield in 1992. EKX 648T also went to Brighton, but was scrapped in 1988 after a collision with a tree. HKX 553V was sold to Bournemouth Transport (trading as Yellow Buses) in 1983, and then onto The Goodman Group, where it saw service with Rambler and Goodmans coaches. It is the last JJL in service and has been exhibited at rallies. HKX553V was sold in 2018 to a collector from Aylesbury
In 1985, Bedford considered reviving the JJL.Marshall tests JLL demand Commercial Motor 26 October 1985More minibuses, but Marshall bides its time Commercial Motor 23 November 1985 Marshall SPV had the idea to reintroduce the JJL under the Marshall Bus brand, although the deal never caught on. Tricentrol of Dunstable produced a short version of Bedford's YMQ chassis, the YMQ/S, ten years after the JJL.
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