Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 365 i Australasian Bus & Coach

Volgren has received a major export order for 29 Australian-built low-floor city buses from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Transport. The order is Volgren’s single biggest deal since entering the Japanese market in 2014 with its articulated route bus. This latest partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which operates about 1450 buses in the Greater Tokyo region, is one of four operator relationships that Volgren has established, including its ongoing association with Japan’s largest bus operator, the Nishitetsu Railway Company. Volgren chief executive Peter Dale says the entry of the Volgren low-floor city buses, to be built on a Scania N280UB E6 chassis, would be the first of its kind in Japan. “In a short space of time, Volgren have built a reputation in Japan for manufacturing high-quality, niche vehicles…

Regional communities across New South Wales will have the chance to test an automated vehicle following expressions of interest for a trial. The NSW Government is currently trialling the state’s first fully automated vehicle at Newington Armory through the collaboration between the Smart Innovation Centre and Industry partners, but intends to broaden its scope beyond metropolitan areas. “We want to test this technology outside of the Greater Sydney area so that our regional communities can be part of our future planning when it comes to driverless vehicles,” Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey says. “Country people account for only one third of the state’s population but tragically two thirds of all fatalities in NSW occur in country areas. Currently, 94 per cent of road accidents result from human…

Nearly 50-million commuters have taken a trip on a Transit Systems bus since it started operating in Western Sydney in 2013. Transit Systems NSW general manager Len Kidd personally handed out hundreds of muffins to Region 3 passengers, which includes Liverpool, Fairfield and Holroyd. There were 500 muffins loaded onto a special service double-decker ‘Thank U Sydney’ bus to commemorate the achievement. Transit Systems CEO Clint Feuerherdt says it’s been a pleasure to be able to transport so many people in the community and to reach this milestone. “We are proud to reach the 50-million-passenger milestone and celebrate the moment with people who use our service every day,” he says. “We’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hopefully the muffin is a pleasant surprise on an otherwise ordinary…

Common threads found in many of the great original bus companies I have had the opportunity to interview are that most come from humble beginnings, all have a special early-day entrepreneurial spirit, and almost all are successful because they are family owned and run. They have all achieved success through hard work, perseverance, dedication and, most importantly, the bond and support of family. On meeting 97-year-old Tom Berry from the long-running Highway Coaches in Ipswich Queensland, and speaking with his identical twin sons Bruce and Gordon, you easily get the picture that the bond between father and sons is a very special one. Mum June is 94, and definitely one of the chattiest ninety-somethings I have ever met. The clan includes daughter Kay and her husband Max, who has just…

Van Hool is a Belgium-based family-run bus, coach and commercial vehicle builder and a major manufacturer in the Europe market, producing about 1400 buses and coaches each year, with 80 per cent being exported worldwide. Initially founded by Bernard Van Hool, it commenced in the 1940s as a successful body builder, designing individual creations often inspired by contemporary designs of large American cars. In the ‘50s, the family name became the brand Van Hool, and 2017 marked the commencement of Van Hool bus and coaches being marketed and professionally sold to the Australian market. On the topic of company history, Van Hool Australia sales director Michael Robinson says that, prior to this new venture, companies have privately imported Van Hools into Australia and New Zealand as far back as the…

New South Wales will see an increase in bus services as part of the single largest transformation of public transport in Sydney, with an additional 8600 new weekly train, bus and ferry services announced. Of the 8600 new services, about 7000 will be for bus, with 1500 for train and 140 for ferry. “We have prioritised public transport investment with more than $1.5 billon going into the rail network and have purchased more trains, buses and ferries,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says. Places like the Northern Beaches will have a redesigned bus network with 3200 extra weekly services, including more than 2000 additional weekly services on the brand-new B-Line. Extra weekly bus services are also being introduced on routes in the Macarthur and Hills Districts, Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, Lower…

A public call has been made for input into a new coach service that will operate between the New South Wales towns of Bourke and Brewarrina, and Dubbo. Starting next year as a trial, new day return services between the centres will be included on the NSW TrainLink coach timetable. Residents from Bourke, Brewarrina and towns along the way will be able to travel safely and comfortably to Dubbo, spend up to four hours in town and return home later that afternoon. A Transport for NSW survey is asking local residents which days and times they would like the trial to operate. For example, people may prefer to leave early in the morning and return home before dark; or leave later and return later. “The additional NSW TrainLink services will…

Toll road users will soon be eligible for free car registration as part of the NSW Government’s commitment to tackle cost of living pressures. Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced drivers will be eligible for free vehicle registration if they spend more than $25 a week, on average, over a 12-month period on tolls. “The majority of eligible motorists will save $358 a year on registration costs, with potential savings of up to $715 a year,” Berejiklian says. “The Government’s strong budget position allows us to give back to toll users. “The NSW Government has made it a priority to drive down the cost of owning a vehicle with big savings being delivered through reforms to CTP Greenslips and the introduction of a FuelCheck app.” The rego rebate will be available for…

The NSW Government has launched expressions of interest for the first set of public transport trials to bring transport directly to the commuter. Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance says on-demand will play a big part in the future of public transport and it was critical to bring that future to rural and regional NSW. “Instead of relying on timetables, on-demand brings transport to you – when you want, and where you want,” Constance says. “This is a major opportunity for industry to partner with government to improve and personalise transport all over the state.” Deputy Premier John Barilaro says that while the NSW Government is trialling on-demand services across Sydney, this call for expressions of interest is focused specifically on rural and regional NSW. Barilaro says the trials…

Following the recent confirmation of Melbourne’s long-awaited North East Link, comes the announcement of a dedicated busway to complement the development. The Doncaster Busway – a fully separated, high-speed bus route – will run from Doncaster to Victoria Park, with Melbourne’s first dedicated busway set to slash travel times and deliver more services to and from the city’s northern suburbs. Using the median in the Eastern Freeway, buses will be able to travel up to 100km/h unimpeded by traffic, slashing travel times by up to an estimated 30 per cent. The new busway will include two separated bus-only lanes (one each way) that provide direct access to and from Doncaster park and ride, and connect to the Victoria Park precinct. The project will also provide more parking for commuters, with…

Country Victorian bus operators, along with other industries and all drivers, will have unprecedented access to information about the condition of country roads, road works and upgrades as part of a massive overhaul of the way VicRoads manages the road network. According to the The Country Roads, Your insights, Our Actions report, based on the feedback from 11,000 Victorians, 700 stakeholders and 30 councils, Victorians will be able to log on to a digital dashboard on the VicRoads website to track progress on road upgrades, pot-hole repairs and other maintenance efforts, after greater calls for transparency about road conditions and the work VicRoads is undertaking. “We’re investing more than ever before to modernise the state’s road network, keep people informed and keep people safe,” Minister for Roads and Road Safety…

In an Australian first, Gippsland-based transport company Latrobe Valley Bus Lines placed an order for eight Euro 6 Volvo B5LH single-deck hybrid chassis The order for eight new hybrid Volvos follows a successful 12-month trial by Latrobe Valley Bus Lines of a Volvo Hybrid bus, in which the technology proved to save more than 30 per cent fuel and CO2 emissions, and also reduced harmful NOx (oxides of nitrogen; atmospheric pollutants) by up to 50 per cent compared to a regular diesel bus. The eight hybrid chassis will be bodied locally in Melbourne by Volgren, which has previous experience building Volvo hybrid chassis. All eight hybrid buses will feature low-floor layouts to improve passenger access and safety, and will operate on timetabled public transport routes around the Latrobe Valley, and…

Deliveries increased in December 2017 with 113 brand-new buses delivered throughout Australia. This is a huge imporvement in comparison to November, during which 91 new bus deliveries were reported by manufacturers, representing an increase of 24. The December delivery number stacks up well when compared to the 100 new buses delivered at the same time last year. Scania had a strong month, its deliveries increasing from 20 in November to 46 in December. Volvo followed with 18, which was down on last month’s 24. Iveco and BCI had a strong month, reporting 13 and 11 deliveries respectively. Most other manufacturers delivered less than 10 vehicles each. The body builders posted very impressive results overall, with Volgren leading the pack on 34, that figure being up on the 30 reported in…