Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 373 i Australasian Bus & Coach

“... this is a timely and viable alternative.” WITH A RANGE OF up to 1,000km, Scania says its new Interlink Medium Decker coach for liquefied gas (LNG) operations helps extend the broad range of alternative fuel options to sustainable intercity coach journeys, it’s reported, recently. “Whereas there are several options for carbon-conscious city and suburban bus operators, there have been fewer alternatives in [the] long-distance travel market that we are now addressing,” said Karin Rådström, head of Buses and Coaches at Scania. “As LNG is becoming increasingly available throughout Europe, as well as in many other parts of the world, this is a timely and viable alternative.” LNG operations have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 per cent while also substantially reducing nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions,…

AS OF AUGUST 20 this year – as part of a Transport for NSW trial of on-demand public transport – Australia’s Transit Systems-owned BRIDJ introduced services designed to connect local residents, as well as local and international visitors, between the Bondi area and Rose Bay Ferry, it’s reported. The BRIDJ technology uses data to route mini-buses in real time, subscribing to a demand-responsive model that works on passenger clustering for streamlined pick-up and drop-off points. The program can even reroute to actively avoid congestion when possible, it’s stated. BRIDJ general manager John Langford-Ely said the trial will offer faster and more convenient public transport connections to and from the Sydney Ferry network. “On weekdays, residents throughout Bondi, North Bondi and Dover Heights will be able to connect to and from…

STANDEES’ SAFETY during any emergency bus situation is at the forefront of the thinking behind Daimler’s new optional Preventative Brake Assist feature for all Euro Citaro and Conecto Mercedes-Benz city buses, the company announced recently. Preventative Brake Assist cleverly applies a warning system and only partial braking automatically in the event a vehicle needs to rapidly reduce speed before coming to a halt – the latter still at the directive of the driver. In doing so, the impact of the kinetic energy and momentum on passengers standing on packed buses is lessened, no doubt reducing the chance of them being ‘thrown around’ and incurring unforeseen injury. The overall product safety roll-out will see the new Active Brake Assist 4 - 10 years in development and now also automatically initiating a…

“... we will create a leader in urban mobility solutions.” BETTER KNOWN IN AUSTRALIA as the supplier of the Sydney trams on the Inner West (L1 Dulwich Hill) Light Rail Line, massive Spanish transport entity CAF has just bought Polish bus company Solaris – maker of the current (European) Bus of the Year 2017 – it was announced. The innovative Polish bus manufacturer – whose zero-emission, 12-metre electric Solaris Urbino low-floor city bus also won the prestigious 2017 EBUS Award (organised by the VDV - German Association of Public Transport Companies), and was the world’s first bus to feature antimicrobial copper handrails to help reduce the spread of germs between passengers – saw CAF acquire 100 per cent of its shares and will now be included in the massive CAF…

BEING ONE of the first bus companies in the southern hemisphere to introduce the first fully electric bus fleet comes as a result of a decade of research and development by the Tranzit Group. The third-generation business is led by brothers Keven and Paul Snelgrove, who have always had eyes on the long-term future. The pair has been busy reinventing the company for the long-term; an important step in the evolution of bus transport in New Zealand. They’ve got into the field of electrical buses while everyone else is just thinking about it. The reason the family-run business has been in operation for 90 years is because it’s “not stuck doing the same thing”, Keven explained. “Our competitors probably think we’re pretty bloody game to be doing what we’re doing…

CHINS were wagging and curious eyes ogled intensely as the beauteous new 12m Yutong T12 coach made its debut at the 2017 Australasia Bus & Coach Expo held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre late September. To many, there was something different about this ‘Chinese’ coach – and there was. The 12-metre high-end tourism product was tailor-made for the European market, according to Yutong. Key components were all from world-renowned brands and the seats designed with ergonomics based on the figures (waistlines?) of European people, it was claimed at the time, thus fully meeting the road-traffic conditions in Europe and high-end travel needs of passengers, the company stated. With this ‘Aussie’ vehicle adopting the same platform as the high-end tourism coach developed for the European market, and given…

More than 30 years after it started as a one-man operation at a single location, Hanover displays is now a successful global organisation. It now has more than 250 employees worldwide and customers in more than 75 countries. Its passenger information systems solutions are designed and manufactured exclusively in-house without the need for external sub-contractors, it states. It has the capacity to build and supply up to 75,000 units annually, with the potential to scale up further in the future. Hanover says it’s never relied on external investors and continues to be an entirely independent business. It has always been committed to delivering reliable, made-to-measure solutions and exceptional support, it says. And it has always been dedicated to ongoing innovation and superb quality, it states. Hanover Displays says it is…

IN ADDITION TO taking a look at Volgren’s latest manufacturing process, Victorian Minister for Trade and Investment, Innovation & the Digital Economy and Small Business, Philip Dalidakis MP, joined CEO Peter Dale in inspecting a completed low-floor city bus before the vehicle is exported to Japan, it’s reported recently. The bus is one of 30 units that are soon to be shipped to Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which operates around 1,450 buses in the Greater Tokyo region. The Optimus low-floor city buses built on a Scania NUB E6 chassis will be the first of their kind in Japan, Volgren states. Built in Dandenong, the buses are 100 per cent compliant to stringent Japanese vehicle specifications including the country’s complex on-board passenger information systems, ticketing equipment and emergency exit requirements. The visit…

“... the state policy gives the bus operator capacity to use their judgment.” ‘SITUATIONAL AWARENESS’ and ‘de-escalation training’ started by Transport for Brisbane almost a year ago is nearing 100 per cent completion, with thousands of bus drivers recording markedly improved anti-social-behaviour-dealing skills according to surveys from respondents, it’s reported recently. As reported on The Brisbane Times newspaper’s website, from September 12 last year Transport for Brisbane started situational awareness and de-escalation training and thousands of people who drive Brisbane’s buses received extra training for dealing with angry, aggressive and intoxicated passengers. The training followed recommendations in Brisbane City Council’s AusSafe report and the state government’s Deloitte Report into bus driver safety, it’s stated. Both reports followed the death of bus driver Manmeet Sharma, who was killed in an attack…

Late last year, Ritchies Transport Holdings – New Zealand’s largest coach operator more than 80 years old and with about 1,200 vehicles – ordered eight Elite (pictured above) executive touring coaches, with the 13.5m Elite coaches built on a Scania K440 chassis. As the company stated at the time, while the Elite is a well-respected and much loved coach in the UK, the vehicles delivered to New Zealand (left) are not simply carbon copies of the domestic offering, and been meticulously tailored to the customer’s specific requirements. Of the eight vehicles ordered, two specification variants exist – one with a near side centre exit door plus centre toilet and a second variant featuring a rear saloon floor-mounted toilet to facilitate passenger access and maximise luggage capacity. A brand new HVAC…

It may well be a ‘sign of the times’ that bus, rail, ferry and whatever else mode of travel connected to any city’s public transport system relies on accurate arrival and departure information - and customers often get such from their phones. Or at least the downloaded travel apps on them. Yet those apps need to get that information from a source … and that source – in modern times – cannot just dictate where transport modes should or could be along routes. Real-time data shared rapidly between the vehicle or transport mode to the ‘base point’, which in turn compares it against timetable requirements and shares the outcome back and or to a source that disseminates it to apps for people to plan their travel against, is where we…

“... prides itself on its forward-thinking approach to technology, including its ‘Multiplexing’ technology.” Thoreb Australia is one of 10 subsidiaries of AB Thoreb Sweden, founded in 1978 by Ph. Dr. Thore Brynielsson. Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2018, AB Thoreb proudly remains a family business, running manufacturing operations within its homeland of Sweden and various other locations throughout Europe. Thoreb Australia celebrates its 19th anniversary this year. It’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the Swedish parent company with 12 staff across three locations, including a head office in southern Sydney. Thoreb prides itself on its forward-thinking approach to technology, including its ‘Multiplexing’ technology, which aids in fleet management, vehicle control and passenger experience throughout automation and data collection. The first bus ever manufactured in Australia using this technology was a…

‘... surpassing it by two to record 122 deliveries in August.’ Notlong since reaching a yearly high of 120 in June, the Australian bus and coach industry has bettered that figure, surpassing it by two to record 122 deliveries in August. A traditionally busy month, it beats the tally of 110 at the same time last year. The market was dominated by the Swedish chassis manufacturers, with Volvo (55) and Scania (47) accounting for 84 per cent – much of that driven by government purchases. Scania shone in particular, smashing its previous best monthly tally of 30. Volgren’s relationship with the Swedes bore fruit, its bodies listed on 53 vehicles all up for both. Bustech, despite not building its own chassis for the month, was kept busy with 21 bus…

JUST WHEN ELECTROMOBILTY was stealing all the passenger car, bus and general public transport limelight, hydrogen could be pinching a lot of it back in the clean-fuel game given the CSIRO’s – Australia’s national science agency – successful refuelling of two fuel cell vehicles, with massive potential for a new hydrogen production and export industry. As reported by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), its chief executive, Larry Marshall, was one of the first to ride in vehicles (a Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo) powered by ultra-high purity hydrogen, produced in Queensland, using CSIRO’s membrane technology. This technology will pave the way for bulk hydrogen to be transported in the form of ammonia, using existing infrastructure, and then reconverted back to hydrogen at the point of use, it’s…

“... there often aren’t any alternatives if our normal route is disrupted.” MELBOURNE REGIONAL ADVOCACY GROUP LeadWest has welcomed the Andrews Labor Government’s Melbourne Rail Loop announcement, but has called for investment in more urgent, unmet transport needs of Melbourne’s West – namely buses, it’s reported. Ahead of the Victorian November state election, LeadWest - a non-partisan and not-for-profit, membership-based organisation, it states – is seeking commitment to a frequent, reliable and fast regional bus network for the West, which would help to address the lack of cross-city connections much sooner, and at a far smaller cost, it states. “[The] announcement sets a bold vision for the long-term future of transport in Melbourne, but what the West really needs is better transport infrastructure that will help us here and now,”…

“This is all part of our drive towards ... a sustainable transport future.” SCANIA AUSTRALIA has recently signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with three providers in the bio-fuels industry, to “lubricate the path towards adoption of more sustainable and cleaner transport solutions for its customers,” it stated. In recent weeks, Scania has signed an MOU with Wilmar Bioethanol Australia, Ecotech Biodiesel, and the NGV Group, which are the infrastructure suppliers and consultants for natural gas and biogas. “Having held many discussions at high levels with a number of transport-related entities throughout the course of the year, from governments to operators and suppliers and having noted significant enthusiasm for actually turning this into action, Scania is now moving to facilitate the adoption of alternative-fuelled vehicles in Australia,” said Anthony King, Scania…

SERIES PRODUCTION STARTING IN 2019 of the all-electric ‘Saf-T-Liner C2 Electric Bus’ – known in short as ‘Jouley’ – will see [each] drive up to 81 kids all over America to school, “safely, quietly and emission-free”, states North American Daimler subsidiary Thomas Built Buses. Thomas Built Buses was founded in 1916 and is renowned for its ubiquitous yellow school buses in films, television and US popular culture in general. With a market share of 38.7 per cent, Thomas Built Buses is the leading manufacturer of school buses in North America, says Daimler. Jouley’s 160kWh battery provides a range of up to 160km; additional battery packs are optional and offer a higher range, it’s claimed. During the development of the electric school bus, Thomas Built Buses was able to draw upon…

“... only 1.4 per cent of all road accidents with injuries and fatalities involve buses.” AVOIDING MINOR BUT ANNOYING and expensive impact damage has played an equally important part of its bus driver safety training, says Omniplus – a brand of Daimler’s largest European subsidiary EvoBus – which celebrated its silver jubilee of comprehensive safety education, it’s reported recently. Since 1993 drivers have been trained in how to recognise and avoid hazards and accidents, the organisation states. Twelve drivers took part in the first driver training in spring 1993; to date around 18,000 drivers have completed it, organisers say. Experts are certain that this training has already prevented accidents, according to the company. The bus is accepted to be the safest means of road transport in Germany; only 1.4 per…

“The new HQ is an energising space, which will inspire our people on to greater things.” Following an official ceremony officiated at by Queensland Premier The Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk and Volvo Group president and CEO Martin Lundstedt for the new national Volvo commercial vehicles HQ, rockstar Jimmy Barnes led nighttime celebrations, which were capped off with a fireworks display. The stunning new facility is situated at 41 Bivouac Place, Wacol, QLD, 4076 – in the massive $350 million, 90-hectare Metroplex Westgate Business Park, 15 kilometres south-west of Brisbane. Volvo Group’s new HQ is in Metroplex South. In addition to the new HQ and VCV Brisbane South dealership there is a paint and panel workshop, with around 350 people having relocated from other Volvo worksites nationwide into the new area. Overall,…

THE DESTINATION might not be too far away and it’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened – and that’s a good thing – but Queensland-based Aussie body builder Coach Design prepping and shipping out a beautiful luxury coach to New Zealand (one of two, recently) is definitely something to be happy about. In fact, in those parts and many others around the country you could expect Coach Design fans to be making like they were appearing the in the Pharrell Williams video for the song Happy and be dancing in the streets, in workplaces, at tenpin bowling alleys and even on top of closed-lid dunnies in their bathrooms maybe (Disclaimer: that last one could be dangerous; don’t try that at home, kids!). Yet while this is nothing less…

They say your greatness is not what you have, but what you give. And if there’s any truth in that precept then it took human form at the TasBus 2018 Conference mid-year, where the local bus industry’s charitable hearts were laid bare for all attendees to see. Held June 1-2 at the elegant Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart, Tasmania, delegates were treated to a wonderful occasion of in-depth bus industry banter followed by an extravagant nighttime dinner function, underwritten by its own unique specialness of all the state BIC-related functions. The Friday-night Welcome Function kicked off things, with TasBus general manager Geoff Lewis greeting us all and setting the general warm tone of the event. The drinks and tasty nibbles were an added bonus to the friendly catch-ups between bus…

Since being implemented in November 2017, the Mobitec/Consat MX4 computer system on Sydney’s Northern Beaches strikingly bright-yellow MAN double-deck B-line bus system arguably showcases the world-leading passenger information technology to the domestic market, says managing director Bob Barwick. Mobitec successfully secured a contracted Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Transport for NSW to implement and manage its passenger information system on this route. “The system has operated without a hitch for the past six months, on both the buses and the bus stops. The MX4 computer technology is state-of-the-art and is underpinned by this solid performance. As well as implementing the on-board and off-board systems, we provided Transport for NSW the back-office system to manage and monitor buses and bus stops. We also integrated into their real-time open data hub. The…

Got a cool, crazy or candid picture of busie people doing busie things – or even if they are not busie things, but fun – that you’d like to share on our social page? Then feel free to pop them along to fabian.cotter@bauertrader.com.au…