Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 374 i Australasian Bus & Coach

“Wales Bus Repairs has been recognised as the largest, most up-to-date bus repair operation in Australia.” WESTERN SYDNEY-BASED Wales Bus Repairs has won the prestigious ‘Excellence in Small Business’ award at a gala event held at Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, officiated at by The Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, premier of New South Wales, and Luke Foley MP, shadow minister for Western Sydney and leader of the opposition, it’s reported recently. On Friday September 21, more than 700 of Western Sydney’s most influential business leaders and professionals flooded into the venue to attend the 28th annual Western Sydney Awards for Business Excellence (WSABE). More than 300 entries for various categories toughed it out, with Wales Bus Repairs claiming the highly sought-after ‘Excellence in Small Business’ award from an elite and highly contested…

CUSTOM BUS GROUP – the new entity of the traditional namesake Custom (Coaches), has delivered its first city buses to western Sydney operator Busabout. The two new CB80 low-floor city buses were delivered 10-11 September, respectively, according to a Custom Bus spokesperson. Busabout has not traditionally purchased the Custom product; however, after taking delivery of its two new CB80 low-floors the company confirms it intends to purchase more of the model from Custom in future. Insiders reveal the delivery came about as a show of support; Busabout was the first customer to place an order for two vehicles on the MAN RC2, 19.320 Euro 5 chassis with the newly managed Custom Bus Group, for the Busabout operation at Smeaton Grange, Sydney. Owners Tony and Joe Calabro say they were absolutely…

QUEENSLAND-BASED Yutong distributor Bus Stop Sales and Service (Bus Stop) has also been appointed as the new and exclusive dealer for the Chinese bus brand in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, it’s reported recently. The southern expansion coincides with the company newly appointing industry stalwart Guy Pex as general manager for the southern states, in addition to the company launching its highly anticipated Yutong 53-seat high-floor “Super Coach” – the Australian version of the European model known as the T12. According to Bus Stop, Pex’s extensive bus industry experience is a fantastic addition to the growing Bus Stop team. “I joined the bus industry in 2010 with Irizar Oceania / Patico Automotive (the original distributor in Australia) as sales manager; initially the company purely sold the Irizar school bus and…

“We wanted to build this vehicle as light as we could.” THE FIRST 12-SPEED ZF Traxon bus transmission installed in Australia has been delivered to east coast luxury coach operator Murrays, fitted to a premium BCI 13.2m vehicle constructed with a framework using narrower stainless steel for lighter weight and increased aisle width, it’s reported recently. Nearly halfway through the full order of 31 new ‘MC50’ (aka BCI Cruiser 13) coaches for selective operator Murrays – which are to be used on a Sydney-to-Canberra-return hourly run express service – the 12-speed ZF Traxon is said to have incredible features for fuel saving, driver comfort, and noise reduction, making the transmission, “one of the smartest that ZF has built to date,” said Bus and Coach International (BCI) CEO Desmond Armstrong. “The…

THE SYDNEY METRO may seem like a rail project – in fact, it’s been described as the largest in Australia – but when works began in earnest at the end of September, 2018, buses played an integral part. The final major stage of the Sydney Metro Northwest project involves upgrades to a section of rail in the city’s north-west. Currently, the line between Epping and Chatswood has been closed and buses will replace those trains for more than half a year. They are doing so now... Transport for NSW required more than 120 brand new buses to make certain Sydney commuters could get to where they needed to go, the government organisation says. The contract was offered to a joint venture formed between two bus operators: Transdev and CDC. CDC…

Back in June the first Australian Travel to Learn and School Bus Summit took place at the National Convention Centre, Canberra – which ran concurrently with the second National Coach Connections Summit. The latter represented a continuation of an engrossing theme and vibe from the previous year’s summit held in Adelaide, it’s stated. With two Summits on at once you’ve just got to just pop your head in back and forth if you wanted to check out both, or choose where your main interest was, but it was a great day out regardless. According to Bus Industry Confederation (BIC) organisers, both summits attracted 213 delegates from a broad spectrum of industry including operators, suppliers and manufacturers, various agencies/ bureaucrats. The largest representation by region was from Victoria, Queensland, and New…

It’s arguably been a rollercoaster ride for many bus body builders in the Australasian market over the past 50 years or so, with many success stories underwritten by the absorption of bloodlines or ending of others. The nature of the public transport game, coupled with changing technology, bus-making processes, and route and contract wins and losses have affected the fortunes of many such companies. In that context, the bus and coach building companies that still do business today – and good business by all accounts – are largely truly amazing organisations, making quality bus product featuring stylish designs and the latest enduring materials. Even better, the best ones are open to feedback from current and potential customers, thereby mutually evolving the product. Ultimately, operators are spoilt for choice, not just…

‘A major advantage is the distribution of more weight over the front wheels...’ I-BUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD builds buses based on the Isuzu truck drivetrain and chassis. Isuzu Trucks has been a leader in the Australian truck market for 29 years and today about one in every four new trucks sold in Australia carries the Isuzu name, the company says. In terms of buses, the I-Bus is a relatively new bus body concept to the Australian market. Uniquely, it is built on the Isuzu truck drivetrain and chassis, making it a very strong bus. “I-Bus is basically Brisbane Isuzu, a franchise of Isuzu Trucks; there more than 60 Isuzu dealers around the country that are individually owned and operated. The I-Bus side of the business only began about two years…

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…

“Many remain in operation today, even after 20 years and millions of kilometres.” MORE THAN 30 YEARS since it was launched into the Australian bus market, the Volvo B10M has proven itself a veteran of numerous operator fleets and its ‘DNA’ is in modern Volvo buses rolling off assembly lines today, according to Volvo Buses Australia. The Volvo B10M illustrates certain key qualities of the brand, it says, which is celebrating ’90 years of innovation’ in 2018. The Volvo B10M is no longer in production, but modern Volvo buses rolling off its assembly lines today share the same DNA, the company says. A GREAT AMBASSADOR Many Volvo bus models have rolled off the production line since their introduction in 1928, each “finding their way into the hearts of customers”, says…

PLANS TO BRING the world’s first fleet of fuel cell trucks into commercial operation has energised a review of Hyundai’s aim to mass produce fuel cell buses by 2020, according to information issued at the 2018 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles show, in Hannover, Germany in September. Hyundai Motor Company affirmed it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Swiss hydrogen company H2 Energy (H2E). Beginning in 2019 and over a five-year period Hyundai Motor and H2 Energy will provide 1,000 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks and an adequate supply chain for renewable hydrogen, the company says – the latter key for commercial vehicle use in general, including buses. The new fuel cell electric trucks are expected to travel a range of approximately 400km in real-life driving conditions, it’s…

“[The batteries] recharge automatically... when connected to overhead lines.” EXISTING TROLLEYBUS-USING cities around the world can also embrace cleaner public transport via vehicles like Iveco Bus’s Crealis, which has earned its first order following its Sustainable Bus of the Year 2019 category win at the 2018 IAA in Germany, recently. Limoges Métropole in Limoges, France, has been using trolleybuses for more than 50 years and, by investing in a new generation of electric vehicles, endorses its commitment to energy transition, it states. Unveiled on the opening day of the IAA Commercial Vehicles Show, this new vehicle represents another significant advance in the field of electric mobility, according to Iveco Bus. By choosing the Crealis ‘In-Motion-Charging’ – as is its name in full – the municipality demonstrates its desire to become…

MAKING ITS official public debut at the 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles Show, Volvo’s new premium 9900 coach won the Sustainable Bus Award 2019. Iveco’s Crealis 18m In-Motion-Charging trolleybus won the Urban category while Mercedes-Benz mild hybrid Citaro Ü received the prize for the most sustainable Intercity bus. The award takes into account environmental performance as well as other sustainability aspects, such as safety, comfort, noise level, recyclability and the manufacturer’s general environmental performance, organisers state. “The launch of the new 9900 range represents a real turning point for Volvo. Modern design, improved Cx and new driving area, together with the well-known Volvo Dynamic Steering, are just some of the main new features developed by the Swedish manufacturer,” the jury wrote in its statement. Ulf Magnusson, head of Business Region Europe…

A SOMEWHAT CHAMELEON-ESQUE ability to change bodies for either people-moving shuttle bus duties, or cargo van-delivery services, makes the recently announced Mercedes-Benz Vision URBANETIC autonomous vehicle a ground-breaking concept for future urban mobility, said the company, adding that it goes “way beyond existing ideas on autonomous vehicles”. Eliminating “the separation between people moving and goods transport,” the Vision URBANETIC enables on-demand, sustainable and efficient movement of people and goods – and applies an innovative approach to fulfil the needs of cities, businesses from diverse sectors, as well as city dwellers and travellers, said the company. The concept reduces traffic flows, relieves inner-city infrastructures and contributes to an improved quality of urban life, according to Mercedes-Benz. INTERCHANGEABLE MODULES Intriguingly, Vision URBANETIC is said to be equipped with different interchangeable bodies depending…

“A new era has begun for [Brussels’] network, offering passengers greater comfort...” BELGIUM CAPITAL the City of Brussels’ transport company STIB-MIVB (Brussels Intermunicipal Transport Company) has signed a framework agreement with Iveco Bus for more than 140 articulated 18-metre hybrid electric buses, it’s been announced. The 141-bus order is an important step for the City of Brussels and is part of the network’s development plan to promote more sustainable transport, the company states. The five-year agreement with the public transport operator covers the delivery of 141 articulated hybrid electric Urbanway buses and also the planning, construction, supply, implementation, delivery of spare parts and battery pack maintenance, as well as all traction chain components, it states. According to Iveco, this major order is an important part of the network’s development plan…

Acronyms are curious things. Seductively simplistic and catchy one moment, irritatingly annoying the next. They’re everywhere these days. OEM, ABC – had to get the free plug in, you know how it is - MIA ... and who could forget that old ’70s family-dinner-now-school-lunch-left-overs favourite, KFC? Yet perhaps the one that’s most appetisingly ingenious is the modern masterpiece that’s thrown about the place with ease: OCD. Scientifically speaking (not), that’s pretty much just political correctness for ‘batshit crazy’, evolving from years of not knowing what the heck to make of pedantic people’s indecent obsession for, well … all sorts of things. Yet now that we are all big kids and can go pee by ourselves, we can talk about the obsession more us have than we’d actually care to admit:…

A TAILORED SUPPORT PROGRAMME along with quality paint products that provide exceptional UV stability and corrosion resistance have earned Axalta Coating Systems its new contract as the sole paint supplier for Volgren buses. An agreement was officially signed at Volgren’s Dandenong, Victoria, headquarters on September 13, 2018, with Volgren Supply Chain manager Michael Healy and Axalta ANZ managing director Steven Brett both present. Axalta is now the sole supplier of coatings to Volgren in Australia for both newly manufactured buses and for the repair of existing buses across all its facilities in Australia, and throughout its global supply chain. Volgren has selected to use the Imron Fleet Line range of products from Axalta Coating Systems. Brett said: “As a market leader in Australia, Volgren needed a coatings partner to work…

“Together, we will be able to shape the ongoing transformation of transportation.” RE-NAMED VW transport group Traton AG and Hino Motors Ltd have further solidified their recently announced strategic partnership by “joining forces” in e-mobility and plan to establish a procurement joint venture. Traton (pronounced ‘Tray-ton’) – Germany’s newly branded Volkswagen Truck and Bus entity, which also includes Scania and MAN commercial vehicles – together with Japan’s Hino originally entered into a strategic partnership on April 12, 2018, to benefit “customers, society, and both partners,” they stated. Since this agreement, both companies have established working-level committees and explored cooperation opportunities in existing and new technologies, as well as in procurement, the companies report. The strategic initiatives announced today are a result of these evaluations, they say. Yoshio Shimo, president and…

US COMMERCIAL VEHICLE power-plant maker Cummins has joined the Hydrogen Council, a global coalition exploring and promoting hydrogen as a clean energy source to help meet the world’s climate challenges, it’s reported recently. The announcement is the latest development in Cummins’ efforts to explore and support the use of low-carbon energy sources to help address global climate challenges. The company has been working quickly to develop its own capabilities in electrification, establishing a new Electrified Power business segment in 2018. Leaders have pledged to have an electric powertrain system for the urban bus market by the end of 2019. DIVERSE POWERTRAINS At the recent 2018 IAA Commercial Vehicle Show, Cummins displayed its advanced suite of plug-in hybrid electric powertrain solutions, further broadening its portfolio. Most interestingly, it unveiled the PowerDrive…

“On Efficiency Driver Assist aims to motivate the drive to improve driving behaviour.” TRANSMISSION and commercial vehicle technology specialist Voith presented new innovative and efficient bus products at IAA 2018, in Hannover, Germany: a new electrical drive system and the new DIWA NXT transmission, it’s reported. Touted as key to more economical bus operation, the new innovative fully electrical drive system enters Voith into the growing market for e-mobility, the company says. The electrical drive system is a well-balanced system that impresses with low weight and maximised efficiency, rounded off with an intelligent energy management system, it’s claimed. The first prototype was installed in a Solaris Urbino electric, but the Voith system can be easily integrated into vehicles from other manufacturers without restrictions, says Voith. Further, it offers outstanding driving…

Dominic Sita found himself at a crossroads in 2009. Aged 45, he had split from his family business Sita Group in western Melbourne in July before branching out on his own a month later. Having overseen 200 buses, the pace had somewhat changed at Kastoria with a fleet of 30. Yet it wasn’t long until Sita found a way to grow – and when opportunities come along it’s “foolish” to turn them down, he says. A year since taking over Kastoria, Sita took over Seymour Buslines followed by Broadmeadows Buslines in 2011. That same year he had also moved to his new headquarters in Westmeadows. Even his accountant had banned him from buying anything else for at least a year. Having learnt the most valuable lesson from his father, George,…

Based in Xiamen, China, King Long is one of the world’s superpower bus and coach builders that’s been shaking up the Australian bus industry. The reality is competition is a good thing, as it gives us access to the best products for the best price. Today, our industry has a choice of the world’s best technologies and advancements combined with our trusted local manufacturers and builders expertise. We really have become spoilt for choice. King Long recognises that the Australian market not only has unique operating conditions and regulatory requirements, but also has amongst the highest safety and quality standards in the global bus and coach industry. Stephen Long, regional sales manager for King Long, said: “So they’re not just a standard bus that comes off the production line; there’s…

SINCE THE LAUNCH of the first King Long bus in Australia in 2008, we have seen increasing numbers of King Long buses entering the market, creating a growing awareness of quality buses at excellent value. There are more than 400 King Long buses on Australian roads. Within the global bus and coach industry, Australia has among the highest safety and quality standards, with some very unique operating conditions and regulatory requirements. King Long is committed to providing the right vehicles for the Australian market and as such, all models are designed by Australian Engineers with assistance from King Long’s extensive engineering resources. All vehicles are tested, with each model undergoing rollover testing, meeting ADR (carrying dangerous goods) regulations and selective FEA (finite element analysis) testing to validate the design lifecycle…

What goes up must come down, as they say. With deliveries creeping up to a yearly high of 122 last month, they eased to 90 in September, a figure not seen since February. Reassuringly, however, that ‘low’ is still much healthier than this time last year, when only 53 deliveries were recorded. The dip in the market was characterised by quieter months from the two powerhouses, Volvo and Scania. The Swedes eased from 55 and 47 to 36 and 20, respectively. In better news, encouragingly for MAN its numbers jumped from three to 11. It was a similar story for the body builders, with Volgren recording only nearly half its recent tallies, noted in 26 sales. It was closely followed by Bustech, whose strong recent run has continued with 18…