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STRANGE DAYS, indeed. ‘Most peculiar, mamma – Whoah’… That John Lennon fella wrote some crazy lyrics, for sure. Yet the most disturbing part is often they seem to make sense when certain things happen in life. Or at least not immediately when they do, but rather after time when they are viewed as some greater chain of events. Okay, I just read your mind. Let me explain ‘what I’m babbling on about again’. Or try to… ;) I don’t know why that Lennon song Nobody Told Me came to mind when thinking about the unexplainable events we often encounter in life – and I’m not talking about its mention of UFOs. That said, it doesn’t seem he wrote them in there just for some artistic assonance for lyrical perfection, as…
NORTH AMERICA’s largest and most diversified bus and coach manufacturer – NFI Group Inc. (NFI) – has acquired major UK bus-building enterprise Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) for a total transaction value of £320 million (A$587 million) on a cash-free, debt-free basis, subject to certain adjustments, it’s announced recently. In 2018, ADL generated annual consolidated revenue of £631 million (A$1.2 billion), from delivering 2,533 buses for manufacturing revenue of £559 million (A$1 billion) and £71 million (A$130 million) in aftermarket parts and service revenue, it’s claimed. During 2018, approximately 49 per cent of ADL’s consolidated revenue was generated from the UK, 27 per cent from Asia Pacific markets, 12 per cent from North America with the remaining 12 per cent coming from aftermarket and developing markets. In addition, ADL generated free…
A VICTORIAN BUS OPERATOR will run Scania’s first right-hand-drive, second-generation hybrid that’s touted as the “world’s first silent hybrid city bus”, the company states. Geelong-based McHarry’s Buslines – a long-time Scania customer – has ordered three Generation II, K320 UB 4x2 Scania hybrid buses set up in right-hand drive, with the first of the vehicles expected to enter service later this year in October. Express Coach Builders will body the Scania hybrid chassis. The Generation II hybrid Scania buses that McHarry’s will put to work in Geelong can run on battery power alone, either automatically – as determined by the on-board power management system – or when manually selected by the driver, a function known as ‘Silent Mode’. These are the first right-hand drive examples the factory has produced in…
SINCE 2010, Volvo has recorded hybrid bus sales and orders worldwide of more than 4,000 units, which now includes those in Australia, the company confirms. Britain, Spain and Belgium top the past year’s sales statistics for this “strong demand for Volvo’s energy-efficient hybrid buses”, Volvo states. Between January 1, 2018, and April 1, 2019, the number of sold and ordered hybrid buses totalled 817 units globally. These hybrid models – which are up to a claimed 40 per cent more fuel-efficient than corresponding diesel buses – have since 2010 recorded sales and orders of more than 4,000 units from customers in 23 countries – including Australia, it says. Volvo’s hybrid buses are what the company calls ‘full hybrids’, which means they run entirely without exhaust emissions, and are powered by…
FAMILY OWNED New South Wales regional bus operator Sapphire Coast Buslines is the first bus operator in Australia to put Volgren’s new low-floor, seat-belted Urban bus onto the road, Volgren states. The 57-seat bus – a replacement vehicle under its current contract – will be used for both daily school services and standard route services throughout the Bega Valley Shire, covering towns such as Bermagui, Merimbula and Bega, on the NSW South Coast. “This new bus ticks both of those exceptionally important boxes. It’s safe, it looks great, it caters for a variety of passengers and it offers a high level of comfort compared to other low-floor buses,” Sapphire Coast Buslines managing director Anton Klemm said. Klemm said in addition to the inclusion of seatbelts – now a mandatory requirement…
NEW SOUTH WALES National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from within the bus community to provide a bespoke shuttle service for the Royal National Park (RNP), south of Sydney. According to the government organisation, the opportunity to operate an exclusive visitor transport service within Australia’s oldest National Park aims to tap into annual patronage approaching five million visitors. Ultimately, NPWS wants a transport service that will improve the experience of walkers and visitors by providing enhanced access to tracks and trails within RNP – and linking to transport access hubs outside of it. Only one licence will be issued on a competitively allocated basis via a tender, NPSW confirms. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The objectives of the service are to: • Improve access for visitors…
