Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 384 i Australasian Bus & Coach

A UNIQUE integrated first-mile/last mile (FMLM) airport express three-month trial for North Auckland launched on August 14, 2019, Skybus and Uber have announced. The trial will deliver the first dedicated ‘front door to airport’ service for Auckland’s North Shore residents, Skybus states. The result of six months of collaboration leverages Uber’s intuitive platform with the fastest and most affordable transit service into Auckland, Skybus claims. According to the proponents, it will benefit those living within Albany, Milford and Takapuna areas. Utilising express bus lanes and the accessibility of Uber this trial will, “…uniquely provide convenience and cost-effective solutions for North Harbour residents in their choice of Airport transit”. During the trial, passengers purchasing an adult or family Skybus North Harbour Express ticket online will unlock 50 per cent off trips…

FOR EACH IRIZAR bus or coach sold in Australia, disadvantaged children’s charity Ardoch will receive a donation that’s invested into its educational support programmes, the European bus builder announced recently. In addition to the investment the charity will be offered an enhanced awareness of its work through access to Irizar’s network of suppliers and customers. According to Irizar, it sees this as taking an important step to contribute to the future of Australia by embarking on a strategic partnership with Ardoch. Ardoch is a children’s charity working for societal change by focusing on improving educational outcomes for children and young people in disadvantaged communities. One in three children in Australia’s most disadvantaged communities start school developmentally vulnerable and they continue to fall behind as they progress through school, it states.…

Global Bus Ventures uses a Locline frame system in the assembly of its aluminium-framed bus and coach builds, as the system is relatively corrosion resistant, lightweight, durable and eco-friendly. All chassis and on-chassis framing is constructed of Duragal, which has a zinc coating on all sides, giving a high degree of protection from corrosion. The team at GBV will design and customise buses and coaches to suit the needs of all operators, on any brand of chassis. In December 2018 Global Bus Ventures displayed the first NZ-built 2550mm-wide five-star coach at the Auckland branch Bus & Coach Association Christmas lunch. The added 50mm has substantially increased the aisle width and has with sloping floors to the rear, which allows each passenger to look over the seat in front.…

ABC: G’day, Thiago. Welcome back to our fine shores. Could you tell us a little about how you got into this role? Where did your career start and how did things evolve to get you to this stage? TD: I started my career as a trainee at a company called Gerdau, a steel manufacturer with headquarters in Brazil. I spent almost five years there and then applied for a position as investor relations manager at Marcopolo in 2008. In this role I was mainly responsible for the interaction with shareholders, investors and financial analysts. After I’d worked in both investor relations and finance manager roles, I was invited to take over the position of chief human resources officer; that was in December 2016. In 2017 I held a HR global…

KNOWN FOR ITS DESIGN pedigree and incredible reliability, Coachair has consistently set the standard in delivering exceptional design and high-performing air conditioning systems for the Australian bus and coach industry for more than 30 years, it says. It understands the need to provide maximum passenger comfort, but also deliver a superior, reliable product at a lower cost, weight and power consumption, it explains. Introducing the new CA40 – the result of a dedicated commitment to deliver a superior, high-performing, durable, lightweight, environmentally friendly, cost efficient system, says Coachair. ‘WE CONSTANTLY STRIVE TO DESIGN AND ENGINEER PRODUCTS THAT PROVIDE TAILORED SOLUTIONS TO OUR CUSTOMERS’ NEEDS.’ Suited to large buses and coaches with up to 80 passengers, the CA40 is the great all-rounder, it says. This unit offers maximum air flow throughout…

June, which historically has tended to be the busiest month for bus and coach deliveries, has been surpassed in 2019 by July’s figures, with the final tally of 153 breaking the yearly record by two and marking a positive start to the new financial year. On the chassis side, this increase was mainly driven by Volvo, which shattered its top tally by more than 20 to reach a total of 68 for the month. Scania posted a solid 38, while Yutong was another maker to record a year’s best with 27. For the body builders, Volgren was also involved in a year’s best figure, passing half a century to reach 53. Yutong’s 27, matching its chassis count, was the highest monthly figure this year for any builder outside of Volgren.…

PUBLIC TRANSPORT operator Transit Systems has placed a purchase order in Australia for 44 Euro 6 city bus chassis – the biggest single order for Daimler Bus in Australia in more than a decade, it’s reported. According to the German manufacturer, the chassis are produced in its plant located in Sámano, Spain, and they will subsequently be, “…fitted with bodies from either Volgren or Gemilang”. “The biggest single order for Daimler Bus in Australia...” All indications are that the buses are to be used in Sydney, for Transit System’s Region 6 contract area. Only recently did the operator start a trial of four Gemilang-bodied BYD electric buses in that region, as ABC magazine reported recently. ABOUT THE PARTNERS Transit System is an Australian-based international transport company, which operates in five…

SKYBUS also recently announced the completion of the third and final stage in its $3 million, 12-month overhaul of its kerbside ticketing and passenger infrastructure at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport. The completion paves the way for Skybus to accommodate greater passenger numbers coming through the airport, it states. With a bus movement at the kerb on average every three minutes – and Skybus now offering six separate Airport Express services – these facilities are critical to the customer experience as Melbourne Airport continues to grow, it explains. Enhanced ticketing options (including 18 new ‘e-kiosks’), more convenient and comfortable waiting areas, and an investment in modern staff facilities were the key objectives of this Skybus-funded project, it says. The arrival of the new Skybus app in August 2019 will further complement the…

VOLVO BUSES hosted it first ‘Smart and Sustainable’ transport forum in Sydney recently, blending global experience with local insights to “…address Australian and New Zealand public transport challenges,” it states. Organised under the patronage of the Swedish Embassy, Business Sweden, Swedish Australian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) and Australia’s Bus Industry Confederation (BIC), the event – with the intent to help Australia and New Zealand evolve their public transport systems given population growth – aimed to address the following: • What does it mean to have smart and sustainable public transport? • Factoring in an accessible, reliable and responsive multi-modal PT system at the stage of urban planning itself; • How can a bus network “scale up” and be managed sustainably? • Evolving optimal strategies to address congestion and pollution; •…

A RECENTLY COMPLETED and now open $5.74 million project to build an Australian-designed and built bus depot in Mount Claremount, west Perth, is part of a future-proofing push for Transperth bus facilities, the State Government confirms. With hardstand parking areas for up to 55 buses and 65 cars, the depot includes a four-bay workshop, administration building, refuelling facilities and bus wash facilities. Located on a 1.2ha site west of Brockway Road, it was designed and built by West Australian company Pindan Constructions. As the Government explains, the new depot will, “…help future-proof Transperth’s bus operations, as part of a push by the Public Transport Authority to ensure as many bus depots as possible are owned by the State”. Previously, Transperth buses servicing Claremont and surrounds operated out of a Fremantle…

A desire to make a difference gets Katie Nimon out of bed each morning. Nimon is the general manager of the family business Nimon Luxury Passenger Transport in New Zealand, where she works with her father and managing director, Bill Nimon, her mother and administration manager, Sue, and uncle, Garth Nimon, who looks after the company’s school runs. The 28-year-old has been working for the company since the age of 14, having grown up with a lot of industry operators who she now works alongside. She’s the fifth generation of the Nimon family to work in the business. After leaving school, Nimon studied advertising and marketing, finishing with an honours degree. Since completing her studies and spending time in Auckland, she headed back to Hawke’s Bay in 2015 to take…

John and Richard Bayes grew up in a bus operator environment with their parents, David and Joan. owning and operating a bus fleet at Dairy Flat, about a 30-minute drive north of Auckland. David and Joan purchased a small fleet of five buses and four school runs in 1979 when AECs, SB3 Bedfords and a handful of 0303 and 0305 Mercedes were the general order of the day. The current Bayes Coachlines operation may be vastly different from the service David and Joan bought into in the ’70s, but one thing hasn’t changed and that is an overarching desire to provide the very best service possible. In 2019, David and Joan still play an active role in the business, with David even doing the odd school run now and again.…

IF THE NAME HISPACOLD sounds familiar to you it might be its strong 40-odd year connection to a leading Spanish brand of commercial vehicles, but you’ll be pleased to know its air-conditioning products are suitable to a full range of other bus and coach brands in the Australasian marketplace. With more than 50 countries around the world having experienced the efficiency of Hispacold’s systems and its adaptability to the most extreme atmospheric conditions, the obligations it has acquired due to the high volume of export of products means Hispacold is obliged to extend its service guarantee to the same degree, the company states. Hispacold maintains direct contact with every one of the points which make up its worldwide service network, it says. Through technical training courses, specific manuals and a…

“This is the tip of the iceberg and is all too common in transport.” THE FAIR WORK Ombudsman has secured a penalty of $89,250 in the Federal Circuit Court against Sydney transport company Eagle Tours Pty Ltd after it misclassified bus drivers as independent contractors, it’s reported. Following requests for assistance, Fair Work Inspectors found that four bus drivers were paid flat rates of $22 an hour, despite working 12-hour shifts and weekends. Inspectors also found that three of the drivers had been misclassified as contractors, rather than employees. In light of the finding, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) criticised the “wage theft” of the four bus and coach drivers, who were “ripped off” the more than $46,000, saying the case is the tip of the iceberg in transport. Under…

HITACHI RAIL is to conduct a trial of ‘barrierless’ ticketing where sensors detect an app on a commuter’s smartphone as they board trains, with bus application also viable, the company claims. Although the focus of the proof-of-concept trial – to occur initially via Trentino Transport in Trento, northern Italy – is clearly on rail use, bus, tram and light-rail fares eliminating passengers needing to use smartcards to tap on or off, it is also part of the next-gen public transport vision. Seemingly a more unobtrusive and practical method of personal identification and correct-fare ticket payment than anything using proposed microchip implants or even futuristic iris recognition, the company implies once sensors are installed worldwide it could make smartcard ticket-reading barriers obsolete. MORE ACCESSIBLE “This technology has the ability to transform…

THE FIRST IMAGES of the new Japan-delivered Volgren city buses in service have hit locally, after onlookers spotted some and sent them to ABC magazine. While not official pics, they show the stunning-looking Volgrens on Scania chassis working the routes from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station’s Western exit, on June 19, 2019. Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest transport hub, as documented by Guinness World Records. Speaking exclusively to ABC magazine about the Volgrens and their look, Transit Graphics studio director John Mikita said: “We designed the livery; I think the decals were put on locally in Tokyo. “We were asked by Volgren to assist on the project quote some time ago, as they know very well about our strengths in bus livery design in Australia. “The buses are painted, no vinyl…

In 1985 two friends, John Turton and Lester Hobbs, set up shop in the South Island town of Ashburton, just over an hour’s drive south of Christchurch. Their aim was quite simple: to manufacture good quality buses. The business originally operated from a relatively small shed and employed a workforce of just four people, but in spite of all that had produced its first bus in the incredibly short timeframe of eight months. From that point in time, work came rolling in, requiring the company to move to larger premises – not just once but twice – so it could fill an increasing number of orders. Today, GBV has its head office and manufacturing facility situated in the Christchurch suburb of Rolleston. The 8,000 square metre building was built in…

IT WAS A LITTLE BIT chilly at the Fairmont Resort & Spa up in the beautiful Blue Mountains, but there was warmth and friendliness among the bus fraternity there attending BusNSW 2019 – themed “Forging the Future Together” – to offset any freezing conditions. In fact, it is the banter at this event that not only helps people bond and make connections just for a laugh and to work out who shares the same weird eating and drinking habits, but to swap war stories about ‘being bus’ in the modern age. That’s right… Whilst it’s a great industry nobly providing a worthy public transport service to millions of Aussies and Kiwis each year, it’s at these events you get to hear more of the ups and downs of day-to-day bus…

VALEO THERMAL COMMERCIAL VEHICLES is an automotive tech company providing technologies for the passenger car and commercial vehicle industry worldwide. The company designs innovative solutions for smart mobility with a particular focus on intuitive driving, reducing CO2 emissions and electrification, it says. Valeo – which acquired the well-known bus industry brand of Spheros – develops and produces customised solutions for intelligent air control in all types of buses, aimed at major manufacturers and operators of large vehicle fleets. It offers heating and air conditioning systems (HVAC), roof hatches and climate control systems for customers worldwide, adapted to widely different climate conditions. Valeo is working on a global approach for improved management of climate control, contributing to optimised use of energy resources and bringing a significant increase in the driving range…