Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 397 i Australasian Bus & Coach

AS PART OF a batch of 29 ADL-BYD Enviro400EV double-deck electric buses aiding UK operator National Express making its zero-emission transition, the remaining 10 units have been delivered for service in Coventry, the companies jointly announced recently. Following the first 19 buses starting service in Birmingham earlier this year, Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD Europe jointly announced the delivery of the remaining 10 double-deckers in line with the operator’s pledge to “never buy another diesel bus”. ADL is a subsidiary of leading independent global bus manufacturer NFI Group Inc. (NFI), while BYD is a global leader in batteries, energy management and electric mobility, they state. With the latest “clean buses” having entered service in Coventry, it links the city centre and University Hospital, the companies explain. Built to National…

EIGHT INTERACTIVE online sessions will constitute the first zero-emissions bus (ZEB) forum for the Australasian region, to be held October 1–November 19, organiser The International Association of Public Transport in Australia New Zealand (UITPANZ) has announced, recently. The event – with ‘premium sponsor’ Transport for NSW and ‘gold sponsors’ Arup and L.E.K. Consulting – over the eight sessions will include webinars and a World Café, UITPANZ confirms. According to organisers it will, “bring together public transport authorities, policymakers, operators, OEMs and bus manufacturers, technology and energy providers, charging solution suppliers and battery manufacturers, consultants and researchers to share knowledge and collaborate on the future of ZEBs in Australia and New Zealand”. UITPANZ executive director Michelle Batsas and general manager Angé Anczewska will facilitate the ZEB Forum, with the goal being…

THE RETRO SPOTLIGHT is shining on select historic Volvo buses as the Swedish manufacturer prepares to celebrate 50 years of operating in Australia, it reports. The significant milestone is helping highlight key bus and coach clubs and groups nationwide – such as the Tasmanian Bus & Coach Society (TBCS) – where retro collections harbour iconic vehicles that keep alive Volvo’s long bus history in the Australasian region, it states. TBSC currently owns 11 vintage buses, three of which are Volvos. These historic Volvo buses include: a 1978 B58/PMC; a 1985 B10M/PMC artic; and a 1988 B10M/Custom Hyliner touring coach. TBSC secretary Neil Robins also personally owns an impressive 1980 Volvo B58/Volgren Hess-bodied bus. The 1978 Volvo B58/PMC – nicknamed ‘Tassie Bluebird’ – has a history of its own and has…

Did you get down to South Bank when you were in town for last year’s Brisbane Truck Show? The music and BBQ at the Plough Inn were amazing. Up and down Little Stanley Street and throughout the precinct, there were great deals in every restaurant and bar, especially for Truck Show attendees. Or did you see the amazing display from Volvo Group Australia in front of the casino in Redacliff Place? ‘Mack the Transporter’, the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls’ pink trucks (looking Mickey Mouse even after stretching their legs across the Nullarbor), the Jimmy Barnes-inspired ‘Working Class Mack’ and a whole bunch of other new releases and favourites were all on show. What about the Daimler display in Queen Street Mall? How good was it to see school kids ooh-ing…

Algebra should be learned because ‘you never know when you’ll need to use it in life’, many of us at school were told. Trigonometric functions and old mate Pythagoras’s Theorem were also classic mathematical mind-benders for the youthful academic masses, too. Yet, fortunately, only few of us would ever indeed actually use these in our ensuing 50-year-odd workforce stint, with the rest resolving heart-warmingly that the advice from their well-intentioned teachers back then was pure myth The Periodic Table of Elements, though? Well, that’s another scholastic kettle of proverbial God’s aquatic creatures. When in full living colour that ‘completed Tetris’-looking thing arguably comes in handy more times than most non-geeky science types might guess it would – and thankfully they are probably all the better for it. With origins dating…

For the past four years, BBL has been contributing towards Griffith University’s Annual Appeal to help fund scholarships for students who are excelling in their studies despite facing financial or personal hardships. While in the past BBL has contributed full scholarships, the Covid-19 downturn this year has resulted in a slightly lesser contribution but with the same good intentions. “We really wish to support students going through a tough time and because of our family’s rural link we are particularly understanding of the challenges faced by kids from rural backgrounds and we feel honoured to help them,” Lara-Jane said.…

NORTH AMERICAN electric bus innovator Proterra and Australian bus builder Bustech are to collaborate on making e-buses for the local market, the companies announced recently. The selection of Proterra Powered battery technology for Bustech’s new ZDi 12.5-metre all-electric transit bus represents Proterra’s official entry into the Australian bus market, it states. “Everybody within our organisation is extremely excited to be in a partnership with Proterra,” said Bustech CEO and ex-ZF executive Thinus Steyn. “We have up-skilled the group over the last six months with the capacity and capability to bring the ZDi Proterra Powered electric vehicle to market in early 2021 and have a significant number of orders in the pipeline, which we have been working on in advance of the announcement of our partnership,” Steyn said. Under the partnership,…

DOZENS of family owned and independent bus operators and businesses are “on the brink of collapse, thousands of drivers could lose their jobs and ‘mum and dad’ operators stand to lose their homes”, as an impact of Covid-19 restrictions, according to NSW bus rally organisers. To highlight their plight and lobby for a government rescue package, desperate small bus company owners rallied outside NSW Parliament on Wednesday, September 16. Spokesman Rod Williams, who owns Near or Far Bus & Coach in the state’s Blue Mountains region, says while smaller bus companies were grateful for government help, such as JobKeeper, many aspects of the industry had been overlooked. As “forgotten victims of the Covid-19 fallout”, small bus and coach companies needed help with crippling costs like depot rental payments, vehicle registration,…

AN INCREASING NUMBER of former employees collectively from Australasia’s biggest airlines are now quickly adapting their skills to work ‘closer to the ground’, finding work with public transport provider Transdev, the company states. Close to 30 ex-airline staffers thus far have transitioned as new employees to public transport from the aviation sector since March and the company was fielding increased interest, confirms Transdev Australasia’s chief People and Culture officer Paul Birch. “To their credit, governments in Australia and New Zealand have continued to support public transport services during the pandemic, keeping our cities’ vital transport options open to those in our community who rely on it, and this means we’ve been in the positive position of being able to offer new employment opportunities,” Birch said. “The aviation sector is renowned…

NSW RURAL operator Buslines – covering various isolated and scattered depots and workshops across the state – has streamlined its essential service operations using its majority Volvo bus fleet via Volvo’s Connected Services, the company reports. Volvo’s Connected Services has been at the forefront of these solutions and has been a guiding force in providing unparalleled diagnostic services remotely, with efficiency and accuracy, Volvo states. Buslines Group CEO Peter Ferris believes Volvo’s Connected Services has streamlined the essential service operations for its Volvo vehicles. “Having been a customer with Volvo Bus Australia for the past 19 years, we are continuously impressed with their technology and service advancements,” said Ferris. “For Buslines Group, Volvo’s Connected Services has been an absolute dream in giving us real-time diagnostics, data updates and seamless solutions,”…

At a time of unprecedented challenges for the entire mass transit industry – especially those operating in Victoria – Australia’s largest bus body builder Volgren is celebrating a wealth of unique employee stories from its past and present, it explains. The first set of Local Content, Local Jobs employee stories acknowledge two people with more than 80 years of combined service: Ross Herring worked on Volgren’s first bus VG001 and Peter Bromley worked on VG006. Herring joined Grenda’s Bus Service as an apprentice in 1974 and, by the time Volgren came into being in 1977, he was already being officially recognised for his work. He won the Outstanding Apprentice of the Year in that year, as well as an award for craftsmanship. “Volgren was managed by Fred Spiller, previously the…

While remaining largely resilient for the first half of the year in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, market contractions have now flowed on to the Australian bus and coach market, with deliveries slipping to 70 in August. Despite representing the lowest monthly tally for the year - for some perspective - it steers clear of some recent historic lows, including 53 deliveries in September 2017. For the chassis sector, Volvo remained top, but its 20 deliveries were half of July’s, marking a yearly low. Similarly, second-placed Scania had its second consecutive month in the teens - short of June’s best of 46. One of the positives in August was it being MAN’s best month this year, with a major order from Surfside Buslines. BCI also returned with seven deliveries…

The first of a 15-bus MAN-chassis fleet to Queensland-based Surfside Buslines has started, with the Bustech and Volgren-bodied units due for service on the Gold Coast and in the NSW Tweed Shire, local distributor Penske Australia reports. According to the company, the 15 MAN LE 19.320 Euro 5 route buses are low entry and low floor ensuring, “…great accessibility along with unparalleled comfort for drivers and passengers.” With the first unit delivered on August, 24 2020, the remainder of the units are scheduled for delivery between now and the end of the year, the company explains. “MAN Truck & Bus and Penske Australia have a long-standing relationship with Surfside Buslines’ sister company SkyBus in Australia and New Zealand, so it’s fantastic to be able to extend our partnership to Surfside…

AS PART of a major Western Australia Government announcement on renewable hydrogen production, use and the de-carbonisation of vehicle fleets, Hyzon Motors fuel-cell buses will power Fortescue Metals Group’s mining industry “carbon-neutral pursuit”, it’s been announced. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd’s selection of Hyzon to deploy its hydrogen fuel cell-powered coaches to the Christmas Creek iron ore mine – as part of Fortescue’s commitment to accelerating emissions reduction in its mining operations – will mean hydrogen-powered coaches operating in the Pilbara mining region of Western Australia as a direct replacement of traditional diesel coaches, it states. Hyzon Motors fuel-cell coaches will start operating in the Pilbara from mid-2021, it reports. Previous deployments of fuel-cell buses were limited to city cycles, where the average speed is very low, Hyzon explains. Higher powered…

This year marks the 50th year of Meritor’s operations in Australia. In 1969, Rockwell and Industrial Engineering established a purpose-built drive axle manufacturing plant in Melbourne. Over the years, the facility supplied drive and steer axles to brands like Ford, Chrysler, Atkinson, International, White Motors, Leader, Volvo, Mack, Kenworth and Iveco. Despite significant changes in the global heavy vehicle market Meritor has continued to supply parts to some of the world’s biggest heavy vehicle names – including Kenworth, Volvo, Mack, Isuzu, Iveco, Western Star and Freightliner – first as part of Rockwell International, then as Arvin Meritor, and eventually under the Meritor banner. Today, Meritor is a global leader in braking systems for heavy-duty trucks, trailers and buses. It supplies a huge range of callipers, drum brakes, pads and brake…

Brisbane Bus Lines (BBL) was established by Lara-Jane’s grandfather, Bill Mitchell, with the purchase of the South Toowoomba Bus Service in 1947. He soon expanded his operations to run Sunday Sightseeing tours and for the next 37 years he continued to grow his footprint in the industry with many bus company acquisitions. He formally registered the business name in 1965. After his sudden demise in 1984, his sons Ian and Jeff became directors of the company. They worked in partnership for 22 years until Jeff’s retirement in 2006. Ian purchased Jeff’s share of the business and today two of his three children - Lara-Jane and James Mitchell - are working with him. After a part-time stint with the family business, Lara-Jane went on to finish her graduate degree before re-entering…

Regional sales manager at MAN Mark Nichols explained to ABC magazine on our test drive that although the MAN-BLK President is aimed specifically at the school bus market, “…it certainly doesn’t look like a bread box”. “It’s a very nice vehicle to drive,” he aded. “I’ve driven it to Melbourne a couple of times and it’s exactly the same as driving a coach.” We were speaking with him to find out more about the collaboration between MAN Bus and Bonluck (BLK), which Nichols described as being very close. “We’re all from the bus industry; I’ve known Rodd Hood and Athol McKinnon from BLK for quite a number of years,” he commented. “They approached us, and we were looking around at the same time, so I think it was meant to…