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Norm nailed it! He was right all along. Norm who, you may ask? A flashback: depending on your age and where you grew up, if you were around in ’70s Australia and watched enough TV, you’d know Norm. The ‘Life. Be in it’ health campaign was a curiously addictive series of cartoon commercials broadcast to a catchy, ‘boppy’ tune that aimed to encourage as many Aussies as it could to get involved in sports – which, in turn, meant life. To what extent it was successful? Only those who may have improved or extended their lives by being healthier because of it will truly know – that is if they even credit it or remember it. Star of the show was a beer-bellied ‘average Aussie male’ called Norm, who contagiously…
QUEENSLAND’S electric bus roll-out has been “supercharged” following the government commissioning 16 Bustech e-buses – to be made on the Gold Coast – for the state’s first fully electric depot, it was announced recently. In a move touted as a jobs boost “from Burleigh to North Lakes”, the $15.6 million state government deal with operator Keolis Downer will also create Queensland’s first fully electric bus depot in North Lakes, at the home of Hornibrook Bus Lines, it’s been confirmed. The first of the new buses – vehicles that will use 100 per cent renewable energy and be zero emission, the government states – is due to arrive at the North Lakes depot in September 2022, ahead of all 16 being ready for service by late 2023. Transport and main roads…
ASIDE FROM the recently announced batch of 20 Bustech-made buses offering local South Australian students a ‘greener ride’ to and from school, they demonstrate ‘local vehicle manufacturing’ is possible, according to the Adelaide-based company. The production of these 20 buses at Bustech Group’s Adelaide facility – touted as “locally built with the highest Australian content” – is a “testament to the advanced technical, engineering and manufacturing expertise within South Australia”, the company states. “It’s vital that we demonstrate to our school children that we can manufacture vehicles in Australia, and we don’t need to be net importers of technology – making as many school buses as we can in Australia is a great way to do that,” said Christian Reynolds, Bustech Group executive chairman. ROLL-OUT BEGINS The delivery of the…
TAILORED to meet New Zealand’s reduced Road User Charges thanks to lower axle loads, Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) has delivered Auckland Transport’s first three-axle BYD-chassis Enviro200EV XLB, recently. The NFI Group Inc. owned ADL says its BYD-based Enviro200EV XLB is “a further evolution of the successful combination of ADL’s expertise in tailoring buses to transport authorities and operators’ requirements with BYD’s battery technology”. The zero-emission three-axle 12.6m-long vehicle joins the Auckland Transport fleet with a total passenger capacity of 78. The bus will be evaluated on different services in New Zealand’s largest city via trials supported by energy supplier Mercury, ADL confirms. Up to 36 passengers can be seated while two wheelchair spaces provided are accessed via a manual ramp at the front door, the company explains. Additionally, the bus…
ICONIC New Zealand bus and coach operator Ritchies Transport Limited (‘Ritchies’) has, pending final approvals, been sold to global investment firm KKR. The purchase “marks the next chapter of [the] company’s rich history”, with the 86-year-old Kiwi bus company and KKR signing definitive agreements to facilitate the acquisition, marking KKR’s first infrastructure investment in New Zealand, it confirms. Founded in Temuka in 1935, Ritchies is one of the largest transport providers in New Zealand, with a fleet of more than 1,600 vehicles and a network of 42 strategically located depots across the country, it explains. The company provides the government, local councils and private customers with reliable and accessible public transport solutions in some of New Zealand’s largest cities, Ritchies states. Upon completion of the transaction, the Ritchie family will…
SINGAPOREAN parent company ComfortDelgro is seeking an initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) for its local CDC Australia subsidiary by end of 2021, the company announced recently. ComfortDelGro Corporation’s move will unlock the value of the Group’s significant land transport business assets – the wholly owned subsidiary ComfortDelGro Corporation Australia Pty Ltd (CDC) – and comes after a successful two-week non-deal roadshow in June, which sought to introduce CDC to investors. CDC chairman Lim Jit Poh, said: “CDC is 16-years-old and has been a significant contributor to the Australian public transport scene. It has worked hand in hand with the authorities in the various states and territories it operates in to deliver reliable, safe and sustainable bus and coach services. “We believe the time is now…
