MAN Lion’s City E presented with the International Bus of the Year (IBOY) 2023 Award

The MAN Lion’s City E was announced and presented with the International Bus of the Year (IBOY) 2023 Award trophy at a special ‘Stars of the Year’ ceremony at the IAA Transportation 2022 exhibition at the Hannover Messe in Germany.

In deciding the overall winner, the IBOY Bus Euro Test which was hosted by Fleet Bus & Coach magazine took place in Limerick last May, with 23 journalists from all over Europe participating.

On this occasion, it was the turn of city buses, and the criteria required was that they were all electrically driven. The five candidates were the Higer Azure, Karsan eATA, MAN Lion’s City E, Mercedes-Benz eCitaro and Volvo BZL Electric with body from MCV. After three days of intensive checks, test drives, measurements, and expert discussion, the jury voted for the winner – the MAN Lion’s City E as International Bus of the Year 2023.

“It was a special experience for us as well as for the jury when we pulled up in Limerick with our MAN Lion’s City 12 E after ten days of driving,” said Rudi Kuchta, Head of Business Unit Bus at MAN Truck & Bus.

The Bavarian zero-emission city bus is still one the newer commuter vehicles on the market, which is evident both with its modern exterior and in the passenger compartment, which is considered one of the best. MAN has equipped the electric bus with six battery packs, all of which are mounted on the roof, and with 480 kWh, offers the highest capacity of all the buses tested.

As a result, it is possible to drive almost five hundred kilometres without charging, allowing it to provide the daily requirements of most operators. Noise measurements in the passenger area showed that the MAN was the quietest when driving, and the engineers managed to set up the suspension so that the mass of the batteries, is not felt while out on the streets. The adjustment of the electric motor is also excellent, the acceleration is smooth and a comfortable ride for the passengers is assured. Regeneration levels can be adjusted by the driver using a lever on the steering wheel.

“The MAN Lion’s City E as International Bus of the Year 2023 is a bus that applies to bus passenger for today and tomorrow. It is a modern looking vehicle and with an environmentally friendly driveline. Inside the bright colours make you feel welcome. You get the feeling of space, and calm. Just sit down and enjoy the ride” said Tom Terjesen, President of the International Bus & Coach of the Year jury during the presentation. He continued: “The winner has also one of the best working buses on the market. To sit behind the steering wheel in this bus, the driver is in charge. It has a corner office with excellent view, and very few blind spots, with many safety features build in.”

Dublin headquartered private bus and coach operator Aircoach, has acquired the well-known North West based passenger transport company, Airporter. The deal will see Aircoach expand the subsidiary of First Group plc’s commercial operation and increase its daily routes to seven with the new all-island route connecting the North West to Belfast International Airport, Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre. Aircoach will acquire the Airporter base at the Springtown Industrial Estate in Derry City, along with the transfer of all Airporter drivers and operational staff to Aircoach to service the new timetable and route.

The new service enhances Aircoach’s current 705X service between Dublin City/Dublin Airport and Belfast City and brings 12 new services to Derry along with a range of new benefits for customers including: