Coach & Bus issue 31

Issue 31 – 2018 – $8.95 incl. GST

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STAR PERFORMER

BUSBIZ AND ITS FLEET OF MERCEDES COACHES VOLVO HYBRIDS IN GIPPSLAND • DELUXE COACHES SCANIAS • THE AVIARY'S RECYCLED LEYLAND DOUBLE DECKER • LDV'S G10 MINI BUS

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001 Drivers Seat

PETER BARNWELL ALL ELECTRIC?

E

ven though it’s early days and I am the ultimate sceptic, I have accepted that the world will go electric, buses included.

What does it all mean?

I ponder this subject ‘ad nauseum’ trying to think of all the various implications and it’s driving me nuts.

Pity any poor bugger trying to run a bus fleet with an eye on the future and which way to jump.

Perhaps hybrids are the go in the interim, perhaps it’s better just to stick with Euro 6 diesels and wait or there’s always the early adopter strategy of buying electric as soon as it’s available.

Aussies are notorious early adopters gauged off iPhone consumption.

If you believe certain lobbyists, electric vehicles will be dominant next week.

Ha, what a crock.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is the cost of EVs because even though they have fewer components and moving parts, they are comparatively high priced.

Look at anything from Tesla and you’ll get the picture.

I don’t understand why because an electric powertrain is essentially a relatively small size electric motor or two, a control system and a battery – just like a golf buggy.

Nothing like a reciprocating turbo diesel engine with all its accompanying bits and pieces including a transmission.

I hear ‘economies of scale’ being mentioned to justify the price of EVs but surely the amount of electric motors and batteries made on the planet in any one year should make them cheap as chips.

Apparently not.

Something else to consider is how the world’s electric power grids will stand up to potentially tens of millions of vehicles plugging in at the same time for a recharge.

The Scandinavians are already ahead of the curve here spooling up for a greater draw on their power grids as more EVs come on stream.

Here in Ozzy….?

“Nah mate, not even thinking about that one….’’

We can’t even supply enough power to

run all our air conditioners at the same time.

So how do we propose to recharge a coming wave of EVs? Solar panels, wave generation or pedalling mice?

OK enough of the negativity what is certain is that city air in particular will become cleaner as more electric vehicles are used and diesel smoke in cities is a major problem, measurable at the hospital in cumulative health effects on the population.

Diesels are the worst offenders here even with particle filters, AdBlue and all the rest of it.

Electric powered vehicles will also reduce noise pollution making roads quieter which is a big plus as well.

If you think about it, servicing costs should be less on an EV but according to a few experts in the field, electric propulsion units require a fair degree of regular maintenance for reliable service.

That said, they won’t need regular fluid changes and fuel costs should be lower, almost zero if the operator has a solar system on the roof and figures out a way to recharge the buses when the sun is shining.

There’s always (yet another) battery pack as a solution to save power generated during the day to recharge vehicles at night.

Addressing the `elephant in the room‘ issue, hopefully EVs will become cheaper to buy and own.

As far as the bus service, spares and repair industry goes, it’s not all gloom and doom that’s for sure. Vehicles will still need tyres, brakes, hydraulics and other consumables along with regular repairs to stay in service.

And besides, the electric changeover will be gradual and take decades I reckon.

The main issue is to facilitate the broad adoption of `commercial’ electric vehicles (buses, trucks, utes and vans) as replacements for existing models and that, dear reader, means tax incentives from the government.

This may or may not happen depending on what is the burning issue of the day… saving your pollie mate’s skin or addressing the more important broader issues going into the future.

Although some people describe me as a mechanical dinosaur with a penchant for reciprocating engines, I am embracing the future and almost look forward to an electric future.

As long as they all have beepers fitted so I don’t get run over crossing the road one Friday night….

In this issue we take a look at a couple of technology adopters with a story on Carbridge’s BYD electric Toro buses and also a story on the Latrobe Valley Bus Lines which has gone the hybrid route with a small fleet of Volvo Hybrids. In a more conventional sense we visit the Deluxe Coaches fleet in Victoria and look at the innovative and expansive BusBiz operation based in Swan Hill and also in Victoria.

In Sydney we have a close look at the new B-Line double decker fleet servicing the city’s Northern Beaches with a fleet of A38s and also look at The Aviary, an innovative re use of an old Leyland double decker now re purposed as a mobile café and bar and I take a drive in LDV’s terrific little nine seater G10 mini bus. All that and a whole lot more in this issue of Coach & Bus. Until next time, drive safely and Cheers.

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Issue 031

CONTENTS CONTACT DETAILS PO Box 7046 Warringah Mall NSW 2100

FEATURES

18

www.truckandbus.net.au admin@truckandbus.net.au Enquiries 02 9938 6408 Follow us on Twitter #truckandbusnews Follow us on Facebook at Truck and Bus Australia

Publisher Jon Thomson admin@truckandbus.net.au Editor in Chief Peter Barnwell peter@truckandbus.net.au Art Director Fiona Meadows kududesign.com.au Advertising Sales Zara Kilfeather Mob: 0404 883 249 zara@motozedmedia.com.au Contributing Writers Tom Worsley, Allan Whiting, Barry Flanagan, Sven Erik Lindsrand

BUSINESS CLASS

Loyal corporate and tourist travel operator Michael Oaten has just bought his first brand new coach, powered by Scania’s biggest and cleanest engine. Editor Peter Barnwell spoke with Michael Oaten for this story.

24 STAR PERFORMER

We dropped in to Swan Hill to have a chat with Peter Pickering about the people transport business, which is now known as BusBiz and its fleet of Mercedes Benz coaches operating across rural Victoria, NSW and SA.

30 GREENER VALLEY

With fully electric buses still a little further down the track for mainstream applications, some bus companies are already adopting a green tinge to their operations with hybrid diesel electric vehicles, as is the case with Latrobe Valley Bus Lines in Victoria as Peter Barnwell discovered.

38 MAKE A B-LINE AT THE BOUBLE

Residents of Sydney’s Northern Beaches have seen their roads clogged with private cars and buses as more and more people clamour to live on the ‘insular peninsula’. Now Transport for NSW has invested in a fleet of express double deck buses to help ease the transport pain for the people of the beaches. Editor Barnwell takes a close look at the new B-Line initiative.

44 NINE’S FINE

Noticed more LDVs around lately? We sure have and there’s good reason for it... value for money.

Editor Pete Barnwell slipped behind the wheel of an LDV G10 to see why so many of the Chinese made small busses are finding their way on to our roads.

48 PLUGGING THE GAP

Australian company Carbridge has been kicking a lot of goals recently delivering the first `fully resolved’ electric bus in Australia through its tie up with Chinese company BYD. Coach & Bus editor Peter Barnwell had a chat to Carbridge at the recent Gold Coast Bus Expo and decided to take a closer look at this innovative operation.

54 BIRD OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER

A totally repurposed 1979 Leyland Double Decker has hit the streets with a totally new purpose in life thanks to the vision and drive of a Sydney hospitality operator. Coach & Bus publisher Jon Thomson dropped into sample the Aviary at the recent Ashes Test at the SCG and came away impressed.

Contributing Photographers Mark Bean, Cristian Brunelli, Jan Glovac

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REGULARS

01

DRIVER’S SEAT

Editor Peter Barnwell mulls over change in the industry, whether it’s driverless bus tech or changes even closer to come.

04 UP FRONT We wrap up the key local and international bus and coach news that affects us as a global industry and where we are heading.

64 MONEY

Paul Clitheroe’s latest advice on finances.

A TOTALLY REPURPOSED 1979 LEYLAND DOUBLE DECKER HAS HIT THE STREETS WITH A TOTALLY NEW PURPOSE IN LIFE

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44 48

ELECTRIC VAN HOOL COACHES WITH PROTERRA BATTERY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT of an all-electric version of the Van Hool CX series coaches in partnership with Proterra, a leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles is underway.

The new Van Hool CX45E and CX35E models utilize the CX platform and will feature Proterra E2 battery technology along with a fully electric drivetrain designed to deliver improved operational, environmental and passenger benefits.

The CX Electric Vehicle partnership will bring together the resources of – ABC Companies, Van Hool, and Proterra – each committed to technology innovation.

The vehicle will be designed and developed at Van Hool’s Belgium-

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based operation, and the first prototypes will be built there as well.

Currently the diesel-powered CX45 and 35 models are fabricated in Skopje, Macedonia, and in the near term the production of the CX45E will take place at that site.

Ultimately, upon completion of Van Hool’s U.S.-based production facility, orders for the electric model will be fulfilled on U.S. soil to meet Buy America compliance.

The partners are responding to the demand for a truly zeroemission solution that can improve environmental quality and reduce operating costs, while continuing to deliver the performance, reliability and safety expected from the Van Hool CX

Series product.

The decision to offer a fully electric product is a direct reflection of changing market needs driven by cleanenergy initiatives, sustainable transportation solutions and green-technology consumer preferences and desires nationwide.

Both CX Series models will be offered with Proterra E2 battery technology.

Operators in the US utilize the CX45 and CX35 models in a variety of applications including large Silicon-valley employeesponsored shuttles and commuter operations in major metro regions throughout the country.

Featuring Proterra’s advanced

electric vehicle technology, the Van Hool CX45E is designed to be the most efficient and highest performing long-range eCoach offered in the U.S. market, which eliminates hundreds of thousands of kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions per year.

Outside dimensions are the same as current CX diesel models.

Development is already underway and will continue.

Operators will be able to testdrive an electric CX45E coach at the Van Hool factory in late 2018, with deliveries beginning in 2019.

The CX35E coach model will be introduced shortly thereafter. All of the partners anticipate strong demand for the new product, according to the company.

SINGAPORE SELF DRIVER

WHILE WE IN AUSTRALIA are still just putting a toe in the fully autonomous bus waters with a tiddler size vehicle running around a small loop at the former Sydney Olympic site, Singapore has signed up with Volvo to go the whole hog with full size autonomous electric buses on the city’s streets by 2022.

Volvo Buses and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have signed a cooperation agreement on a research and development program for autonomous electric buses.

The program is part of the Land Transport Authority of Singapore’s drive to create new solutions for tomorrow’s sustainable public transport.

Singapore and its Land Transport Authority (LTA) are

recognized for their focus on public transport and deployment of autonomous vehicles in the effort to create a sustainable city environment. Singapore has announced that self-driving buses will be deployed in several areas of the country by 2022.

For Volvo this will be the first autonomous application in public transportation. Volvo has already demonstrated the autonomous technology in mining, quarry and garbage collection operations.

The basis of the program consists of two all-electric 12-metre Volvo 7900 Electric buses, of the same type that Volvo Buses already delivers today.

Volvo and NTU will build the autonomous driving solution on Volvo’s platform.

One of the autonomous electric

buses in the program will be used on Singapore’s advanced new test facility for autonomous vehicles, CETRAN, which was inaugurated in November 2017.

Here, NTU’s researchers will, in a fenced-off area, be able to test new functionality and study how the bus interacts with other roadusers in various conditions.

The second bus will be used for tests in the bus depot in partnership with the public transport operator SMRT. The aim is that autonomous buses should be able to charge their batteries, drive through the depots to the vehicle wash and park – entirely autonomously.

The cooperative program between Volvo Buses and NTU is now underway and will initially last for two years. The jointly developed autonomous electric

buses will arrive into Singapore in the beginning of 2019.

Fast-charging stations based on the common OppCharge interface will be supplied by ABB. The OppCharge interface is very well suited for autonomous charging solutions in bus depots as well as in running traffic.

Volvo Buses is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electrified buses and has thus far sold more than 3800 hybrid buses, electric hybrid buses and all-electric buses.

The buses will be equipped with GPS along with LIDAR laser technology-based system for charting, positioning and scanning the area around the vehicle.

They will feature automatic regulation of steering, gear changing and speed. www.truckandbus.net.au 005

SNOOZE-LINER DOUBLE DECKER FOR WEARY POMS WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT? A BRITISH mattress manufacturer has taken the initiative to develop this `sleeper’ service for passengers who want flatbed business class travel comfort in a road-based vehicle.

It’s not a bad idea at all when you think about it.

The double-decker Snoozeliner, as the vehicle is called, is outfitted with creature comforts like passenger storage and the latest in connectivity/infotainment.

Late last year, the manufacturer announced its first Snoozeliner will be used on bus services along eight routes across four cities in the UK later this year.

The Snoozeliner vehicle concept, developed by Simba, is a doubledecker bus, equipped with space for personal belongings, USB chargers, and Wi-Fi. Sleep pods will be fitted with pillows, duvets, and memory foam

006 www.truckandbus.net.au

mattresses. Passengers will also have a choice of scent infusions.

Users of the service will be able to enter their stop as they board, allowing stewards to wake them upon reaching their destination.

Simba has been developing the Snoozeliner for four months, adding sound isolation, blackout blinds and a recessed amber lighttherapy system to aid with sleep.

The vehicle will feature sound isolation, blackout blinds, and a recessed amber light-therapy system.

Passengers will have access to free mineral water, with coffee and smoothies also available.

Simba will also offer revitaliser kits containing vitamin C and milk thistle.

Simba is working with a food delivery service to coordinate deliveries with passenger arrival times.

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MICHELIN SHUTTLE BUS MICHELIN AND MAXION WHEELS recently jointly presented a flexible wheel solution that features the tyre maker’s Acorus Technology. This solution has been adopted by French driverless vehicle specialist Navya for its autonomous electric shuttle bus, which is already on the roads in five cities around the world. The electric city shuttle is now making its debut in London.

A challenge awaits this new type of vehicle. How can it drive over potholes or unevenness in the road surface whilst at the same

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time ensuring vehicle integrity and passenger comfort?

Christophe Sapet, chief executive officer of Navya, comments that “There is an infinity of configurations where things might go wrong: poor road surface, debris, complicated weather conditions. This requires a lot of time and development effort that we do not have.”

For this reason, Navya approached Michelin, with the aim of finding a solution.

Michelin suggested the Acorus flexible wheel technology that is

described as a robust solution that enables autonomous vehicle manufacturers to accelerate their arrival on the market.

The technology works using two rubber flanges mounted on a slightly narrower wheel body.

When the vehicle hits a pothole or other obstacle the flanges flex to protect both the tyre and the aluminium wheel body, without the passengers feeling any impact at all. The result is that the shuttle bus stays in line and wheels and tyres have better resistance to puncture risk linked to pinching,

whatever the vehicle’s speed.

Since September 2015, over 60 Navya autonomous electric shuttle buses have carried over 200,000 passengers in Europe, the United States and Asia/Pacific.

The start-up is already working on its next generation solution after announcing that its first driverless taxi, the Autonomous Cab will be on the road by the third quarter 2018. It can take up to six passengers and drive at speeds of more than 90kmh. Before then, the Autonom Cab will be tested on the streets of Paris.

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TAKING A LEAF TAKE THE BIGGEST, nastiest, stinkiest bus you see on city roads every day, now contrast that with a lightweight, compact, efficient little zero-emission electric-vehicle. What if we could find a way to make that giant ear, nose, and eyesore as palatable as a Nissan LEAF? That’s what a project at Kumamoto University is seeking to do.

The project aims to use technology developed by Nissan for its LEAF passenger car and adapted it for use in an electric bus. The

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goal is to make zero-public transit more widespread and affordable.

The project will bring together engineers from the automotive industry, the Japanese government, and academia. The project hopes to begin real-world testing of the vehicles in the city of Kumamoto in western Japan in February.

The first bus, named the Yoka ECO Bus, has three batteries, three electric motors, and an inverter from the Nissan LEAF. By using parts from the LEAF, the project has been able to overcome one

of the largest hurdles that electric vehicle development has, the high cost of parts and development.

The availability of parts for the popular LEAF, the world’s bestselling EV, makes it much easier for the project to come together.

Not only is the Yoka ECO Bus filled with LEAF parts but Nissan is also developing a dedicated gearbox for the bus and is giving technical support.

Speaking on the project Toshiro Matsuda, an associate professor at Kumamoto University and the

project’s leader said, “We hope to improve Japan’s environment by standardizing the manufacturing of EV buses with help from the knowhow of automakers. Our goal is to develop EV buses that are wellbalanced in terms of being friendly to the environment and having low development costs.”

The partnership fits in well with Nissan’s company vision of intelligent mobility. This is one of many electric bus projects going on with different manufacturers across the globe.

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THE BIG APPLE PLUGS IN AS WELL COMPARED with other bus systems in North America, New York City’s is gigantic. It daily serves more than two million passengers across all five boroughs with 5,700 buses, 330 routes, and 16,000 stops, and it operates in a uniquely hostile environment of stop-and-go traffic. The average NYC bus travels at just 11.8km/h—one of the slowest bus speeds in the US. So if New York City can adopt all-electric buses, any place can.

Last week the city began a threeyear pilot with 10 buses from bus makers Proterra and New Flyer.

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If the buses prove themselves in the initial phase, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to purchase 60 more.

The five Proterra buses are running on routes in Brooklyn and Queens and recharge their batteries midday or overnight at a bus depot in Queens. The five New Flyer buses are running on routes in Manhattan and also charge midday or overnight in the same borough. In addition to the bus depot charging stations, the city is testing three “en-route” high power charging stations, which allow the buses to quickly rejuice.

Proterra’s chief commercial officer Matt Horton believes the timing of New York’s pilot isn’t an accident. “There really has been a convergence of factors over the last four or five years that has made this a really good time for New York to jump in,” he says.

The costs of batteries, power train elements, and manufacturing have fallen, making electric buses cheaper to operate than diesel over their lifetime. A May 2016 Columbia University study commissioned by NYC transit places lifetime savings at around $AUD 210,000; Proterra says its

buses save $AUD561, 000.

Electric buses can now survive longer operational hours and outperform diesel buses on energy efficiency and speed of acceleration. “There are now so many customers that have had great experiences with their electric buses,” says Horton.

“Nearly every agency that we talk to has either already bought electric buses or is planning to within the next year or so,” he adds.

“We are very, very confident that [the US] market is actually going to go to 100 per cent battery electric in a little more than a decade.”

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…AND IN CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS AS WELL MEANTIME across the USA in California the traditional bright yellow diesel powered school buses are also shaping up to be electrified.

The classic American school bus – yellow, loud and trailing diesel exhaust – may soon get an electric upgrade.

Each weekday morning, buses running on nothing but battery packs are now shuttling students to schools in northern Sacramento and the neighbouring suburbs.

The electric buses from Lion Bus in Canada and US companies Trans Tech Bus and Motiv Power Systems are cleaner and quieter than their diesel-burning brethren and ideally suited to a work cycle which sees them spend most of the day idle making recharging a much easier task than for regular route buses.

“It really fits for school districts, with the way we operate,” said Timothy Shannon, director of transportation for the Twin Rivers Unified School District. “The kids are excited about riding them, because they’re electric and they’re new.”

School districts across California are experimenting with electric buses, drawn by the appeal of exhaust-free driving. They are partnering with state and local government agencies to share the high up-front cost — anywhere from $AUD281, 000 to $AUD425, 000 for an electric bus, versus $AUD125, 000 for the fossil-fuel version — while hoping to recoup some of the money through lower maintenance and fuel bills.

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“We want to make sure the (environmental) footprint we leave out there is as minimal as possible,” said Terry Guzman, director of transportation for the Napa Valley Unified School District, which had two of its diesel buses, converted to electric. “And with the kids, their respiratory systems aren’t fully formed yet. Diesel’s something we want to move away from.”

Many districts have been pursuing cleaner buses for years, and they already have alternatives. The majority of the Napa district’s 56 buses, for example, run on compressed natural gas, which puts out almost none of the tiny soot particles that come from burning diesel. Other buses run on propane. Even diesel buses are much cleaner than they once were: Since 2014, California has required large school buses

to have filters to trap most of the soot, although the vehicles still emit smog-forming nitrogen oxide as well as the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

The idea of a plug-in bus for students isn’t new. US school bus builder produced an early version in 1994, with lead-acid batteries, the problem however was that they simply took too long to recharge between runs.

They wouldn’t always accept enough charge for drivers to know we could safely cover the route without stopping however the batteries battery has changed so much that it is no longer a problem.

With a typical range of about 130 to 160 km per charge, the current crop of electric buses works well on most twice-daily routes.

As battery costs drop, and production of electric buses cranks up, the expectation is the

vehicles will reach cost parity with conventional buses between 2025 and 2030.

Jim Castelaz, chief executive officer of Motiv Power Systems, which makes electric power trains that manufacturers can integrate into their buses and trucks, also expects prices to drop. But he isn’t sure parity is necessary for the technology to take off.

Like other electric vehicles, plug-in buses will require less maintenance over time than those with internal combustion engines, he said. And the electricity to fuel them will cost substantially less than diesel.

“Electric buses cost between one-sixth to one-eighth as much to operate as a diesel bus,” Castelaz said. “I don’t think electric buses need to be the same price as diesel buses. It’s a much better product.

A SHIFT IN TRANSMISSION THINKING IN TURKEY AMERICAN COMMERCIAL vehicle automatic transmission specialist Allison is continuing to spread its global reach expanding its infiltration in bus markets that once were the province of manual buses.

This was driven home by recent stories of two major bus fleets in Turkey embracing the automatic transmission concept.

In its native USA and in other mature markets such as the UK, Europe and here in Australia automatics have long been the standard in city buses but in less developed countries automatics have no had the same penetration, however that is changing.

One of the examples was the recent addition of 42 new Karsan Atak buses for the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Transportation Company (Burulas), which now counts more than 130 Allison-equipped buses on its fleet.

In addition to its new buses, which it has just purchased, the company started buying Allison equipped buses since 2009.

“Besides our latest delivery we had 89 buses equipped with Allison transmissions,” said Erdinç Alkan,

bus operation director for Burulas.

“Due to our experience, we have decided to continue our purchases of fully automatic transmissions.”

Burulas continues to invest in fully automatic transmissions as part of its modern transportation objectives and claims its Allison transmissions multiply engine torque and deliver more power to the wheels for better productivity, fuel economy, safety, operational flexibility – and comfort – than manual and automated manual transmissions (AMTs).

“We provide city transportation for an average of 730,000 passengers a day with our buses,” said Erdinc Alkan. “The comfort of passengers and drivers has become a priority in such an intense daily transportation plan.”

The Karsan Atak uses the Allison Torqmatic T 2100 transmission, designed for city buses with engines up to 172 kW power.

“We operate city transportation using a total fleet composed of 360 municipal buses,” said Alkan. “In such a big fleet, the most important operational cost is fuel and we have had the opportunity to use

Allison transmissions over 500,000 km. We observed comparable fuel economy between buses equipped with manual transmissions and those equipped with Allison transmissions.”

Meantime the quaintly named Batman Municipality in Turkey has added 20 Allison equipped Otokar Doruk LE buses, which means that 70 per cent of the buses on its fleet are now Allison transmissionequipped vehicles.

“We now choose Allison fully automatic transmissions because of their advantages, such as ease of use, reduced driver fatigue and passenger comfort,” said Adnan Yürük, enterprise affiliates manager for Batman Municipality.

“With future bus purchases, we will be working to have all of our buses equipped with Allison transmissions.”

Batman Municipality first began using Allison fully automatic transmissions five years ago. The 20 new buses feature the Allison Torqmatic T 280 with a retarder to increase brake life. They also include 5th Generation electronic controls and the FuelSense Max

technology package, for increased fuel economy.

Batman provides service for 18,000 to 22,000 passengers daily at more than 300 stops between the city centre and area districts. The buses travel eight to 14 rounds per day on routes up to 30 km in length.

“Our buses average 95,000 km per year,” said Yürük. “We now have advantages in maintenance costs as we do not have any transmission problems with our Allison-equipped vehicles.”

“With manual transmissions, the clutch set has to be changed every two months,” said Yürük. “We don’t have that expense with the Allison transmissions.”

Last year, Allison increased its authorized service network in Turkey with the addition of Özgün Kardesler Otomotiv in Batman to enhance customer support, When factoring in all life cycle costs, a fully automatic transmission-equipped vehicle costs less to operate than a competitively equipped vehicle. For increased productivity and reduced maintenance, Allison Automatics improve the way fleets work. www.truckandbus.net.au 015

BELFAST GLIDER COULD PROVIDE CLUES FOR TRACKLESS TRAMS IN OZ THE GROWING TRAFFIC density and congestion on the roads of Australian cities has raised the prospect of new mass transit systems to try to take cars out of the equation and put more commuters onto public transport.

Along with light rail or tram developments in Sydney, the Gold Coast and Canberra there has been a lot of talk of ‘trackless’ trams being deployed on routes such as Sydney’s Parramatta Road and in various parts of Brisbane.

One city where trackless trams or Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRT) are about to make their debut is in Belfast in Northern Ireland where the ‘BRT-Glider will use a total of 30 three-axle articulated Exqui.City rapid transit vehicles manufactured by the Belgian firm Van Hool as part of a major public transport solution for

the once troubled city.

They will be operated by Translink, are 18 metres long and able to carry 105 passengers.

The vehicles destined for BRTGlider were officially unveiled at the Busworld Europe exhibition in Brussels in October 2017 The Belfast BRT is Van Hool’s first order for Exqui.City vehicles in the UK and Ireland. They operate like trams in terms of their level of service. Belfast BRT-Glider will feature fewer stops than previously, but they will be of a higher standard than conventional bus stops with an off-board ticketing system that is more reminiscent of tram services than bus services.

Proponents claim that this is a service of much higher quality than is possible on ordinary buses. They also say they will be quieter and smoother, with lower

noise levels, reduced vibration and lower emissions.

The three sets of double doors ensure maximum accessibility and the interiors will feature dedicated spaces for wheelchair users, priority seating for disabled and elderly passengers and audio-visual next-stop and destination announcements. There will also be raised kerbs at stops and ramps to allow easier access.

CCTV is fitted for security and the vehicles also have on-board WiFi and USB charging facilities. They will utilise a new easy-to-use off-vehicle ticketing system and will feature real-time passenger information displays.

The Glider network utilises a mixture of dedicated bus lanes and mixed traffic lanes, the bus lanes being three metres wide and resurfaced to ensure maximum ride quality

At capacity, each vehicle can replace 87 cars, therefore eliminating 0.5 kilometres of congestion per vehicle. Elsewhere in the world, these vehicles are currently operating in Barcelona, Luxembourg, Malmö, Bergen and Metz and the vehicles are seen very much as a growth area for Van Hool.

BRT systems are also appearing in several cities across the UK and elsewhere; another prominent BRT scheme is currently being constructed in Bristol, for example.

The general aim of such schemes seems to be from the outset to offer a bus-based system, or a variation, that is of higher quality and presentation than conventional bus services.

This is certainly true of Belfast’s BRT-Glider is scheduled to open officially in September.

AT CAPACITY, EACH VEHICLE CAN REPLACE 87 CARS, THEREFORE ELIMINATING 0.5 KILOMETRES OF CONGESTION PER VEHICLE.

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RETRO CLEAN AIR FOR LONDON BUSES

FACED WITH SOME DRASTIC EMISSION REDUCTION RULES as part of London’s impending Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) and Clean Air Zones (CAZ) bus operators are looking to retro fit existing buses with technology to enable the buses to meet the new rules without having them prematurely.

One British-based emissions reduction specialist, Eminox has so far upgraded more than 400 buses for major operators, ready for the introduction of the new Low Emission Bus Zones (LEBZ) rules.

Eminox is the only British company to be a key supplier for the projects.

The buses are being upgraded to Euro 6 standards with the Eminox SCRT system, designed and manufactured to reduce NOx and NO2 emissions by 99 per cent and Particulate Matter (PM) by 95 per cent.

Particular London zones such as the Putney LEBZ have initially shown a 90 per cent reduction in hourly pollution level breaches and early analysis shows a 40 per cent reduction in annual NO2 concentrations..

Another 10 LEBZs are planned for around London and the remaining zones, which are all outside the central Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ), will all be in force by 2020.

Carlos Vicente, Retrofit Sales Director for Eminox, said: “We are proud to be the largest contributor to the program and have worked closely with all of our customers to make this happen. The number fitted is growing daily to the latest clean bus standards.

“Emission levels across the UK are becoming an increasing focus as a primary way to reduce air pollution, so it is great to see how much of an impact our SCRT is having in these areas.

“Over the next two years, this focus is only going to become more intense as the new London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) is introduced and Clean Air Zones (CAZ) are announced across the country. Bus, coach and specialist vehicle operators will be looking for the most cost effective way to upgrade their vehicles in order not be charged on a regular basis for entry into a variety of UK cities.”

BUONGIORNO TO ELECTIC BUSES FOUR CITY OPERATORS in the Piedmont Region of Italy have placed orders for a total of 13 BYD pure electric Midibuses, a new model which BYD only unveiled at the Busworld Europe last October.

GTT, the Turin operator, has ordered eight Midibuses (which will join its fleet of 20 BYD 12m ebuses), AMAG in Alessandria is taking two as is BUSCOMPANY, the operator in nearby Saluzzo, and CHIESA in Carmagnola which has ordered one.

All the Midibuses for the Italian operators share a standard specification. The key features are a total passenger capacity of 58, two-doors, an overall length of 8.75m, two battery packs delivering total power of 174kWh and an in-service range of 150-200km.

Delivery is expected in the second half of 2018. “These orders are doubly significant for BYD,” said Isbrand Ho, Managing Director, BYD Europe. “They further underline our growing position in the important Italian bus market where we are making progress in the face of strong competition and they also represent a vote of confidence in our latest model, the Midibus.

“In fact, in this month alone we are able to announce orders for our largest ever vehicles – two 18m articulated ebuses – from our most northerly customer, Nobina in Norway, as well as these 13 vehicles – our smallest model – for our most southerly mainland European customers in Piedmont.

“Whether it’s maximum capacity in a cold climate or manoeuvrable ebuses capable of servicing confined streets in historic southern cities, BYD has the right product.”

See our story in this issue about Carbridce which is the Australian collaborator and partner for BYD.

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Operator

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Loyal corporate and tourist travel operator Michael Oaten has just bought his first brand new coach, powered by Scania’s biggest and cleanest engine.

Editor Peter Barnwell spoke with Michael Oaten for this story. www.truckandbus.net.au 019

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ichael Oaten is the Managing Director of Oakleigh, Victoria-based Executive Coach Travel and Deluxe Coachlines.

The company is active in the corporate transport sector but also specialises in hosting inbound American, Japanese and European tourism, with a strong emphasis on servicing the German market.

Michael has been committed to Scania since his first acquisition of an K 113 back in 2002.

Until this new 12.5 m K 490 Euro 6 3-axle Scania powered coach, fitted with a Coach Design body was delivered, Michael had focused on growing his fleet through the extensive used vehicle market.

The current fleet consists of nine large coaches, five mini-coaches and a school charter bus. Seven of the large vehicles are built on Scania chassis and drivetrains.

There are three K 113 chassis vehicles from the mid-1990s with 1.6 million, 1.8 m and 2.2 m km respectively under their wheels. The two highest mileage vehicles are ex-Dysons and have had engine rebuilds. The K 113 with 1.6 m km has an Autobus body and is still on its original engine and has just been fitted with a new turbo and a new Scania radiator. It had a new clutch at 900,000 km and has been perfect since, and Michael says it drives the best of the three.

Executive Coach Travel and Deluxe Coachlines also use a K 124 with Opticruise that’s an ex-AAT Kings vehicle that has now covered 1.1 m km, as well as a more recent ex-Bute Buses 2010 K 420 with a compound turbo that has now clocked up 415,000 km.

“Scania’s reliability has been the biggest benefit to my business,” Michael said.

“If you keep up the maintenance, I find Scanias don’t break down.

“I run my own workshop and my mechanic is a strong advocate of one particular American engine brand but even he is impressed and respectful of the Scania engines.

“We only use genuine Scania oil filters and service by the book. Scania parts are trusted and if I have a problem I know I can talk to Scania at Dandenong and they will help me out. We do our own regular services, but the larger jobs are done by Scania Dandenong.

“When I was specifying the new coach, I said I wanted the best available.

The power’s there if the drivers need it.

“Also, the switch to Euro 6 is a long-term investment. I want the newest technology, so we have the cleanest engine, because we will run this coach for a long time,” he said.

Even though he’s the boss, Michael prefers to be behind the wheel alongside his drivers, rather than driving a desk back at the depot.

“The new K 490 drives beautifully,” he said, “it goes exceptionally well. It is magnificent on the road and of course it is now the flagship of the fleet. I thought the K 420 went well, but the new K 490 is something else. It will run up the Pentland Hills in top gear fully-loaded, perhaps only briefly dropping back to 11th, but we’re not holding up any other road users and our journey times are impressive.

“The new K 490 joined the fleet recently and within a week was dispatched out to Darwin to run a 20-day tour that ended up back in Melbourne. It didn’t miss a beat and it has achieved 3.1 km per litre even though it’s only now clicked over 20,000 km. The K 420 delivers 3.0 km per litre with 415,000 km on the clock.

I am sure we’ll see up to 3.3 or 3.4 km/l from the new K 490,” Michael said.

“We’ll also get the Scania Driver Trainer out to offer some efficiency tips. I’ll be listening as well as I am always keen to see how I can improve my driving efficiency,” Michael said.

“Fuel economy is good but what is more important is looking after the equipment.

If there’s no harsh braking or acceleration then the customers get a smooth ride and they’ll tell their friends what a pleasant and comfortable experience it is, and that’s as important as reducing wear and tear.

“My driver of the new coach, David Spencer looks after the equipment as if it were his own and takes a pride in his driving. He’s even got a broom and a hosepipe to run off the water tank and every day or so he’ll be washing the coach when he’s away on an extended tour.

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“I have been impressed also by the new Scania monitoring package that gives 4 years monitoring and weekly updates.

I have been studying these to see how the coach is running and how the driver is performing. He is doing very well. He never speeds, and fuel use has been consistent,” Michael said.

The new K 490’s Coach Design body is luxuriously fitted out inside. Michael said the quality of the build is impressive.

“It is a beautiful, well-finished coach, and the driver loves it too. It has a separate driver air conditioner, so he can control his own climate independently of the saloon.

We have an on board 80-litre fridge in which David keeps a supply of bottled water, and it has come in handy for corporate work, conveying picnic food, etc.”

The K 490 has 49 all leather seats and a hostess seat, and every seat has a USB

plug. There are two side doors and midmounted rest-room, underfloor heating, fully carpeted floor under the seats with a carpet runner in the aisle. There’s blue mood lighting in the roof, as well as LED reading lights, and forward looking cameras can display on the TV monitors the length of the saloon.

Michael drives the oldest coach in the fleet, refusing to pull rank to steer the most glamorous.

“I have four full-time drivers including myself and about 15 casuals. I really enjoy the driving, as do my drivers.

“David Spencer said that he has the best job because the scenery outside is ever changing and you never see the same thing twice.”

David said he has been driving coaches for 25-years, having started in Europe with Contiki.

“I’m not a 9-5-person, and I love driving.

This new coach is very smooth, it’s lovely to drive.”

Jamie Atkinson, Scania Bus and Coach Account Manager for Victoria said he was very pleased Scania was able to assist Michael specify and build his first brand new vehicle.

“After many years in business, and with a very strong history with Scania, we are delighted Michael has taken delivery of our pinnacle coach chassis and drivetrain.

“Being able to provide not only vehicle and driver monitoring, but driver training and finance for Michael underscores the benefits of the Scania Total Transport Solution concept, which focuses on how we can partner with our customers to deliver them the most comprehensive products and services to help them get the most from their assets,” Jamie said

Deluxe Coaches Managing Director Michael Oaten ( left) with one of his loyal drivers David Spencer

TICKET TO RIDE As a small business owner, Michael understands all about cash flow and the vagaries of financing. For his first brand-new bus purchase, he approached his traditional financial institution for funding. Even though he had a significant amount to put down initially, the bank wasn’t keen.

However, after a chat on the phone with Craig McFadyen, the Business Development Manager for Scania Finance Australia, Michael’s financing was quickly secured.

“It was exceptionally good to deal with Scania Finance Australia. They were easy to talk to and the process was simple. It just worked,” Michael said.

“In fact, everything in the process from Scania’s side and also from Coach Design was very straightforward; no pressure and no stress.

“After this experience, I hope to be using Scania Finance Australia for the next vehicle due for delivery in 2018. I can’t say enough about SFA, they were exceptional,” Michael said.

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Operator Its fair to say the Pickering family like transporting things, it doesn’t matter whether those things are pallets of wine, bins of pumpkins, grapes or people, they do it and have been doing it for for more than 60 years. We dropped in to Swan Hill to have a chat with Peter Pickering about the people transport business, which is now known as BusBiz.

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W

ay back in 1954 the Pickering family made its first tentative steps into the transport business launching an enterprise that would expand and grow to become BusBiz, today one of ther biggest regional bus and coach operations in Australia.

It has been a family owned business for more than 60 years. In 1954 Lake Boga Transport was formed with the main task being to transport Pickering family produce, mostly pumpkins back then, from the Lake Boga area to the Melbourne market.

In 1960 the opportunity came to diversify into school buses winning some local

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contracts. For the Pickerings it was the chance to diversify and to gain some daily certainty and guaranteed income against the uncertainty of the freight business.

Later in 1965, the name Swan Hill Bus Lines was born.

Peter Pickering started an apprenticeship as a mechanic but soon found himself driving semi trailers for the family operation all over the country. However around the time of the Bicentennial celebrations In1988, Swan Hill Bus Lines branched out into its own entity under the direction of Peter Pickering.

Swan Hill Bus Lines began trading as BusBiz in late 2017, and while the name may have changed Pickering says the

commitment to providing the same service levels it has for the past 60 or more years.

BusBiz and Swan Hill Bus Lines has had a long association with Mercedes Benz after Peter and his father headed to Melbourne in the early1990s to choose a bus brand which would allow them to standardise the fleet.

“We looked at Isuzu, Hino and Benz and partly because Benz was able to supply some demos and also because of our previous use of Mercedes trucks we chose the Benz and we’ve had an ongoing relationship with them ever since,” said Peter.

The majority of the company’s coaches are Mercedes however it also operates

“SINCE OUR ESTABLISHMENT WE HAVE DEVELOPED A REPUTATION AS BEING A HIGH QUALITY PERFORMER WITHIN THE AUSTRALIAN BUS AND COACH INDUSTRY”

a fleet of Iveco buses on some school runs.

The company runs most of its own maintenance from its base in Swan Hill however the more widespread operations such as its NSW Trainlink coaches and its operations in Tamworth and more recently also in Brewarrina, it uses local dealer and mechanics workshops “Since our establishment we have developed a reputation as being a high quality performer within the Australian bus and coach industry and our reputation for high standards of customer service and reliability are key factors contributing to our success, enabling us to grow as a company,” said Peter Pickering.

BusBiz head office and its largest depot is still located in Swan Hill, operating more than 130 vehicles throughout Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, providing a vast range of passenger services including more than 75 school bus runs throughout the three states including specialist school bus services.

It also employs more than 160 people across its network.

Along with the school bus requirements the company also runs local and interstate school transfers hopping the border from its base in Swan Hill.

As well as all that it operates regional services including the town services around Victorian centres such as Swan Hill and

Warracknabeal, as well as routes from Swan Hill to Tooleybuc, Ultima, Sea Lake and Wycheproof along with routes from Horsham to Donald, Penshurst to Hamilton, Woomelung to Bendigo and St Arnaud to Stawell.

As well as the regular town services and school bus runs the company has forged a reputation with both Victorian and NSW government rail contracts, augmenting rail services on both sides of the border with the flexibility and economic advantages of a coach.

The company now has a number of contracts with V/Line in its home state operating three axle 14.5 metre Benz 500RS coaches using Irizar bodies while

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it has also won contracts with NSW Trainlink using two axle 12.5 BCI bodied Benz 500Rs coaches.

In Victoria BusBiz handles the Swan Hill to Bendigo, Swan Hill to Mildura and Mildura to Melbourne V/Line contracts while in NSW much of its business is based around Dubbo servicing Dubbo to Broken Hill, Lightning Ridge and Bourke as well as East to Lithgow.

Of course day trips and extended charters are also a part of the BusBiz operation and in more recent times the company saw a merger with Townsend

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Travel, another family owned company in Renmark, S.A. enabling it to use its vast industry experience and its fleet of small and large coaches to provide such things as specially catered concert, sporting and event packages as well as unique exciting holidays throughout Australia, including three day long weekend/short holidays and extended touring adventures.

A little over a year ago BusBiz expanded its services when it purchased Peel Valley Coaches in the NSW north west centre of Tamworth and is now operating six services in the Country Music capital, using the fleet

of Scania coaches it inherited when it purchased the business there. ”The passenger transport Industry is highly competitive with the main focuses on customer service and passenger satisfaction and at BusBiz our the prime objective is to satisfy all our customers with a commitment to quality service,” said Peter Pickering.

“We pride ourselves on our ability to meet the needs of our customers beyond the call of duty and strongly believe our customers are the most important factor in our business,” he added.

Just The Ticket Interline Enjoys More Efficient Bus Operations Since switching to Allison transmissions, leading Sydney bus operator, Interline has enjoyed significant efficiency and performance improvements. It’s seen a 9.5 percent improvement in fuel consumption from its new Daewoo buses equipped with Allison transmissions while also being more responsive and exhibiting smoother shifting.

Interline’s CEO Joe Oliveri says “We are very focused on fuel economy and reducing operating costs and Allison has been able to improve the economy of our Daewoos by re-programming the shift patterns, and applying dynamic shift sensing.”

Allison Transmission is the world leader in commercial duty fully automatic transmissions and as Interline has found-is the ideal solution for Australian buses.

Unique torque converter technology coupled with Allison’s industry-leading programmable Dynamic Shift Sensing and Acceleration Rate Management can allow significant fuel efficiency gains, particularly with widely varying passenger loads.

With lower maintenance and operating costs, Allison keeps buses on the road.

© 2017 Allison Transmission Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Innovation

With fully electric buses still a little further down the track for mainstream applications, some bus companies are already adopting a green tinge to their operations with hybrid diesel electric vehicles, as is the case with Latrobe Valley Bus Lines in Victoria as Peter Barnwell discovered.

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orwell is in Victoria’s Gipplsand and more specifically in the Latrobe Valley, traditional home to that state’s notorious brown coal burning power stations, which have been amongst the dirtiest and most polluting power facilities in the country.

So despite the closure of the Hazelwood Power Station in March last year the Latrobe’s reputation as a pollution hot spot makes the move by Latrobe Valley Bus Lines(LVBL to implement a clean Hybrid bus fleet in the region all the more noble.

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Public Transport Victoria is assisting bus companies to adopt hybrid technology in the run up to full electric buses and that provided the impetus for LBVL. In an Australian first, the innovative Gippsland based LVBL, placed an order for eight Euro 6 Volvo B5LH single deck hybrid chassis to augment its diesel fleet.

The new order follows LVBL’s successful 12 month trial of a Volvo Hybrid Euroi 5 bus in which the technology proved to save up to 25 per cent fuel consumption reduction and CO2 emissions and also reduced harmful NOx by up to 50 per cent

compared to a regular diesel bus.

The eight hybrid chassis are being bodied locally in Melbourne by Volgren, which has previous experience building on Volvo hybrid chassis.

All eight hybrid buses will feature low floor layouts to improve passenger access and safety, and will operate on timetabled public transport routes around the Latrobe Valley. They will supplement LVBL’s existing Volvo Euro 6 diesel buses in their low-floor route service fleet.

The new hybrids will be delivered into service over the next three years, with the

first three going into service in 2018. The first unit will commence production at Volgren in February 2018.

“Volvo’s hybrid buses are part of our ongoing approach to sustainable transport solutions and we are proud to be working on this project with Latrobe Valley Bus Lines.

It’s great to see PTV and Latrobe Valley taking the first step on the longer journey towards fully electric buses in years to come,” said David Mead, Acting General Manager - Volvo Bus Australia “While we have seen the technology run

now in Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Wollongong, this is the first time we have Government, an operator and our partners aligned to move forward on a project,” he added.

LVBL Managing Director Rhonda Renwick explained the environmental benefits delivered by the Volvo hybird were key drivers behind their decision to purchase the vehicles, which is also in line with its commitment to operating a socially and environmentally responsible business.

Compared to a conventional diesel bus, the hybrid utilises energy otherwise wasted

during braking. The stored energy is used to charge a battery, allowing the bus to run in silent and emisson free electric mode during take off, which saves fuel.

Anna Tyben, General Manager at LVBL said the company was placing a greater focus on emissions reductions, specifically air quality with the hybrid Volvos because it has a whole business policy geared to be kind to the environment Latrobe Valley is reinventing itself currently due to some major industry reductions and closures, we believe the introduction of Hybid bus public transport

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Rhonda Renwick (left), Managing Director of LVBL and Anna Tyben, General Manager of LVBL

Left to Right: David Mead, Vice President Asia Pacific Region Volvo Bus, Dean Moule, Sales Engineer and Body Build Manager Volvo Bus, Anna Tyben, General Manager LVBL, Rhonda Renwick, Managing Director LVBL, Cain Spark, Acting General Manager Regional Bus PTV and Michael Timpano, Director of Economic Development for Latrobe Valley Authority.

across the region is a step towards a cleaner environment, improved air quality and state of the art technology.” she said.

The buses have been extremely well received by passengers who appreaciate their smoothness and quiet running, especially at bus stops when the engine shuts down.

Drivers also have a greater appreciation of the new hybrid Volvos because of similar reasons saying fatigue levels at the end of the shift are lower because of the smooth running hybrids.

“They are much quieter as well which hasn’t gone unnoticed by people in the area.’’

Anna said the hybrid Volvos cost a little more but that will be recouped during the 15-20 year service life of the buses.

“Though hybrid cars are more efficient in a city driving environment, our hybrid Volvos are still efficient in the semi rural Latrobe Valley because they still stop and start frequently at intersections and bus stops which captures regenerative electrical

energy and shuts down the diesel engines.’’

The Euro6 Volvo B5LH hybrid chassis uses a parallel hybrid system combining the electric and diesel engine. This assists the vehicle when the battery is low or when extra power is needed for acceleration.

It is similar in principle to the powertrain in Toyota’s Prius hybrid passenger car and other models, been refined over 20 years and is now considered mature technology.

In terms of battery life, very few problems have come to light with any sort of hybrid vehicle many of which are comparatively old and on the original battery.

It bodes well for Volvo’s hybrid bus which has been under development for a number of years.

Other Melbourne based route bus companies are looking at the LV BL operation with a view to placing orders in the near future.

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AD To Be Advised

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VO LVO B5L H S P EC I F I CAT I O N S Hybrid Driveline

Volvo parallel hybrid system. Traction power supplied by either the diesel engine or electric motor working independently or together. Power for the electric motor power is supplied by a 600 volt battery.

Driveline uses stop/start technology.

Engine

Volvo D5K 240 4cyl 5.1 litre Euro 6 engine rated at 240hp @2200 rpm with maximum torque of 918Nm at 1200-1600rpm. Engine emission control uses SCR, EGR, DPF & DOC technology.

Electric Motor

I-SAM 600 volt ac permanent magnet water cooled electric motor mounted between engine and gearbox. Motor is rated at 160hp/800Nm max and 94hp/400Nm continuous. Motor acts as a generator to recharge 600 volt batteries during braking.

Transmission

Volvo AT2412E I-Shift fully automated 12 speed gearbox. 3 button gear selector control.

Energy Storage System

Lithium-Ion battery with battery management unit, isolation resistance and battery disconnect unit.

Water cooled and heated with independent system.

Brakes

The EBS 5 brake system is an electronically controlled pneumatic system. The front and rear disc brakes incorporate integral automatic brake adjusters. The chassis mounted screw compressor is electrically driven by 600 volt motor. The anti-lock braking system features traction control, door brake interlock, brake temperature warning and lining wear indicator.

Steering

ZF hydraulic power assisted steering. Steering pump is electrically driven. The steering wheel position is adjustable for height and rake.

Suspension

Electronically controlled air suspension. Beam front axle, with front axle kneeling and ferry lift. Full squat available as an option with two door variants.

Electrical

The chassis electrical system is of multiplex design (BEA 3) and is a 24 volt negative earth system with two 12 volt, 225 amp hour, heavy duty lead acid batteries (maintenance free as standard) mounted in a swing out carrier. 1 x Bosch 120 amp alternator is fitted. 24 volt chassis electrical system is also supplied via DC/DC converter from the hybrid 600 volt system. Electronic monitoring of oil and coolant levels is fitted as standard

Fuel System

A 205 litre aluminium fuel tank fitted over O/S/F wheel arch. The fuel filler is located on the right hand side (offside) of the body; this can be offered with Posi lock or Identic fast filling systems as an option.

Tyres & Wheels

10 stud 22.5� wheels with 275/70R22.5 tyres.

WORLDWIDE VOLVO HAS SOLD MORE THAN 3,700 HYBRID BUSES IN OVER 20 COUNTRIES

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COMING SOON!

AN ALL NEW MAGAZINE AIMED SQUARELY AT BUILDING AND MAINTAINING GRAVEL ROADS IN THIS COUNTRY

WELCOME TO GRAVEL ROADS AUSTRALIA AN ALL-NEW niche publication will be hitting your desk in early 2018 when Gravel Roads Australia arrives on the scene.

Gravel roads make up almost 66 per cent of the nation’s road network with close to 600,000 kms of unsealed thoroughfares across this wide brown land. Many have low traffic volumes while others are vital arteries providing access to some of our most valuable resource assets.

Building and maintaining our unsealed road network is a major industry in itself with Local Govt, Civil Contractors, Mining Companies, Forestry, Farmers and a

myriad of others all involved in ensuring these vital routes are available to industry and travellers alike.

Now, for the first time, this sector will have its own journal featuring interesting stories about road construction practices, new equipment, case studies, planned projects and new techniques - in fact anything that involves the building and maintaining of gravel roads.

Gravel Roads Australia will be a high quality 64-page publication, produced four times a year by Grayhaze Publishing, publisher of Transport & Trucking Australia and Coach and Bus magazine

as well as the highly successful transport website, www.truckandbus.net.au Gravel Roads Australia will feature great writers with features and news produced by some of the best journalists in Australia with high quality photography and design.

The first edition will be published in March 2018 and then in June, September and December each year. The magazine will be direct mailed to more than 3000 Local Govt Works Officers, Civil Contractors, Transport Operators, Machinery Dealers and Manufacturers as well as Mining Companies.

For advertising please contact: Grayhaze Publishing 02 9938 6408 admin@truckandbus.net.au – ads@truckandbus.net.au

Operator

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Famed rugby league coach Roy Masters would have you believe the residents of Sydney’s Northern Beaches are all ‘silvertails’ and enjoy the good life, which generally they do, but in terms of public transport the road corridors have been clogged with private cars and buses as more and more people clamour to live and work in and around the ‘insular peninsula.

Any hopes for a mass transit rail system appear to be pipe dreams. Instead Transport for NSW has invested in a fleet of express double deck buses to help ease the transport pain for the people of the beaches. Editor Barnwell takes a close look at the new B-Line initiative. www.truckandbus.net.au 039

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he NSW Government has made some big transport promises to the residents of Sydney including substantial public transport improvements to relieve the city’s often gridlocked roads and to make commuting easier.

But because Sydney isn’t a planned city, many hurdles need to be negotiated for the government to deliver on its promises.

To be fair, the roads are being upgraded, though it will be largely a user-pays, privately owned model, and some rail upgrades are taking place.

However, the good burghers of the upper middle class Northern Beaches suburbs like Mona Vale, Narrabeen, Collaroy and Balgowlah are stuck without a rail network with little likelihood of there ever being one.

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Apart from the cost, it’s possibly too late to plan a rail link to the area due to development.

This is exacerbated by a serious bottleneck down a heavily populated transport corridor in the vicinity of Spit Bridge that is a significant issue for any rail link as crossing the coastal inlet by bridge or tunnel would be difficult at best.

So, ruling out boats, bicycles, walking and flying cars, the government has gone down the bus path by providing a new fleet of double deckers for the Northern Beaches area….. and they didn’t do it by half measure.

Based in the suburb of Brookvale are thirty-eight, 86-seat, Gemilang-bodied MAN A95 double-deckers that have been

delivered to Transport for New South Wales

by Penske Commercial Vehicles.

Bear in mind that a recent increase in the gross mass limit (GVM) for doubledecker buses in NSW, up by 1 tonne to 22 tonnes, could enable the A95 to carry more than 100 passengers. The previous GVM limit limited passengers to a maximum 87 people. The MAN A95 double decker has a potential GVM of 25 tonnes. In fact MAN took a completely built up A95 straight from the Malaysian body building factory back to Germany and tested it full laden to 25 tonnes over 30,000km to torture test the bus and validate it before series production of the double deckers for the B Line commenced at Gemilang.

The buses were specifically designed for

the Sydney region in a number of key areas including the suspension that provides a supple ride without body roll, the single step lower deck floor (at the back) and the lightweight aluminium construction.

Having an (almost) flat lower deck floor is a significant advancement in a double decker such as this and is made possible by a `portal axle’ commonly used in Europe but something of a rarity here.

The differential is offset to the left with intermediate planetary gears stepping up to the wheel centre, so passengers don’t have to step `over’ the axle, just up onto another floor level.

New South Wales Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance, says the new B-Line route, running between the

Sydney CBD and the Northern Beaches, will be better for everyone following the introduction of the three-axle doubledeckers.

The MAN A95 low-floor bus chassis is powered by low emission, Euro 5, MAN D20 horizontal inline six-cylinder turbo diesel engine that delivers 235kW (320hp.)

Maximum torque is 1600Nm delivered between 1000-1400rpm.

With the engine is on its side rather than sitting upright provides more passenger space in the lower deck. It is in fact a bus engine designed specifically for bus operation and is not a truck engine adapted to the task. The result is an extremely smooth and quiet engine ideally suited to the task

“The extremely low levels of driveline noise and vibration, along with low exhaust emissions, benefit both the environment and passengers,” says MAN distributor, Penske Commercial Vehicles’ National Bus Sales and Service Manager, Clint Stoermer.

A hydrostatic fan drive system is used to drive the engine fan and reduce noise and increase efficiency on the bus which rides on electronic ally controlled air suspension all round.

“The A95 chassis is equipped with a ZF EcoLife six-speed automatic transmission with integrated hydraulic retarder, all of which maximises operating economy and improves service life.’’

“The combination of stabilisers on all three axles with an extremely low centre of

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“Northern Beaches customers are finally getting major service improvements with the new B-Line service offering a more reliable, convenient and frequent service”

gravity means the on-road handling and passenger ride comfort of the A95 doubledeck is simply unequalled.’’

“When combined with the latest braking system technology, which includes electronic braking system (EBS) as well as electronic stability program and roll over protection, it all makes for an extremely safe and comfortable driver and passenger experience.”

At just over 12 metres (12.3m) in length, the A95 addresses a major issue confronting bendy buses and that is the room they occupy on the road and at bus stops, particularly at the city terminus at Wynyard , where bendy bus jams were proving a headache for transport managers.

Put a fleet of bendy buses back to back and the queue can be very long. Do that with a fleet of A95s and it’s half as long.

Extrapolate that onto the road and the benefits are even greater, physically reducing the length of traffic jams.

The transformation of public transport on the Northern Beaches started on November 26 with the start of turnup-and-go B-Line services between

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Mona Vale and Wynyard, as well as improvements to the local bus network.

NSW Transport minister, Andrew Constance says the better bus network will add more than 3,200 extra weekly services across the Northern Beaches including 2,000 B-Line services, making it easier for customers to travel around the region and to-and-from the Sydney CBD. “Northern Beaches customers are finally getting major service improvements with the new B-Line service offering a more reliable, convenient and frequent service,” he said.

Commuter car parks will also be available at Mona Vale, Narrabeen, Dee Why and Brookvale. The first stage of the Warriewood car park was opened before Christmas 2017, with Manly Vale due for completion in 2018.

The feedback from passengers and drivers is so far very good with the customers delighted with the quiet environment and USB equipped seats while the drivers are pleased with the power and driveability. The buses are WiFi capable but this has not been activated yet but could be in the future.

The launch of the B-Line services and the changes to the local bus and road network are the first phase of improvements to public transport on the Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore.

More road infrastructure changes to improve bus transport are in the pipeline.

The implementation of morning peak bus lanes in Balgowlah and Neutral Bay is also proposed in early 2018, which would provide additional bus priority along the corridor and improve reliability of bus services for customers.

“These changes, along with the introduction of new and extended `tidal’ flow systems on Military and Spit Roads, will improve traffic flow and provide greater reliability to public transport users,” Mr Constance continued.

“While we’ll see some initial benefits, construction work will continue in 2018 and public transport users will see the full extent of these improvements upon program completion. We’ll continue to keep bus customers and motorists informed about these changes as we roll them out in 2018.”

TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

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Mini Bus

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P

eeing your hard earned up against the wall seems counter to sensible business practice and LDV offers business operators a vehicle that saves them thousands.

It might not be as desirable as something out of a European, Japanese or Korean factory but who cares in the long run.

If it’s reliable, functional, makes money and offers a reasonable level of safety equipment… happy days.

LDV’s G10 nine seater people mover is a van-based small `bus’ that can be shopped up against a plethora of (more expensive) alternatives including Toyota’s Tarago, the Benz Valente and Kia Carnival most of which have fewer seats and all of which are about $10 grand or more than the G10 nine seater at $32,990 drive away.

There’s a seven seater G10 people mover version too at $29,990 drive away.

For that you get a good looking, properly built people mover with a reverse camera, climate control, a 7-inch touch screen controller, Bluetooth, decent audio, xenon headlights, rear park sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, cruise, 16-inch alloys, power windows and leather faced seats on the nine seater.

Better still is the fore/after slide function on the two middle seat rows to give passengers more legroom and/or easier access.

In an interesting development, some van buyers are opting for the people mover and then removing the rear row for the best of both worlds – passenger capacity and a large load space. The people mover versions of the G10 are only marginally more expensive than the vans.

The G10 is made by LDV, a subsidiary of the giant SAIC – China’s biggest auto manufacturer and currently the 41st largest company IN THE WORLD. SAIC bought LDV out of the remnants of the British company Leyland DAF Vehicles (LDV) and moved everything to China.

They pull components from a number of sources including the six-speed ZF conventional auto in the G10.

Noticed more LDV vans around lately? We sure have and there’s good reason for it... value for money.

Editor Pete Barnwell slipped behind the wheel of an LDV G10 to see why so many of the Chinese made small busses are finding their way on to our roads. www.truckandbus.net.au 045

Though there’s a diesel van, the people mover is only offered in a 2.0-litre, turbo petrol with the ZF auto driving the rear wheels which incidentally are coil sprung.

The engine is a twin cam unit good for 165kW and 330Nm, sufficient to propel the large people mover with sporty intent.

It will certainly leave any competitor in its wake away from the lights and out on the freeway regardless of load.

And the engine is smooth and quiet into the bargain though it does like a drink if you exercise the right foot.

From a commercial operator’s point of view, the G10 nine seater has plenty to recommend it including side slider access and a large rear tailgate along with reasonable headroom. The seats are a decent size and comfortable while that seat sliding function is extremely handy of you are carrying less than a full passenger load.

Access is simplified by the flat floor and walk-through facility from the front seats.

It has a tare weight of 2107kg and can tow up to 1500kg braked. There’s a full size spare on board somewhere too (didn’t look).

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DRIVING I was able to take the nine seater for a spin around inner Sydney and out into the ‘burbs and found the vehicle to be car-like to drive in many respects certainly in the performance department which is a strange thing to say about what is essentially a small bus. The ride is comfortable thanks to coil spring suspension and it’s easy to park with a wheel at each corner and the reverse camera along with a park assist system.

It has a generic looking dash and interior offering the usual array of instrumentation and switchgear. The test vehicle lacked satnav which might be an issue for some owners.

On the test drive, the G10 consumed around the 12.0-litres/100km mark but that might not trouble a commercial operator especially on short city commutes with a full passenger load on board.

My purely subjective opinion about the vehicle styling is positive. It’s certainly not ugly like a SsangYong Stavic or some of the competitors and you could happily park the G10 in the compound or on the driveway without cringing.

It comes with a decent three year/100,000km warranty and the dealer network is building on the back of ever increasing LDV sales.

LDV is becoming a must have `affordable’ commercial vehicle brand, and deserves to be seen in that light.

Something else to bear in mind if you are looking at buying an `affordable’ small bus is LDV’s V80 that’s also available in up to 14 seat passenger capacity on special order, at not a lot of money.

It’s more of a commercial vehicle than the G10 but stacks up well against Transit, Commuter and Master… in diesel only. Drive away pricing for the V80 11 seater starts at $39,990.

LDV G10 AT A GLANCE Engine Transmission Suspension Weight Fuel Consumption Safety Brakes Turning Circle Towing Capacity Braked

2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four cylinder 165kW/330Nm 6-speed ZF conventional automatic RWD Macpherson strut front, multi-link rear 2107kg 11.7 litres/100km claimed, 75 litre tank.

ANCAP 3 star 4-wheel discs 11.8m 1500kg

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Innovation

Australian company Carbridge has been kicking a lot of goals recently delivering the first ‘fully resolved’ electric bus in Australia, through its tie up with Chinese company BYD. Coach & Bus editor Peter Barnwell had a chat to Carbridge at the recent Gold Coast Bus Expo and decided to take a closer look at this innovative operation.

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N

obody can argue that electric buses won’t soon dominate fleets around the world.

Environmental concerns alone dictate this, along with the fact that electric buses cost significantly less to service and run, outweighing their current higher purchase price.

However electric bus development has been stagnant over recent decades mainly due to battery constraints and that is despite bureaucratic pressure from various groups to cut emissions and force more EVs into service.

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Diesel engine manufacturers have fought against the tide with DPFs, Adblue and Euro 6 compliance although these engines are more complex than earlier diesels with predictable outcomes.

Australian bus manufacturer and logistics company Carbridge is in pole position with its new Toro Electric Blu ready to go into the market as the first `financially viable’ electric bus.

Carbridge CEO Luke Todd has been passionately involved in Toro Electric Blu’s development and the clever manufacturing processes involved in its production.

Luke says Carbridge has essentially reinvented the bus, with a focus on the bus manufacturing process which sees new technology ushered in to produce what could be termed a ground breaking product.

He says the industry will change as a result of Carbridge’s efforts and it (the industry) should use them as a template to establish a more sustainable future.

Carbridge already has a small fleet of Toro Electric Blu buses successfully operating at Sydney airport doing passenger transfer duties on a 7km shuttle route between the T2/T3 terminal

“ NO ELECTRIC BUS RUNS FURTHER, OR IS LIGHTER THAN, THE TORO”

precinct and the long-term car park.

They have replaced some of the airport’s diesel powered fleet.

The Electric Blu is built by Carbridge in partnership with Malaysian company Gemilang Coachworks and the Chinese EV and battery maker, BYD which is a world leader in battery technology and, incidentally, a company whose shareholder list includes none other than Warren Buffett.

Using BYD chassis as a base, Carbridge pulls components from around the world for the Toro build.

Gemilang grafts on the bodies from light

weight, laser cut, aircraft quality aluminium panels sourced in Europe and the BYD chassis uses dual 90kW water cooled permanent magnet wheelhub traction motors, an extremely strong electrical powertrain.

A two piece 324kWh BYD lithium iron phosphate battery pack is split between the forward roof and rear engine compartment to give the 70-seat bus a range of 500 kilometres, or up to 100 transfer journeys on a single charge.

Toro Electric Blu is actually heavier than a similar diesel bus but the difference is less

than earlier attempts thanks to the use of lightweight materials.

A team of BYD and Gemilang engineers worked to minimise chassis weight while maintaining integral strength.

Their efforts resulted in Toro EB weighing in significantly lighter than any other electric buses currently being produced.

Luke Todd says “No electric bus runs further, or is lighter than, the Toro.”

“What we have achieved is a much lighter vehicle than any other on the market which is vital for an electric bus as the batteries are very heavy.”

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Battery weight dispersal was a key development achievement as the roof mounting posed some engineering challenges. Much of the battery weight is offset by the lighter chassis weight.

Exhaustive test drives of the Toro during development allowed the engineering team to alleviate any top heavy feeling when cornering or at roundabouts. Their priority was stability.

Luke Todd says a number of configurations of the Toro low floor city bus will be available including one, two or three doors depending on customer requirements and usage needs.

He said there were other benefits operators should consider with the Toro EB especially the (claimed) 80 per cent cheaper running cost compared to a diesel.

The Toro EB has significantly less components than a diesel that means maintenance costs are a claimed 80 per cent less than a Euro 6 diesel vehicle.

The heavy engine and operating parts

are largely removed from the Toro EB simplifying maintenance which comes down to basically monitoring the battery system condition with diagnostic equipment and safety checks to the wheels, tyres and brakes along with general maintenance checks.

No oil changes, no fluid changes and no filters.

Luke Todd says Toro’s slightly higher price will be recouped within a three-year period due to lower running costs.

“Considering the long life of Carbridge buses, this makes an electric bus purchase a very attractive proposition.”

He says the main market for the Toro EB will be the mass market suitable for all major cities.

Interest in the Toro EB is high from a number of quarters including government and private operators.

Luke speculates that there will soon be a total business model rethink by bus operators and indeed the entire industry

taking into account the proliferation of electric buses.

Particularly important is the role of large maintenance facilities and the spare parts industry, as it currently operates. Their future looks unsure at best.

It could be scary times ahead for a lot of people in the bus and peripheral industry.

Carbridge is also the Australian distributor of BYD’s good looking E6 electric car that was launched here to the taxi and hire car world last year.

The E6 is an SUV style vehicle with a battery pack of 75kWh, a range of 300kms, and a purchase price of around $80,000.

It has the looks and size of a Toyota Kluger and an interior on par with current vehicles in a similar size class.

A spokesman for BYD predicts electric vehicle sales worldwide would triple in the next three years experiencing exponential growth as the technology matures and manufacturing efficiencies cut the entry price of EVs, including buses.

“CONSIDERING THE LONG LIFE OF CARBRIDGE BUSES, THIS MAKES AN ELECTRIC BUS PURCHASE A VERY ATTRACTIVE PROPOSITION”

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Operator

BIRD OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER A totally repurposed 1979 Leyland Double Decker has hit the streets with a new role in life thanks to the vision and drive of a Sydney hospitality operator. Coach & Bus publisher Jon Thomson dropped into sample the Aviary at the recent Ashes Test at the SCG and came away impressed.

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F

or anyone who lived or grew up in Sydney in the 1970s the lumbering blue and white Atlantean double decker buses deployed by the then Public Transport Commission, seemed like the height of modernity.

The Leyland double deckers had a centre staircase and were designed to be operated by one person with just a driver and no conductor. A nifty mirror periscope allowed the driver to keep an eye on the antics of upstairs passengers in the days before closed circuit TV, (at least until some smart school kid positioned their bag over the glass shaft, rendering it useless) and the smart mid-blue vinyl upholstery made these buses feel like luxury coaches by comparison with the old

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1940s and 1950s AEC and Leyland double deckers they replaced.

For this writer at least one couldn’t ever have imaged kicking back in one of these 1970s juggernauts and enjoying a barista coffee or a cold beer on tap while luxuriating on couches on the top deck, enjoying the cool breezes thanks to a roof which opens up and out.

Enter the Aviary, which is a 1970s Leyland Titan Double-decker bus which has been converted into a most luxurious mobile bar and eatery.

Forget visions of hooting buck parties out for a pub crawl, this one stays put, setting up camp by arranging tables and chairs under its extendible awning where you’ll

also find a full-service bar.

Upstairs the roof rises to create open-air seating, ideal for sipping their signature Lavazza espresso martinis.

The wheels on this bar go round and round till it pulls up to the next party on the agenda.

It is a long way from the days when buses like this struggled up Sydney’s Spit Hill or sat in the traffic jams on Military Road.

The Aviary is actually a Leyland Titan, not an Atlantean although the two were closely related, the Titan being the successor to the older Atlantean, the two bookending the 1970s for Leyland.

It is believed to be the only one of its type in Australia and one of only two Titan’s ever exported from the UK, the

other going to Hong Kong. However the Aviary is believed to be the only one still in existence outside Britain.

The road to turning a Leyland Titan from an old double deck into a glitzy luxury mobile bar known as the Aviary was a long and difficult one.

The Aviary is owned and was the brainchild of Angus Graham who had developed mobile bars and coffee carts in Australia for some years before seeing an eye catching double decker coffee bus in Florida.

“The bus was called Java Dogs and it was based in Miami, I liked what I saw but reckoned I could to a better job and with that idea along with some ideas I picked up in London I came back to Australia with the

goal of finding a double decker to do the job,” said Angus.

Angus looked at a lot of buses and realised the Atlantean and Olympus were not right because they operated on steel springs and had relatively low height ceilings within the bus. The Titan offered extra headroom and air bag suspension so that was the target, however that was easy proclaimed than achieved.

“I kept an eye out and finally I saw one for sale in Perth, rang the guy and purchased it within 15 minutes,” he said.

That is when the headaches and heartaches really started for Angus and his team. The Aviary had been imported to WA by a doctor back in 2001 and was used for

charter work around Perth and Fremantle, before being sold to a person who wanted to convert it to a motorhome. That never happened and it sat fallow in a paddock for some years, becoming a much loved home for flocks of birds in the process, hence the name – The Aviary.

The old Gardiner 6LX diesel was not

serviceable, the airlines and air tanks

needed replacing and not many truck

or bus specialists were willing to touch the old Leyland.

“I found an Italian guy in the Southern

Highlands here in NSW who was a Gardiner engine specialist and had stocks of parts

etc. He is a Gardiner guru and built us an engine which we had shipped to Perth

where we were had finally found someone to get the bus roadworthy,” he added.

Joe Guira and his team at Westrans in

Perth took on the job and about six months after Angus had bought the bus it was finally ready to hit the road.

“Joe and his team were fantastic and

it was a big job but they managed to get the Titan going again and roadworthy

The task of getting it from Perth back to

Sydney was never going to be easy and for Angus it pre3sented an opportunity.

Angus’s son, Angus junior, was born profoundly deaf and has since had

successful Cochlear hearing implants.

Angus senior saw an opportunity to raise money for the groundbreaking Shepherd Centre, which specialises in children’s hearing loss.

The Titan was and still is equipped with

its original diff ratio meaning a top speed of 63 km/h. That meant a 14-day trip across the Nullarbor which enabled Angus to raise close to $26,000 for

the Shepherd Centre as well as getting The Aviary back to Sydney where the conversion job really began.

First up it went to BT Ryan in Botany

where the crew stripped the bus of all the outer panels, straightened them and re

“ I WANTED TO GIVE THE AVIARY A SUPER YACHT FEEL AND WITH THE TEAK FLOORING AND FITTINGS, I RECKON WE NAILED IT”

riveted it before painting it in its striking dark blue exterior.

The engineering and design of the bus

as a coffee unit and bar was next and after

receiving some eye watering quotes Angus set out to do much of the work himself, designing it sourcing the materials and having them fitted.

“Things like the large title up windows

downstairs on gas struts had to be sourced from New Zealand because no one in

Australia would do them, I learned a whole lot of new skills from mastering Corian

bench tops, to teak marine flooring and

coming up with a design for the hydraulic

roof and bell crank extensions on the upper deck, I bit off more than I could chew and chewed like crazy,” Angus declared.

“I wanted to give the Aviary a super yacht

Feel and with the teak flooring and fittings, I reckon we nailed it,” he added.

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The build was mostly completed in October 2017 when it was fitted out with a high end sound system and lighting set up in time for its debut at the 2017 Melbourne Cup at Flemington where Lavazza used it as a base for its hospitality. That 63km/h top speed means a two day transit from Sydney to Melbourne and the same coming back.

Around three years and about $400,000 later the Aviary has been transformed literally from birds nest to a bird of paradise spreading its wings at all manner of social, sporting and corporate events. Angus has teamed up with long time mate and hospitality/ events guru Andrew Stewart, who brings years of experience to a truly turn key event solution.

Angus believes it is Australia’s most exclusive event solution, designed to entertain in the most luxurious way and

with the flexibility of being able to be positioned exactly where it is needed and set up with awnings, umbrellas, tables and chairs and astro turf in a little more than an hour.

Coach & Bus first encountered the Aviary at the recent New Year Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground where it was positioned in the Members behind the Bradman Stand offering a haven of cool comfort during a long and hot test match.

Downstairs the Aviary has been fitted out as an Espresso bar at the front with white Corian countertops and a high end Lavazza espresso machine pumping out coffee to customers through the tilt up windows.

On the other side of the centre entrance and staircase is a full bar with beer taps and cocktail facilities again serving customers through tilt-up windows across the counter. Up the staircase, which has

been finished in marine teak and caulking just like a yacht, there are lounges finished in luxury materials, teak on the floors and a roof which can be raised and opens up in a wing like manner.

“We actually reduced the height of the top deck roof for driving around from 4.4 metres to 4.3 metres so we could more easily negotiate Sydney roads, but with the hydraulic rood system in use when we park we still have plenty of head room when the Aviary is parked,” Angus added.

The stunning deep navy blue paint underlines the luxury feel and gives the Aviary plenty of street presence.

Having enjoyed an ice cold draught beer from the Aviary at the SCG recently we can verify this is one hell of a conversion and a great way to repurpose an old bus and it will surely prove popular with corporates and sporting events around the country.

STORY OFTHE TITAN The Titan is powered by a Gardiner 6LXB vertical six cylinder 10.5 litre normally aspirated 177hp diesel partnered with a Leyland Hydra-cyclic gearbox. This was an engine, which first saw the light of day around 1958, so it was getting long in the tooth by the late 1970s. Today 177 horsepower is a very modest output but 40 years ago Gardner was an engine maker with a big reputation and it steadfastly refused to turbocharge its engines despite growing pressure from other makers who were introducing and succeeding with forced induction. Gardner did eventually offer a turbo version boosting power to 230 hp. in 1984 but the days of the big Gardner bus engine were numbered, as the competition simply got better and more efficient with the 6LX production coming to an end in 1992.

The Titan was first announced in 1973 and was intended to be the UK’s standard double-deck bus and a replacement for various types including the Atlantean, Fleetline and Bristol VR. London Transport (LT), the UK’s largest operator, and its engineers worked closely with Leyland through the development phase.

The bus had many LT-influenced features including power hydraulic brakes and full air suspension. Ironically the sophisticated specification and the maintenance cost and implications, meant that very few orders were received from non-London operators.

LT placed an initial order for 50 Titans and subsequently increased it to 250 and these were to be built at Park Royal Coachworks in north-west London, the firm which had built many of London’s RT family buses and all of the production Routemasters.

Production started in 1978 but productivity at the factory was very poor and delivery was at a slow pace. As a result, Park Royal was closed down the following year and the whole project might have come to an end then but for LT’s guarantee of sufficient orders to make a new production line worthwhile at Leyland’s Workington factory. Production re-commenced there in 1981 but, in the meantime, LT had diverted orders in favour of the rival Metrobus and, even with the new orders, the production line was closed in 1984, preventing LT from taking any more of the bus it had helped to design.

London’s first Titans entered service at Hornchurch garage in east London in December 1978 and eventually a total of 1125 were purchased new by LT. Alongside the MCW Metrobus, the Titan was one of two standard London double-deckers in the 1980s. It proved to be a reliable and popular bus, which graced the streets of London for more than 20 years although the type was largely withdrawn by 2001, Many ex-London Titans were subsequently used successfully by other operators for many further years.

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Working Wheels

F

rom this writer’s perspective the appeal of SUVs ranks about the same as receiving a letter from the tax department For a start SUVs don’t handle as well as passenger based compact wagons, they’re heavier, they use more fuel and often don’t have as much useable space as a well designed wagon, and we have proved that on a couple of occasions.

The European makers have not given up on the wagon and many continue to make them as an alternative to the SUV. There are also making and selling SUVs but realise that not all of us want an overgrown ‘mini truck’ for negotiating our mostly urban lives.

Renault is one such Euro maker, which

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continues to make wagons, and has extended its Megane hatchback range with the inclusion of a wagon to accompany its sedan and hatch models.

VW also offers is Golf and Passat as wagons, as does BMW, Audi and Benz and Skoda to name a few.

There are three models in the Renault Megane wagon range ranging from the entry level Zen to the GT-Line and the range topping GT. Inside both wagons are quite French, stylish and clean and has a prestige feel that one expects from a Euro offering.

The seats encompass you with good support and comfort while there is plenty of room in the back for the kids or a couple

of extra adults. The seats are split fold and can be used to extend the already capacious rear luggage area enough tot swallow copious amounts of luggage or all the items in a big weekly shop.

The dash is dominated by a large 8.7-inch touchscreen and largely it is reasonably intuitive and easy to use. But like a lot of the electronics inserted into new cars it lacks a simple dial that could be used to adjust volume, mode or stations. When will these engineers understand that it is easy to use a dial, but hard to find an icon on a screen when trying to keep your eyes on the road ahead.

Under the bonnet the Zen and GT-Line are powered by a 1.2-litre four-cylinder

The world,it seems, has become obsessed with SUVs. However the Euro makers have not entirely given up on traditional station wagons and publisher Jon Thomson had the chance to sample a couple of Renault’s superb Megane wagons recently.

turbo petrol engine, however the GT has an awesome 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine that really zings.

We tested both the GT-Line and the GT and came away impressed with the refinement and overall levels of engineering and driver reward.

The GT-Line is priced from $33,490 plus on-roads which features great equipment levels with Alcantara upholstery, signature badging, rear privacy glass and an electric panoramic sunroof all as standard.

Along with that you get 17-inch alloys, auto headlights and wipers, an 8.7-inch capacitive touchscreen as well as GPS navigation and Bluetooth streaming.

For those of us who grew up in the muscle

car era of the 1970s the thought of a 1.2 litre engine would cause some to break out in a cold sweat, for them the only thing that came in 1.2 litres was their milk and orange juice. However this 1.2-litre donk delivers a pretty good degree of oomph boasting 97kW of power and 205Nm of torque as well as very good fuel economy and low emissions. We recorded an average of just under 8litres/100km across a wide range of driving in the GT-Line.

The turbo delivers really good torque from fairly low in the rev range particularly given it is mated to a very smooth seven speed dual clutch automatic. As well as that, unlike its obese SUV cousins, it has fairly low kerb weight, which

makes it feel nimble and agile.

The seven speed works well, however like many automated manuals can be a bit ponderous at low speeds and when maneuvering but on the other hand the performance at speed is sensational with slick and rapid shifts that are a delight to experience.

With the GT you get very attractive performance oriented 18-inch ‘MagnyCours’ alloy rims, but that is not all you get in the more upmarket version, which has a starting price of $39,490.

You also get tyre-pressure monitor, adaptive cruise control with speed limiter, auto headlights, and ‘Multi-Sense’ (personalised driver modes and interior

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ambience) as well as LED mirror indicators, rear fog lights, front, side and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera along with a park-assistance system, The Megane GT all-alloy1.6-litre turbo intercooled engine has direct injection and variable valve timing and is the same engine featured in the hot little Renault Sport Clio and delivers max power of 151kW at 6000rpm, and 280Nm of torque at 2400rpmand uses the same seven-speed dual-clutch auto as the GT-Line.

Probably as a result of some more spirited driving in the GT-Line we recorded slightly more fuel consumptions returning an average of 8.4L/100km.

From a standing start you can be doing 100km/h in around 7.4sec in the GT with standard launch-control making it easier to achieve this time consistently and without fuss..

The GT’s engine delivers a natty very sporty exhaust note that really adds to the GT feel while the seats it boasts hold you even better than the impressive GT Line seats.

Handling is even better particularly with the Renault ‘4Control’ four wheel steering which makes it feel so agile and controllable while the steering feel is tight and sharp with great road feel and excellent turn in. Overall a very rewarding drive experience.

For an added performance edge you can switch the ‘RS Drive’ button on the dash to engage Sport mode giving you a 40 per cent reduction in required steering input, as well as fine tuning accelerator response while recalibrating engine and transmission mapping. If you have any degree of performance orientation the

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RS button is definitely your friend.

The French maker is renowned for its hot hatches and small performance cars dating back over many decades so not unsurprisingly the GT-Line and the GT wagon both boast terrific road dynamics. While not quite as nimble as those hatches the wagons acquit themselves very well in the handling department.

Like most French cars the steering is superb with great feel and while the GT is ultimately better, both wagons handle very nicely with flat attitude and confidence building road holding. Much better than even small SUVs. Renault offers capped price servicing for the new Megane range. Each service costs $299 and visits are required every 12 months/15,000km. While those prices are competitive it only covers the first three years of ownership.

Renault does, however, offer a five-year/unlimited km warranty for peace of mind.

On the safety front the GT-Line gets six airbags, front, side and rear parking sensors and a rear view camera plus Renault’s Advanced Driver Assistance System Pack that brings with it autonomous emergency braking and lane departure warning.

The GT-Line also includes blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.

Both of these little French wagons would be gladly added to our driveway and with their dash of Gaelic flair the Meganes are well worth a look if you can resist the pull of an overweight SUV, we certainly would.

MISSED AN ISSUE? Issue 28 – JUNE/JULY 2017 – $8.95 incl. GST

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064 Money Matters

PAUL CLITHEROE HANDLING THOSE CREDIT CARD BILLS AND ACHIEVING FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

T

he holiday season is over, now to pay for it all. Australians collectively racked up an extra $29 billion in credit card debt over the festive season, and without early action plenty of cardholders could still be paying off Christmas 2017 in 12 months’ time.

Australian cardholders each notched up an average of $1,727 each in holiday debt based on a study by comparison site Finder. Even allowing for a 55-day interestfree period, the interest cost alone from all this plastic debt could top $230 million.

The news isn’t all bad. Despite there being more credit cards on the market than ever before, the average card debt accruing interest has fallen from $2,470 in 2012 to $1,890 towards the end of 2017. This suggests we’re becoming better at paying off the plastic.

Even so, while four out of five credit cardholders plan to pay off their holidayinduced debt in three months or less, the remaining 19% will take longer to clear the debt, and one in 20 expect to still be paying off Christmas just gone at the end of this year. Not a great start to 2018.

One way to trim the tab is with a balance transfer deal. The period of low or zero interest charges can give credit cardholders an opportunity to make headway on their outstanding card balance.

There are currently over 100 balance transfer cards offering 0% transfers. The interest free period varies, but more than half allow a whole year or more interest-free if you transfer your existing balance over.

The downside is that simply lobbing your credit card debt over to a new card, even one with a low or zero rate, doesn’t address what can be serious overspending issue.

On top of this, if you can’t clear the debt before the zero rate period ends, the remaining balance can attract sky high cash advance rates, which could be more than you’re paying on your current card.

That makes it critical to use a balance transfer deal to pay off as much of the debt as possible in the interest-free period.

Resist the urge to reload the newly cleared old card with fresh purchases – cancelling

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the card is a simple way to avoid this.

An easier solution can be to pay as much as possible off your current card. Sticking to the card issuer’s minimum payments may seem easier on your budget today, but it can drag out the debt for years, even decades. That means paying excessive interest charges – money you could be using to build your own wealth rather than the bank’s.

The credit card calculator on the MoneySmart website shows how much you could save on your card debt by making extra repayments.

Meantime, achieving financial independence doesn’t have to be complex.

In my experience five commonsense steps can help you enjoy the life you want to lead.

First and foremost, take control of your money. I know life is expensive. And you probably you think you’d be okay if you earned a few thousand extra dollars. But we are humans. And the truth is we always seem to be able to spend 10% more than we earn, no matter how much we earn!

That’s why it’s so important to budget, regularly set aside money for savings and avoid high interest debt that funds purchases of no lasting value.

Step two is simple. Avoid silly risks with your money. Humans seem to instinctively want an easy way to make money with little effort, which explains those get-rich-quick schemes that flood our email inboxes.

Invest regularly, but manage risk by diversifying across a range of quality assets.

Next on the list is planning to own a home debt-free at some stage. I know that dipping into home equity can be a low cost way to fund a myriad of goals. But think about how you will manage if you’re still paying off a mortgage in retirement. Owning your place debt-free is financially liberating, and something worth aiming for – preferably before you retire.

Step four is straightforward. Learn to love your super. Don’t wait until you’re in your 40s, 50s (or even 60s) to get serious about your retirement savings. Choose a super

fund that works for you, take it with you from job to job, and add to your retirement nest egg wherever you can. As part of a long term plan superannuation makes tremendous sense. It’s generally invested in high quality asset, it’s tax efficient and you can’t readily get your hands on the cash while you’re in the workforce, which is a huge plus.

Step five: Protect what you have. We all understand the need to insure assets like a home, its contents and other valuables.

This type of cover is essential. But the other asset you need to protect is you.

The start of the year is an ideal time to think about whether you have sufficient life cover and income protection insurance in place to protect your family, yourself and your financial wellbeing.

One final point. I believe the value of money is to give you options, and you should plan to have fun along the journey.

I would also hope that one day, when you do stop work, you recognise that all your hard work was to give you freedom later in life. Sure, that may mean eating into your capital. But that’s okay – that’s what it’s for.

Paul Clitheroe is a founding director of financial planning firm ipac, chairman of the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board and chief commentator for Money magazine. Visit www.paulsmoney.com.au for more information.

Renault MASTER BUS

Safety. Comfort.

Low running costs.

That’s what we value too

Master Bus is easy to get into. It has an exceptional headroom space, a wider than average aisle and an electric sliding door and step*. There’s also class leading 3.5 cubic metres of luggage space in the back which stops the cabin getting clogged up with bags. It’s easy to get into financially as well.

With a 3 year or 200,000km warranty and roadside assist†, 3 year capped price serving^ combined with Renault’s reliability and low running costs – we challenge you to find a better value mini-bus.

For more information visit renault.com.au * Electric sliding door and step is optional on Master Bus. †Three (3) year/200,000km warranty offer and 3 year/200,000km Roadside Assistance both apply to all new or demonstrator Master Bus models. Warranty and Roadside Assistance valid for 3 years or 200,000km (whichever comes first) from new. Demonstrator vehicles receive balance of new vehicle warranty and Roadside Assistance. Roadside Assistance terms and conditions apply. Call our Customer Service Team on 1800 009 008 or view the Terms and Conditions statement at www.renault.com.au/ drivingpeaceofmind for details. ^First 3 scheduled maintenance services capped at $349 per service on new and demonstrator MASTER models, based on standard scheduled servicing from new and on normal operating conditions. Scheduled maintenance services required every twelve (12) months or up to 30,000km (whichever occurs first). However, Master is subject to adaptive servicing requirements, as determined by the Oil Condition Sensor, and may require servicing prior to the standard twelve (12) months or 30,000km service interval. If vehicle is not presented within three (3) months of when the scheduled service is required, right to that capped-price service under the program is forfeited.

MARCOPOLO One of the world’s largest body manufacturers, Marcopolo, is making a major mark in the Australian bus industry.

Brazilian based, Marcopolo, have partnered with Volgren since 2012 - launching their first vehicle, the Audace three years ago.

Marcopolo have sold more than 100 Audace's locally and in 2017, they announced a full acquisition of Volgren - Australia's leading bus body company.

Who is Marcopolo?

Founded in Brazil in 1949, Marcopolo has grown to become one of the biggest bus body manufacturers in the world.

The company has manufacturing facilities in 12 countries, employs 20,000 people around the world and has produced more than 400,000 buses in nearly 70 years.

There are Marcopolo vehicles running on the roads of more than 100 nations, from Spain to Sudan, India to Iceland, Portugal to Peru.

One such model is the Audace, the first Marcopolo vehicle to land on Australian shores. A versatile vehicle that can be used as a charter bus or coach, the Audace emphasises driver and passenger comfort while showing off stop-you-in-your-tracks European styling.

Matching global strength with Volgren’s local know-how, Marcopolo continues to turn heads in Australian bus market.

BUILDING BETTER BUS PARTNERSHIPS FOR MORE INFO CONTACT VOLGREN ON 03 9791 4255 OR VISIT VOLGREN.COM.AU/MARCOPOLO