C&B Issue 38

Issue 38 – 2019 – $8.95 incl. GST

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CUSTOM BUS HITS 100 • TRANSIT SYSTEMS STARTS ELECTRIC TRIAL • SCANIA'S GULGIONG SCHOOL BUSES

40° 41´ 21.4˝ N 74° 02´ 40.2˝ W 80 km/h 192.168.1.1

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001 Drivers Seat

PETER BARNWELL THE FUTURE IS RUSHING TOWARD US

R

emember what Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau said in 1974 when he first saw Bruce Springsteen?

“I saw Rock and Roll’s future and its name is Bruce Springsteen!”

We felt the same way the other day when we sat down with Transit System’s director of transition, Greg Belkin to talk about the electric bus trial the company is pioneering in inner western Sydney, as part if its contract to operate the Transport for NSW Region 6.

We saw the future of buses and we were excited!

It was so enlightening, no pun intended, to hear how forward looking and focussed Transit is and its plans not just for electric buses but for hydrogen fuel cell buses and the tremendous possibilities for that technology.

Hydrogen sets off alarm bells with a lot of people. They remember the horrific images of the Hindenberg erupting in flames as it approached a landing station in New Jersey in 1937. But comparing a hydrogen filled airship with hydrogen fuel cell vehicle power is akin to comparing a Tiger Moth with a 787 Dreamliner, in fact it is even less relevant to that comparison, given the Hindenberg used hydrogen as its elevating gas and fuel cells use it to generate electricity in chemical reaction inside a closed system.

A senior car company engineer told us about 20 years ago when hybrid vehicles were on the horizon that these were just interim technology and that the future of vehicle propulsion was hydrogen. The growing weight of evidence is that his prophecy is being proven.

Industry had to overcome a lot of challenges to make hydrogen fuel cells viable including making the energy rich requirements for extracting hydrogen more efficient and enabling it as fuel ready as well as making its storage safe and secure.

There are so many upsides to hydrogen, for a start it is the earth’s most abundant element and it is capable of creating energy without emission apart from a bit of good old H2O or as it is more commonly known, water, for the chemically challenged among you.

As Greg Belkin told us Transit is pretty keen on bringing hydrogen buses to Australia and says they could be navigating our major cities in as little as 18 months. The company has 10 hydrogen fuel cell powered buses.

Already successfully running in London, is in discussion with Singapore and has recently taken a road show around Australia, highlighting the potential for hydrogen power to state transit authorities and bus operators.

It is an exciting time indeed.

Toyota is building an entire fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses to cater for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Very exciting.

Combine all this with all of the electronic scheduling technology, on demand operations and a range of other innovations and we really are facing a major shift in the way we transport people around our cities.

Some people might doubt the need to change what has been a very successful and economic formula for bus operations based around the diesel engine. It is after all relatively cheap, but whether you believe in climate change or not the question you have to ask yourself is ‘do we want to keep pumping exhaust emissions into

our precious atmosphere when there are alternative technologies available’?

It is a bit like hanging on to steam engines because coal is cheap.

As Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa said “if we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change!”

With all of that in mind, this issue is full of new bus technology stories, including a feature on the Transit Systems Sydney electric bus trial and Yutong’s first electric coach recently delivered in the UK as well as taking a look at an on demand bus operation in Sydney using a Hino Poncho.

We of course mark the return of Higer buses to the Australian market with a road test of its H7 28-seater and we visit Custom Bus for the delivery of its 100th bus since resurrecting the venerable Sydney bus building operation less than 12 months ago. On the other side of the world, we look at the big global tie up with America’s NFI and Britains ADL and we head out to Gulgong in central western NSW for a profile of local operator Eastend Bus Lines and its Scania fleet.

Hope you enjoy the read and remember technology can be our friend, bring it on!

Till next time take it easy.

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Issue 038

CONTENTS CONTACT DETAILS PO Box 7046 Warringah Mall NSW 2100

FEATURES

16

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 fiona@kududesign.com.au Advertising Sales Jon Thomson Mobile: 0418 641 959 admin@truckandbus.net.au Contributing Writers Barry Flanagan, Sven Erik Lindsrand

COUNTRY COMFORT

Spare a thought for country bus operators who have to cope with long distances, rugged roads, remoteness and a lack of easy access to technical and mechanical back up. However one NSW country operator, Eastend Bus Service in Gulgong has chosen Scania to tackle all of those challenges and after a decade that choice has proved a success. We went to Gulgong to find out why.

22 LOCAL HEROS

Hino’s quirky but very efficient and clever Poncho is finding favour across our cities as an ideal vehicle for local shuttle and last mile operations. We take a look at one such operation in Sydney’s northwest where Poncho is being used to shuttle residents to major transport hubs.

28 HITTING THE TON

They say a week is a long time in politics, but a year in the bus building industry is not a long time, so the fact that the reborn Custom Bus has just turned out its 100th vehicle built entirely at its new factory in Mt Druitt in less than a year is an extraordinary feat. We headed out to Custom to take another look around the factory as they handed over bus number 100.

34 TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

The recent tie up between American bus making giant NFI and British company ADL took many people by surprise but the combination of the two powerhouses has the ability to make a seismic shift in the global bus business. We take a look at how the tie up will play out.

40 HIGER’S RETURN

After early success in the Aussie market Chinese brand Higer has suffered from lack of enthusiasm from its distributor in recent times, but after an absence of a year or so Higer is back with improved product and a new distributor. We took its H7 for a quick road test to see how far they have come.

46 BRAVE NEW WORLD

Electric buses have hit the streets of inner western Sydney in a two year zero emission trial, but as we discovered when we visited Transit Systems Leichardt depot, battery electric vehicles are just the tip of the technological iceberg with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and a range of new management technologies headed this way.

52 ELECTRIC DREAMS

The increasing number of examples from around the world of electric vehicles, in particular buses and coaches, often seem along way away from our diesel centric environment here in Australia, however many believe it will only be a matter of time before the uptake of electric power options truly starts to accelerate here in Australia. We look at Yutong’s latest electric powered coach, which has just gone into service in the UK.

Contributing Photographers Mark Bean, Cristian Brunelli, Jan Glovac

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01

DRIVER’S SEAT

Editor Peter Barnwell has his say on the growing technology tidal wave and what it might mean in the bus world.

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.

60 LCV We take a look at SsangYong’s new Musso XLV.

60 COMPANY CAR Toyota Kluger.

64 MONEY

Paul Clitheroe’s latest advice on finances.

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AMA GROUP ACQUIRES WALES TRUCK AND BUS REPAIRS ONE OF THE TRUCK and bus industry’s leading crash repairers, the Sydney based Wales Group, has been acquired by the publicly listed company AMA. The acquisition of the Wales Group was confirmed this week by the company’s managing director, Darren Wales, who told Truck and Bus News that the deal will give Wales the resources and the backing of a publicly listed company and will ensure it will continue to service its many loyal and long term customers with continuity.

“It’s a great opportunity to join the AMA Group which is an extremely strong and progressive company and I can assure our customers and staff this is a very positive move that will deliver an

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even better Wales Group,’ said Darren Wales.

Wales said that AMA has offered him role of head of its heavy vehicle division and that he will also oversee acquisition and growth opportunities in the heavy vehicle repair industry.

“I believe it is a very good fit for us,” Darren explained.

“We have an awful lot of work in front of us but I am looking looking forward to the challenge,” said Darren.

“We’ve contacted all of our customers and informed them of the acquisition and all that is happening and also let our staff know that it is business as usual,” he added.

It is likely that Wales will retain its brand but with a tag line stating

that it is a division of AMA. Wales counts most major Sydney and NSW bus operators and major truck fleets amongst its clients at its specialty repair operations at Smithfield in Sydney’s West, including Transit Systems, Transdev, NSW Transport, Interline and Busways.

Wales was established in 1984

by Barry Wales, initially as a car and light commercial repair operation. However having worked as a driver for a major baker Barry branched out into truck repairs after asking his former employer if there was any truck repair work.

It soon became apparent that they were very good at it and it was a specialist niche that was far removed from the cut and thrust of the car repair industry.

As a result the company grew and Barry’s son Darren, who had an accounting background. joined the operation in the late 1980s, working on the shop floor, getting hands on experience and learning the business inside and out.

Darren eventually took over the reins of Wales from his Dad about 15 years ago and by then it was well established as one of the best truck crash repair operations in the business adding a bus repair. division along the way.

Wales has grown from a small smash repair operation with around four employees to employ more than 100 across both its truck and bus operations.

Truck and Bus News will have further details on the Wales acquisition as they come to hand.

VICTORIAN MINISTER FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT INSPECTS NEW BUSES AT VOLGREN VICXTORIAN MINISTER for Public Transport Melissa Horne dropped in to Volgren’s factory in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong recently to inspect the first of 50 new buses Volgren has built for major transport operator Transdev.

Representing the single biggest order of replacement buses in Victoria for 25 years, the 50 Volgren low-floor city buses built on a Scania chassis are part of a 100 strong order made by the Victorian Andrews Labor Government in late 2018.

The first instalment of Volgren’s order of 50 units have been completed ahead of time with 15 new Volgren buses already operating on the streets of Melbourne.

The new replacement buses are

low-floor and fully accessible for all passengers, they feature USB charging facilities, improved CCTV capability, as well as bigger priority seating area. The 50 Volgren built buses will be entirely compliant of the Victorian Government’s Local Jobs First Policy, ensuring each vehicle is made with 60 per cent local content.

Thiago Deiro, Chief Executive Officer of Volgren said the company was proud of the fact that all 50 buses for Transdev Melbourne and Public Transport Victoria will be designed, engineered and fully assembled in Dandenong, using locally sourced components.

“Over the past four decades, Volgren has become part of an extensive and thriving south-

east Melbourne manufacturing ecosystem. Directly, Volgren employs more than 200 people in Victoria alone and indirectly, over 500 people across 50 local suppliers who have become a key extension of our business.”

“The Victorian Government’s decision to modernise, expand and upgrade Melbourne’s bus network secures those local jobs and supports the growing supply chain of local businesses.”

“Volgren is now responsible for close to two in every three route buses sold in Australia.

This latest delivery for Transdev is another endorsement of our high-quality vehicles, as well as our ability to handle large-scale orders,” Thiago said.

Jim Jones, Volgren’s Commercial

Manager said that from day one of this order being announced Volgren has collaborated closely with Transdev and chassis partner Scania to help design the best possible low-floor city bus for Victorian bus passengers.

“The partnership between the companies is strengthened further by the confidence Transdev has in knowing Volgren’s support extends beyond the delivery of the buses themselves.

“Transdev can always expect value from our company. The after sales support we provide, for example, helps to keep their buses on the road and increase the whole-of-life value of our product.”

All 100 new buses are set to be delivered and taking passengers

by July 2020. www.truckandbus.net.au 005

BENZ CITARO BUSES TRIALLING IN AUSTRALIA MERCEDES BENZ advanced European bus of the year winning Citaro bus has hit Australian shores and is about to start a trial with a major operator in Sydney.

The Citaro, which has won numerous major awards in its current incarnation including 2019 Bus of the Year for its Hybrid version, has been on the wish list for Daimler Commercial Vehicles local Australian arm for some time, but the 2.55metre width of the Citaro has proved a problem given local width limits at 2.5 metres. Daimler could bring the bus in and operators could apply for an exemption for a particular route but that then limits resale potential and route flexibility.

An example of the new Citaro, a Euro 6 diesel version was spotted in Sydney this week and the bus is believed to be bound for a trial with a major public transport operator once Opal card reading equipment is fitted. It is believed Daimler is continuing its lobbying of authorities to secure a change in laws to allow the extra 50mm width that would allow

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advanced buses like the Citaro and other Euro spec machines to hit our roads. On the truck side the Australian Trucking Association is pushing for a move to 2.6 metre width limit for commercial vehicles which would give even more leeway for higher efficiency.

It is believed that Daimler has two Citaro 12 metre city buses powered by its latest Euro 6 drivelines in Australia for trials at the moment.

Mercedes Benz was once a dominant force in city route bus sales in Australia but the star has waned in recent times with Swedish rivals Volvo and Scania and even its German counterpart MAN winning sales in the booming route bus market.

Daimler is eager to bring the Citaro Hybrid to Australia and also the Citaro Electric in line with the German giant’s commitment to low emission city vehicles and in particular its commitment to electrification as it has demonstrated with its truck brands. However the bus width rules remain the big hurdle.

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SCANIA SAYS CUSTOMERS SET TO BENEFIT FROM OPENING OF AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST B100 BIODIESEL PLANT SCANIA says its Australian customers will benefit from the recommissioning of Barnawartha Biodiesel plant in Northern Victoria and will be able to run their trucks and buses on the renewable B100 biodiesel fuel.

The Just Biodiesel owned plant will be able to produce up to 50 million litres of fuel per year from locally sourced animal waste and waste vegetable oil feedstocks in either pure B100 biodiesel or as a B20 blend.

All Scania Euro 5 trucks and buses can operate on B100 if specified for it at the factory.

Those not factory-specified for B100 can be converted at minimal cost, during a short visit to a Scania workshop.

Scania Australia also offers five engine applications from 320 hp to 580 hp in the Euro 6 range that can operate on B100.

One of the key biodiesel benefits is an up to 83% reduction in carbon emissions well-to-wheel (in the case of B100), as well as the

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advantage that locally-produced biodiesel delivers in terms of boosting national fuel security.

At Just Biodiesel’s plant in Barnawartha, the base feedstock is tallow derived from animal rendering, some of which is produced by a third-party supplier located within the boundaries of the biodiesel plant. Used cooking oil collected from restaurants around Australia can also be used in the fuel’s manufacture.

The Just Biodiesel plant will begin exporting renewable fuel in August to California and European Union customers, to markets with high demand for this fuel.

Speaking at the launch of the plant, Dr John Hewson, Chairman of Bioenergy Australia said biodiesel manufacturing in Australia had been reborn. He also said that producing biodiesel locally can play an important role in shoring up Australia’s fuel security.

“Just Biodiesel is setting an example of what can be done.

The business community is moving ahead so we can make the transition to a low carbon society by the middle of this century, which is an imperative.

“The government has no fuel security strategy. We have 21 days of fuel and we have the distinction of having the dirtiest petrol in the OECD. This is a sad situation, we are very exposed, so it is not surprising that others have decided we have to get on and create fuel from alternative sources,” Dr Hewson said.

“80 per cent of the soya bean that we export to Europe is converted to biofuels. We don’t do any value-adding in that industry in this country at all. These are very significant challenges where the risk of not having a secure fuel policy is a major disadvantage to this country. We are very exposed,” he said.

“We don’t have a national waste management strategy. Feedstocks for biofuels and alternative fuels are spread right across this country

so there is enormous potential for development in regional Australia for investment and jobs using existing technologies to convert waste into fuels.”

The Barnawartha plant operated

by Just Biodiesel has re-employed 11 of the original staff from the facility (which was closed in 2016) and is on track to add a further 5 jobs.

The newly-elected Federal Member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines MP, said she was delighted that local jobs in regional and rural Australia could be created by the emerging biofuels industry, which also offered environmental benefits.

“I am delighted there are around 16 jobs being created in Barnawartha, and that vehicles fuelled with this biodiesel will reduce emissions substantially, if we choose to use it. I am delighted that the fuel is being exported, but I would be more thrilled if I saw Australia embracing this more fully,” Dr Haines said.

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YUTONG PREMIER ELECTRIC BUS TRIAL COMPLETED THE SIX MONTH TRIAl of a Yutong E12 low floor electric route bus

by Premier Transport Group on the NSW South Coast has been successfully completed with the bus having pounded the 40 km route between Kiama Station and Bombaderry Rail near Nowra without problems.

The buys has now moved to Transit Systems at Leichardt in Sydney to a new two year trial along with four BYD Gemilang electric route buses (see our Brave New World story elsewhere in this issue).

The Yutong was selected for the NSW South Coast trial as part of the NSW state government commitment to ensure at least 10 per cent of new vehicles on the government fleet are electric or hybrid powered, starting in 2020/21.

The bus formed part of the NSW Government’s announcement of its Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Plan by the. NSW Minister for Roads, Melinda Pavey and the NSW Minister for Transport and

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Infrastructure, Andrew Constance.

According to the new general manager of Yutong Australia, industry veteran Lou Riccardi, the trial proved the worth and capabilities of the electric bus with it easily covering its scheduled 280 km daily route task with charge to spare across a wide range of climate, speed and load conditions.

Lou Riccardi told C&B that the deal for the trial was a tremendous success and demonstrated that electric buses can match conventional diesel buses in terms of performance and reliability.

“With the government’s commitment to charging infrastructure and more operators looking to electric on a variety of routes there is a bright future for electric in NSW and across the country, “ said Riccardi.

“Yutong has played a leading role in developing electric bus technology and is well positioned to supply the technology for Australian conditions,” he added.

“It is very encouraging that the results from Premier were so

positive and that Transit Systems has added the bus to its Region 6 Trial in Sydney’s inner West,” Riccardi said.

“We had the specs for the route which is around 40km each way between Bombaderry Rail and Kiama Station and requires the bus to do around 280 km on a single charge and we worked with Yutong to source the correct bus for the job,” said Barry.

“The goal for the Nowra electric bus trial was to gather as much data in regards to all aspects of operations in Australian conditions to enable everyone involved to evaluate all the issues from future needs and direction, operational demands and cost,” said Lou. The Yutong E12 was tested before going onto the Nowra trial and easily handled ambient temperatures up to 39 deg Celsius in the summer conditions as well as in head and cross winds and showed it could travel the required distance on a single charge.

Compliance, workplace safety and contract manager for Premier Transport Group, Greg Abel said the company would like to thank Yutong n and technical team for provision of the electric bus to enable the trial to be successfully completed,” he said.

“This is a very exciting time and is a new frontier for Premier Transport Group,” he added.

Yutong launched the 12 metre full electric low floor E12 city bus in late 2015 and claims to be the first Chinese bus maker to develop a full electric bus. The company says that to date it has delivered over 22,000 ‘new energy vehicles,’ including 8,000 full electric buses running in more than 140 cities

around the world.

Yutong claims its E12 adopts the company’s unique intelligent electric drive technology platform – ReCtrl, which has drive management, whole vehicle CAN control and remote technology built in.

In announcing the government’s commitment to increasing its electric and hybrid vehicle fleet roads minister Pavey said it means NSW will have the largest government fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles in Australia.

“It sends a clear signal of confidence to electric vehicle manufacturers and local consumers will also benefit by greater access to a wider choice of affordable electric vehicles in the future,” Minister Pavey added.

An important part of the plan is the development of electric bus services, such as the Yutong Trial, with a number of other trials to begin shortly, led by the private bus industry and government.

“Electric vehicles are here, they are cheaper to fuel and maintain, but we need to keep developing the network and charging infrastructure to further drive their uptake,” Mr Constance said.

The NSW plan includes a $3 million co-investment in fast charging points for electric and hybrid vehicles on major regional corridors, and $2 million for new charging points in commuter car parks.

“More people are embracing electric and hybrid vehicles and we need to do our part to ensure we have the infrastructure in place so that people are confident to use these vehicles right across the state,” Mr Constance said.

Higer’s back in Australia with a new and improved H7 Midi-Bus. The H7 offers 28+1 seating with the ability to have 2 for 3 seating for primary school children. H7 boasts Cummins power, Allison automatic transmission, Wabco brakes and a suite of key components and features from internationally renown suppliers.

With Bus Corp Oceania’s expertise and nationwide backup now is the time to call to your local representative to arrange a drive of the all new H7.

For more information call Higer Australia on 1300 038 888 (Ext 3) or New Zealand 0800 678273 (Ext 3) NSW/ACT/QLD Francis Burdock 0484 000 161 VIC/TAS/SA Troy Wells 0447 000 995 WA/NT Jason Pecotic 0414 793 639 NZ Joe Crickett 021 915 065 www.higerbus.com.au

VOLGREN LOW FLOOR URBAN BUSES HIT THE SOUTH COAST FAMILY-OWNED New South Wales regional bus operator, Sapphire Coast Buslines, has become the first operator in the country to put Volgren’s new low-floor, seatbelted Urban bus onto the road.

The 57-seat bus, a replacement vehicle under their current contract, will be used for both daily school services and standard route services throughout the Bega Valley Shire, covering towns such as Bermagui, Merimbula and Bega.

Sapphire Coast Buslines Managing Director Anton Klemm said his company was “absolutely delighted” to be the first operator in the country to incorporate the 012 www.truckandbus.net.au

new vehicle into their fleet.

“Two elements that we’ve always prided ourselves on as a company are passenger safety and innovation. We make certain our fleet is technologically up-todate so that those who ride our buses are as safe as they can possibly be.

“This new bus ticks both of those exceptionally important boxes. It’s safe, it looks great, it caters for a variety of passengers and it offers a high level of comfort compared to other low-floor buses.”

Anton said that in addition to the inclusion of seatbelts, now a mandatory requirement for all

rural and regional buses under New South Wales legislation, the bus was specially equipped for passengers with different needs.

“It has the red seats that we’ve been doing for many years now.

They’re coloured that way to show that they’re prioritised for those who are visually impaired.”

Another important difference for passengers is improved wheelchair accessibility thanks to a spacious layout.

“The wheelchair spaces are very generous, making them easy to access for older passengers, vision impaired, parents with prams, those with mobility disadvantage and, of course,

passengers using wheelchairs.”

The new Australian Design Rules-compliant bus was built at Volgren’s manufacturing facility at Dandenong in Victoria.

“We like the fact that the bodies are put together in Melbourne, meaning they’re not only driven and travelled in by Australians, but built by Australians as well.

It’s good to know the buses have provided Australian jobs.

“The body and chassis team [Volvo] communicate well and only contact us at crucial touch points along the process, which makes things easy for us when we’re busy running a demanding business,” said Anton.

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ADL AND BYD ELECTRIC BUS DEAL TOPS 100 ALEXANDER DENNIS Limited (ADL) and BYD Europe jointly announced that the companies’ electric vehicle partnership, has already topped 100 double-decker bus sales.

The news comes as BYD ADL receives another significant fleet order for its 100% emissions free electric double-decker Enviro400EV with National Express confirming 19 vehicles for its West Midlands bus operation in Birmingham.

These figures for BYD ADL’s double-decker include significant fleet deals with some of the UK’s major bus operators including Metroline, Stagecoach, National Express and RATP Dev London.

The BYD ADL partnership has

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seen the move to electric mobility within the passenger transport sector gathering pace over the past 12 months. As more and more operators realise the operational benefits of combining ADL’s bus design with 100% emissionsfree, pure-electric operation.

Importantly, BYD designs and installs charging infrastructure systems, to provide its customers with a complete one-stop shop solution to fleet electrification.

“This is a notable achievement by the BYD ADL team in the UK, underlining the strength and depth of the partnership,” said Arthur Whiteside, Managing Director, UK Sales at ADL. “We have achieved significant market penetration in

just three years, while the uptake for the Enviro400EV has been extremely encouraging since we started production in February.

The move to electrification is well underway and we’re pleased to be leading the charge. Operators appreciate the significant benefits the Enviro400EV offers – which combines 100% emission free operations with the comfort, style and safety that make the Enviro400 the UK’s favourite double deck bus.”

“We see the demand for full electric mobility only increasing,” added Frank Thorpe, Managing Director at BYD (UK), “and for two good reasons – public demand and fleet productivity. An increasingly

well-educated public is calling for a sustainable future and zero-emissions public transport can play a key role in helping people switch to an energy-saving mindset. Pure electric operation is having a truly dramatic impact on air quality in our towns and cities, and that’s good news for everyone.

“For operators,” he went on, “electric mobility offers long-term productivity gains for scheduled service bus fleets, regardless of their size, as proven by public transport operators right across Europe. We look forward to engaging further with UK operators in our mission to bring 100% emissions-free mobility to our streets.”

PARIS SAYS TOUR BUSES ‘NO LONGER WELCOME’ IN CITY CENTRE

PARIS’S DEPUTY MAYOR said in an interview this week that he wants to remove all tour buses from the city centre.

Emmanuel Grégoire told Le Parisien he isn’t waiting for the French capital to reach the overtourism levels of Venice or Barcelona. He hopes to nip growing tourism numbers in the bud by banning large buses from the city center and redirecting tourists to other destinations in the city.

“Tourist buses are no longer welcome in the city center,” Grégoire said in the interview. “Tourists can be like everyone else and use gentler means of transportation or public transit.”

The giant buses drive through the center of Paris, mostly along the Seine, to pick up and deposit tourists at the city’s major sites: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame cathedral.

The deputy mayor is exploring the possibility of creating a “parking desert” in the city center so the large coaches will have to park further away from Paris’s main monuments.

Grégoire also spoke about how Airbnb rentals are driving up rent prices in certain neighbourhoods.

Paris is far from the only destination to implement efforts against overtourism this year. Earlier this year, New Zealand announced a new tourism tax that would fund sustainability and infrastructure projects to keep visitation from ruining the environment. And Indonesia’s Komodo Island announced that it would temporarily close to protect its Komodo Dragons, which people kept stealing from the island.

RUSSIAN TOWARDS ELECTRIC BUSES THE RUSSIAN commercial vehicle manufacturer Kamaz is building a production plant for electric buses and their components in Moscow, as well as an R&D innovation centre focusing on improving the quality of electric passenger transport.

Around 14 million euros will be invested in the project. The company has now signed a corresponding agreement with Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

At least 500 electric buses per year are to be produced in the Russian capital in the future.

Last year the Moscow bus operator Mosgortrans commissioned Kamaz and GAZ to supply 100 electric buses each, as well as the respective charging infrastructure. In April of this year, Moscow ordered a further 100 electric buses and 36 fast charging stations from Kamaz.

The contract provides for the delivery of the electric buses for a period of 15 years, which were developed according to the city’s requirements.

Electric buses have been running on the streets of the Russian capital since autumn 2018. The city plans to buy 300 electric buses per year in the 2019-2020 period. From 2021, Moscow will only procure electric buses and completely discontinue the purchase of diesel buses.

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Operator

Spare a thought for country bus operators who have to cope with long distances, rugged roads, remoteness and a lack of easy access to technical and mechanical back up. However one NSW country operator, Eastend Bus Service in Gulgong has chosen Scania to tackle all of those challenges and after a decade that choice has proved a success. We went to Gulgong to find out why.

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ulgong in Central Western NSW is one of the most historic country towns in Australia, filled with beautiful old colonial era buildings, a heritage entwined with legendary Australian author and bush poet Henry Lawson and of course its fame as the ‘town on the ten dollar note’ with images of Gulgong featuring on the original Aussie decimal currency $10 note.

Explore the streets of this lovely little town and the history permeates every corner and even the operator of the school buses is filled with local history.

Brad Ellis is a third generation bus operator in Gulgong, his grandfather having been one of the first school bus operators

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west of the Blue Mountains, starting out in the 1940s with an old truck, with not much more than logs on the back as seats.

Fortunately for the safety and the comfort of the school kids, Brad’s grandfather bought a proper bus, an old Leyland Leopard, which he ran for many years.

Brad’s uncles Doug and Bill Ellis were also involved in the school bus business and at some point his maternal grandfather was also involved in the business, so there is a lot of family history in the operation.

Young Brad used to accompany his Grandpa on that original school run from Blue Springs to Gulgong when he was a kid and it was that experience that set Brad’s dream to one day own a school bus as well.

In 2008, after years in the hotel industry, Brad had the chance to buy a school bus run from his Mother’s uncle. He purchased the Yarrawonga - Gulgong run, and that went well. Then a couple of years later he spoke to the chap who owned his Grandfather’s original Blue Springs run and in 2012 he did the deal and completed the circle, by buying the run.

“I was pretty happy that I was able to buy the run that I used to accompany my grandfather on all those years ago,’ said Brad.

Today Brad Ellis and his Eastend Bus Service owns five of the seven school bus runs that bring pupils into Gulgong each day and runs a fleet of ten buses, most

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“ IT WAS ALWAYS MY DREAM TO HAVE A SCHOOL BUS RUN BUT IT JUST GREW FROM THERE AND I NEVER DREAMT I’D HAVE A FLEET”

of them Scanias with a mix of school bus contracts and charter work.

“It was always my dream to have a school bus run but it just grew from there and I never dreamt I’d have a fleet, It is definitely hectic,” said Brad.

The association with Scania started around 2012 when he purchased the Blue Springs to Gulgong school bus run.

‘When we bought that run the bus that came with it was due for replacement so I put the feelers out, I had never bought a new bus before, so I was a totally new to the game.

Brad reckons the response that stood out was from Tony Fineran at Scania.

“Tony brought one of the Scania A30s

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up to Gulgong for us to try and he told us to keep it and try it for a week, to see if we liked it,” said Brad.

Brad used it for a week, tried everything out and bought his first Scania A30 in November 2012. Then when he bought the other runs in 2014 the buses on those runs were up for replacement as well so Eastend purchased another Scania. With the addition of the Laheys Creek to Gulgong run Brad added a smaller 33 seat Higer before purchasing the Tuclan to Gulgong to complete the company’s suite of Schoo runs.

At that point, with his fleet of school buses, things started to develop for Eastend on the charter side so Brad purchased another Scania A30.

“The charter side of the business has really taken off in recent times so we bought another A30 mainly as a charter bus but also as a standby school bus,” said.

With the daily workload from the five school bus runs and the boom in charter work Eastend has had more work come in recently, with the construction of a massive new solar farm north of Gulgong on the Dunedoo Road.

“The solar farm needs about 400 workers transported to and from its site, seven days a week moving them back and forth from the site and we have a share of that work, which combined with the school runs and the charters makes us very busy indeed,” he said.

Brad reckons that the fact that he has lived his entire life in

Gulgong and the family history in the bus business is an advantage and has allowed the business to grow in and around the town.

“I’ve lived here all my life and know all the people in the schools

so they have faith in us and we had the coaches so we started

to pick up more and more charter work because we have earned a reputation for reliability,” said Brad

The arrival of seat belt rules meant Brad had to go shipping

for another bus to replace an old Express bodied Iveco bus

which lacked seat belts, this time choosing a Scania Irizar that

was on the Transport for NSW panel list and approved for school operations.

The most recent fleet addition has been a a new 53 seat

Scania Irizar three axle coach that is used purely a charter bus “The Scania’s have definitely performed well but the main

benefit. Is the tremendous after sales service and back up that the company has given us,” Brad said.

“We have had some minor issues, but Scania’s service and back

up is phenomenal, even when the problem is as the result of an outside force.”

“An example was, at the end of 2017 I had a school charter down

to Sydney, taking the kids to the Wet and Wild park, however on

the M4 we ran over some sort of steel frame that dropped off the ute in front and we ran over and it,” said Brad.

“The steel frame went up under the bus and punched a whole

in the fuel tank which pretty much grounded us there and then with 50 plus kids and teachers on board,” he said

“So I rang Rob Lanteri at Scania and he organised a bus to come

and pick the kids up and take to Wet and Wild, then he came and picked me up and had a tilt tray pick the stricken Scania

A30 and take it to Prestons to be repaired, they then organised

a replacement bus for me at Wet and Wild that afternoon to take

the kids home to Gulgong, without any delays or fuss,” he added.

“Scania didn’t have to do that but they did and they have won

me over completely as a result,” said Brad.

Brad says one of the biggest challenges for a bus operator based

in Gulgong is the lack of technology and maintenance facilities in the town when running what are quite sophisticated buses.

“Our closest Scania service operation is Halls Transport Services

in Dubbo, even then that is an hour and a half drive from here so

it’s not just around the corner, which is another rationale for having the Scania’s, not only are they reliable but the service intervals are out to 40000km where the majority of the opposition have 20000km intervals,” said Brad.

“I have a local mechanic who does services and oil changes and

stuff like that but he doesn’t have the technology to plug into buses as sophisticated as this for diagnosis,” he added.

Brad emphasised that the roads around the Gulgong area, and in

particular the back roads that make up the five school runs which are often not much more than gravel farm tracks, are shocking in places.

They are pretty bad and we get a heap of damage to the buses

as a result of the roads they are running, and I would say that at least 50 per cent of the damage to our buses is done because

they are on gravel roads, and really bad gravel roads,” he said.

“We do have a good relationship with the local council and

I can pick up the phone and alert them to any particular road problems and they get things rectified as quickly as possible but they struggle to keep the roads maintained given their

budgets. The promise is that school bus run roads are graded

every 12 months but often this blows out to 18 months fro various reasons so it is tough.

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For Brad another major challenge is dust, both in the mechanical parts of the bus and in ther interior of the vehicles and in the air conditioning system.

“We get a lot of dust issues and air conditioner maintenance is huge, because every time you open that front door on a dirt road and it is just like a big vacuum cleaner, it just sucks the dust in and then you are forever going through air conditioner filters,.” said Brad.

“We have an air conditioner specialist from Sydney that comes out west every six months to do the maintenance on the air conditioning , which is vital for ensuring the systems are maintained properly,” he added.

The longest school route that Eastend operates is the 80km Yarrawonge run which runs in from around Bylong and Ulan to Gulgong. and moves about 76 registered

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students each morning and afternoon and takes about two hours to complete each way.

Brad says that the long drought makes the roads even dustier and more susceptible to break up and when they aren’t bone dry they suffer damage from torrential downpours and floods which wash the roads away which does make life very interesting out here,” he said.

Despite the challenges of operating around a country town Brad is quick to point out that If they do have a minor technical issue he can call Scania up in Sydney and they will talk him or his driver through it and come up with some resolution.

“We maybe a long way from Sydney but it is no problem because of the back up we get from Scania,” he said.

“This is really valuable because if a bus

stops on the side of the road for minor problem we can call and usually find the problem and come up with some sort of resolution, if we can’t get it totally fixed we can at least get the bus going, finish the job and not hold up operations.

“We can then get it back here to the depot and and get it fixed properly either straightway or later if we have to get it to Dubbo or to Scania at Prestons or something like that,” Brad added.

With a hectic schedule of school runs, charter and transporting workers to the new Solar its is fair to say Brad and his team at Eastend are working pretty hard and it far from a quiet life in the country is far from reality. However Brad is adamant that his Scania buses have made things a lot more reliable and efficient for the business and they won’t be changing allegiance any time soon.

Operator

Hino’s quirky but very efficient and clever Poncho is finding favour across our cities as an ideal vehicle for local shuttle and last mile operations. We take a look at one such operation in Sydney’s northwest where Poncho is being used to shuttle residents to major transport hubs.

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here is no doubt the complexion of our passenger transport networks is changing and will change ever more quickly as the nature of our cities and technology imposes new demands and capabilities on the way we move people around urban areas.

As a result there is a growing need for a range of bus sizes and capabilities to meet the different demands particularly with the concept of last mile and shuttle operations that move passengers to or from their residential ‘villages’ to major transport hubs and trunk routes.

One such example of this has been implemented, not by a transport operator but by a property developer in Sydney’s

new Melrose Park development in the North West suburbs between West Ryde and Ermington, where a massive new medium density residential complex is now being serviced by a small bus shuttle service running around the new residential area ferrying passengers to and from the nearby business areas and to the Meadowbank railway station on the Sydney Trains Northern Line. The heavy rail line allows passengers a range of options to connect across the Sydney metro area.

The nub of the concept is a small space efficient bus that can easily navigate the smaller streets of the new Melrose Park area and efficiently provide some added transport options for locals.

Property developer Payce, is the company behind the shuttle and has already commenced what is a free community bus service providing a direct link between Melrose Park and Meadowbank Railway Station.

Payce director, Dominic Sullivan told Coach&Bus that the service, known as the Melrose Park Rider, operates weekdays to the station during the morning peak and from the station to Melrose Park in the afternoon peak.

The route for the service starts from the northern end of Wharf Road, travels via Taylor and Cobham Avenue, Andrew Street, Adelaide Street and Constitution Road West before stopping at Meadowbank Station.

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The free service stops at existing bus

stops along the route from 6:30am to

9:30am and 3:30pm to 7:00 pm in the afternoon, Monday to Friday.

The bright green eco-friendly Hino

Poncho holds 26 passengers and features an ultra-low floor design with an easy accessible wheelchair ramp.

“We are committed to delivering transport

links for residents and that’s why we have introduced the service early to gauge

community support,’’ Mr Sullivan told us.

The free service takes less than 14

minutes including all stops making it a time efficient and attractive option for passengers.

The service may only have a single

bus operating in morning and afternoon

peaks but the entire Melrose Park project is only partly developed with a number

of other stages of the project still under construction.

“With construction now underway on

the northern end of the site at the corner

of Wharf Road and Victoria Road we want to start supplementing transport links,” he said.

“We want to make it attractive

or smaller vehicles meeting this demand in place of fixed transport services. While the Melrose Park program is not on demand

at the moment it is an area where such a

program would be ideal and is a potential development as the Melrose Park builds toward full completion.

These flexible, non-regular routes

encourage the use of public transport by

providing mobility options for all, in areas where daily demand is variable. On-

demand services can connect passengers with other public transport hubs, or direct to their destinations, to enhance the mobility of the entire community.

New technology solutions offering instant

responsiveness to the passenger to book

a trip using a mobile app, a mobile website or a booking call centre will make and is already making it easier for on demand services to work and flourish.

The keys are that these programs can be

adapted to suit customer profiles, including passenger with reduced mobility and that they should and can be cost effective for

local authorities thanks to the optimal use of assets, and suited to travel needs

Various on-demand passenger transport

to residents and give them as many

pilot projects are being trialled by the

local residents to take advantage of the

aim of the pilots is to deliver reliable and

transport options and to encourage all

service,” said Mr Sullivan

Other proposed transport services to

come online around the Melrose Park

project, include the proposes Parramatta

Light Rail Stage Two, which will run through

New South Wales Government and the

affordable first and last mile services in a

variety of large and well-populated areas of greater Sydney meeting local needs and encouraging the use of public transport.

The pilot programs are integrating

the site providing a major transport link, a

with existing transport services, as the

express buses every week, plus new and

a result they are improving mobility for all

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with around 2,000 upgraded cycleways.

Melrose Park is on 30-hectare site,

which spans a large amount of former

industrial land close to the Parramatta

River and is touted as Sydney’s largest urban renewal project.

The project is valued at close to $6 billion

and includes 6,000 new apartments, a

retail town centre, community facilities and parklands and will create more than 1,500 new jobs.

While the Melrose Park shuttle is a single

bus it is clear that more will be needed and it is a portent of more similar systems to come in this ilk.

Transport for NSW says that services like

similar private Melrose shuttle is and as

passengers and reducing the dependence

on private car transport. This is happening on both high and low demand routes, with the result of providing faster, safer and more convenient trips.

Hino’s Poncho is very different to the

traditional design for buses and is clearly strongly influenced by demands in its

country of origin, Japan where the urban areas of Tokyo, Osaka and other major

cities means there are lots of narrow streets with high density population needing to

move relatively short distances to major

trunk transport route hubs as well as local shopping and business centres.

Looking a bit like a shrunken city route

the Melrose Park shuttle are a response to

bus the Poncho offers a great deal of

services are influenced by the demand of

and efficiency as well as delivering a

on demand transport where the day-to-day the users. The extension of that is clearly

when passengers book a service for when and where they want to travel, with buses

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flexibility along with manoeuvrability

low floor and easy access for passenger

with disabilities and those requiring wheel chair access.

“ WE ARE COMMITTED TO DELIVERING TRANSPORT LINKS FOR RESIDENTS AND THAT’S WHY WE HAVE INTRODUCED THE SERVICE EARLY TO GAUGE COMMUNITY SUPPORT”

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The Poncho is powered by Hino’s J05ETS 5.1 litre four cylinder turbo diesel which if mounted horizontally in the rear of the bus and is mated to an Aisin five speed automatic. The engine produces 180 hp with 530 Nm of torque. The rear location means the Poncho is quiet and very comfortable to ride and of course the rear mounting delivers that low flat floor enabling its flexibility and versatility particularly with wheel chair bound and movement impaired passengers.

Transport for NSW is working on plans for more of these services and has said that it will work with local councils and communities on integrated transport and land use planning and investigate the potential to develop 20 year precinct plans for all strategically important centres and places. The plans focus on balancing the transport movement needs of the community with high quality urban design that supports community safety, health and wellbeing and enhances community assets and local character.

As part of this, Transport for NSW says it will proactively work with its service delivery organisations as well as the supply

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chain and local communities to identify ways to reuse or repurpose assets that have reached their use by dates to address social challenges in the community.

The NSW government believers that the state in the future will be Australia’s first trillion dollar state economy. Economic productivity will grow as the network moves people more efficiently to jobs centres and provides firms with access to the right workers, skills and customers. Future technology will also enable productivityenhancing flexibility in the way people work and the times of day they travel.

It believes that technology will also drive new industries – with the World Economic Forum predicting that some 65 per cent of children entering primary school today will hold jobs in the future that do not yet exist.

At the same time, today’s substantial freight task will continue to expand with primary industries, which today contribute around $14 billion to NSW Gross Value Product, will continuing to grow, strengthening links to global export markets.

Transport for NSW says that ‘First and last mile’ freight will be transformed by technology delivering efficiencies in

logistics and small parcel movements, incorporating innovative direct-toconsumer deliveries and transport.

It says that commuters will have access to a safe, world-class network that supports private journeys, high capacity public transport services and high productivity freight vehicles.

It proposes providing better road connections between key centres, prioritising efficient vehicles and taking into account the type of corridor, customer mix and the importance of local spaces. It also proposes physically separating different road user groups with an expanded network of bus lanes and freight priority where possible It also says it will apply the ‘movement and place’ approach to match road function with user groups and create better places and communities.

All of that leads us to believe that ‘smart’ buses based on vehicles like the Hino Poncho will be playing a bigger part in transporting us around hopefully smarter cities with higher density population and a great deal more efficiency, we can’t wait for that one!

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Industry

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They say a week is a long time in politics, but a year in the bus building industry is not a long time, so the fact that the reborn Custom Bus has just turned out its 100th vehicle built entirely at its new factory in Mt Druitt in less than a year is an extraordinary feat. We headed out to Custom to take another look around the factory as they handed over bus number 100. www.truckandbus.net.au 029

A

s we documented in our 2018 story about the phoenix like rise of Custom from the ashes of the old Custom Coaches, the

organisation is being driven by the dynamic Scott Dunn and his team of engineers, designers and tradespeople who have

all worked hard to build 100 buses in less than a year, it’s quite an achievement in anyone’s language.

The 100th bus, a Scania K310 Euro

5 rolled off the production line recently and was accepted by NSW Transport

Minister Andrew Constance on behalf of

Transport for NSW in a special ceremony

at the Custom factory, the only large scale bus body building operation operating in NSW.

The achievement is underlined by the

fact that the output of the new Custom

Bus factory has been significantly more than the old Custom Bus Australia

operation in its last year before it went under, in fact about 50 per cent more.

The activity is just as frenetic and driven

as it appeared a year ago as we tour the

factory just prior to the 100th bus coming

off the line. Our guide this time was Grant Mascord, who joined Custom as National Contracts Manager earlier this year from

Scania. In fact, in some ways it is probably more frenetic, with a full production line

and an army of tradespeople at the various stations through the plant. It is all totally organised and ordered but the factory is a biz of activity and purpose.

Its fair to say that there was a degree

of skepticism in the industry as to whether the reborn Custom would succeed, after its numerous failures and rebirths in

previous times, however there can be

no doubt Custom Bus is thriving under the stewardship of Scott Dunn.

Dunn and his team have been careful to

protect some of the heritage of a company that built so many buses over many

decades but they have subtly changed the logo and of course it is now called

Custom Bus, but there is no doubt Dunn is respectful of the history.

“Most of our suppliers have been

re-established and the ones we couldn’t have been replaced or we make the

components ourselves,” said Grant.

Custom is making its own seats in house

for most city route buses, it has its own

trimming shop and a lot of components are

made in house thanks to the skilled team of fabricators.

Efficiency and quality are what is being

emphasised according to Mascord as we

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THE 100TH BUS, A SCANIA K310 EURO 5 ROLLED OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE RECENTLY AT THE CUSTOM FACTORY. THE ONLY LARGE SCALE BUS BODY BUILDING OPERATION OPERATING IN NSW.

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tour the plant.

Grant tells me that the company is investing heavily in manufacturing technology to deliver even better tolerances and build quality and it is also having its quality culture and systems certified.

Mascord’s main role at Custom is to look after the major bus contracts and to broaden the customer base.

“We don’t want to have all our eggs in one or two baskets and we want to spread our customer base beyond NSW,” he said.

“This past year we have sold 89 buses into NSW, ten into Queensland and one bus into South Australia but that is the first of a number we are selling into Adelaide,” he added.

“It doesn’t hurt that we are the only bus builder of any real scale in NSW and will continue to drive that, we currently employ 175 people here and my job is to spread the customer base and win our way into a wider number of fleets and into other

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states,” said Grant.

Mascord says that the actual production for the full 12 months since starting up at St Marys will be something like 120 buses and that number doesn’t include the 18 buses that were partly built at the old factory and were finished off at the new one and then delivered to customers as part of the purchase from the administrators.

‘The goal Scott set was to build a bus from the point where the chassis arrives to the completed bus coming off the line in 25 working days and that is what we are working towards,“ said Mascord.

Custom is also investing in more new machines, robot welders and laser cutters, that will arrive in the factory soon, adding to the efficiency and accuracy of its day to day operations Its clear that after a year in the new premises Custom is already bursting at the seams and the company is investigating

ways of creating more space while also looking forward to plans for a new factory on a greenfields site somewhere in Western Sydney as part of a five year plan.

“Our big challenge is to manage the expansion and not grow to fast and to manage the quality and finish,” said Grant.

At the official handover of the 100th Custom Bus for the STA at the company plant , NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance also received a tour of the plant with CEO Scott Dunn showing the minister around and no doubt briefing him on the injection of 175 jobs into Western Sydney the building of buses for NSW Transport facilitates at the moment.

Custom is a huge success story under Scott Dunn’s management and its something we should be proud of and nurture for long the term. Well done, or should we say Well Dunn!

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Industry

W

hen British bus maker Alexander Dennis Limited announced it had been acquired by Canadian coach and bus manufacturer NFI Group back in May the reality dawned that a new global bus making group had been born and that it would probably eventually reach across the world and almost certainly have some affect on the bus landscape down under.

The combined operations of NFI in North America and ADL’s UK and European operations has a workforce that now numbers 8,900 people, with approximately 100,000 vehicles already in service around the world.

The two companies have been very open about the acquisition and the reasons behind it. NFI and ADL have had several press and industry briefings in North America and in the UK and it has been announced that ADL CEO Colin Robertson will continue as CEO of ADL as a business unit within NFI and will also assume a dual role of President of NFI International to oversee the company’s global strategy for further growth and diversification outside of the North American market.

“Since the sale announcement, our primary driver has been about the positive message – enforcing it, reinforcing it and getting it out there to almost 9,000 combined team members, customers, suppliers and key partners like BYD, Volvo and Scania,” Colin stated.

Colin explained that ADL has known NFI Group intimately for seven years, and for more than 10 years from a distance, and felt the two companies held a similar ethos.

“Whichever enterprise eventually took on ADL after 15 years of solid shareholding, it was important to me that this company went to a parent who could make it an even better business,” he said.

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The recent tie up between American bus making giant NFI and British company ADL took many people by surprise but the combination of the two powerhouses has the ability to make a seismic shift in the global bus business. We take a look at how the tie up will play out.

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“On every level, this makes so much sense. If you look at NFI’s acquisition record, they buy great businesses, let the existing leadership team run the business and provide them with support and connectivity. ADL will continue to be headquartered in the UK and I will continue to run it. From my perspective, our strategic priorities and five-year plan can only be improved and accelerated as part of the bigger enterprise.”

Paul Soubry, president and CEO of NFI highlighted the joint venture between the two companies which occurred between 2012-2017 to sell the North American variant of ADL’s Enviro200.

“It was through this joint venture we experienced first-hand the strong alignment between our two companies, especially when it comes to quality, customer

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experience, reliability and commitment to its people,” Paul said.

“We were looking to find the best fit financially, strategically and culturally for NFI, and with ADL we found all three. We were looking for a company that could be the growth platform for NFI internationally.

ADL has a proven track record of entering and succeeding in new markets.

“NFI did not had a double-deck product in its portfolio and ADL is the world’s largest double-deck manufacturer.

“When we add ADL’s single-deck and Plaxton coaches along with NFI’s strong technical capabilities, it provides us with one of the strongest and most diverse coach and bus portfolios in the world. This is especially true in North America, where NFI will have a complete bus lineup with the widest range of vehicles, propulsion system

choices and unrivalled aftermarket support.”

Soubry gave some context on what led NFI to consider the acquisition.

“When I joined NFI in 2009 we had a blank canvas, the challenge we had was that we were only manufacturing transit buses and only for North America, which gave us little opportunity to grow because we already had a high market share,” he said.

“We set on the path of trying to become the leading global independent bus company – not part of a truck or automotive OEM,” he added.

“We acquired a small parts manufacturer in 2010 to learn how to manufacture and integrate parts. In 2013, two competitors came up for sale. One was NABI, an offshoot of the Hungarian Ikarus bus company, and Orion, a parts business owned by Daimler. “

“ WE SET ON THE PATH OF TRYING TO BECOME THE LEADING GLOBAL INDEPENDENT BUS COMPANY”

“Marcopolo, one of the largest bus bodybuilders in the world, made a public statement about wanting to come to North America so we convinced Marcopolo to buy 20 per cent of our company and we in turn bought Orion and NABI. Over a short period of time, we became the leader in North American transit by a long shot,” said Soubry.

In 2015, NFI found an opportunity to acquire the leading motor coach player – MCI, which made it the largest motor coach player and then bought a couple of fibreglass businesses and established its own parts fabrication. It also looked at ARBOC, a US company, which makes lowfloor cutaway buses and light to medium duty shuttle buses.

Soubry said ADL had been on its radar for a long time.

“We became fond of each other’s

businesses during our joint venture, and I said to Colin that if at any point ADL’s shareholders wanted to sell the company, we would be interested. When the decision to go through a formal process was made in late 2018, we were first in line,” said Soubry.

“We have market leadership in motor coach and transit in North America, but we don’t have anything outside North America and there is a gap in our product portfolio for double-decker buses,” Soubry emphasised.

“Colin and the team at ADL have done an amazing job putting near 1,000 into the North American market. The combination of the two businesses makes a very compelling line-up in North America,” he added.

“We didn’t really have a growth story.

What the ADL team has done is admirable and fascinating, so we believe ADL can be the international growth platform

of our team,” Soubry continued.

“NFI is largely vertically integrated, we build monocoque structures, we have our own integral cage and don’t deal with body on chassis very much,” he added.

“Watching what ADL has done, where they grow the market and find local sourcing and assembly partners, is a very cost-effective way to grow business internationally. We thought there were some creative lessons learned there,” he said.

“From a financial perspective, it’s profitable with strong cashflow, although we still think we paid top dollar for the business, but it was worth it,” he added.

Soubry says that ADL has a commitment to culture, safety, the customer and the environment, which are exactly the things NFI is doing asm well and added that there is a neat chemistry between the two business.

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“ MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE’RE TAKING A LONG-TERM VIEW OF THIS ACQUISITION, AS WE SEE IT BEING A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF NFI’S GROWTH FOR YEARS TO COME”

“We find ourselves in a leading global position as an independent – not dependent on a broader company whose interests may be somewhere else.”

In a conference call with stakeholders in North America, Soubry explained why NFI was confident to invest in a company based in the UK despite the current political and economic issues such as Brexit.

“It’s important to have context on Brexit as it relates to ADL, which we considered carefully during our due diligence process,” he said.

“While there are risks with Brexit, ADL is somewhat insulated. It does not have a large export market from the UK to the EU, does not have vehicles crossing borders multiple times, can flex its supply chain as necessary and currently has limited

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sales or purchases in Euros. In fact, most transactions are in Pounds.

“One of the things we really liked about ADL which is very different to NFI is its flexible operating model. This allows the company to successfully develop new products, quickly enter new markets and establish local sourcing assembly partnerships.

“Generally, vehicles for the UK market are made in the UK, vehicles for the North American market are made in North America, and vehicles for Asia are made in Asia. This manufacturing strategy is testament to ADL’s flexible operating model.

“Most importantly, we’re taking a longterm view of this acquisition, as we see it being a critical component of NFI’s

growth for years to come.”

Colin Robertson was keen to emphasise that there is still a firm commitment to the business from the ADL shareholders who invested in 2004 when the business was in administration.

“It was a risky investment which paid off very nicely. At the same time, over the 15 years we’ve grown from £150m to more than £600m in sales and from 1,200 employees to 2,600, high quality, high skilled jobs. We’ve invested in green credentials, new products, new markets and UK leadership. This is just the next few paragraph in a really exciting story,” he said.

The question of the future of the BYD - ADL electric bus saw Roberson claim there would be no change for the foreseeable future.

“We communicated with BYD about what

we were doing throughout the process and it gave unequivocal 100 per cent support for NFI acquiring the business. We have a great partnership with BYD in the UK and New Zealand,” he added.

“It’s good for both parties and indeed BYD is keen to sit around the table and look at how the model may be considered in other markets,” he added.

“We’ve already kicked off an initiative to cooperate in North America. Where ADL is quite new and setting up its own suppliers, NFI is mature. Helping ADL navigate, and in some cases NFI making components because we have fabrication capability, definitely can bring some cost synergies.

“I think there’s also a good opportunity for cooperative selling. Where certain customers are considering a double-deck

but are not sure about the longevity or level of support in North America. When the NFI salesperson walks in hand-in-hand with the ADL salesperson, it will help our ability to sell buses and create options.”

Robertson added that the leverage ADL would have in North America thanks to NFI’s backing may help it secure more favourable deals from suppliers.

“There will be a great opportunity to benchmark. If nothing else, we will have access to quality information, leading to more informed discussions and decisionmaking,” he said “We’re a small player in America, but the fact we now have that halo effect from NFI means its manufacturing capability can drive quality and value. The notional threat of its vertical integration might

mean suppliers sharpen their pencil,” said Robertson.

Paul Soubry says that he believes ADL will be the global brand for the new group and that the NFI brands in North America will stick to their knitting.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us in North America and we’re pleased with what New Flyer, ARBOC and MCI are doing on their products. I can’t imagine a scenario where NFI goes outside North America – that’s exactly why we wanted ADL, to continue to have them seek out new markets.

“Maybe there are technologies, designs and so on which we apply in North America which we can work with ADL to apply there, but the international growth is the reason we acquired ADL.”

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Road test

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After early success in the Aussie market Chinese brand Higer suffered from lack of enthusiasm from a different distributor in recent times, but after an absence of a year or so Higer is back with improved product and a new distributor. We took its H7 for a quick road test to see how far they have come.

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“ SLIP BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE HIGER AND ITS CLEAR THAT THE QUALITY AND FINISH OF THE HIGER PRODUCT HAS LIFTED CONSIDERABLY”

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arly this decade Higer was the big thing on the block when it came to Chinese bus makers in Australia . The Higer brand had burst onto the local scene and quickly won favour with a range of buyers, driven largely by strong pricing, a Cummins/ Allison driveline and other international componentry.

So successful was Higer’s foray under the distributorship of WMC that inside two years the brand had topped the Australian coach sales charts tasking number one in 2011 selling 210 coaches and topping that in 2012 capturing 27 per cent of the non route bus market selling more than 250

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coaches that year.

It was Australia’s fastest growing bus brand outstripping the sales of its nearest opponents in the market. Higer’s market share in 2012 was almost 10 percentage points better than its nearest rival in coach chassis sales and better than 12 percentage points ahead of the nearest rival brand in total coach body sales. That didn’t factor in the sales of its 28 seater mini coach they called the Munro, which because. Of the size was not counted in the industry tally. They sold 56 of those in 2012.

Then there was a seismic event that would see the demise and a slowly

dwindling sales tally for Higer under new management as a result of a funding deal that saw its previous go getter management team being forced out of the organisation.

Finally earlier this year AHG the organisation that has been behind the brand’s distribution in Australia for the past seven years, relinquished its distribution and one of the people behind the original WMC organisation saw an opportunity and picked up the rights for Higer down under.

Jason Pecotic now the general manager of Bus Corp Oceania, the distributor of the British Optare bus brand is driving the return of Higer and when he rang to offer

us a test drive of the first new 28 seater Higer, now known as the H7, we jumped at the chance.

The H7 plays in the same realm as the Toyota Coaster and the Fuso Rosa, both of which have less seating capacity, with 25 seats to its 28 while the two Japanese rivals have slightly smaller external dimensions. The Higer looks considerably bigger and higher and In fact the H7 is 200 mm wider than the Rosa and 180 mm wider than the Coaster , is 345mm higher than the Coaster and 230mm higher than the Rosa and actually sits between the two rivals in length at 7535mm compared with 6990mm for the Coaster and 7730 for

the Rosa. So while being a little bit bigger externally the H7 does deliver three extra seats which may sway some operators and is a strong selling feature.

Slip behind the wheel of the Higer and its clear that the quality and finish of the product has lifted considerably. The T-bar shift for the Allison automatic sits just beside your left leg and is easily slipped into drive. It is a six-speed auto and the Allison reputation for reliability, longevity and ease of operation is legendary. The auto is the only transmission option on the Higer. The Rosa and Coaster both offer a manual or automatic option, the Coaster with a four speed auto and a five speed

manual while the Rosa matches the Higer with a six-speed auto (Aisin) or a six speed Fuso manual as an alternative There is an array of switch gear on the wide dash controlling all manner of things including the passenger door, cabin lights , hazard flashers, headlights etc. all of these are easily identified and plain to see and are rocker style switches which are tactile and easy to use. There is an audio unit with AM/FM and Bluetooth connectivity.

There are also two cup holders and several nooks and hatches for stowing those fiddly necessities that you don’t want rolling around the cabin.

As well as all that there is a monitor which

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displays vision from the onboard cctv camera showing what is going on back in the passenger area, a feature that will please school bus operators in particular.

There is the obligatory PA and a reversing camera also included as standard.

The instrument panel features big clear dials and is well designed and laid out with the speedometer in the middle dominating the display, surrounded by a tacho, temp gauge, fuel gauge and oil pressure.

Start the Cummins turbo diesel and it bursts into life. It is quiet and smooth humming away in the background. Select D on the Allison shifter and the Higer

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moves away smoothly, with little fuss or bother. The power is delivered smoothly and although our all to brief test drive was in an empty bus it had tremendous power.

By comparison with the Coaster and Rosa the Higer has more power and torque. Both of the other two boast 110kW of power with the Rosa delivering better torque with 441Nm and the Coaster 397 Nm. However the Higer shades both of them with its 125kWs and 600Nm delivering plenty of power and when you push the throttle down it jumps away from the lights and easily climbs hills.

Handling wise we found the Higer to be

precise and smooth, while its ride quality and overall noise levels are quite low, partly we believe because the Cummins power plant and Allison combination means it is not working as hard as its Japanese rivals. The low noise could also be as a result of the extra soundproofing Higer has added to the bus in recent times, again a part of that quality evolution. While old Higers could sound a little agricultural when underway, the new ones are quiet and very civilised.

The power assisted steering is well weighted and more precise than previous Higers we have driven, which underlines

the company line that the product has evolved and improved. It is something we certainly found to be true during our brief road test .

Brakes are a disc drum set up with Wabco ABS as standard and they work very well with good pedal feel and responsiveness.

The passenger area of the H7 is roomy and bright with two rows of seats along each side of the aisle whereas the Rosa and Coaster only have a single row along the left hand side of the aisle and no seats across the back of the buses, where the H7 does.

There are individual reading lights for each row of seats in the H7 as well as a high shelf where passengers can stow soft bags and jackets etc, another feature lacking in the Japanese rivals. Seat belts are also fitted as standard throughout.

Air conditioning is by a standard Higer unit and seems to work well, the crisp but sunny Sydney winter’s day during our test didn’t tax the system but it was pumping air effectively during our test and obviously a load of passengers would warm things up further but as we say it appeared to be up for the job. A Thermoking system can be ordered as an option.

Pricing wise its always difficult to get a handle on commercial vehicle prices particularly with deals done for multiple orders, different option packages and incentives offered by manufacturers, however the Higer people say the H7 is price competitive with the Rosa and Coaster and sits in the $130,000 to $140,000 bracket, or about the same as its rivals, give or take.

Would we buy a H7? You bet, this is a much improved and far better screwed together Higer and with its capacity and performance advantages we reckon it will slot in well with fleets of all sizes.

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New Technology

Electric buses a have hit the streets of inner western Sydney in a two year trial of zero emission machines but as we discovered when we visited Transit Systems Leichardt depot, battery electric vehicles are just the tip of the technological iceberg with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and a range of new management technologies headed this way.

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he massive Leichardt Bus Depot on the Western edge of the City of Sydney is home to more than 250 buses and since 2018 it has been run and managed by Transit Systems, the innovative and go ahead passenger transport company which has grown out of a humble base in Perth.

Amongst that fleet of largely traditional diesel and CNG diesel route buses are five innovative and exciting new pure battery EV buses that could be set to revolutionise the way Sydneysiders move around their city.

Coach & Bus had a chance to go inside the Leichardt depot and take a close up look at the Transit Systems operation and specifically the trial of the new electric buses. We also discovered some exciting

innovations on the horizon for Transit Systems and public transport passengers across Sydney and Australia, but more of that later.

Greg Balkin, has the title of of general manager, New Technologies for Transit Systems and both buses and ferries for close to four decades, and has a vast amount of experience in the industry including once having run the Leichardt Depot as a NSW Government employee.

Far from being stuck in the past or the present Greg Balkin as his title would suggest is focussed on the future, as we approach some exciting innovations that will change the face of public transport forever.

Part of that change is the historic two year trial of battery electric buses including four

BYD K9 chassis-Gemilang units and a single Yutong bus, which kicked off on 31 May with the arrival of the BYDs and which saw the Yutong join the trial at the start of August.

The trial will see the buses each cover 50000km per year and separate recharging stations for both the BYDs and the Yutong have been installed in the Leichardt depot.

According to Greg Balkin the BYD Gemilang buses were chosen for a number of very good reasons while the Yutong unit has arrived at Leichardt after what has been a very successful trial with Premier in Nowra. “The BYDs were similar to the electric units used by Blue Emu at Sydney and Brisbane airports so there was a track record and the Gemilang bodies were

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specified similar to the Scania diesel buses we have here at this depot so it gave us a degree of interchangeability and efficiency,� said Greg.

Drivers for the trial were selected on their driving records, service history and customer service to ensure the best performance while the use of the buses has been gradually ramped up, increasing to match the schedule of a conventional diesel bus.

Naturally the buses are being closely monitored and watched via ViriCiti telematics that is providing real time information and data back to the Transit Systems Operations centre at Leichardt where a team is always on hand to monitor

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every bus in the fleet.

The ViriCiti telematics provides a range of data from the electric buses including real time temperature of the battery, ambient temperature, energy consumption , energy available and the amount of recharge coming in via regenerative braking and a whole lot more.

When C&B visited the Leichardt depot the BYD buses had been running on various routes in the inner city for about a month and at that point, the feedback had been nothing but positive and while it is still early days and it is difficult to compare cost of operation with similar capacity diesel buses on similar routes, the data is pouring in and it shouldn’t take too long for positive

conclusions to be drawn.

The trial has attracted plenty of attention with the NSW Minister for Transport Andrew Constance, being on hand for the start of the trial with the story featured on evening TV news services while local state member and Greens MP Jamie Parker has also visited the depot and naturally embraced and endorsed the zero emission buses and all they represent.

The trial, which was mandated as part of Transit Systems contract to take over and run the Region 6 bus services from State Transit Authority was not just a matter of ordering some electric buses and running them on various routes. It has involved a lot of planning and the installation of a good

deal of infrastructure to equip the depot for the arrival of the new zero emission vehicles.

Four BYD charging stations have been installed at Leichardt as well as a single Yutong charging station. The ongoing frustration of differing charging stations and connectors, experienced by many electric car owners, is similarly felt by operators trialling two different types of electric bus. Hopefully some day there will be a standard agreed to and some uniformity introduced.

That being said Transit Systems was well prepared for the arrival of the new gen buses and invested heavily in electrical infrastructure to meet the demands of

charging the buses, basically the depot now has the capacity to charge eight buses at a time and this can be expanded into the future. The company is also investigating a whole range of green energy options including large scale solar arrays and battery storage to augment the depot’s power and also to deliver cleaner power for a larger fleet of zero emission buses.

“The question we have to ask when adding electric buses to a fleet is where are the neutrons going to come from,” says Greg with a smile.

“We are very aware of the demands that will be placed on the system and a bigger fleet will require a much larger solar array and battery storage,” he added.

Hydrogen is definitely in the general manager, New Technologies sights according to its Transition Director and fuel cell buses could be here sooner rather than later if the company can bring all the elements together.

While Transit is a Perth company originally, it is now a very global Australian corporation and operates large scale fleets in London and Singapore as well as all around Australia. In London its fleet already has ten hydrogen buses running safely, efficiently and cleanly in the English capital, while it is having advanced discussions with Singapore about hydrogen fuel cell buses as well.

‘Our London hydrogen fuel cell buses are

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performing very well indeed and we are gearing up for hydrogen buses on a much larger scale,” said Greg. ‘it is one of the most crowded and congested cities in the world but the hydrogen fuel cell buses are working just fine,” he said.

“We are talking to both the federal and state governments here in Australia about hydrogen fuel cell buses and we organised a road show across the country recently speaking with state authorities and showcasing the various technologies that could be used,” he added.

Balkin says that even if the company can cover just 10 per cent of its 2200 bus fleet it would make an enormous difference in terms of energy usage.

“Hydrogen power could be introduced with very little extra demand on the existing energy grid and would have a very positive effect on our energy security,” Balkin added.

A hydrogen bus fleet would also deliver the sort of critical mass that would make a hydrogen production facility in a depot like the Leichardt one an economical and viable one.

Greg Balkin says that a hydrogen car would require about 4kg of hydrogen a

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week to run its fuel cell while a typical city route bus would require about 32kg of hydrogen fuel a day, which equates to more than 200 kgs a week per bus.

A hydrogen generator at a bus depot gives us critical mass and it could become a hydrogen hub providing fuel for council vehicles, generating electricity and running the bus fleet.

“We could and we hope to implement hydrogen here in an as little as 18 months,” said Greg.

That is the near future but right here and now two of the four near silent and clean BYD buses glide back into the depot after completing morning rush hour. The other two are still out there transporting passengers around the Region 6 area, which runs from the centre of Sydney out to Sydney Olympic Park and south from the Parramatta River to around Kogarah.

‘The reaction so far from the drivers and the passengers has been very positive, they have remarked at the silent running and the lack of smell with no diesel fumes and the drivers love the responsiveness and strong braking helped by the regenerative braking.”

With electric buses here and likely to grow as part of the fleet and hydrogen on the

way it is clear the the general manager, New Technologies is helping Transit Systems to transition to new ways of transporting people more cleanly and efficiently.

The company is already very successfully running on demand services using Transit’s own Bridj software and app within the Region 6 contract with a number of Hino Poncho buses operating around the Five Dock Concord Cabarita Peninsula area along the southern shores of the Parramatta River, but that is a story for another time.

As well as all that the company is doing a lot of work on headway management and turn up and go bus services which works to ensure more accurate bus spacing.

Headway management aims to ensure commuters can turn up at a bus stop and be confident a bus will turn up at scheduled intervals, and not have three buses turn up within a few minutes and then a gap of 20 minutes till the next one. It just underlines what a massive role technology will play in our public transport future.

We look forward to a further report on Transit Systems electric bus trials and the brave new world its hydrogen and scheduling technologies promise to deliver.

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Technology

The increasing number of electric vehicles from around the world, in particular buses and coaches, often seem along way away from our diesel centric environment here in Australia, however many believe it will only be a matter of time before the uptake of electric power options truly starts to accelerate here in Australia. We look at Yutong’s latest electric powered coach which has just gone into service in the UK. 052 www.truckandbus.net.au

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n Europe and the UK things are really starting to ramp up with. The announcement this week of the arrival of the first Yutong TCe12 electric coach, the first battery electric coach of its type to offered to UK customers.

The TCe12 joins the Yutong GT12, TC12 and TC9 coach range in the UK and the Yutong distributor Pelican Bus and Coach reckon there is strong inquiry and demand for the electric coach The TCe12 is an evolution of the ICe12 electric intercity coach already in service in France, where Flixbus and Keolis have operated more than 50 for close to two years.

The interior has been completely redesigned to a luxury coach specification – and is now built in right-hand drive – however the base vehicle and driveline is unchanged.

The single electric motor driveline and control system is the same as that used in the Yutong E10 and E12 route buses, as well

as about 100,000 other Yutong electric buses in service around the world.

The TCe12 has a capacity to carry 49 passengers and a guide and comes with front and centre passenger doors.

It has a battery capacity of 258kWh of and can be charged with either a 60kWh or 120kWh DC charger, making a full charge possible in less than two hours.

The TCe12 doesn’t come cheaply and carries a price tag that is the equivalent of $AUD545,000 ( £305,000). However Yutong is targeting the coach primarily at operators with prestige work within cities with established or impending clean air zones.

Apart from satisfying environmental concerns, it is anticipated that electric charging costs should be less than 25 per cent of the equivalent diesel cost.

Richard Crump, managing director of Pelican Bus and Coach, said that the Yutong electric coaches operating in Paris

are averaging better than 1km per kWh of charge used on a duty cycle that is about 60 per cent motorway and 40 per cent urban operation.

“This would allow operators a range of about 320 km on a full charge, depending of course on how the heating and cooling systems are used.”

The first three TCe12s have been ordered

by Westway Coaches of London. David West, Westway’s Managing Director, added: “We are delighted to be the first operator to purchase the TCe12.

“As we move into the next decade more and more parts of London and other major cities will become accessible only to zeroemission vehicles,” he said.

“We already operate six Yutong coaches and are very confident in the new electric coaches,” he added.

The TCe12 is the first full electric zero emission coach to be offered in the UK.

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“We are delighted to be the first operator to choose the Yutong full electric coach,” David West added.

“Other Chinese manufacturers have recently announced an intention to supply electric coaches in the UK but in all cases the manufacturers and their ability to support their products are as yet unknown,” he added.

“However the advantage of this “new” vehicle is that it is not really a new vehicle.

I have seen the Yutong in operation in Paris and look forward to being the first electric coach operator in London.”

The TCe12 uses the latest technology Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries manufacturer by Chinese company CATL, with a total of 258kWh capacity. in nine separate modular packs.

The modular design of battery packs means they can easily be changed in the future if better battery technology come available mid-way through the vehicle life.

The battery management system is unique to Yutong and constantly monitors temperature, voltage, current and capacity in the batteries.

The bus has been designed with a front mounted single Yutong TZ368XSYTB04 electrical drive motor which supplies maximum power of 350 kW and maximum torque of 2,400 Nm. Interestingly the motor is water cooled with its own radiator.

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As mentioned the batteries can be fully charged from 2 - 4 hours dependent on capacity of charger using DC current.

Like a lot of Chinese products international componentry has been used including a ZF RL82EC steer axle coupled with ZF 8098 electro-hydraulic energy saving power-assisted steering with a DC powered steering pump.

ZF also supplies its AV132 drive axle and the rear axle includes all suspension and braking and is the same as a conventional diesel vehicle for ease of maintenance.

Full ECAS air suspension with twin front air bags and four rear air bags, SACHS shock absorbers and kneeling function are part of the ride and handling package.

While the electric Yutong has a full air brake system with front and rear disc brakes the electric driveline brings with it the advantage of regenerative braking which not only helps extend the bus range by up to 40per cent, depending on the route but also improves braking and reduces brake wear.

Its Michelin 295/80 R22.5 tyres are mounted on alloy wheels as standard while the bus comes with dark grey double glazed side glass for better insulation from exterior noise and more stable interior temperature.

Part of the standard equipment is a leather trimmed driver’s suspension seat along with the 46 three point seatbelt equipped reclining passenger seats which can come

trimmed with either moquette, half leather or full leather.

Kelin, non-independent roof-mounted cooling air conditioning system with ventilation.

Of course our biggest hurdle to embracing electric coaches like this Yutong down under is charging infrastructure along with our longer distances than those encountered in Europe. However with promises from various governments and private and semi private companies that charging points will be rolled out soon it may not be as far away from our shores as we think. One could imagine for coach operators running in and around our biggest cities with daily charters often being less than 300 km, then there is potential.

The question that needs to be asked is when does that added capital cost on the way in, arguably about $100,000 more than a conventional diesel powered coach, is seen as being viable. With rising fuel prices the potential for faster payback is there before factoring in any environmental restrictions that may come into play in city centres, Yutong is already proving its battery electric credentials with a route bus on trial with Premier at Nowra and more set to arrive shortly for trial with Transit Systems in Sydney’s inner west. However will coach operators get on board down under? Only time will tell.

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LCV

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A FUNNY NAME, FUNNY LOOKS AND UNCERTAINTY HAVE MARKED SSANGYONG’S TIME IN AUSTRALIA OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES. NOW WITH A NEW LOOK, A NEW LOCAL OPERATION AND SOME IMPRESSIVE VEHICLES THE KOREAN BRAND MAY HAVE FINALLY GOT ITS ACT TOGETHER. WE TAKE A LOOK AT ITS NEW MUSSO UTES, BOTH THE STANDARD TRAY AND THE LONG WHEEL BASE XLV.

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t is a bit over 20 years since SsangYong started selling its vehicles in Australia. Its fair to say that the funny name and some ‘funny’ looks didn’t help the cause. That combined with a revolving door of distributors who have come and gone, has done nothing for buyer

confidence and SsangYong has struggled for sales as a result.

Well we are told that things have changed and that SsangYong is back

and ready to attack the market with new vigour and new product. We’ve heard that before but this time it just might be different.

The Korean company has recently rolled out the next phase in its

re launch program with the arrival of the long wheel base version of

the Musso, the XLV dual cab, adding to the Musso short wheel base dual cab it launched back in December last year.

SsangYong is the only Korean maker offering a ute and it has arrived

into what is a fast-growing and very competitive market segment. After those years of piecemeal SsangYong efforts from various distributors

along with cars with at best challenging looks, we believe it has turned a significant corner.

For a start the local operation is now factory owned and if the Musso and

its SUV sibling the Rexton are anything to go by, then the days of odd-ball styling are behind the Korean brand.

SsangYong has been sold here for around 23 years on and off, and

according to the company there are around 5000 SsangYongs on Australia roads, not a huge number for 20 odd years of toil but if the improvements

in quality, engineering, performance and styling with the latest offerings are anything to go by they should sell a whole lot more in the next few years.

It must be said that it has modest and quite realistic sales expectations

in the short to medium term, targeting 3000 sales this year, 4000 in 2020 and 5000 in 2021.

Currently it is only offering the short and long wheelbase Musso variants

along with the Tivoli small sedan/SUV crossover as well as the Rexton

SUV. So far this year the company says it has moved about 1000 units in

Australia, so it is a little behind its projected target but says that with new

models and more dealers expected on board it will finish close to the 3000 unit target figure this year The new Korando SUV is expected to join the line up in October, while in 2020 Rexton gets a model refresh, there’s a

potential new C segment SUV and a new MPV expected later next year.

A battery electric model is also on the drawing board with a possible launch in 2022.

The dealer network currently numbers 40, but SsangYong Australia

boss Tim Smith says they are targeting 50 dealers by the end of next year.

“We want to grow this sustainably and organically,” Smith told us at

the launch.

“We want a spread of metro and rural dealers and we are looking at

all areas with the aim of getting to 50 by the end of 2019 and we will look at targets beyond that then,” Smith said.

“We are under no illusions, it is not going to be an easy task but we are

confident we have the product and the resources to establish SsangYong as a strong brand in Australia,” he added.

The new Musso XLV is an extremely competent and capable multi-

purpose vehicle with excellent fit and finish, ride and handling and a

comprehensive list of standard features but most importantly sharp pricing.

As with the short wheelbase offering, the XLV will be available in

three different trims – ELX, Ultimate and top of the line Ultimate Plus.

Starting price for the manual ELX is $33,990 drive away, moving up to

the automatic at $35,990, while the Ultimate is priced from $39,990 the Ultimate Plus from $43,990. All of the prices are quoted as drive-away.

A big drawcard will be.

Those prices represent a pretty compelling case when it comes to

purchasing decision, and given the strong equipment levels, a 7 year warranty and its on and off road performance the Musso should be on more dual cab buyer’s shopping lists.

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“ ON ROAD IT WAS CONFIDENT AND SURE FOOTED WITH VERY GOOD NVH LEVELS AND A COMFORTABLE, RELAXED FEEL” The seven year warranty, which is coupled with seven year road side assistance and a seven year servicing package is, as far as we can tell, unmatched across the industry. SsangYong is calling this the Triple 7 package and it should certainly be a swaying factor for any buyers worried about any uncertainties with long term reliability and maintenance costs.

Musso is powered by the 2.2 litre e-XDi220 turbo diesel engine, which is also used in the Rexton. It boasts 133kW of power at a relatively high 4,000 rpm with maximum torque of 420Nm between 1,600 and 2,600 rpm and it is available with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed Aisin automatic transmission.

The engine is flexible, quiet, smooth and quite punchy with plenty of climbing and overtaking power and good take off.

It is perfectly mated with the six speed auto, which has good ratios and smooth shifts as well as a nifty shift switch on the side of the lever that allows for manual shifting. We didn’t get to try the manual but with such a small number of manuals being sold these days most will be choosing the auto, making the performance of the manual academic.

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SsangYong says the XLV boasts the longest tray in the segment with a 1,262-litre capacity tub, which comes with a liner as standard. It is a big, deep load area and the extra length of the XLV model is immediately apparent. This is a feature we are sure will win buyers over. The load deck is large enough to carry a Euro pallet between the arches and it also comes equipped with 12V/120W power outlets and four tie down hooks to secure loads.

It will also be available with a choice of either leaf spring or multi-link coil spring rear suspension. It says local suspension calibration work has been done on the Musso and this was quite apparent on our test drive in the hills around Marysville in the Great Dividing Range east of Melbourne. Some may question this strategy after a disaster with Nissan pursuing a similar strategy with the two options available on Navara, but SsangYong is confident it can do it and avoid the problems Nissan encountered.

The leaf spring ELX comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, heavy duty tyres and a maximum payload of 1,020 kgs while the Ultimate and Ultimate Plus are fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels

and have a slightly smaller payload of 800 kgs.

The Musso uses the same body on frame architecture as the Rexton SUV, so like the prominent one tonne pick ups in the market such as HiLux, Ranger and Colorado it has the toughness to handle off road conditions but still delivers smooth on road manners and performance.

Interior comfort and finish is excellent, with comfortable seating for five and a dash and instrument layout that is easy to use and nicely designed.

Equipment levels include safety features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Blind Spot Detection, Front Vehicle Start Alert and a 360-degree camera as well as an infotainment system that includes Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity. The central 8 “LCD screen is easy to read and operate and everything about the dash just sits nicely with tactile switch gear and a premium feel from then material used with nice touches like contrast stitching.

Musso’s drive system features part time 4x4 with power delivered permanently to the rear wheels while 4WD is ‘dialled in’ electronically

as required, with high and low ratios available on demand.

The new Musso XLV also comes with a locking differential system to provide better traction on steep and slippery gradients, and for increased towing capability. We found the off road performance on a brief but testing drive in wet and slippery conditions to be sure footed and confident despite only being on road tyres.

On tarmac it was confident and sure footed with very good NVH levels and a comfortable, relaxed feel. It is a dual cab ute that could easily swallow up long distances on Australian roads without fuss and in comfort.

After being behind the wheel of the Musso XLV at the launch and in a week long test of the short wheel base model, we came away impressed.

The challenge for SsangYong will be overcoming the lack of brand awareness and to make people realise this is a very capable and good value ute in a highly competitive market.

We hope they can win over buyers and with the pricing, performance, styling and overall finish, there is no reason why they can’t.

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Company Car

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T

oyota, never a company to miss a segment and always one to perfect a popular choice has a plethora of SUVs including the

Kluger which has like the segment it is in, grown considerably in recent times.

From the moment you set eyes on the

the seat or in some unreachable place, in fact there is a handy rubber surface that

reduces the chance of items sliding around.

The interior of the Kluger is capacious,

giving up a huge amount of space and three rows of seats for seven passengers. There is storage everywhere you look with the

Kluger you realise every aspect of it was

aforementioned shelf, cup holders in all sorts

other side of the Pacific in the US of A,

looks like it could hold a week’s groceries (It’s

designed primarily for our brothers on the where they have an even bigger love affair with the genre. In fact the Kluger we get

of places and a huge centre console bin that probably not that big but it seems that way).

The second row has belts and positions

here is built in America.

for three passengers and the foldable

at 1980kg and under the bonnet is a

adults or kids.

It is big and heavy and tips the scales

substantial and unstressed 3.5-litre V6

seats in the third row are for two smaller Fold that third row of seats up and there

delivering 218kW at 6600rpm and an

is a massive amount of luggage space but

to an eight-speed automatic.

you do have the full compliment of seven

impressive 350Nm of torque, coupled Thing with the Kluger and many others

like it in this genre is the misnomer of the

it is drastically reduced obviously when occupants on board.

The GXL front drive version we tested

segment name, there is plenty of Utility

comes with a price tag of $54,950 and is

most people have forgotten the meaning of

the Kluger range. There is also an all wheel

but not a lot of Sport! That’s fine because the acronym and it has grown a meaning all of its own.

We had a seven-day liaison with this

the mid-point in the three variant line up in drive variant at $58,990 while the entry level GX model comes in at $44,990.

With the Kluger GXL comes dual-zone

endearing American piloting the quiet and

climate control air conditioning, DAB

while it is not a vehicle that fits our lifestyle

control, sat navigation, front and rear

comfortable GXL around the suburbs and

and preferences, it was still a pleasant and enjoyable week with the Kluger.

I have never been more aware of a

vehicle’s origins than in the Kluger it just shouts the fact that it is built for the US

market down to the materials Toyota has chosen and styling inside the cabin.

The design is not cookie cutter with all

the other SUVs. There are some points of difference including a sort of under shelf

running across the dash offering a terrific

storage for items that need to be close at

hand but which you don’t want slipping off

digital radio, 18 inch alloy wheels, cruise cameras, parking sensors, power windows and mirrors, automatic headlights, keyless entry and start, leather trimmed seats and an electric tailgate.

The Kluger is all about giving families

a big spacious, versatile vehicle that will

eat up miles on the open road but which

most of the time gives everyone riding in it a comfortable and relaxed space whether that is one person or seven and whether

it is tooling around the suburbs or sitting

in traffic on the freeway or heading to the beach at weekends.

Aussies have fallen in love with SUVs, sport utility vehicles as they are more properly called.

Big fat station wagons on steroids. Why exactly they love them we have no idea, but the love and passion for them is growing stronger all the time.

We recently jumped aboard one of Toyota’s frontline SUVs, the Kluger for a Company Car test. www.truckandbus.net.au 061

As we said before the car feels like it comes from America. It has big wide, well padded seats, it is very well insulated and the car just feels like an American machine despite its Japanese brand plate.

Start the V6 and it purrs away in near silence, shift it in to drive and move away and it wafts along in a smooth and relaxed mode, just as they like it in the USA. Even with it weighing in at close to two tonnes the Kluger has plenty of grunt and it is fairly easy to switch off the traction control and provoke plenty of wheelspin from the front tyres.

This is not a sports car, it is big boulevard cruiser that lopes along and the suspension is soft and compliant rather than taut and toned. The result is a bit wallowing and mushy but it is not as bad as some of its opponents including Holden’s Arcadia,

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which is really very soft by comparison.

It is however quite quick when you slip the welly in and jam down on the right pedal it really gathers up its skirts and starts to run.

Safety wise it comes with the full suite of Toyota electronic safety systems including ABS, seven airbags, ESP stability control, Automatic Emergency Braking, precollision warning, lane departure warning, pedestrian avoidance, lane assist, rear cross-traffic alert, active cruise control and automatic high beam dipping, traction control and rear parking sensors as well as a reversing camera.

The Kluger comes with the usual Toyota warranty of three-years/100,000km, which is quite short by industry standards these days, with most competitors offering five years and 200,000km and some giving seven

year protection. We remember when Toyota led the field with three-year warranties to convince buyers to buy ahead of the Holden’s and Fords. Now it is a bit cynical given Toyota’s iron grip on the new car market. One wonders when it might feel any pressure to align with the rest of the market.

In terms of fuel economy the Kluger is never going to be a frugal beast but we still managed to return around 12.5 litres/100km which given the weight, the performance and the carrying capacity.

In a grudging kind of way we liked the Kluger it is a well insulated, relaxed and roomy vehicle aimed firmly at the family market.

If you need an SUV to cart the kids and the dogs and all the family accouterment around in reliable and relaxed style then the Kluger should be on your shopping list.

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064 Money Matters

PAUL CLITHEROE UNNECESSARY CAR INSURANCE AND CONSOLIDATED SUPER FUNDS COULD SAVE YOU MONEY

I

f you’ve purchased a car or motorbike through a car yard in the last ten years, chances are the dealer offered a range of insurance options that went way beyond comprehensive cover.

For some years motorists were being flogged a whole smorgasbord of insurance by car yards. Yet many policies did little more than take car buyers for a ride while filling the coffers of insurance companies and lining the pockets of dealers, who could earn commissions of up to 75% of the premiums paid.

Money watchdog ASIC uncovered some very questionable practices. Like drivers being sold policies they weren’t even eligible to claim on, and car buyers aged under 21 being sold life insurance alongside their new car.

Adding salt to the wound, the pay-out ratios on some of these policies were dreadful. According to ASIC, across car yard life insurance products, only $6 million was paid out in claims over a fiveyear period – a tiny fraction of the $90 million collected in premiums.

These practices didn’t escape the notice of the Banking Royal Commission, which recommended that car yard addon policies should only be offered after consumers have purchased the car – not on the day they sign up for the vehicle.

That makes sense. ASIC’s investigations found car buyers often face ‘information fatigue’, where they’re so overloaded with different options that it’s hard to make a reasonable decision.

In the meantime, ASIC has been pushing for refund programs from the insurers involved.

Already over 200,000 car buyers have been compensated for premiums paid on a range of car yard add-on policies, which have been found to be pretty much worthless. In the past week, ASIC announced additional refund programs worth $14.7 million from six different insurers.

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The refunds should filter through to 30,000 car buyers. But if the situation sounds familiar don’t just wait for the money to arrive.

Check your car or motorbike purchase contract to see if add-on insurance was included. Policies to look for are typically called ‘GAP’ (Guaranteed Asset Protection), Consumer Credit Insurance and Mechanical Breakdown (or Extended Warranty) insurance. If any of these ring a bell, contact the insurer involved.

If you’re buying a car in the near future, the pressure to buy add-on insurance may not be so intense. A number of insurers have left the industry altogether, and dealer commissions have been lowered in a bid to reduce high pressure sales tactics.

Ultimately though, if you start to feel the heat to buy more than just a car, it could be time to rethink the deal.

Meantime more than half of Australians have no idea about a shake-up of superannuation that’s due to kick in from 1 July.

The clock is ticking towards the end of the financial year. That matters because from 1 July more than three million Australians may be affected when default life insurance is switched off in super accounts that have been inactive for 16 months.

This change is part of the Protecting Your Super package aimed at preventing unnecessary or unwanted erosion of super savings by life insurance premiums. It does this by ending cover for super accounts where there have been no contributions for 16 months or more.

More than 85% of Australians have life insurance through their super fund.

Yet a new study by industry body ASFA found 53% are unaware of the upcoming change to life cover held in super.

Adding to the confusion, one third of Australians rarely or never read correspondence from their super fund.

Not surprisingly, one in four have no idea what their super savings are worth, and 44% don’t know what insurance – if any – they have through super.

While holding life insurance through a super fund can provide an important safety net for your family if the worst should happen, paying multiple premiums out of different accounts doesn’t make sense. Premiums come out of your super savings, so they can eat away at your retirement nest egg.

Paying several lots of premiums may provide no real benefit if you already have adequate cover in place through your main fund or if you have life insurance outside of super.

The key is to check your super before 1 July to see if you have life cover in place, and be sure you have the right level of insurance for your circumstances.

You can elect to keep your cover in place even if the fund is inactive, and sometimes there can be good reasons to do this, for example, if you have a pre-existing medical condition that would make it hard to get life insurance outside of super.

This can also be a cue to tidy up your super by rolling any small balances, or accounts that have been sitting idle, into your main fund. It’s a great way to save on fees and keep track of your super as well as cutting back on unnecessary insurance premiums.

The super industry has launched a new website, timetocheck.com.au that can help you work out how you may be affected by the upcoming changes.

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: paulsmoney.com.au for more information.