COACH & BUS ISSUE 48 MAY 2021

May / June 2021 – $9.50 incl. GST

www.truckandbus.net.au

WE TALK TO NEW BOSS MITCH PEDEN

WE DRIVE FUSO'S NEW ROSA • IVECO'S NEW DAILY SHUTTLE LDV'S 14 SEAT MINI • HYDROGEN BUSES IN SCOTLAND

The next generation of buses will be electric. Are you ready?

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dedicated to the road ahead In 2021, we are proud to reflect on our 5 decades supporting the Bus & Coach Industry. This year, we also celebrate 11 consecutive years of market leadership, which has been facilitated by our solid product and service offering, enabling us to foster strong relationships with customers, dealers and partners across the country - establishing Volvo Bus Australia as a well-respected and trusted industry partner. We look forward to seeing these relationships continue with our electromobility efforts. Our S-Charge chassis has demonstrated great success and we are working hard on the development of the awaited BZL electric chassis, due for release in 2022.

We are grateful to have been a part of the Bus & Coach Industry these past 50 years, and we look forward to remaining your trusted business partner into 2021 and beyond. www.volvobuses.com.au

001 Drivers Seat

NEVER WASTE A CRISIS!

W

ell what a wild ride the last 12 months has been, with all of the trials and tribulations

of the pandemic and the restrictions, shutdowns and other implications of

the biggest health crisis to hit the planet in 100 years.

The bus industry was hit on the coach side particularly with the almost immediate shut down of in-bound tourism and the cessation of any sort of regional and

interstate travel.

City and suburban transport was also hit, but despite that fact buses kept running around our cities with passengers wearing masks, people working from home and a hugely reduced demand for travel to workplaces as well as just a fear of being on public transport, meant demand pretty much collapsed. This sector has climbed back again to some extent, but the fact is there has been a huge decrease in demand for bus transport.

For all of that, there is a huge amount of

optimism in the industry as we hopefully head out of the worst of it here in Australia and look forward to better times.

There is a lot of optimism in the industry as we head to an era of zero emission technology and the announcements by state governments , most particularly in NSW, where the transport minister has said that every government owned or

funded route bus in Sydney, all 3000 of them, will be zero emission by 2030. That

alone will drive a manufacturing and bus industry boom over the next nine years as the massive task is tackled.

But what of the short term, how is the business right now? Well in terms of

the industry needed to take a breath, take stock and to look at ways we can become more efficient and better at what we do.

The reality is that the need to move

people around is not going away and will continue to be a need for our society.

To some extent we have gone on evolving the way we move people around on buses for many years. Now we have the chance to not just evolve the system but revolutionise it, whether that be in terms of zero emission, more efficient diesel

buses better scheduling, better utilisation, more efficient ticketing or any number

of other opportunities.

Let’s face it if we can make the way we do things more efficient, then that will allow us to reap the benefit of potentially lower costs and also improved profits and a better bottom line, and none of us will sneer at that.

The entire vehicle industry around the globe is currently totally focussed on zero emission, how to make it work, how to

and wiring them in. It will need a big

planning job and more focus on being more efficient.

So, as we said earlier, let’s use this time to think about how to do things more efficiently and better. As Winston Churchill once said, never waste a crisis!

In this issue of Coach & Bus there is a real focus on small buses with a road test of the latest Fuso Rosa, a similar road test of. Iveco’s new Daily based 22 seat Shuttle and also a road test of LDV’s new 14 seat minibus.

re charge or replenish vehicles, how to engineer the systems to make them even safer than the vehicles we have today.

Just imagine a depot of 100 buses all of which are arriving back from routes and needing to be recharged and made ready

We also take a look at the new operation behind the BLK brand in Australia and how they are going to expand and move the brand along. In Scotland we take a close look at a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell double decker buses operating in the northern city of Aberdeen, in what is a

suburbs away at best and trip every circuit

of ways.

There is also an interview with the new boss at Volvo Bus, Mitch Peden, which

for the next day, or the next route later in the day. If you plug that many buses in at once then it may dim the lights three

portent of things to come in a whole lot

breaker for miles around at worst. Not

touches on where he is going to steer the

many depots have the ability to cope

with that sort of power demand nor are they equipped to do it, so it won’t just be a matter of bringing in the chargers

bus operation now under his stewardship.

All that and a whole lot more in this issue of Coach & Bus, so enjoy the read and we will catch you next time.

coaches still not great as I am sure you

all know, but again there seems to be a degree of optimism there as well as things start to open up again. It may be some time before inbound tourism starts up again, but school charters are starting

to happen again and domestic tourism

is booming, because let’s face it, we can’t go anywhere else.

I reckon we will look back on this era

and see it as the sort of punctuation mark

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Issue 046

CONTENTS CONTACT DETAILS PO Box 7046 Warringah Mall NSW 2100 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 Contributing Photographers Mark Bean, Cristian Brunelli, Jan Glovac

FEATURES

16

EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES

The strongly contested small bus sector has been heating up in recent times with Toyota improving its offering and Fuso ramping up the arms race in the last few months. We recently slipped behind the wheel of the most significantly changed Rosa to hit the roads in almost a quarter of a century for a road test.

22 MITCH’S BACK

Mitch Peden is the new general manager of Volvo Bus Australia. After many years in Volvo’s truck business, as the managing director of Volvo Truck Malaysia and vice president of Volvo Truck in Australia, he is now at the wheel of VGA’s bus business learning the very different ins and outs of bus business. We sat down with Mitch Peden for a chat about his new role and where Volvo Bus is heading.

28 SCOT-FREE

The Hydrogen revolution is happening, in coming years the H2 fuel cell will become a major staple of power for road transport both in trucks and buses. The ‘tsunami’ of zero emission vehicle power is rushing across Europe and the UK. One example is the recent delivery of the first hydrogen fuel cell double decker buses for the Scottish city of Aberdeen. We take a look at the ground breaking fleet of hydrogen double deckers.

34 CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Chinese bus maker BLK recently bought into its Australian distributor, BCSA, with BLK Auto taking over following the retirement of industry stalwart Athol McKinnon, signalling a Changing of the Guard. We take a look at the new operation and how it will work.

40 VENTURA HY-WAY

Hybrid buses are the bridge between the traditional world of internal combustion diesel powered machines and the coming electric zero emission revolution that is looming over the horizon and Scania believes this is the technology that will give it the transition to a zero emission future. We take a look at major Melbourne fleet Ventura and its first Hybrid Scanias.

46 MIGHTY FINE CHINA

China’s largest vehicle manufacturer, SAIC, is starting to shake things up in Australia and the arrival of the LDV Deliver 9 has squared the brand up against the Euro heavyweights even in the mini bus market with LDV also boasting a new passenger version of the Deliver 9. Coach & Bus took the 11-seater LDV mini bus for a spin to see how it shapes up in a competitive market.

52 CATCH 22

Iveco is the latest maker to enter the 22 seat mini bus market, hoping to catch some sales from the well-entrenched incumbents, Fuso’s Rosa and Toyota’s Coaster. We took the impressive new Euro 6 Daily for a quick spin in Melbourne recently, and reckon they might be on to something.

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03 DRIVER’S SEAT

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

06 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 Volkswagen’s new updated Transporter range.

60 COMPANY CAR Ford Fiesta ST.

64 MONEY

Paul Clitheroe’s latest advice on finances.

22

16 28

BUSTECH ANNOUNCED AS FIRST NSW PANEL 3 APPROVED AUSTRALIAN ELECTRIC BUS

TRANSPORT FOR NSW’s procurement panel has confirmed that Bus maker BusTech Group and its ZD1 electric bus is the only locally manufactured zeroemission bus to be approved for the NSW public transport market.

According to BusTech Group, the ZDi electric bus has been designed, engineered and built in Australia to ‘accelerate the future of clean, efficient and emission-free transport solutions for NSW and Australia while also harnessing domestic capabilities’.

“Our admission to the NSW procurement panel reaffirms the Group’s commitment to delivering the next generation of zeroemission connected transit for the NSW market, giving a real choice for domestic product versus international import models,” said Christian Reynolds, Executive Chairman of BusTech Group.

BusTech points out in its statement that transport sector is currently the second largest and fastest growing emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in NSW and Australia.

To combat this acceleration, the NSW government has committed

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to transition its entire bus fleet to zero emissions within the decade, starting with 120 electric buses in 2021, and ultimately to convert all 8,000 buses in its fleet to zero emission by 2030.

“BusTech Group supports the NSW government’s initiative to transition to a fully zero emissions bus fleet. We are committed to creating a more sustainable environment and economy by delivering the future of clean, efficient and emission-free public transport in NSW and Australia more broadly,” said BusTech Group’s director of sustainability Kasia Pitman.

Through a strategic engineering and supply partnership with Proterra, a company partly oppwned by Daimler and the leading battery and powertrain solution provider in the US, BusTech Group has developed an all-electric ZDi 12.5-meter transit bus. This innovative, modern solution offers 5 industry leading features: BusTech Group says its ZDi bus offers the highest stored energy of any bus on the Australian market, delivering 450 kwH of stored energy.

“The all-electric ZDi’s battery

pack provides over 420kwh of useable energy, enabling maximum range beforerequiring a recharge.

This provides operators flexibility in both operational use and charging strategy, whilst also addressing Australia’s extreme weather conditions,” said BusTech’s chief technical officer, Gregg Dinning.

The company claims its ZDi bus offers the highest energy density battery pack, which it says means more stored energy in every kilogram of battery pack, and more range without compromising on passenger capacity.

It added that large energy storage allows the Group to provide flexibility to its customers on charging strategies.

The company says that recognising the operational challenges if all buses need charging at the same time, means this model reduces the need to charge all buses each day, ultimately cutting down the realestate impact of a low battery capacity vehicle by reducing the number of required chargers.

BusTech also claims the ZDi bus offers the highest value for money with the lowest cost per kilowatt

hour of useable energy, providing the lowest cost per kilometre of operation.

“Ultimately, our advanced solution provides the NSW market with the most energy-dense and industry-leading zero-emission bus platform on the Australian market, while also ensuring the lowest possible cost per kilometre, giving both value for money in a capital purchase and also in day-to-day operations,” adds Gregg Dinning .

BusTech says the Proterrapowered battery packs have undergone extensive testing to meet the highest safety standards and are designed specifically for safe operation in heavy duty transport.

“For example, our Proterrapowered batteries have an armoured coating which minimises the likelihood of damage from regular occurrences such as road furniture strikes or sudden impacts. The ZDi is also engineered for a 25-year lifecycle and can adopt future battery technology upgrades without the need for structural modifications,” said Christian Reynolds.

The company claims it manufactures buses with the highest local content of any bus available in Australia and says recognises the importance of sovereign capability and are passionate about sourcing local supplychains and empowering local SME’s.

“We use a supply chain that is over 95 per cent located in Australia, this not only creates economic benefits and generates employment opportunities, but also ensures the lowest carbon emissions manufacturing footprint of any bus available in Australia,” says Kasia Pitman.

BusTech also says it has commenced development of a NSW-based manufacturing facility, which will focuson zero-emissions technology buses for Sydney and wider NSW markets, which it says will create furtherjobs and increase economic value for Australia.

The company says production of its electric buses will commence in NSW later this year, providing the first facility in Australia focused on zero emission buses.

In addition to the 60 confirmed orders for the electric ZDi bus, BusTech Group says it has plans to expand beyond electric buses, ultimately creating a fully electric mass mobility ecosystem, including scalable commercial vehicles.

“We’re motivated not only by the emission reduction benefits of sustainable multimodal solutions, but also the cost reductions for our customers over the life of the vehicle. Be it buses or commercial vehicles, our solutions aim to benefit public health, the economy and employment opportunities in Australia through local manufacturing, leveraging the capabilities and capacity within the Australian market,” says Christian Reynolds.

BRITAIN’S STAGE COACH TURNS TO AI TECH FOR SMARTER TIMETABLES BRITAIN’S BIGGEST BUS, coach and tram operator, Stagecoach, has announced a technological partnership that it says will help plan the bus networks of the future to match the changes in how people travel coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The technological transformation will see Optibus software, which is used in over 450 cities globally utilising AI, advanced algorithms, and cloud computing platform, rolled out to deliver smarter timetables and networks amid the evolving demand for travel.

Stagecoach says It will help deliver timetables and rosters offering customers more attractive frequencies and reliability, while helping reduce CO2 emissions with more effective transport planning.

The company says Optibus’ rapid scenario creation will allow planners to identify different options for routes and timetables and quickly see the impact, enabling decisions that continue to put the customer first.

The technology will also help Stagecoach roll out its new electric buses more quickly and effectively.

Last year, Stagecoach introduced Manchester’s first fleet of electric double-decker buses, and is targeting a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2035.

UK Managing Director for Stagecoach, Carla Stockton-Jones said that with a 40-year history of delivering innovation, it is crucial that the company continues to embrace the latest technology to provide the best services for customers and to help attract new customers.

“We are confident that as we come out of the pandemic, this new technology will help us to plan the bus networks of the future and ensure that buses continue to play a key role in the country’s recovery,” said Carla Stockton-Jones.

Following successful pilots in July last year, the Optibus platform will be rolled out across the company over the following 18 months.

Optibus CEO Amos Haggiag said the company is thrilled to partner with Britain’s biggest bus operator to power a pandemic recovery that he says puts passenger needs at the forefront while transitioning to a zero-emission fleet.

Stagecoach says it is continuing to make major strides in adopting new technology to help improve the service it offers customers. Earlier this year, it announced it was to become the first UK bus operator to nationally roll-out new bridge alert technology. New digital systems have been introduced to manage the maintenance of its bus fleet, and it has delivered Britain’s biggest transit contactless program.

www.truckandbus.net.au 007

VOLGREN ANNOUNCES RESTRUCTURE FOR ITS QUEENSLAND OPERATION MAJOR AUSTRALIAN bus manufacturer Volgren has announced it will restructure its Queensland operations as its joint venture partnership with Brisbane City Council will be concluded in June this year.

The bus supply contract between Brisbane City Council and Volgren has expired and contract extension options were not taken up by Council.

Volgren has been operating as prime contractor to Brisbane City Council since 2008, since that time it has supplied more than 850 buses to Council.

According to Volgren the facility at Eagle Farm has manufactured and delivered more than 1100 buses for the Australian market and says it has supported the local market through its after sales department.

The manufacturer says it remains in talks with Brisbane Council about ongoing maintenance and servicing of the current fleet but it says ity has raised the possibility of job losses.

Volgren’s CEO, Thiago Deiro said the company explored several options with Council to continue operating but, says that despite

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the best intentions from both parties, a middle ground has not been reached.

Staff at Volgren’s Eagle Farm site were informed this month that the final bus will be delivered to Council in May this year.

“COVID-19 has had a major effect on all organisations around Australia and the world – and government bus operators haven’t escaped the consequences. It has affected budgets in all sorts of ways – passenger numbers alone have been down significantly, “ said Thiago Deiro.

“Based on this, we understand that Brisbane City Council needed to make a difficult decision, but this is a blow to local manufacturing and we are deeply disappointed for our staff,” he added.

Deiro said that although their attention would eventually turn to Brisbane City Council’s next tender for bus manufacturing, at the moment the management team was concentrating on staff.

“Our focus is firmly on our Eagle Farm employees and we will make every effort to support all members of our team and their families as we work through a

complex restructuring plan.

“We are determined to retain a presence in the Queensland and we believe a number of staff can, and will, remain in after sales support and servicing roles.

There may also be an opportunity to redeploy staff to Volgren’s manufacturing sites in Melbourne and Perth,” he said.

In addition to those directly employed by Volgren, Deiro said, the discontinuation of the contract would affect workers connected to Volgren in its extensive supply chain.

“We are also very conscious of the fact that for many Queensland businesses and their employees, this contract was a significant source of work and revenue.

“These are, in many cases, people and teams with highly specialised skills and we are in close contact with them all about how best to manage the period after which we stop manufacturing buses for Council.”

Deiro said he was hopeful that Volgren’s strong presence in and outstanding knowledge of the Queensland market would stand it in good stead when any future Brisbane City Council bus tenders.

“Volgren has a proud history of supplying high-quality buses to all of Queensland and we have built up a dedicated team of people ranging from bus body builders and fabricators to accounts staff and maintenance experts.

Deiro said that 2020 had been a difficult year for much of the bus sector, but had left him and many within industry in little doubt that manufacturing had a stronger future than ever in Australia.

“As the vaccine begins to be rolled out, Australia can begin the post-COVID economic recovery in earnest and I think advanced manufacturing can play a central part in the rebuilding effort. It is not just about local jobs and local content – which are incredibly important – but about self-sufficiency. As international borders tightened due to the pandemic, Australian manufacturers did extraordinary things throughout last year.

“We are very hopeful that this decision is not the end of our story in Queensland. We look forward to again partnering with Council and continuing to build buses locally in the very near future.

THE ALL-NEW FUSO ROSA. THE BEST JUST GOT BETTER.

With a longstanding history of being Australia’s favourite light-duty bus, the next generation of Fuso Rosa continues to raise the bar in safety, reliability and overall driving experience. With the only 5year/200,000km warranty and 15,000km service interval in its class, you really can’t go past a Fuso Rosa.

TO SEE HOW THE ALL-NEW ROSA STACKS UP, VISIT FUSOROSA.COM.AU

• • • • •

Advanced Emergency Braking System Pedestrian Detection Lane Departure Warning Systems Electronic Stability Programme Dual Airbags

• • • • •

LED Headlights 22 or 25 seater configuration 129kw/430Nm Euro 6 engine 6-speed AMT or 5-speed Manual Flat Floor

BUSWAYS SPARKS ELECTRIC BUS TRIAL IN COFFS MAJOR RURAL BUS SERVICE operator, Busways has started a trial of a battery electric bus in the Coffs Harbour region of NSW, where the company also ran an autonomous bus trial in 2019.

The three week trial in Coffs Harbour will see Busways trial a Yutong E12 along a variety of school and route services.

The Busways electric bus trial is aimed at testing the bus and the required charging technology in a regional area and is the first electric bus to be run on scheduled routes in Coffs.

The Yutong E12 boasts a 374kW/h battery that Busways says will give it a range of up to approximately 400km on a single charge, while Busways says that passengers will benefit from a smoother, quieter and cleaner ride as a result of the electric drivetrain.

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The Yutong E12 Series features regenerative braking, extending the bus’s range, and boasts a three hour fast charging capability.

The bus is also equipped with a wheelchair ramp and dual wheelchair areas with back stop for passenger safety in its ultralow-floor design.

“Electric buses are our future and we’re pleased to be trialling the first electric bus on the north coast,” Busways’ managing director Byron Rowe said.

“There’s a lot to do to reach a fully electric fleet such as innovative policy making, joint planning, infrastructure requirements, and industry engagement, such as trials like this one.”

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said the NSW government was committed

to transitioning to a zeroemissions bus fleet as part of its strategy to make public transport more sustainable.

“The launch of this trial is exciting because its outcomes will help shape how we move in and around regions into the future,” Paul Toole said.

“Trials like these help us learn more about what fit electric buses could have in the regions, particularly where longer distance routes are more common than in metro areas, as well as how to factor in charging times.

“Feedback from operators like Busways on their experience is critical to landing the right technological solutions for the regions,” he explained.

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said it was exciting to see Coffs as a key

testing ground for new technology.

“Only last July, Coffs Harbour was one of just three regional centres in the state to trial new technology that real-time tracked the arrival of a bus, so to now be trialling the first electric bus on the North Coast is just another exciting initiative for our city,” Mr Singh said.

“We’re going to see the electric bus operate on several different routes and school services Monday to Friday, providing many Busways drivers with important electric bus education.

“The trial will also help inform us of the environmental and financial benefits of electric buses, as well as validate asset maintenance requirements and staff training needed to carry an electric fleet in the years to come.”

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VOLVO BUS CLINCHES 11 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF AUSTRALIAN MARKET LEADERSHIP

VOLVO HAS ANNOUNCED it has achieved 11 consecutive years as leader in the Australian bus market according to a press release from the company, following what it describes as a tough year for the entire industry, with COVID-19 demanding significant, rapid changes but another year.

The special milestone for Volvo Bus Australia, comes after it achieved number one status in the market every year since 2010 allowing its dedicated bus team to reflect on 11 years of

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continuous ‘innovation, growth and improvement’.

While 2020 was a real challenger the team at Volvo Bus say they are ‘immensely grateful to have had the continued support of their valued customers and dealer network across Australia’, which saw them deliver 385 buses and maintain the position as market leader.

When Volvo returned to the number one spot in 2010 it marked a 16 year hiatus from the top spot having relinquished its market leadership in 1993 after. Some years of bus market dominance.

Volvo says its new era of market leadership are a tribute to the company’s ‘core values, its industry leading service and support levels, and the resulting long-term relationships built with customers, dealers and partners across Australia’.

“Volvo’s longstanding success

has also been facilitated by consistent efforts for improved safety, reliability and fuel-efficiency across its city, school and coach product range,” the company statement said.

“These products have delivered value to customers through Volvo’s promise of quality, safety and environmental care, and have simultaneously introduced innovative and exciting technologies – many of which have been industry firsts,” it added.

The newly appointed general manager of Volvo Bus Australia, Mitch Peden, said that while COVID-19 has presented many challenges for the industry this year, the company is very grateful to have had the continued support of our customers, dealer network, the Volvo Bus Corporation globally, as well as the wider Volvo Group.

“Our strong focus on service has seen us foster the largest

major accounts and contracts team in the Australian bus and coach industry, with demonstrated results in our successful, longstanding partnerships with the cities of Brisbane and Perth,” said Mitch Peden.

“These service efforts have also extended to our aftermarket support through dependable communication and training so that we can consistently provide effective customer solutions and dealer support. I believe our commitment to our customers, dealers and partners is a testament to our passionate and dedicated team as we proudly confirm our position as market leader for an 11th year,” he added.

Volvo Bus says its team is looking forward to the muchanticipated release of the electric chassis in 2022 and other exciting technologies as they continue to lead with their values of quality, safety and environmental care.

Systematic Perfection!

The electric driveline is here to stay. ZF therefore provides two solutions for city buses up to 29t. From these two solutions bus manufacturers and end customers choose the system that suits their requirements best: the AxTrax AVE electric portal axle or the CeTrax electric central drive. Both products feature high peak and constant power with liquid cooling and a low dead weight. The AxTrax AVE with two integrated wheel motors and a maximum power of 250 kW can be installed with conventional ZF low-floor axles and allows for innovative bus concepts. With the integrated planetary stage of ZF EcoLife, CeTrax transfers 300 kW to the road and can be installed in all types of buses with standard axles. The ZF experts provide the same long-term support and service from a single source as for conventional systems. zf.com/buses

For more information, contact ZF Services Australia 02 9679 5555

JOINT NTI-NHVR REPORT PROVES LONG-HELD BELIEF THAT GOOD VEHICLE MAINTENANCE IMPROVES ROAD SAFETY AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST truck insurer, NTI and industry regulator, the NHVR, have jointly released a report that confirms that operators who effectively maintain their vehicles are less likely to be involved in an incident.

For the first time, the trucking industry regulator and leading insurer have shared de-identified critical road crash data,with the aim of improving road safety.

The NHVR and NTI say they have brought together their research, to minimise risk and create safer workplaces for truck drivers.

Data from NTI’s NTARC Major Accident Investigation report and the NHVR’s National Roadworthiness Baseline Survey was examined to create a new report which looks at the relationship between vehicle standards and safety performance.

Traditionally there has been very little evidence which proves a link between vehicle

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maintenance and major incidents due to a separation between organisations which hold data on vehicle condition and those who have access to crash data. This initiative between NHVR and NTI is an important step forward in sharing insights.

Ten key areas were examined in the report, including brakes, couplings, steering and suspension, wheels and tyres,structure, seats, lights, mirrors, windscreens, and engine and driveline to determine there was a correlation between poor maintenance and increased claims frequency and cost.

Report author, NTI’s Transport and Logistics Risk Engineer Adam Gibson, said the link was particularly clear in two categories.

“There was a 29 per cent increase in frequency and a 22 per cent increase in the cost of claims for transport companies with poorly maintained couplings. For wheel and tyre defects, the frequency was 32 per cent higher than the

baseline while cost was 26 per cent higher,” Mr Gibson said.

“It’s important to note this does not show crashes were caused by defects in those systems, but that operators with trucks in which couplings, wheels and tyres were not well maintained, were involved in a greater number of claims. The link is correlative, not causative.”

Mr Gibson said there was one category that yielded surprising results.

“There was only a 3 per cent higher frequency and 4 per cent higher cost compared to the baseline for operators who had vehicles with defects in their braking system. This is due to the way braking systems were tested back in 2016, and that process has now undergone a significant overhaul.”

NHVR Director Vehicle Safety and Performance Peter Austin said this report highlighted the importance of regular and effective maintenance regimes

across the heavy vehicle fleet.

“Well maintained vehicles operating on our road network are essential to the safety of all road users,” Mr Austin said.

“The NHVR has a long-standing commitment to evidence-based enforcement, which is why we take a national, risk-based approach to checking whether heavy vehicles in the fleet are maintained.

“If we see a history of noncompliance, we intervene early and investigate further to prevent a potential accident from occurring.

“The report marks an important step forward, with the expertise and insights shared across the regulator and insurer providing opportunities to reduce fatalities on our roads.”

The new report comes just months after NTI was named a recipient of the NHVE’s 2020 Heavy Safety Initiative, a grant supported by the Federal Government.

TRANSIT SYSTEMS CONTINUES CLEAN GREEN BUS ROLL OUT

AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST order of electric buses on track can proudly claim to be driving real change in the way sustainable public transport is delivered, and it has.

Transit can be well justified in its claims given it is in a partnership in hydrogen bus consortium, has been trialling electric buses in New South Wales and has recently rolled out new Scania Hybrid buses for its South Australian subsidiary, Torrens Transit to use on Adelaide’s famed O-Bahn.

As we reported a while back, the two new Scania hybrid buses will be employed in the Adelaide Metro, running on the O-Bahn busway.

“This will give customers a greener, cleaner commute,” said Clint Feureherdt, CEO of SeaLink Travel Group.

The buses which are now in service will join Transit Systems suite of sustainable vehicles as many Governments make the move to more sustainable operations.

“We are leading the charge with sustainable transport solutions, and we’re proud to be the first operator in South Australia to bring these hybrid buses into service for Adelaide Metro,” said Feureherdt.

“They proudly join our global fleet of innovative vehicles, where we have extensive experience and knowledge across electric, hydrogen and now hybrid capabilities,” he added.

The announcement comes after Transit Systems confirmed that it had placed Australia’s largest order of electric buses as part of the NSW Government’s commitment to transition its diesel bus fleet to Zero Emission technology, with 31 buses set to arrive at their Sydney depots.

The order followed the ongoing and successful electric bus trial with Transport for NSW (TfNSW), which has seen the fleet of four zero emission electric buses rack up more than 300,000 kilometres over 18 months.

“We are passionate about researching, developing and delivering more sustainable transport options and we are excited to work with partners who share our vision to create zero emission networks,” he said.

SCANIA ANNOUNCES ANNUAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT HOT ON THE HEELS of the release of its 2020 financial results, Swedish truck maker, Scania has published its annual Sustainability Report fort he pandemic affected year just passed.

As Scania says, 2020 was a year like no other and though heavily impacted by disruptions due to the pandemic, the company says it managed through with a strong underlying performance and an increased focus on driving the shift towards a sustainable transport system.

The report says that in 2020, Scania was challenged by a historic global close-down of production and an unpredictable demand situation because of the pandemic. Though considerably impacted by lower vehicle volumes, the negative effects on operating income were mitigated by powerful costsaving measures.

Despite a challenging year, Scania says it stayed true to its purpose and took significant steps towards a sustainable transport system, in line with its strategy. As electrification and autonomous technology disrupts the industry, new business opportunities emerge.

Scania’s outgoing president and CEO Henrik Henriksson said the company “is in a period of transformative change – a time when the industry will experience some of the greatest shifts in its history. We will reshape our business model in close cooperation with current and new customers to explore these opportunities and use them to drive growth.”

The 2020 edition of Scania’s Annual and Sustainability Report takes substantial steps in outlining the journey that Scania is taking towards a sustainable transport system. It is the company’s sixth combined annual and sustainability report, detailing its financial, social and environmental performance.

Scania says it recognises the importance of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and has started the journey to integrate aspects of the framework and will continue to develop the company’s reporting in accordance with its recommendations.

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Road Test

EVOLUTION OF THE SPECIES 016 www.truckandbus.net.au

The hotly contested small bus sector has seen the fight between Fuso and its Rosa and Toyota with its Coaster escalate in recent years with Toyota improving its offering a couple of years ago and Fuso ramping up the arms race in the last few months. We recently slipped behind the wheel of the most significantly changed Rosa to hit the roads in almost a quarter of a century for a road test.

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“ THE EVOLUTION HAS NOT JUST IMPROVED ROSA’S CAPABILITY AGAINST ITS OPPOSITION BUT ALSO SEEN A SIGNIFICANT STEP UP IN PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY”

I

t’s difficult for a human being to track evolutionary changes to the ‘styling’

and design of things like buses. The basic physical shape and design of a bus is something that most would agree is

in reality a big rectangular prism a bit like a big loaf of bread on wheels. Mostly when

styling changes are made by manufacturers for new models then the changes tend to

hard to discern from the model it replaced.

However look at the front of the latest Rosa and you can tell this is a new model.

It now boasts a big Fuso ‘Smiley face’ grille and frontal treatment with new LED head lights and light cluster.

Rosa has been around in one form or another since around 1997 arriving as the

first serious competitor to the then dominant

be small variations on a theme, so much so that it is often difficult to spot. Look at the vehicle closely and the changes become

Toyota Coaster. Almost a quarter of a century on, the industry still loves the Rosa and it goes toe to toe with the Toyota in the

the human brain to compute whether this is the new model or the old.

Of course over time, perhaps over several

last issue of Coach & Bus when we had

apparent but a casual glance rarely allows

model changes the older buses are obviously dated and clearly much further down the evolutionary chain than the new bus.

So it is with the latest incarnation of Fuso’s venerable and highly successful

Rosa midi bus. When you see the new Rosa for the first time, particularly if you

approach it from the side it is particularly

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market, and mostly holds the market lead.

While we previewed the Rosa in our

the chance to drive the new model and discover the true evolutionary gains made

by Fuso, we could not resist.

We’ve always like the looks of the Rosa,

particularly compared with the more

boxy and fussy styling of the Coaster, but as mentioned, bus styling is almost an

oxymoron, however in our view the Rosa wins the looks stakes by a few lengths.

Bus evolution may not follow the rules outlined by Darwin, however like any evolution a lot of it happens under the skin and that is very much the case with Rosa, a

lot of the major gains come under the skin.

The biggest improvement for Rosa is the

installation of a new power plant in the form of a 3.0 litre four-cylinder common rail

turbo diesel which delivers more power and torque than its predecessor and also the Toyota Coaster’s bigger four-litre engine.

The evolution has not just improved

Rosa’s capability against its opposition but also seen a significant step up in performance and efficiency against the previous generation Rosa. For a start

the new model has more power from a smaller engine. The older Rosa used a 4.9 litre engine, while the new model, as we mentioned, has a 3.0litre. Some

may see that as a regression, but wait till you hear the stats.

The Rosa now boasts 129kW of power up against the110kW generated by the

old Fuso 4.9, which is impressive on its own. But its also important to note it also

that is both more practical and stylish and in the centre is a high-resolution 7-inch

site to the M5 Motorway to the city and then back west to Huntingwood.

torque, down from 441 Nm in the old model

digital radio, along with a new electronic instrument cluster that presents a range of bus data for the driver including fuel

and it is discernibly quieter than the old power plant and when you slip the new Duonic six-speed dual clutch automated

outpoints the Coaster’s 110 kW of power.

The new Rosa has dropped a little in

to 430Nm in the new, but it is small price to pay for the greater efficiency delivered by the new smaller donk and it is also higher than the Coater’s 397Nm of torque.

The new engine is smaller and lighter

than the old Rosa and it is a cleaner Euro 6 spec emission standard. Heart

of the Fuso 3.0litre turbo diesel is its new variable geometry turbocharger among other goodies while emissions are

controlled by using the trifecta of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) as well as a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) along with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR).

Climb aboard the new Rosa, either

through the separate driver’s door or through the kerbside passenger entrance, and the interior changes jump out at you.

For a start there is a new-look dashboard

touchscreen display with internet and

efficiency information, maintenance status, current date and outside temperature.

The handbrake lever has also been repositioned, and now sits to the left of

Start the Rosa’s new 3.0litre engine

manual into D for Drive it easily moves away without any fuss. We aren’t big fans of AMT’s in lighter commercial vehicles

the driver’s seat and this has also seen the designer’s move the transmission shift

because there is normally too much of a delay in gear selection when starting off and manoeuvring, and while this is

driver’s seat from the passenger aisle.

many AMTs. It is certainly helped by the new creep function, which does make low-speed manoeuvring a whole lot easier.

lever from the floor on to the dashboard for easier control. This also makes it easier for driver’s to ‘jump the tunnel into the Our test would be a relatively short but enlightening drive from Daimler

Truck and Bus at Huntingwood in Sydney’s west, taking in local suburban traffic,

motorway running and some steep climbs as well as crowded city traffic on a route west to the lower Blue Mountains, back past Sydney’s new airport construction

noticeable in the Rosa, it isn’t as bad as

However if you don’t want the AMT you can choose the stick-shift with a five-

speed manual, but why would you.

One area that we found a little annoying was the new infotainment system which

proved a little fussy to link with our phone and lacked the intuitive nature of many similar systems in other vehicles. Still

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“ IN A GROWING AND INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT PART OF THE BUS MARKET, THE LIGHT DUTY SECTOR HAS BEEN A SUCCESS STORY FOR ROSA”

we reckon that if you were living with the

system it would become more familiar and easy to tame in time.

The real test was on the road in everyday driving conditions and the new engine got off the mark with ease and had no trouble

running with normal traffic, both on suburban streets and on the crowded M4 motorway.

Vision from the driver’s seat is excellent

with a number of mirrors giving great rear coverage along with the reversing camera built into the infotainment screen, while

taking attention away from the job at hand.

Below that ‘pod’ is a more streamlined control panel for the split heating/air con or HVAC system. There is a small LED screen in the centre which easily displays

instrument panel is easily read with a large speedo and tacho dominating the view. The fuel gauge nestles below the speedo on the left while there are some warning lights situated below the tacho

The test Rosa was the Deluxe 25 seater, although it can be had as a Standard 22

throwback with just a plain vinyl covered

the functions selected for HVAC both in the driving area and way back in the passenger area.

on the right. At the top is a small info screen that works but just looks a bit dated and cheap.

The steering wheel is also a bit of a

wheel with no audio or other controls on the spokes as we have become used to

the new ‘transom’ window built in to the

seater. The Deluxe is equipped with cloth covered seats and carpet on the floor and seating is configured in a two-one

and things that in the past may have been

hand side and a single seat on the left of the aisle.

The Standard has vinyl covered seats

From the driver’s seat the dash and instruments have a much cleaner look and with was much better layout. The

All of the seats come equipped with seat belts as is the requirement these day, but it underlines the reasons why the Rosa is

board the willingness of the 3.0litre was

front seat passenger both have the benefit of SRS airbags, which given they are the

get the chance to at some stage, however it is always difficult to rustle up 20 of your

lower part of the left hand passenger side front panel. It is not a big inclusion but it gives the driver a better view of people hidden from view.

info screen is now sitting higher in a new raised pod that makes it easier for the

driver to both read the screen and adjust the controls without taking attention off the road. The old info screen was buried lower and deeper in the dash and that meant looking down to try and control it while

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arrangement with two seats on the right

and hard floor coverings.

popular with rural school bus operators.

Speaking of safety, the driver and the

most vulnerable in an accident situation, is a big step up for a light duty bus.

Behind the wheel of the Rosa the

on so many vehicles these days. The cruise

control buttons aren’t on the steering wheel either, that is because there is no cruise control at all. Kind of strange we reckon

given that Cruise is now virtually a standard fit on so many vehicles these days.

Even though we had no passengers on

apparent. We would like to drive it with a full load to see exactly how it would perform as a workhorse, and hopefully will

closest friends for a mid-week road test

to nowhere in particular.

Back in the passengers area there is now

bright LED lighting which means it is a lot easier for the folks down the back to see all around them particularly when leaving the bus at night when items can be easily left behind if the lighting is dim.

We strolled the Rosa’s new flat floor a couple of times when we stopped for a quick lunch break, mainly to see if it seemed any different to the previous

model. We couldn’t determine any real difference although Daimler says, it makes it easier for passengers to get in and out of their seats, but also allows for simpler aftermarket wheelchair lift installations.

Climbing to Glenbrook up the Lapstone

Hill, the Rosa charged up the steep incline with plenty of urge, the six speed AMT holding gears when needed and without fuss. Again we were unladen and we

disc brakes on all four corners as well as rear suspension stabilisers. Four wheel discs are a big step up for consistency of braking performance and reliable stopping power and it apparent on the new Rosa.

Given the main cargo for a bus is usually passengers then the safety aspects of the new Rosa are brought into sharper focus.

The safety suite in the new Rosa reflects

impressive turning circle of 12.6 metres for

comprehensive range of safety features anchored by Advanced Emergency Braking, which can perform full emergency

With a five year/200,000km warranty, and extended 15,000km service intervals the updated Rosa has certainly been given potential Rosa customers a more

This radar-based system can detect, and begin braking for moving pedestrians, other vehicles and obstacles.

Fuso has managed to further improve uptime and help reduce running costs by increasing Rosa’s service intervals

the same safety strategy Fuso has adopted with its truck range, offering a

braking in the event of a potential collision.

Along with that, Rosa also gets a Lane

would like to try a similar exercise with some people aboard to give a real working environment result to the test.

Departure Warning System as standard, along with Electronic Stability Program, driver and front passenger airbags, height

that does aid braking on steep descents and at throttle off, although it doesn’t offer dramatic retardation, it is a good adjunct to the Rosa’s very effective and

and a reversing camera.

It’s clear Fuso’s safety suite on the Rosa is a major plus up against the Coaster which does not have the same

The Rosa has an exhaust/engine brake

efficient service brakes. It now features

On a punch for punch basis, the Rosa also outpoints Coaster on power, seating capacity and its transmission.

The new Rosa continues to feature independent front suspension for optimum comfort and handling as well as rack and pinion steering for more precise feel.

adjustable LED headlights, Hill Start Assist

level of safety equipment.

One of the results of that is the Rosa’s

the 22 seater and 14.2m for the 25 seater.

compelling reason to purchase the Fuso.

to 15,000km.

In a growing and increasingly important

part of the bus market, the light duty sector has been a success story for Rosa, and Fuso has captured plenty of loyal customers over the time it’s been sold

here. The new model is a big step up, and despite a few small foibles, is still a clear leader in this sector of the bus sector and is hard to go past in the market.

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Industry

V

olvo bus is the market leader

and while it holds a dominant

position in the bus sector, Mitch

Peden is clear that the challenges of a rapidly changing commercial vehicle landscape mean there is a whole lot of work to be done to ensure the Swedish maker

ahead of its roll out in trials with the Perth Transit Authority.

“We’re pretty excited to have our first bus

in build down at Volgren, that’s progressing along pretty well,” said Mitch Peden.

“The first electric bus will be part of a trial with Perth Transit Authority, but when

set to steer towards a zero-emission future.

When we sat down with Mitch recently he

we meet with some of the key partners and key customers there seems to be a lot more questions than answers around what

bus for Australia is here and currently having the body fitted at Volgren in Melbourne

out and infrastructure requirements and projects around it and power sourcing and

can defend its position in a business that is

explained that Volvo’s first battery electric

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the future will look like, and how it will roll

all these fun things,” he added.

“So it’s interesting times for sure.”

The announcement by NSW Transport minister Andrew Constance, that he wants to convert all 8,000 route buses

in Sydney to electric by 2030, has been

the hot topic of conversation with everyone in the bus business for the past six months and has created a few jitters and potential headaches across the industry.

“Well, I guess it’s very exciting, it’s a

big pie and we’re excited, I guess, by the nature of it, but to a degree it’s a little

Mitch Peden is the general manager of Volvo Bus in Australia, having moved into the passenger cargo business in recent times, after many years in Volvo’s truck business, most recently as the managing director of Volvo Truck Malaysia. Prior to that he was the vice president of Volvo Truck in Australia which he handled with great success. The former West Australian is now at the wheel of VGA’s bus business and has been busy learning the very different ins and outs of this part of the commercial vehicle business. We sat down with Mitch Peden for a chat about his new role and where Volvo Bus is heading.

frustrating because I guess some of

the competitors who are new entrants to the market may have jumped the gun and are starting to enjoy some success because we’re not able to, at this point, offer anything for the New South Wales tender panel,” Peden said.

“But that said, as I’ve been telling my

team, we’re very focused, not on being first, but in having the offer that’s best aligned with Volvo’s core values, particularly around quality and safety,” he added.

“So we’re not going to be cutting any

corners to rush things to market when we

haven’t got, particularly the safety piece and the quality piece squared away, as well as having a product that’s going to last and meet the expectations operators have come to expect from Volvo, which we feel is very important.”

Asked if the very tight time frame to

convert the massive bus fleet over, might cause some headaches for those that rush

into the market potentially, Peden responded by saying Volvo is watching with interest.

“These are extremely high-cost pieces

of capital equipment, and we are doing due diligence around the partners we’ve

worked with to make sure that the partners we’re aligning with are also of similar core values to us, particularly in terms of quality and safety,” he said.

“Of course this is all driving towards the

environmental care piece, but at the end of the day, if I was in government, spending tax payers’ money, I’d want to ensure that all facets are squared away, not just rushing ahead for the sake of getting it

done as quickly as possible,” Peden adds.

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“I’m always hopeful everything goes well, but at the end of the day, the industry has

of buses powered by internal combustion engines in the next, five or so years?

efforts to put product on the road, sooner than the expectations of communities

has been pitched. Just the need for the infrastructure, the capital works and all

come so far in terms of safety, I wouldn’t want to think any corners have been cut in

demand,” he said.

Of course the bus business. is very

different to the truck business that Peden has spent most of his working life in, but

while he admits to facing a steep learning curve with buses, he says his long career with Volvo and working in the Volvo way is an advantage.

“Well, I guess it’s a bit of a new start for me, fortunately within the Volvo Group, I’m very familiar with the Volvo way of doing things, but it is a very different business

stream for me and it’s been good to have something new to dig into and to have a think about.

“The bus business has been operating

side by side with us with Volvo Truck here for well over 50 years now, but that said, they are a separate business unit,” he said.

“However under Martin Merrick’s stewardship we are making a lot of effort to bring more of a one VGA approach, so one all-encompassing Volvo Group, which is fantastic,” he adds.

“But that said, it is a completely new set of business partners, completely new way of doing things. With bus we bring in the chassis and we work with our bodybuilder partners to complete that picture, and that in itself is interesting, to be working and aligning with partners that want to work with us, drive innovation, drive quality, drive safety and these things as well, which is great,” he emphasises.

Peden confesses the journey so far in bus, has been ‘pretty cool’, particularly

“As I have said, I don’t see the ability to roll out electric buses as quickly as

these things to enable that level of rollout will be a major challenge,” said Peden.

“You talk about Sydney, but then across other constituencies as well, there’s going to be a strong demand for diesel engines going into the foreseeable future, particularly in those outer metro, regional

type operations.”

“But then there’s an obvious place too for our hybrid offering, which we feel is a very sensible mid-point, enabling buses to run on diesel, but with our ability to geo-fence

the buses and to put them into full electric mode as they run through more densely populated and sensitive areas, such as universities, cafe strips, or other places,

which is a sensible stepping point as we work our way to full electric,” he said.

Peden says Volvo is in discussions with a number of different state governments at the moment, particularly around those critical capital works and support infrastructure needed to make a full electric fleet work.

“They’re not going to be able to have all those capital works in place in the short-term, and taking a more medium to longer term view, it’s that step from diesel

potentially to hybrid, then to electric in a more formulated process, that we’re really aiming towards.

“However, that said, once our trial’s

complete, we’ll be in a good place to be at full pace with full electric offering, in line with demand from the market,” he added.

“So there’s nothing going to be holding

meeting and understanding as well as getting to know the business partners that

us back, we’ll be able to deliver in the first quarter of 2023, delivering four electric buses, and then from there, really whatever

“They have been part of Volvo’s success over the years and for the last 11 or so

be able to meet it, so we’re well on track,” said Peden.

have worked with Volvo for many years.

Volvo has been bus market leader,” he said.

“There are some very big robust family

companies that have been working side

by side with Volvo Bus for many years now, through a number of generations building businesses that work hand in hand with Volvo, so it’s always fun to meet families

the demand is, we’re very confident we’ll

One of the big news stories in commercial vehicles in the past six months has been the announcement of Volvo’s joint venture with Daimler to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology and Mitch Peden reckons it

presents a pretty exciting space for the future.

“Oh, it’s a very exciting space, and

and businesses that have found success side by side with brands like ours,”

particularly when we’re starting to see

the introduction of new zero emission technology and particularly with

state governments really putting out their intent to be significant players in this

he added.

Another question that hovers around

significant investment and movement towards hydrogen, particularly in West Australia and in Queensland, with both

electromobility, is how it will affect sales

space,” he said.

024 www.truckandbus.net.au

www.truckandbus.net.au 025

“ So yes, absolutely, it will be something that we’ll be keen to be a part of. I don’t see that being a short-term solution for Volvo, because as I said, this joint venture’s really only just in its infancy, although I’m sure it’ll get a lot of horsepower to crack it along, given that the size of the entities involved in it,” he added.

“That said, it is a sensible next step as

that’s going to have to be addressed by the wider industry.

So does the bus industry take a different mindset from, the truck industry, particularly when it comes to dealing with large government public transport entities?

“Absolutely, there are some significantly big bus operators in the industry now,

haul routes with coach, hydrogen would

and I think the industry has seen some operators coming into the business on a heavy procurement phase, buying other businesses and growing significantly,”

for sure,” he said.

So with all of this exciting technology

“Within my team there is quite a slant towards government liaison, and working

well, particularly for those regional and

outer metro area operations, and longer

be very attractive for that type of operation

coming, whether it’s in 10 years time or 15

years time, what will we do with all the old diesel buses?

“Well I’m not entirely sure, I guess there’s probably significant parts that can be sold

or recycled, but that’s a discussion we have to have as an industry, I don’t think motor home conversions are going to suck them all up to tell you the truth,” Peden says with a grin.

“I think we’re going to have to be a bit more creative than that, but it’s going to

be an interesting transition for sure, and I don’t have that answer yet, it’s something

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said Mitch.

through the procurement process, particularly aligned to government and tender, but when it all comes down to it, it does come back to quality products and

the after sale support, which is the common denominator for Volvo and the Volvo Group.

That is where the magic happens, that after sales support, doing everything we can to

drive uptime through our trained technicians, our parts supply and our ability to rectify challenges as we have them,” he said.

“We are at the leading edge of

government and shifts in government trends, we are seeing too, things that

are coming through the bus industry, quite correctly are now flowing into the truck industry.

“I’ll give you an example, we have had to put significant effort into demonstrating our gender diversity within our business and we are also starting to get understanding around our indigenous reconciliation

programs as well, and we are at the cutting edge of liaison with government and

government tenders, which has certainly

been something that has come on quite quickly since I came back to Australia, and it’s now also starting to flow through the truck side of the businesses as well, because they also have dealings with government, but they’re probably not at the coal face as much as we are, so it’s interesting to see how it will progress,” he said.

“The other thing we are tackling is local content and it’s going to be very

interesting to see how that plays out with the electric chassis, as we work with our

partners and local bodybuilders, because local content is something all state governments have a lot of interest in when it comes to procurement and purchasing,

which is both an opportunity and challenge

as well,” Peden added.

“A lot of energy goes into these parts of our business, and I would like to think it is well-recognised, but it’s good that we’ve got good, robust process in our business, not just from bus, but from the entire Volvo Group, along with talented people searching for best practice in many areas,

through this early vaccination phase and start to build confidence, we’re on a good track,” he added.

“I think a number of operators will want to take advantage of the instant capital write-off program, but they just need to

be at the Sydney Bus Show in October, pandemic challenges permitting.

“Absolutely, but without putting anything onto my truck colleagues, who made all their decisions for all the right reasons, we will be taking part in the Sydney Bus

industry and start to get a handle on the

Show, because it is an extremely important event for us this year, given that we’ll be able to showcase and highlight our electric

away the questions that are being asked, which is very pleasing,” said Peden.

“We’ve got a factory in Sweden that’s very keen on us ordering more chassis,

coming up, because we will have a chassis

near future for the local business.

which parts of the market are going to be progressing fastest and tailoring our ordering for that.

and with the energy and ability to deliver best practice in our business to square

COVID’s effect on public transport usage has been a brake on sales of new buses to some extent, so how does Peden see the “We are certainly seeing green shoots in the public transport space, particularly in the energy to drive this transition into the

new technologies. I think if anything, that’s picking up and I think where we see the real challenges are in the private coach markets and the school charter/excursion

probably get a bit of a handle on seeing some clouds clearing in their particular part of the business coming back, I reckon”.

it’s just up to us here to understand

“We’re still seeing a reasonable order intake without being spectacular, a lot

of it is around government contract work,

a bit of changeover from non-seatbelt to seatbelt bus, and some of those things are probably pushing the market along

sector,” said Mitch.

“Some are still very gun-shy about border

where maybe there wouldn’t have been business,” he said.

Mitch Peden’s truck colleagues across

I’m not sure, but I think the sooner we get

Brisbane Truck Show for Covid reasons, but Peden is confident that Volvo will

closures and all those sorts of things, so it is still quite tricky, but I see this picking back up over time, when it will happen,

the hall at the company’s Wacol HQ controversially pulled out of this year’s

chassis,” he explained.

“It’s just beautiful timing this show

and a complete bus built and ready to

showcase with all the efforts we’ve put

in to align with our quality core value, our safety core, all the efforts we put in to ensure we’re providing a bus that aligns

with our business partners, that is easy to

work on, accessible, and really mitigates a lot of challenges we see in some of the

early entrants. So we’re very excited to get out first electric chassis there to showcase it,” he concludes.

With Peden’s drive, experience and

personal touch along with the massive wave of new tech on the horizon Volvo bus is in for a period that could deliver vast benefits to the industry as well as to the Swedish corporation’s long term bottom line.

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New Technology

I

n what is in fact the world’s first fleet of

double-decker hydrogen fuel cell buses

Aberdeen officially launched the unique new buses into service in late January.

The new Wrightbus hydrogen fuel cell

buses are being operated by bus company, First Aberdeen in a joint project with the Aberdeen City Council.

The Wrightbus hydrogen buses are the first of their kind to enter service,

ahead of others planned for Birmingham, London and Belfast, the represent a

major step forward in reducing the effects of climate change, making Aberdeen a

showcase for cities across the world which demonstrates how far innovation in the transport industry has come.

028 www.truckandbus.net.au

Emitting nothing but water, Aberdeen

has plans to make its own green

hydrogen to power the buses, making it a proper greener energy source for the

local community while underlining the city’s emerging stance as no longer the oil capital but as the energy capital of

Europe, showing its commitment to the

transition from oil and gas to green energy as part its Net Zero Vision.

Aberdeen has long been the jump off point and service city for the North Sea oil and gas industry, so a move to green energy production through a green H2 generation program is a major change in the city’s future.

Covid 19 restrictions, meant the launch

of the history making buses was more low-key than both First and Aberdeen City Council would have liked. So despite a

lack of traditonal fanfare the new H2 buses didn’t just slipped quietly into service on the roads of Aberdeen.

Using platforms such as social media,

the partners put together a series of video features about the buses, as well as lining them up for a photoshoot.

Aberdeen is in fact no stranger to hydrogen power, having already operated a batch of experimental Van Hool A330H

single-deckers over five years, while the Aberdeen city council actually runs a fleet of hydrogen-powered cars and vans.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Aberdeen

The Hydrogen revolution is happening, in coming years the H2 fuel cell will become a major staple of power for road transport both in trucks and more importantly buses.It may seem like a long way off here in Australia but the ‘tsunami’ of zero emission vehicle power is rushing across Europe and the UK with a momentum that is almost hard to comprehend. One example of the on rushing zero emission revolution and Hydrogen acceptance in Europe and the UK was the recent delivery of the first hydrogen fuel cell powered double decker buses for the Scottish city of Aberdeen. We take a look at Aberdeen’s ground breaking fleet of hydrogen double deckers.

City Council’s Councillor Jenny Laing said that it was great to see the world’s first

The managing director for First Bus Scotland, Andrew Jarvis, said the launch

quieter way of getting about the city,” he added.

city as an entrepreneurial and technological leader as they have even more advanced

to travel.

“Scotland will be home to COP26 later this year and it is fantastic to know that

future, First Scotland, along with vehicle manufacturer Wrightbus, believes that hydrogen will play a significant part in

assist us in tackling air pollution in the city,” said Councillor Laing.

what can be achieved with new technology as we welcome leaders from around the world,” said Andrew Jarvis.

while cementing our position as a world leader

our customers take the bus because they care about our planet and reducing their

hydrogen double-decker buses starting on their service routes in Aberdeen.

“The buses are a fantastic asset to the

technology which pushes established hydrogen boundaries and also greatly

“The buses show our commitment to achieving net zero and support the global energy transition as a climate positive city

in the energy sector as an economic driver for the city, region, Scotland and the UK.”

marked a significant milestone in the industry and the way that people choose

we’ll be setting a stellar example of just

“First Bus serves thousands of customers in Aberdeen and we know that so many of

carbon footprint. We’re excited to now be able to offer them an even greener and

With major operators having already pledged to stop buying diesel buses in the

the future of the bus industry, offering an efficient fuel solution, with better range than pure battery-electric buses, while taking little more time to refuel than a

diesel-powered bus.

The Aberdeen Hydrogen double decker

fleet will number 15 new buses which will operate mainly on Aberdeen’s route 19,

linking the outlying western suburb of Peterculter with Tillydrone via the city centre

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and Aberdeen University. The buses will

(£8.3million) project has been made

underlining the flexibility of a bus that is not tied to a specific route distance and all of the energy budgeting that has to happen

combination of Aberdeen City Council, the Scottish Government, and the European Union (FCH JU), with an investment of

also be used on other services as well,

with a battery electric bus as a result.

Despite the fact that the UK has left the

EU, the new H2 buses are part funded by the European Union’s JIVE project, which

aims to aid commercialisation of hydrogen fuel cell buses through joint procurement

between cities.

As we said London and Birmingham will follow in Aberdeen’s footsteps, with its near

neighbour, Dundee, along with Brighton and

Hove also being lead partners in the second round of funding from the JIVE2 program.

The introduction of the new doubledeckers in Aberdeen’s $AUD14.9 million

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Despite having their own fuel cells, the

possible as a result of funding from a

Hydrogen buses still get plugged in for

about $AUD900,000 (£500,000) per bus.

First Aberdeen’s King Street depot has

arrangements to allow the installation

played host to Hydrogen buses before so the arrival of the new Wrightbus double deckers weren’t a shock to the system, given it had been home to four of the Van

Hool A330Hs, but the new double-deckers did need investment in depot infrastructure to accommodate them.

First Aberdeen’s Engineering Manager

Mick Smith highlighted that adding 15 of the new buses, to the four Van Hools, would help standardise the fleet and assist in holding and sourcing parts etc.

recharge each night and still need extra space and infrastructure to do this.This meant a significant change to parking of electrical cables and sockets in a suitable place.

Mick Smith explained that the buses need to be plugged in at their docking point when parked so that their temperature can be monitored. The bi-product of hydrogen fuel of course is water, so it is essential that the buses are kept above 5°C to ensure that the pipes don’t freeze and

rupture in the cold of Scotland’s north.

Within the depot building, sensors have

also been installed in the workshop roof to monitor the level of hydrogen if work is

being carried out on the buses and also

of time and investment ensuring the depot

team and collaboration from the local

sensors are programed to sound an alarm if they detect concentrations going above a specified level, which prompts venting

as those working here,” said Mick.

To manage the requirements of hydrogen, we’ve got a brilliant automated response

smoothly,” continued Mick.

“In some ways it’s quite nice to know that the public is none-the-wiser about the

to ensure that there are no leaks. The

points in the ceiling to open automatically, along with the doors of the depot.

As an additional safety measure, the buses themselves are able to release the gas though a venting pipe in the vehicle roof, located on the offside rear.

“The arrival of the hydrogen fleet marks a major milestone for both customers and transport as a whole. Hydrogen operated vehicles will make a significant difference

in many ways,” said Mick Smith, who has been responsible for overseeing all the changes at the depot.

“Like anything new, we have spent a lot

is fully fit for purpose, for the fleet as well

system in place to ensure that everything is as safe as possible. We’ve also worked

closely with the local fire brigade and independent risk assessors, to make sure that every ‘what if?’ scenario has a clear plan in place.”

Even the lighting at the depot has been part of the remapping and alteration program. All the lights have been refitted with grounding points, so that there is

no risk of sparking around the hydrogenfuelled fleet.

“There have been countless things to think about, but thanks to our great

fire brigade, everything has run really

significant work that’s been taking place, it’s credit to the great job that everyone’s done,” he added.

“It was of paramount importance that

our engineering work didn’t interfere with our day-to-day operations. It’s certainly

been challenging from a logistical point of view, but we’re lucky that we’ve got a good amount of space in the depot, so we could reorganise what went where, and keep

everything running.

“Fitting out a working depot to accommodate a hydrogen fleet is essentially unchartered territory for the bus industry.

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We’re really proud with what we’ve

achieved and are excited to be known as Europe’s hydrogen capital as we

embrace alternative fuel to meet our wider net zero ambitions.”

As mentioned the buses were

manufactured by Wrightbus, which enlisted the expertise of Luxfer Gas Cylinders

to design, manufacture and supply the

hydrogen fuel system that powers them.

The system for the fleet incorporates

Luxfer’s G-Stor H2 hydrogen cylinders.

Luxfor already has around 150,000 of

these cylinders already in service globally,

deployed in more than 10,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses, more than

4,500 gas powered refuse trucks and an

that hydrogen is the key to safe and sustainable transport.

“We’re working with a number of

commercial vehicle manufacturers

around the world to supply industry

leading hydrogen cylinders and, in many cases, to design hydrogen fuel systems to meet the highest technological and safety requirements.”

First Aberdeen driver John Gillies became

the first driver in the world to carry fare-

paying passengers on a hydrogen-powered double-decker.

Gillies was trained in how to operate the

new hydrogen buses when they arrived it

involved a fair bit of training, but now that he is used to the new power system,

increasing number of hydrogen buses.

it is remarkably quiet and easy.

like this. The hydrogen is stored in a multi-

notice is how smooth they feel – it makes

The onboard hydrogen technology works

cylinder system, located at the rear of

the bus and is regulated to low pressure feeding an adjacent onboard fuel cell.

The hydrogen passes along the surface

of the fuel cell membrane, splitting into protons and electrons that create an

electric current. This combines with oxygen

from atmospheric air to form water which is the only by-product of the system.

The electric energy generated by the fuel

cell is then used to charge a battery pack,

placed beneath the bus floor, with the bus being driven by a compact electric motor that draws on the battery as required.

Luxfer Gas Cylinders director, Mark

Lawday, said the hydrogen economy

is taking off, but it’s an area the company has worked in for three decades.

“Luxfer pioneered hydrogen storage

systems and valve technology, and we

were brought into this project by Wrightbus in 2017 to help design the hydrogen

system to deliver the best range with a cost effective solution.

“Aberdeen has been at the forefront

“Once you’re on board the first thing you

for a really comfortable drive, and the

passengers love that. They’re a lot quieter too, which makes bus travel all the more relaxing,” said John Gillies.

“As a driver, though, a key difference to

driving a diesel bus is that the hydrogen

buses get up to speed a lot quicker, so part of our training has involved being sensitive to that and making sure we have good control over them,” he said.

“I love going to work, and it feels that

bit better to know that I’m working for

a company that’s investing in the future and helping to protect our environment for generations to come,” he said.

“With each kilometre that these new

buses cover, they prevent 1kg of CO2 from

entering the atmosphere and that is a huge saving of 84 tonnes of CO2 emissions

each year, so it’s going to make a huge

difference to the air quality of Aberdeen,” the proud Gillies said.

All the drivers at First Aberdeen have

now been trained in how to refuel, maintain

of hydrogen, proving it is viable, and

and operate the state-of-the-art hydrogen

original fleet of 10 hydrogen buses to

they run on is made from just wind and

double deckers will begin their journeys

its own hydrogen to power these buses

we worked with them on introducing an

powered vehicles. The hydrogen fuel that

the city too. It’s fantastic that these new

water, while Aberdeen will soon make

with passengers soon,” said Lawday.

reducing the burden of transporting the

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

has already pledged a green industrial

hydrogen fuel from other sites.

It may seem a slow crawl to zero

revolution, creating jobs and infrastructure

emission buses here in Australia, but like

by 2050. The potential for harnessing wind

particularly with proclamations such

are central to the British PM’s plans.

Constance’s promise to make Sydney’s

in creating a greener world for future

the next nine years. Here’s to a much

to achieve net zero emissions in the UK

the UK it will gather pace very quickly

power and investing in hydrogen technology

as NSW Transport Minister, Andrew

Mark Lawday adds: “At Luxfer, we believe

generations, and we’re passionate

032 www.truckandbus.net.au

massive bus fleet zero emission over cleaner environment.

“ WITH EACH KILOMETRE THAT THESE NEW BUSES COVER, THEY PREVENT 1KG OF CO2 FROM ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE”

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Industry

Chinese automotive brands have been ‘coming’ in Australia for the past two decades and while the take up has been slow in cars and trucks, the bus business has embraced Chinese built vehicles more passionately than any other automotive sector. Now with an imminent revolution in the way buses are powered, Chinese bus maker BLK has bought into its Australian distributor, BCSA, with BLK Auto taking over following the retirement of industry stalwart Athol McKinnon, signalling a Changing of the Guard.

A

fter a career that spans six decades, Athol McKinnon’s decision to retire from the bus business has triggered some big changes at the company he started with Rodd Hood and has run for the past decade.

Now with McKinnon’s retirement a new operation, with investment from the BLK factory in China, has sprung from the business that he and Hood started, bringing an even stronger focus on the BLK brand.

The launch of BLK as a brand in the Australian market sees the factory operating its own sales, marketing and service operation in partnership with highly experienced Australian management.

The new entity, called BLK Auto, is headed by Jason Pecotic as managing director while Peter Aldridge is chairman. The new company has taken over many of the resources of BCSA with the retirement of Rodd Hood and Athol McKinnon.

Athol McKinnon was one of the pioneers of Chinese built buses in Australia.

Long before automotive giants like SAIC and Great Wall/Haval came to these

shores, McKinnon blazed the trail with BCI and later Bonluck, in many ways clearing the way for other Chinese automotive brands.

034 www.truckandbus.net.au

The hand over of the BLK baton, with original BCSA management, Rodd Hood (far left) and Athol McKinnon ( far right) and the new BLK Auto team of chairman Peter Aldridge (second left) and managing director Jason Pecotic.

www.truckandbus.net.au 035

After decades working and running

and coaches. When he returned to Australia

key distributors of quality buses and

became involved with Chinese built buses in early 2006.

Bus and Coach Sales Australia or “BCSA” which would operate as the East Coast dealer for the BCI range in Australia.

After five successful years as the BCI dealer, the company was subtly renamed

However after 60 fruitful and successful years in the bus industry, and most of the past decade selling Bonluck/ BLK buses,

consultant with the then newly formed Bus and Coach International, or BCI as

relationship with Bonluck. It became the sole importer of Bonluck buses and

legendary Australian bus building and sales operations including Denning, Domino Denning, Motor Coach Australia,

and numerous other operations, Athol first

Athol started his association with Chinese built coaches, as International operations

it became known. The industry veteran moved to China, and lived in Wuxi for most of 2006 during the initial design and

production of the new range of BCI buses

036 www.truckandbus.net.au

later in 2006 he formed a new company,

Bus and Coach Sales Australasia, ceasing its role as a BCI dealer, and forging new

coaches in Australia and New Zealand.

Athol had teamed with Rodd Hood to run BCSA, and the two directors successfully established the operation as one of the

coaches across the country.

Athol has called time, handing the BLK baton to a new team.

BLK Auto came into existence on the 1st February this year, and while Athol will be missed, you can bet he won’t be far away from the industry that he has been a part of for six decades.

The move by BLK to establish its own operation in Australia has been made to

enable the Chinese manufacturer to better

pivot to an electric and hydrogen fuel cell

bus operation and to give it the resources and backing to put it on a footing for a zero emission future.

Director of BLK, Ken Li, congratulated

BCSA on the work it has done over the past 14 years and paid tribute to the work that Rodd and Athol has played in establishing its products in Australia.

“Under the Bonluck name, BCSA has

done a commendable job at pioneering and building sales of BLK product into the Australian and New Zealand bus and coach industry and establishing a strong

reputation for reliability, dependability and

back up,” said Mr Li.

“With Athol and Rodd’s decision to retire from the business. we have taken the opportunity to build on their legacy and build the operation in partnership with

Australians who are highly experienced in the bus industry,” he added.

Jason Pecotic, as managing director of BLK Auto Australia, brings more than two decades of experience in the automotive

industry, including roles in pioneering other Chinese automotive brands in this country.

“I have long respected the BLK brand, and as a result when the opportunity to be a part of the new operation came about I

could not pass it up,” Jason Pecotic said.

“The pivot to zero emission bus

technology is an enormous opportunity and with the backing of BLK we will have the resources and expertise to take the brand to a new level in Australia,” he added.

“BLK is already a key part of one

of Australia’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered bus orders, providing President 2 glider chassis for the winning tender with Hyzon Motors, for Fortescue’s initial 10 bus order, for what will be a

fleet of 44 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses for in its mining operations in the Pilbara of Western Australia”.

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BLK Auto’s executive team, chairman Peter Aldridge (left) and managing director Jason Pecotic.

“BLK Auto will also be distributing a new range of JAC Battery EV trucks from China, the first of which are set to arrive in

both in terms of buses and trucks means that this business will have a huge focus on electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses in the future.”

Australia within the next two months to start trials with a number of online home delivery retailers,” Jason Pecotic added.

While BLK Auto will continue to be based in Queensland, it is immediately looking to appoint a Victorian sales representative

according to Jason Pecotic, day to day, not a lot will be different.

BLK was first established in 1969 as part of China National Machinery Industry Corporation, Ltd., which employs nearly 150,000 people worldwide, and is

So what does the move to a new factory backed operation mean to bus operators and existing Bonluck owners in particular? Well “We are operating out of the same building that BCSA used, the staff who ran BCSA are still here and the philosophy here has not changed,” said Pecotic.

“Back up and after sales for existing Bonluck operators is still there, and in that regard nothing has changed, save for the fact that the factory is now invested in the business and with that will come an added commitment to customer service and back-up,”

he added.

“The growing zero emission revolution in the transport business,

038 www.truckandbus.net.au

along with a group general manager to oversee the sales and distribution throughout Australia and NZ.

headquartered in Nanchang City in Jiangxi Province.

Its large and modern production facilities in Nanchang produces more than 5,000 buses annually, mostly for mature western markets, including the USA and Australia and BLK’s Bus Manufacturing Division is managed by Australian, Jason McKinnon a resident of China for more than a decade.

New Technology

040 www.truckandbus.net.au

Hybrid buses are the bridge between the traditional world of internal combustion diesel powered machines and the coming electric zero emission revolution that is looming and Scania believes this is the technology that will give it the transition to a zero emission future. We take a look at major Melbourne fleet Ventura and its first Hybrid Scanias.

www.truckandbus.net.au 041

H

ybrid drive systems in buses can deliver low noise, zero emission operation in critical

between internal combustion and battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology.

So Hybrid buses are the perfect bridge to

Volgren bodies destined for suburban and outer metropolitan route duties.

Ventura Bus Lines is the largest provider of

areas, with the reliability and easy delivery of relatively clean Euro 6 diesel engines, without the need for the massive infra-

Scania launched its new hybrid buses at the last Melbourne Bus Show at the end of 2019 and a number are now in service with

with a fleet of 915 buses and 1600 drivers operating 141 routes out of 12 depots,

from Toyota told us about 20 years ago that hybrid was the ideal transition technology

took delivery of the first two Scania Hybrid Euro 6 route buses fitted with locally-built

crowded places and residential

structure need for charging electric buses.

A leading automotive engineering guru

042 www.truckandbus.net.au

a zero emission transport future.

various fleets including major Melbournebased operator, Ventura Bus Lines which

public bus transport services in Melbourne

and moving on average 36 million people a year. The company also provides V/Line,

event transportation, school bus and aged care services, as well as replacement bus services for major infrastructure projects,

“ THESE BUSES PROVIDE A SIGNIFICANT STEP TOWARDS A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT”

such as the Metro Tunnel and Level Crossing Removal Projects.

These are the first Scania Hybrid

contribute to a reduction in noise and

or emissions at low speed in areas where

schools. This makes them perfect for

will be substantially quieter and with less green house gas (GHG) emissions than the

heavy pedestrian traffic or outdoor dining.

Andrew Cornwall, managing director of Ventura Bus Lines, said that the Scania Hybrids had arrived at the right time.

buses to be delivered to a Melbourne Metropolitan Contract Bus Operator, and

1998-vintage buses they are replacing.

With the ability to run in ‘silent’ electric mode when approaching or departing from bus stops, the Scania Hybrids will

air pollution, providing greater public convenience, especially for areas with

“These buses provide a significant step towards a cleaner environment,

and a fully battery-powered bus future.

The Hybrids can be driven without noise

there is a lot of foot-traffic, such as in the new outdoor dining precincts or outside

suburban neighbourhoods as well as busy shopping strips.

“These are the first Scania Hybrid buses to join the Ventura fleet and they will be used within an area stretching from Brighton in the west to Pakenham in

the east, on multiple routes comprising

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short and long stop intervals. We will also

the new Ventura buses has been designed

removal and metro tunnel bus replacement

alone, up to a maximum speed of 40 km/h.

deploy them as part of our level crossing contract, so they will have to cope with

to run for up to four km on battery power Employing the 9.0-litre 320 hp five-

high loading capacity throughout the day.

cylinder Euro 6 compliant diesel engine

Hybrid platform,” he said.

fleets, and famed for its torquey 1600

This will be a good test for the Scania “The adoption of these Hybrid

technology buses is the second stage of our environmental journey, having

operated a fleet of Scania buses powered by renewable ethanol for more than 20 years. While moving to zero emission buses will come at some stage in the

future, the Scania Hybrids offer a proven product with which we can transition

typically used across Australian bus

Nm output, the Hybrid further boosts

its environmental credentials with a 177

hp/1030 Nm electric motor, both of which are seamlessly integrated with the Scania Opticruise transmission.

The diesel engine can fully charge its

batteries while in driving mode in just 30 minutes.

Yuri Tessari, national sales manager of

towards a cleaner public transport future.

Volgren, said it was an absolute privilege

perfect answer as we navigate the road

Ventura and Scania to produce the two

“We see the Scania Hybrids as the

to zero emission buses,” Andrew said.

The first Scania Hybrid was delivered

to partner with longstanding customer

Volgren bodied low-floor Euro 6 hybrids.

“Volgren has supplied vehicles to

to regional bus operator McHarry’s in

Ventura for two decades; in that time we

had hundreds of examples working in

valued partner. We’re especially proud

Geelong late in 2019, but Scania has

Europe for almost five years, reducing diesel fuel consumption and exhaust

emissions by up to 25 per cent. Carbon

dioxide emissions can fall by up to 92 per

have built more than 300 vehicles for our of this build and we’re delighted to have contributed to Ventura’s first Scania Hybrid bus.”

Tessari said that Volgren has worked

cent if the buses are run on bio-diesel,

hard to create added flexibility to

Hybrids on regular low sulphur diesel

processes to help it adapt to a range

however Ventura will be running its Scania to be able to make direct consumption comparisons with its existing fleet.

“We know that these Hybrids make a

tangible contribution to reducing air and noise pollution in our cities,” said Julian

Gurney, Director of Sales for Scania Bus and Engines.

“Scania is at the forefront globally in

driving the shift towards a sustainable

transport solution and we are confident that Ventura and its passengers will

quickly come to appreciate the benefits

its production line, engineering and of low and zero emission chassis.

“Volgren has a long history of designing,

developing and applying new technologies for the Australian market.

“We pride ourselves on providing

engineering solutions that meet the

developing needs of our customers,

and we’re more than ready to take on the challenge of developing the best

possible bus body for a low-emission future.” Yuri said.

A further benefit of the adoption of the

of the Scania Hybrid powertrain.

Scania Hybrids by Ventura is that its

and for passengers the ride is noticeably

technicians will benefit from learning

“The driving experience is excellent,

quieter when running on battery power.

For pedestrians, the noise of a bus pulling away from the stop and the smell of

exhaust that has been such a typical

2021 intake of 20 first year apprentice about the hybrid powertrain system, which will stand them in good stead for their future careers.

“We’ll be upskilling our technicians and

urban experience is now gone, which

our apprentices as they learn about the

in European operations.

a step on the road towards the full battery

has made this technology very popular “The Scania diesel electric Hybrid bus

marks a significant step-change in urban bus functionality and environmental

diesel-electric powertrain, which again is electric buses of the future,” Andrew Cornwall said.

It will be interesting to see how pervasive

benefits. The Hybrid’s ‘silent mode’ zero

Hybrid tech becomes in the next few years

revelation for drivers and passengers

stage, but Hybrid is here and now and

tailpipe emissions experience will be a

alike,” Julian said.

The Scania Hybrid powertrain fitted to

044 www.truckandbus.net.au

before full zero emission takes centre

if operators like Ventura have a say in it there may be quite a few on our road.

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Road Test

China’s largest vehicle manufacturer, SAIC, is starting to shake things up in the Australia automotive maker both with passenger cars and light commercials, where the arrival of the LDV Deliver 9 has squared the brand up against the Euro heavyweights like Mercedes Benz, Renault, Ford and VW. This also applies to the burgeoning mini bus market with LDV also boasting a new passenger version of the Deliver 9.

Coach & Bus took the 11-seater LDV mini bus for a spin to see how it shapes up in a competitive market.

T

he LDV brand has been around on the Australian market for

almost a decade now and has found a degree of popularity with

the original V90 van offering as well as the smaller G10 model, but the new Deliver 9 takes things to a new level.

The Deliver 9 has hit the market with

an extremely attractive price tag and a raft of high specifications, safety features and technology that match the far more expensive Euro counterparts.

046 www.truckandbus.net.au

That is exactly where the local distributor, Ateco is aiming the new LDV. It has the

cent less than the MB Sprinter price wise, even though it boasts an array of features,

on the table in the quest to take a big share of the lucrative light commercial market.

Along with a range of sizes in the large

same footing as the market leading Benz.

Any way you cut it, price is still the most important equation when it comes to

the 11 seater for a test drive around Sydney for a day or two battling the ins and outs of

together a pretty strong case for the Deliver 9 with its list price starting at $55,779 rrp for

Euros in its sights and it is leaving nothing

van, LDV is also offering it as both an 11 or 14 seat minibus . In this instance we scored

city traffic.

LDVclaims that the Deliver 9 is 60 per

technology and size specs that put it on the

choosing a work horse bus that has to earn its keep. That being the case LDV has put

the mid roof 11 seater as tested, $57,884 for the mid roof 14 seater, and $59,990 for the

whopping 20 grand less than the Sprinter 12 seater. Of course you will have seen the others are all 12 seaters up against the

hilly suburban streets.

The LDV’s value proposition is bolstered

seat the price difference is a big one that for some would be hard to justify.

(AEB), which only operates at a speed of up to 30km/h , it also has Bosch’s latest

LDV 11 seater, but even factoring in an extra

by an extensive suite of safety equipment including Autonomous Emergency Braking

As one operator told us when he saw us photographing the LDV, that means that he

generation Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system, Lane Departure Warning and an

could buy four LDV 11 seaters for roughly the same price as the price of three 12

seater Benz Sprinters, which he reckoned could be a pretty compelling equation.

The LDV’s mid roof actually allows most adults to stand up easily and with a three row, two plus one seating configuration, access to all the seats is easy thanks to

the gap, I dare not call it an aisle, between the seats.

Access to the main passenger area is through a sliding side door, which also

features an automatic step that folds out when the door is opened and then retracts when it is shut, making it more comfortable

for passengers stepping up into the cabin.

The 11 seats include two up front in the drivers compartment, although this would be a bit of a squeeze, and although it is legal, in terms of passenger comfort it is probably realistically and practically better as a 10 seater.

The rear is accessed by the standard barn doors opening out and there is not a lot of luggage space behind the last row and any operator using it for accommodation and airport transfers would probably need a trailer to carry the baggage, which is often the case with a the short wheel base smaller mini buses like this.

We haven’t sampled the 14 seater and would be interested to see how much space it offers in terms of luggage area.

Power comes from LDV’s own two-litre,

four-cylinder turbodiesel which pumps out

maximum power of 110kW and torque of 375Nm from 1,500rpm. The turbodiesel is available with stop/start engine technology, and is mated to either a six-speed manual

14 seater high roof. All of those are plus on roads which can vary state to state.

When you compare those prices with

the other buses in the market it quicky becomes clear that the LDV is very wellpriced, even when you factor in the more

prestigious badges from the likes of Benz, VW, Renault and Ford.

The 11 seater LDV comes in roughly $9000 cheaper than the Ford Transit and

Renault Master 12-seater, about $14,000 less than the VW Crafter 12 seater and a

extensive array of six airbags, all things that bus operators and transfer services would embrace for the sake of their customers not to mention the need to look after their drivers in these times of stricter OH&S standards and corporate obligation.

The Delivery 9 bus comes with heated

electric front mirrors, air conditioning, a multifunction steering wheel, adaptive cruise control on auto models, a three-seat cab

layout, an eight-way adjustable driver’s seat,

rear fog lights, halogen headlights, and a wide view rear overhead reversing camera.

The huge 10.1 inch Infotainment screen is the centre piece for controlling the audio

system, HVAC controls and other functions and comes with Apple CarPlay, although interestingly no Android Auto at this stage.

This all works OK but is not exceptional.

There is also the obligatory Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, as well

as two USB ports, and a 4.2-inch multifunction instrument display in front of the driver with a digital speedometer and large and easy to read instruments.

We say it all works OK because while it all works, there are times when the infotainment screen interface is a little clunky and lacks an intuitive feel. This is

compared with its Euro opponents, but we have to say the advance on this LDV is a

massive leap ahead of its predecessors and other Chinese machines, including LDV’s own ute, the T60. Having said that the Chinese electronics gurus at parent

company SAIC are clearly working hard because the similar Infotainment system

or six-speed automatic transmission, while

in the latest MG we drove recently is a leap ahead again compared with the Delivery 9.

The passenger area is fitted with a nice

despite the fact that it has either one or three gears less than the autos in the Benz

and insulate the area from any undercarriage clatter. The seats are also very well finished, with skirts down to the floor making for a

power is fed to the road via its rear-wheels.

For the test we had the six speed auto, and

Sprinter, depending on model, it does a pretty good job.

The power and torque is more than adequate, although we only had a

relatively small load in the 11 seater bus, just a couple of colleagues on board for a short test, the engine proved to have excellent response, very good flexibility and ample torque to cope with Sydney’s

pile carpet throughout, helping reduce noise

nicer aesthetic than in many similar buses, where the under seat supports are often open to view. Not only are the seats nicely

finished they are actually quite comfy to sit in, again, not always the case in vehicles like this.

There is LED lighting throughout which gives great coverage and lights up all corners of the passenger rear area.

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In terms of external dimensions the Deliver 9 11-seater bus measures 5546mm in length and has a 3366mm wheelbase.

With the mid-roof configuration as tested it has an overall height of 2545mm, while the payload limit for this particular test 11-seater bus was 1500 kilograms.

Standard equipment for the Deliver 9 2021 model range is quite decent, considering that price list.

When it comes to choice of colours you

have the choice of Blanc White or Pacific

Blue , the latter setting you back an extra $500. That is it there are no other colours, but most mini bus buyers like and choose

Transit, but does have its own individuality.

shelf for holding folders and paperwork

is comfortable, neat, well laid out and in terms of ergonomics and controls is easy to use and live with, save for the

to hold papers on the top of the dash as there is in many vans and utes these days.

The driver’s seat has eight way

The cockpit area is well designed. It

aforementioned infotainment system and its minor foibles.

The cabin has plentiful storage space which is to be expected in a vehicle that operated as the mobile office for many a transfer or shuttle bus driver.

It has huge door pockets incorporating bottle holders and additional storage, while the middle seat back flips down

and is equipped with an elasticated strap

vehicles these days, making them easier to ‘strip’ for sale when needed.

for documents and a pair of cup holders making it quite practical. On the top outer edges of the dash there are a pair of high-

of automotive sculpture, but it isn’t ugly and has a passing resemblance to the Ford

hold the coffee cups and drink bottles.

Above the windscreen there is also a

white and often use vehicle wraps to brand

In terms of appearance it is a bus and as such it could never be considered a piece

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mounted cup/bottle holders, because after all you can never get enough places to

etc. although there isn’t an indented tray

adjustment which makes up to a small extent for the lack of fact that the steering wheel has only rake and tilt adjustment but lacks reach adjustment. We didn’t have too much trouble getting a comfortable position but it may not be the same for everyone.

The driver’s seat has a fold down and

adjustable arm rest on its left hand side, while the the bench seat on the passenger side is ample for two adults and under the seat cushion there is another handy,

hidden storage box, which can be accessed by folding each of the two seats up independently.

On the road the Deliver 9 bus is fuss free and easy to drive. It’s not a daunting

“ON THE ROAD THE DELIVER 9 BUS IS FUSS FREE AND EASY TO DRIVE“

vehicle to steer, despite its size, and is surprisingly manoeuvrable and agile.

The steering and ride are well tuned and sorted.

The Deliver 9 uses Macpherson struts on the front and a leaf sprung rear end, and although we only drove a relatively

result. With the 80 litre tank you should

Transit, the Mercedes Sprinter and VW

refills, and being a Euro 5 it doesn’t need AdBlue, which is convenient if not as environmentally friendly as it could be.

five years/200,000km and Fiat’s Ducato a three year/200,000km coverage.

Even factoring in the warranty and

eek out a range of around 800 km between

The LDV comes with a shorter warranty

short distance with a load onboard, the ride quality was reasonable, if a little

than most of its rivals, and that may matter to you if you intend to hang on to your bus for a longer period of time.

and most operators would not be troubled by anything the LDV does on the road.

given the bus a comprehensive Capped Price Servicing program and specifies the first service at 5000km, with all

underdamped for Aussie conditions. Still it handled bump and dips reasonably well

The six-speed auto worked well, shifting smoothly and easily fitting the engine’s torque band well on uphill climbs and under acceleration.

At the fuel pumps the Deliver 9 was

reasonably impressive and for the time we had the van it recorded a respectable

average of 10.4 ltr./100km, which given the frontal area of a vehicle like this was a good

However, LDV distributor Ateco has

following services at 30,000km or one year, whichever comes first. LDV says that

Crafter, while the Renault Master boasts

potentially lower resale values you would

have to have a lot of breakdowns and repairs and lose a lot on trade in for the price advantage to be eroded. If you plan to turn the LDV over every three years

under its standard warranty, we reckon you

could be a long way in front on price alone.

The LDV is well priced, and doesn’t give much away to the other more expensive mini buses in terms of

for three years or 95,000kms the Deliver 9 will cost about $1,895 to service. The van also gets the protection of a three

The LDV Deliver 9 is certainly worth consideration if you are after an 11 or 14

That is not as long as some of the other mini buses in the sector with five-year/ unlimited kilometre coverage for the Ford

you much while running it making it a great value proposition.

year/160,000km warranty.

driveability and practicality.

seat mini bus and will save you a lot of money in on the way in and won’t cost

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Road Test

The mini bus market just had the heat turned up a couple of notches with Iveco introducing its take on the 22 seat mini bus market, in a bid to catch some sales from the well-entrenched incumbents, Fuso’s Rosa and Toyota’s Coaster. We took the impressive new Euro 6 Daily for a quick spin in Melbourne recently, and reckon they might be on to something.

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I

t would be clear to anyone reading this edition of Coach & Bus that the small

bus battlefield is hotting up, with a road test of both the latest incarnation of the Fuso Rosa , LDV’s 12 seater mini

its venerable Coaster, have made plenty of hay in this sector for many years and with are seeking a share of that coveted hay.

it is a tough ask in a market that views the Rosa and Coaster as the go to machines.

Steve Heanes also tells us that another

bus versions of its successful Daily Van and believes it can take at least a part

30 passenger seats, which will further increase the potential for Iveco to pitch

even more sunshine more manufacturers

bus, and this story on Iveco’s new offering

Iveco is one of them, for while in the past it has offered 12 seat and 17 seat

the increasing growth of on demand and

of the mid 20 seat bus sector, which accounts for about 1700 buses a year.

in the 22 seat bus market, the Daily E6 Shuttle minibus.

The market is hotting up on the back of shuttle bus operations as well as tourism and corporate demand.

Both Fuso and its counterpart Toyota, with

year he will be pleased, but understands

Iveco’s head honcho of buses, Steve Heanes, reckons that if the Daily 22 seater can take 100 sales in the market in the first

Daily bus variant will arrive shortly with a Mellor bodied Daily that will offer

up against the opposition.

So how does the Iveco Daily Shuttle 22 seater measure up? Well we put it to the test in Melbourne recently, and although

we were only behind the wheel for a day it

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gave us a great insight into a very capable,

that sets it apart from the Japanese pair.

having started life as International

the very least will be a strong contender.

Unlike the Coaster and Rosa, which are both designed as buses from the ground

Coaster in its maximum capacity of 22 seats but the Rosa offers a longer wheel base 25 seat variant. Having said that the

The seats are trimmed in fabric that add a touch of luxury, and safety comes from individual seat belts on every seat. There

a cab-chassis light truck and a cargo van, not to mention the basis for motorhomes

driver) options.

It is based on a 4100mm wheel base

efficient and easy to drive mini bus, that at

up, the Daily is based on Iveco’s versatile Daily chassis, which is not only a bus but

and other uses. However the fact that it is a multi-faceted chassis and not purely a bus shouldn’t count against it.

The Daily looks very different to the Coaster and Rosa which have a similar profile, but not the Iveco. Its bonneted

design, shorter wheel base and long rear overhang give it a distinctive appearance

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The Daily goes head to head with the

Daily offers more flexibility below the 22 seat model, with both 11 and 16 seat (plus

and is built with a H2 high roof, delivering 1820 mm of standing headroom inside the passenger compartment.

The Daily bus arrives in Australian from Italy, ‘senza’ passenger seats, which are fitted at the Iveco venerable plant

in Dandenong, which is now Australia’s oldest surviving vehicle assembly facility,

Harvester in 1952.

are also curtains fitted as standard and a high luggage shelf running down both

sides of the cabin, with mood lighting and reading lights fitted neatly throughout. The air conditioning vents are also integrated through the rack mounted diffusers.

Unlike its opponents, the Daily has no front passenger seat on the opposite side of the cockpit, which is no great problem as we have never warmed to the need to

clamber over the intrusive engine hump to get to either the passenger or driver’s seat

ITS BONNETED DESIGN, SHORTER WHEEL BASE AND LONG REAR OVERHANG GIVE IT A DISTINCTIVE APPEARANCE

from the passenger area as is necessary in

both Coaster and Rosa. The fact that the

Daily lacks the passenger seat, means the driver can easily enter across the flat floor from the passenger side or through the

driver’s door on the right hand side, which adds to its versatility in our view.

Slip behind the steering wheel and you

are faced with the same cockpit that any Daily driver, van, cab-chassis or motorhome would be looking at, save for

some extra switches for bus specific needs.

It is a very usable and well laid out dash that is easy to read and easy to master.

There are a few extra buttons and switches that don’t appear in the van or cab chassis

models, including obviously buttons for the

electrically operated port door, as well as exhaust and cooling fan functions.

The controls all feel good and are easy to use with Iveco’s touchscreen, which it catchily calls Iveconnect, which incorporates a multimedia system with

AM/FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity, MP3 and a CD/DVD player, which presumably could be connected to a screen system throughout the bus. It also incorporates GPS navigation and a reversing camera.

While the system is good, it is a bit clunky and at times difficult to master, but it all works fine, and again familiarity would increase its function and utility.

The Euro 6 version of Iveco’s well proven 3.0litre inline F1C four cylinder turbo diesel,

now boasts 180 hp or power and 430 Nm of torque, thanks to its four valve per

cylinder configuration, and is coupled with the 8-speed automatic that Iveco calls HiMatic, but is in fact the fantastically refined

and well proven ZF transmission that is fitted to a myriad of vehicles in a number of classes. The 8-speed shifts smoothly and intuitively and is just so fuss and trouble

free, it is a joy to drive, although the shifter mechanism and pattern on the Daily are a little fussy to use at first, but after a while you become used to it.

Stopping power is very good thanks to

the disc brakes on all four wheels ensuring the Daily Shuttle pulls up with tremendous efficiency and great pedal feel. The brake

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THE DAILY 22 SEAT SHUTTLE IS A WORTHY COMPETITOR IN THE THIS SECTOR OF THE BUS MARKET system is equipped with ABS, and is

mated with Iveco’s ESP9 stability program, that incorporates such things as roll over

mitigation, roll-movement intervention, trailer sway mitigation, hill hold and a number of other features including, obviously, actual stability control to keep things on an even keel in dicey driving scenarios.

It also has adaptive load control and lane

departure warning , while in other safety features the driver gets an SRS airbag.

Speaking of airbags, not the crash safety types but the airbag suspension types, the Daily Shuttle rides on rear airbag suspension, with independent

torsion bars on the front. That sets the

Daily apart from the Coaster and Rosa in

featuring air bag suspension. As a result

the ride is very good, and although we did not have a passenger load on board, the ride was smooth level and unfussed.

A passenger load would only make the

Daily ride better we surmise, so that really puts the Daily ahead of the opposition in passenger comfort.

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On that passenger comfort front the electrically operated plug door on the left side of the bus allows passengers easy access and egress, and the door

The Daily Shuttle scoots away from the mark and has ample power to keep up with traffic while also delivering pretty respectable fuel consumption. Our short

the dash. The door works OK, albeit a bit slowly but it is easy to use.

At the rear, there are two barn doors that

do a really accurate fuel consumption figure but we are told it should return around 12 to 15 litres per 100km depending on load

is operated by the driver via a switch on

open out and in fact can be opened back on themselves which makes removal and

re fit of seats easier if required.

There is virtually no luggage space at the back, but neither is there in the Coaster

drive did not allow us enough distance to

or from 6.6 to 8.3 kms per litre.

It is always difficult to get an exact starting price on commercial vehicles as

or Rosa. If you are operating one of these

any operator will tell you, most salesmen when asked come back with the question, ‘How many do you want?’. Iveco intimates

massive 3.5 tonnes with brakes, so that

with the Rosa and Coaster, with a price somewhere around $131,000, plus on roads, depending on spec and of course

some set-back for the driver and that

In summary the Daily 22 seat Shuttle is a worthy competitor in the this sector of the bus market offering better ride, great

as a hotel or airport shuttle then a luggage trailer will be needed, again as with its two opponents. The tow capacity is up to a is an awful lot of luggage.

On the road the Daily is a breeze to drive with its bonneted design providing coupled with the air bags and other ride enhancements delivers a much better ride than either of its key opponents.

that the Daily Shuttle. Is competitive

how many you want.

performance and safety features and a good package overall and is certainly worth a look if you are in the market.

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LCV

Volkswagen virtually invented the van sector, at the very least they made it successful and created a whole culture around the Kombi, starting with the T1 back in the early 1950s. While other vehicle makers have tried to emulate the concept none have been as successful as Volkswagen has. Now 70 odd years on the latest ‘Kombi’ or Transporter range has hit. We took three of the range for road tests in a comprehensive review of the new ‘Kombis’.

V

olkswagen is the absolute master at building vans. The German auto giant revolutionised the design of goods and people carrying vans and six generations on, the

standard front drive or 4Motion all-wheel drive on various models.

The Transporter ‘6.1’ receives an array of added standard safety and convenience technology as standard, including Front

helped by the fact that it came equipped with the VW 4 Motion on demand 4-wheel drive system, which is also capable of being locked into 4WD if you happen to need to go seriously off road.

Transporter T6, which it’s dubbed the ‘6.1’ generation, with an array of updated

Multi-collision brake and, in some models, a fantastic new digital cockpit akin to what

made it very easy to love, even at a price of $60,490 plus on roads, the 4 Motion

VW badge still rules supreme in this genre of automobiles.

Volkswagen significantly upgraded the

equipment and new variants, including the return of a factory built camper model.

It is the most significant upgrade for the Transporter range since the launch

of the T5 back in the early 2000s with features such as performance and steering advances, an entirely new dash and a plethora of safety upgrades.

The new range has a total of 49 different variants, available in a choice of short or long wheelbase variants, high or low roof, dual cab or single cab light trucks. There

is a choice of three 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine options, ranging from 81kW to 146 kW depending on model, and either a five or six-speed manual and VW’s own sevenspeed DSG auto, again depending on

model and engine choice. Drive is either by

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Assist with City Emergency Brake (CEB), Crosswind Assist, Side Assist including blind spot monitoring and Rear Traffic Alert,

the aviation industry calls a ‘glass cockpit’.

The new range also gets an interface with both Apple Carplay and Android Auto

which adds a higher degree of convenience and puts it on a par with other new passenger and commercials.

In the past few weeks, we have had

the chance to slip behind the wheel of

a number of the new Transport models including the latest cab chassis trayback ‘ute’, the ritzy Multivan Cruise and the Plane Jain Transporter van.

First up we slipped into the cab chassis dual cab tray back which was a revelation.

Sure, it was a workhorse and is equipped with an alloy trayback but its performance

on wet and slippery roads during Sydney’s recent ‘Big Wet’ was astounding. This was

The dual cab was utilitarian inside with hard wearing vinyl flooring but the new dash and overall strong equipment levels

dual cab with the factory tray and seven speed DSG is well priced and even more versatile than the one tonne Japanese utes we all seem to love. You can lop $3000 off without the 4 Motion, but why would you.

There is also a single cab tray back version which is $2000 cheaper than its dual cab counterparts.

During our time with the dual cab, we had the need to head south from Sydney to Mittagong to pick up a bulky item.

Unfortunately, we found ourselves in a

bumper-to-bumper traffic jam after an earlier crash on the Hume Freeway. These can obviously be a chore, but even with the base level audio system and sitting up high in the Transporter cab, it was easy to

cope with the long delay. Once at our pick-

up point, we easily loaded and tied down the awkward cargo on the timber lined floor of the aluminium drop side tray. The practicality of the drop side tray load area was clearly apparent and made life easy and we were soon back on the freeway and making up time after the traffic jam.

The performance on the freeway was

exceptional. It easily and comfortably sat on the 110km/h limit on cruise control, with low noise levels and with absolute comfort and quiet. The seats provided plenty of support and adjustment We also ventured up some local dirt

roads to try out the off-road capability and despite some wet and slippery conditions this proved even more impressive. With good ground clearance and very good

weight balance, the T6.1 tray back ambled over the rough going with enormous confidence. It was clear to us that the 4Motion Transporter tray back dual cab

mover Transporter, the Multivan Cruise.

The Cruise is a swish piece of kit with strong levels of luxury and comfort and excellent on road dynamics.

The Multivan TDI340 Cruise Edition SWB

to give it its full title, is powered by the twolitre four-cylinder turbo diesel with 340Nm of torque, which I why it’s called a TDi 340.

It boasts 110kW of power and is mated to a seven-speed twin clutch automatic and

drives through he front wheels.

It rides on very attractive 18-inch alloy wheels and our test car featured a striking two-tone silver over burgundy paint

scheme that gave it a real visual presence on the street and in the car park.

Inside the Multivan Cruise is a haven of quiet, unfussed people moving comfort.

The VW designers have done a great job with the new dash which includes a digital display in front of the driver, an audio system with a big easy to read and use

could be a handy machine when heading off road on a longer trip.

At the end of the first week, we were sorry to have to give up the dual cab tray

touch screen that interfaces with Apple Car

swapping into a very swish luxury people

control air conditioning, electric sliding

back Transporter, even though we were

and Android Auto and a built-in reversing camera, while it is linked to a six-speaker output for great sound on the move.

It also comes with multi-zone climate

side doors, a powered tailgate, and sat nav which is also run through the big AV

touchscreen display.

We loved the auto LED headlights, which

lit the road ahead with a strong, even white light that seems to illuminate every corner of even the darkest roads.

There are other features including park

assist which includes automated steering for those that would prefer the car to

handle the tight parking jobs, while there are also auto wipers, power front windows

and a bunch of other items we will touch on later.

Seating wise the Multivan is a true sevenseater and handles that task with ease,

thanks to three rows of comfortable seats.

The two buckets up front for the driver and front passenger, come with fold down armrests and good support, while the

middle row boasts two bucket seats that can be slid fore and aft on VW’s very good in floor rail system. The middle row can

also be swivelled 180 deg, so the middle row passengers can sit facing those sitting on the rear bench seat.

That rear row can slide froward to give more luggage capacity, or removed altogether

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for even more versatility, and they can be folded flat to provide an impromptu bed.

The Cruise Edition comes with 18-inch alloys.

The interior really reflects quality and comfort and one would expect that with the price VW asks for this luxury people mover, although it is not the top-of-the-line model, which attains another level again.

Few commercial vans scrub up this well.

Access to the passenger area on the

Multivan is via two electrically operated sliding doors on both sides of the van,

making for very easy access for all of the rear passengers. These can be opened

and closed via buttons on the remote key, which is a great convenience feature.

There is a plethora of storage spaces throughout the Multivan as well as

other convenience items throughout the passenger area including plenty of cup holders and USB-C ports for keeping things charged on the go.

Another nice touch that would be appreciated by families with young kids or even paying passengers if this was being

used as a shuttle or luxury limo, are the pull up blinds that give both more privacy

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and a bit more shade on hot sunny days.

Room is something that there is no shortage of in the Multivan and in fact if you slide both of the two rear rows of seats out it gives you a huge amount of cargo space, roughly about 2.5 metres long by about 1.6 metre wide, which is also 1.3 metres high. You can also remove second row seats, slide the rear row forward, giving five seats and enough luggage

space for that mob to holiday on for four or five weeks.

If you hoof the seats out, the cargo area is 2.532 metres by 1.627m.

The Mutivan has a payload of around 814 kg, given it tips the scales at 2266kg kerb weight and lists a 3080kg GVM. With a family of five on board with a weight of say 400kg between them, that still gives more than 400kg of luggage capacity. Towing

The Mutivan may be front drive and

lack the traction of the 4 Motion, but it is incredibly well mannered and fun to heft into corners and power through. The front drive does have its limitations and you can

chirp the wheels under hard acceleration so it has its limits, but let’s get some reality back, this is not a hot hatch GTi, it’s a seven-seater van and when you frame it

around that there are few better in terms of performance and ride quality.

None of this comes cheap and at $73,990 list plus on roads the Multivan Cruise is at the upper end of the seven-seater van

market. However, Volkswagen invented this sector and is still the class leader on just about every criterion you can think of.

It’s great to drive, fun, safe efficient with

weight is not bad with a maximum of 2500kg

fuel economy of around 8lt/100km which is exceptional. About the only thing we would order is the 4Motion all-wheel drive system

But what is it like to drive? Well like the previously mentioned dual cab tray back, this is a genuinely fun machine to drive

but that is a personal preference.

Our final Transporter test was the plain jane Transporter van with a six-speed

with a braked trailer and 750kg unbraked.

despite its large dimensions and the fact that it is based on a goods carrying van.

to give the added versatility and traction,

manual, the TDI340, which is priced from $41,990 plus on roads. There is also a

five-speed manual version in the SWB van with the 250Nm TDI250 motor which is the actual entry level model to the range at $38,990, still more expensive than many of its Japanese and Asian counterparts but the VW is head and shoulders above all of those competitors.

Anyway, our week in a manual Transporter in Sydney’s traffic was no chore even with

a gearstick we had to shift ourselves. The manual transmission shifts easily with a light clutch that offered plenty of feel and is not fatiguing even in a traffic jam. Clearly an auto, particularly Volksy’s terrific sevenspeed DSG would be the preference, but it is an extra $3000 and for some it offers

advantage, but if budget and environment

favours the manual it is still a strong choice.

scratching and eventual corrosion as well as reducing slide around issues and a reduction in noise. The sides of the load

capacity of 2.5tonnes for braked trailers and 750kg for unbraked trailers.

We enjoyed our week in the working

vans the drumming and echoing that comes from an also feature built in tie down points

experience behind the wheel.

Overall, the Transporter 6.1 range really

area gets painted plyboard panelling on the bottom half, which is reasonable but like all

and a standard left hand sliding door and rear lift up door. A right-hand sliding door is

optional as is rear barn or wing doors. The van gets plain black hardwearing vinyl finish bumpers which work van buyers prefer because they don’t show up scratches

and bumps like painted ones do.

The vans offer a payload ranging from 951kg in the entry level TDI250 manual up to 1220kg for the TDI340 SWB six speed

van version of the Transporter 6.1 and the manual shift gave it a sporty feel and a fun

plugs just about every niche in the light van market and we would happily have one on our fleet.

We didn’t get the chance to sample the

new California Beach ‘adventure van’, the modern day take on the Kombi camper,

but we look forward to sampling that near a beach somewhere on a camping trip at some point in the future.

VW’s quoted average fuel average

manual as we tested, but generally they are around the one-tonne mark across the van range depending on spec, give or take a

consumption figures run from as low as 6.1litres/100km for the entry level TDI250 up to around 8.4litre/100km for the more

between the seats into the rear load area.

the payload ranges from 853kg for the single cab TDI450 up to 1056kg for the

be matched in real world conditions.

All in all the new VW Transporter 6.1

hardwearing rubber mats to protect from

on exact spec. All models have a towing

The stick shift is mounted on a little podium

at the bottom edge of the dash, is short and quick and doesn’t get in the way of

movement around the cab leaving the floor free for the driver to walk straight through The load area has a painted steel floor, which if we owned it would get some

few kilograms here or there.

With the cab chassis trayback variants,

dual cab TDI450, and again with small variations around those weights depending

powerful and heavier variants, which are pretty impressive fuel numbers, if they can

range offers. great engineering, drive, comfort and efficiency and we would own one in a heart beat.

www.truckandbus.net.au 059

Company Car

Another week another new three cylinder hot hatch, or that is what it seems like, with just about every major auto maker switching their small cars to a tri cylinder layout and boy what a performance revelation they are proving to be. We slipped behind the wheel of the pocket rocket Ford Fiesta ST for an exciting little road test.

O

ur encounter with the new

Fiesta ST finally came late last

year , almost 18 months after the previous Fiesta ST had disappeared from Ford’s local menu.

The new Fiesta ST is all new and was developed and built at Ford in Germany

where the company used the legendary Nürburgring as its development track, so no one could question its DNA and credentials as a hot hatch performance machine.

It’s becoming increasingly crowded in

the tiny hot hatch market with a range of machines clustered around the Fiesta ST’s

price and specification spectrum. With just one spec level in the Fiesta ST in Australia and a rrp of $31,990, the Ford is close by the VW Polo GTi at $32,490, Toyota’s new Yaris, Suzuki’s Swift Sport and Hyundai’s

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i20 N. The only options available are

a sunroof at $2500 and metallic paint which will cost you $650.

Ford has positioned the Fiesta ST with just one spec with all the fruit

and technology, which includes all the with latest safety technology including autonomous emergency braking, speed

sign recognition, lane-keep assist, blindspot warning and cross-traffic alert at

the rear.

We didn’t think we would like the whole three cylinder thing because we are old enough to remember three cylinder

Daihatsus, which only a mother would love, but with the latest engine technology and design, the little Fiesta ST has a real performance edge from its 1.5 litre

turbocharged configuration. So effective is

the engine that it pumps out more power

and torque than the 1.6 litre four cylinder Fiesta ST that came before it.

That means the Fiesta puts out 147kW of power and 290Nm of torque which is

phenomenal really and about 13kw and 50 Nm more than old ST or about the same as

the turbo two litre four cylinder Polo GTi. It is an exciting little engine that oozes performance charisma, with an exhaust that pops and crackles and really slingshots the car down the road with

enormous urge. This is helped by the three mode switching that delivers a choice of normal, sport or track performance levels.

Even in normal mode the Fiesta ST can be very rewarding drive with plenty of torque on tap across the rev range.

The Sport and Track modes sharpen

the throttle response while the bi-mode

track days, if that is there desire

torque band if you are struggling.

rorty note that delivers those tell-tale pops and crackles between shifts and in throttle off situations.

The only transmission available is a six-speed manual as it was on the last ST a couple of years ago. This time the

steering is quick and precise with a nice linear feel, most importantly it’s not nervous or twitchy like so many

exhaust switches to a slightly louder more

It also boasts a shift light and launch control and a digital speed readout making it a special for track days and high performance driving situations.

Another standard feature that enhances the Fiesta ST’s performance credentials is

a mechanical limited-slip differential that Euro buyers have to pay around $1700 for.

Fitted to the smart alloy wheels are amazing 205/45R18 Michelin Sport

4 tyres that lift the road holding and sure footedness of the Fiesta to another level. The 18 inch alloys also gives buyers the ability to easily fit semi slicks for

for this little hot hatch.

The electronically assisted power

Ford engineers have slightly lengthened the ratios, but all the same acceleration

small hot hatches. Working in consort with those grippy Michelins the package

time or not. The best we could get was 6.8 seconds but who is going to quibble over

The little Ford features twin-tube suspension which offers very good

times are pretty impressive whether you believe Ford’s quoted 6.5 sec 0-0100km/h

a tenth of a second here or there. It is still a quick bit of kit.

The reality is the Fiesta ST’s mid-range

oomph and flexibility makes it a joy to pilot along a challenging and twisty road. It’s strong torque from low revs means you are never really lacking grunt and a quick

snick to a lower gear puts you back in the

is a rewarding driving experience when the road gets twisty and interesting.

control, and although it is on the firmer side it is not too uncomfortable and is quite easy to live with, but let’s face it

this is a sporty little rocket and if you are

looking for an armchair ride, you’ve bought the wrong car.

When you jump on the picks the brakes bites down hard and the car squats with

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a controlled and assuring grip on the road slowing and setting it up for the next corner. It is an element that makes the Fiesta so much fun to drive.

Punch the launch control button on the steering wheel, set track on the performance mode control in the console and its 5,4,3,2,1, we have lift off, with the electronics taking over to limit wheel spin and deliver optimum launch down the road. It is too much fun not to try!

You would imagine that fuel economy wouldn’t be an issue in a `1.5 litre three potter and you would be right. Our time in

the car saw economy ranged from as low

as 6.2 litres/100km at cruise speed and the worse we saw was around 8.7litres/100km in city and suburban streets.

And if you thought three cylinders was

starting to sound like a motor cycle, well then wait till you hear that the Fiesta donk actually cuts out a cylinder and runs on two at cruise and when full power isn’t

needed. It is virtually imperceptible and we struggled to know when the fuel saving measure kicked in. Gotta love modern day electronic engine control.

Behind the wheel of the Fiesta ST you are cossetted in a pair of extremely

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comfortable Recaro buckets that offer superb support and a great driving

position with good adjustment The Fiesta also has a great dash and the interior has a strong sporty feel, thanks to the Recaros and some nice touches

around the cab.

In the middle of the dash is an eight inch hi-res touchscreen controlling the excellent Bang and Olufsen audio system which boasts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

along with an integrated sat-nav system.

The Fiesta boast a big front screen

and delivers great visibility all around and unlike the previous ST, this Fiesta is a four door and that is a whole lot more convenient for letting back seat

passengers in and out or just throwing packages and groceries in at the shops.

Speaking of back seat passengers, there

is a surprising amount of room and enough for two reasonably sized adults in the back making the ST a very handy pocket rocket.

Being a hatch there is a lot of practicality for a small car and in fact boot capacity is a capacious 276 litres with the back seats

up, or 311 litres if the 60:40 split fold rears are in the fully down position.

Unfortunately like so many small cars

(and a few big ones), the Fiesta only gets a space saver spare. I understand the dilemma faced by engineers in designing small cars, particularly those with relatively small boots like the ST, but in a country like ours with roads like ours space savers just don’t cut the mustard in our opinion, and should only be considered as a last

resort, even run flats are better than the dangerous compromise of a space saver.

Ford offers a five-year/unlimitedkilometre warranty and the service intervals for the Fiesta are set at 12

months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Ford tells us that for the first four services the cost is set at $299 while in

year five you’ll be up for $400, which is not too bad in the bigger scheme of things.

Overall we loved the little Fiesta ST for a whole lot of reasons, for a start its great little three cylinder engine, the tight and

rewarding handling, the sharp steering, great brakes and, how could anyone not love those all-encompassing Recaros.

Ford in Europe has long been a master of small car engineering and that is the case with the Fiesta, just a pity that locally the Ford team struggles to convince Aussie buyers of this.

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064 Money Matters RELY ON SUPER OR CONTROL YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY?

T

o raise or not to raise? That’s the question facing the Morrison government as it grapples with whether or not to increase

employer-paid super contributions.

From July, your boss’s compulsory super contributions are set to steadily rise from 9.5 per cent of your base salary, to 12 per cent by 2025. On one hand, that means more money going into retirement nest

eggs. The downside is that right now, some businesses aren’t in a financial position to

pay extra super contributions, and a rise in compulsory super could see wages growth slow even further.

The issue can boil down to whether we want more money in retirement – or more to live on today?

Here’s my take. First up, I understand that changes to super just deepen reform fatigue. In the almost 30 years since the Keating government introduced the Superannuation Guarantee, the rules around super have been continually tweaked and fine-tuned.

That said, I have always maintained that super is good for us. It’s a form of compulsory saving, which has seen the value of Australia’s retirement savings reach $3 trillion in 2021. And according to Industry Super Australia, a backdown on the rise in

employer-paid super contributions could see a 30-year-old couple on median wages miss out on an extra $170,000 in their final retirement nest egg.

However, super is not the only way to save for retirement. Along with superannuation and the age pension, voluntary savings (which includes paying off a home) form the

so-called ‘third pillar’ of retirement income.

Growing a portfolio of investments outside of super can provide a greater sense of control about how and where your money is invested. It pays to choose wisely though.

A rental property may be familiar turf, but the yields can be low. You can’t just sell a

bedroom or two when you need extra cash.

And while long term capital growth can be strong, you need to sell the property in its entirety to tap into these gains.

This is why I’m a big believer in the value

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of adding share-based investments, in

particular exchange traded funds (ETFs), to

a long term portfolio. ETFs charge low fees, can pay regular returns, and provide instant diversification to help shield investors from downturns in a particular industry or sector.

Let me stress, I have always been a fan of super. But the disconnect between ‘me

today’ and ‘future me in retirement’ means lots of people have limited interest in their super savings. Growing your own portfolio of investments can provide an incentive to build wealth for tomorrow without worries about shifting super rules that can force a last minute change in your retirement income strategy.

MEANTIME ‘SAVING MORE’ IS A COMMON NEW YEAR GOAL, BUT ONLY THREE OUT OF FIVE AUSTRALIANS CONSIDER THEMSELVES NATURAL SAVERS. THE REST ARE SELF-PROFESSED SPENDERS. Saving money often draws the short straw

in personal money management though

COVID has changed this. A study by ME Bank found one in two Australians say the

pandemic has forced them to change their financial focus, and this saw household savings surge by more than $100 billion in 2020.

Nonetheless, saving doesn’t come easily for all of us. According to Finder, two out of five Australians admit to being

enthusiastic spenders, and it’s often our money mindset rather than personal income that acts as a barrier to saving.

Humans tend to place more value on

what proportion of your income can you

save? If you’re confident you can save five per cent, have that amount transferred into

your savings account before you can spend it. Setting up a regular transfer of funds

makes this easy. You’re free to spend the rest of your income how you choose – just don’t touch the five per cent!

Consider giving your savings account an identity that matches your goal. If you’re a first home buyer for example, try nicknaming your savings account ‘My first home’. It helps to reinforce what the money is for, which can deter you from dipping into the account.

It also helps to understand the psychology of spending. Research shows that ‘shoppers high’ is a thing. But it’s the process of deciding what to buy rather than making the purchase that releases the feel-good chemical dopamine. This being the case, aim to walk away from impulse buys – if only for a few minutes. Weigh up whether the

purchase will really add to your life. If the answer is ‘no’, keep walking.

If you’re saving for long term goals,

think about spreading your money across a variety of investments – not just cash accounts. Exchange traded funds make diversification easy at very little cost.

It may mean taking on more risk, but the reward is higher long-term returns, and that can mean reaching personal goals sooner.

things we can enjoy today relative to future

benefits. This can be especially relevant in today’s low rate environment when savings aren’t rewarded by high returns. Happily, there are ways to hit the re-set button and

make growing savings a priority.

A simple step is to pay yourself first. With this strategy you only make one decision:

Paul Clitheroe is Chairman of InvestSMART, Chair of the Ecstra Foundation and chief commentator for Money Magazine.

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