180 Volvos for Brisbane

Volvo Bus Australia has recently been awarded a three year arrangement to supply at least 180 chassis to Brisbane City Council, including the trial of a new hybrid diesel-electric model. The local authority currently has a contract with Volgren, which will build the bus body on the chassis supplied by Volvo. Under the new agreement, Brisbane City Council will purchase at least 60 new buses from the manufacturer per annum over the next three years. The council operates close to 80m passenger movements annually across 235 bus routes. Volvo has been supplying chassis to it for the past five years. In 2011, the Council won the inaugural Lung Foundation Green Leaf Award for its introduction of the Volvo B7RLE ‘enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle’. Under the new arrangement, the Brisbane City Council has committed to purchasing more of the B7RLEs in the first year.

Volvo’s National Contracts Manager, Ian Clarke, said, ‘We expect to deliver a hybrid bus for trial during 2014. The hybrids have recently been trialled in metropolitan Perth with promising results and we’re looking forward to seeing them in service in Brisbane. We’ve worked well with Brisbane City Council over the past five years, including supplying over 300 buses for use across Council’s vast network. One of the things we’ve focused on for Brisbane City Council is providing in-depth training for new products and service support for the Council’s drivers and technicians. If different bus models are moving between depots, we conduct initial familiarisation training, and we also offer courses throughout the year on specific aspects of operation and servicing, like electrical components, air conditioning or brakes.’

 

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