Lucketts take 800th B9R
Lucketts Travel has taken delivery of the 800th production version of the Volvo B9R coach, which has been delivered as part of a larger order of four new vehicles. The batch of new B9Rs are specified with Caetano Levante bodywork and liveried for National Express operations. The vehicles are specified to National Express standards and feature 48 seats and an onboard toilet. They will be operating on a variety of contracts, but mainly on London routes from Portsmouth and Brighton. They each have a rear mounted D9B 380hp engine. Standard safety features include Volvo’s Electronic Braking System (EBS), which combines with all-round disc brakes and the manufacturer’s VR3250 compact retarder to give a rapid reaction time and shorter stopping distances, as well as Hill Start Aid, Emergency Braking Assistance and Brake Blending.
Lucketts Travel Director, Ian Luckett, said, ‘It’s quite an honour for us to have the landmark 800th B9R as part of our recent Volvo deliveries. We’ve had B9R coaches before and they are good solid and reliable vehicles. We had five year old coaches from another manufacturer that we wanted to take the opportunity to replace and in turn upgrade our fleet for our National Express contract. We’re expecting improved performance and fuel economy results from Volvo. Our vehicles often travel 20 hours a day and up to 222,000km per year, so we need the best fuel results and reliability as standard – Volvo will give us that. Another key factor in our purchase was the excellent back-up and support that we receive from the Volvo dealership MC Truck and Bus. We know that if we had any issues that they would resolve it for us quickly and without hassle. By purchasing these new coaches we are once again demonstrating that we invest in our customers by buying vehicles that are top class in terms of safety features and comfort.’
Pictured (LtoR) is Volvo Bus Regional Sales Manager, Richard Mann handing over the new vehicles to Steve Luckett.