HOLLAND Since the end of last year, 100 MAN Lion’s City buses have taken over urban and regional transport in and around the Dutch city of Almere. The new vehicles generated a buzz before officially starting in service when they were driven to the handover location in a convoy on a motorway bus lane created especially for the event. Overall, when parked in a straight line, they extended for 1.5km or close to a mile.
The batch consists of 57 Lion’s City LFs that are 15m long, 10 MAN Lion’s City LFs that are 12m and 33 15m MAN Lion’s City LEs.
This means Keolis Nederland has the largest 15m fleet in the Netherlands. Along with other routes, the buses are being used in an innovative bus rapid transit (BRT) system introduced in the Dutch city.
In close cooperation between MAN Truck & Bus and Keolis Nederland, the MAN Lion’s City models were fine-tuned to meet customer requests and needs. For instance, the buses are fitted with smartcard readers, transponders, mirrors for the driver to monitor the interior and a camera system. The city of Almere had placed great importance on equipping the vehicles with cameras to ensure maximum safety for passengers and drivers. In addition, the safety cab can protect the driver with an electrically activated slide-up glass barrier.
Following a tender, Keolis Nederland manages all public bus services in Almere. In addition to the innovative buses, passengers can expect a tightly kept schedule, a comprehensive network of stops, good infrastructure and extensive communication and information from the service styled as ‘allGo.’
