Australia: 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 council currently has a contract with Volgren, which will build the bus bodies on chassis supplied by Volvo.
With close to 80 million passenger movements annually, across 235 bus routes, Brisbane City Council is a major provider of public transport services.
Volvo has been supplying chassis to Brisbane City Council for the past five years and in 2011, the Council won the inaugural Lung Foundation Green Leaf Award for its introduction of the Volvo B7RLE ‘enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle’.
“We expect to deliver a hybrid bus for trial during 2014,” said Volvo’s National Contracts Manager Ian Clarke. “The hybrids have recently been trialled in metropolitan Perth- with promising results – and we’re looking forward to seeing them in service in Brisbane.”
Under the new arrangement, the Brisbane City Council has committed to purchasing more of the B7RLEs in the first year. Public and Active Transport Chairman Peter Matic said Volvo was awarded the new arrangement because of the combination of its offering and the value for money it represented in the offer. He said: “Volvo provided the most competitive tender submission and its response met Council’s tender requirements in the key areas. In previous business relationships, Volvo has demonstrated a proven reliable product, with excellent customer service and product support.”
Volvo’s Ian Clarke said a complete offering incorporating whole-of-life product costs, service and support was developed for the Council. “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 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.”
Under the new agreement, Brisbane City Council will purchase at least 60 new Volvo Buses per year over the next three years.
