Sao Paulo, Brazil - Since the middle of 2019, six Scania bi-articulated buses have been running through the capital city of the State of Parana equipped with Allison’s fully automatic transmissions. The Viação Cidade Sorriso, one of Curitiba's urban transport system operators, acquired these first units and broke the dominating monopoly of the city market. The new project was an initiative of the group's president, Maurício Gulin, who along with his team believed in the good results arising from this partnership and accepted Scania’s proposal of change.

The Scania bi-articulated buses, measuring 27 meters-long with a capacity for 250 passengers, are the first sold by the company in Brazil as part of the city capital of Parana’s bus fleet renewal. During a long evaluation period, the bi-articulated buses ran the same bus lines as the competing models. When they officially started their activities in the city, the Viação Cidade Sorriso found that the benefits of their new vehicles would also be extended to the population, who can now enjoy their ride on more modern and comfortable vehicles.

“The arrival of a new option to the city of Curitiba brings us the flexibility of choice, which is beneficial for both company and users. The most interesting thing about the Scania/Allison partnership is that we really believe in this new project. We are confident that this is just the beginning of a highly successful project,” said Alaor Morais, Operations Director of the Viação Cidade Sorriso.

Viação Cidade Sorriso has worked with Allison for more than 30 years and has full confidence in this new initiative between Scania and Allison. According to the company, among the advantages of the Scania bi-articulated buses is the ease of mechanical access to the front engine.

The bi-articulated buses comply with the required standard of the Urbanization of Curitiba S/A (Urbs), equipped with Caio body, 360 hp engine and 1,850 Nm of torque. The front-engine enhances the passengers’ space, allowing better accessibility between the three bus sections. The Allison B 516R™ automatic transmission with six-speed and retarder is compatible with the high torque of the engine, easy maintenance and low operation cost. Its intelligent architecture News Release selects the ideal gear shifting, ensures higher average speeds and reduces travel times. The vehicle has an 8x2 configuration, with a loading capacity of 43.5 tons.

The new Scania bi-articulated buses work now at the North-South line between Santa Cândida and Capão Raso, while carrying an average of 90,000 passengers and running 10 hours per day. As it is about a fleet renewal, the new buses are replacing old models at the end of their service life.

“In this initial phase of operation, the bi-articulated buses will run the average of 5,500 kilometers per month only as adaptation time. Then we will make the occasional adjustments inherent to any new product operation, but we are certain they will be successful,” said Morais.

Source : www.chinabuses.org

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