www.chinabuses.org: VOLVO aims to maintain its lead position in Bus Rapid Transit and has unveiled the first European application of 24m bi-articulated buses in its home city of Gothenburg, Sweden.

The new vehicles were unveiled in December and four will enter service early in the new year on one of the tram-like trunk routes operated by Gotesborgs Sparvagar. The vehicles are based on the Volvo 7500 and have a total capacity of 165 passengers with 61 seats. The bi-articulated vehicle has a potential capacity of up to 200 passengers, according to Volvo.

Weighing in at 32 tonnes GVW, the Swedish-built buses are powered by a 9-litre Volvo D9A engine located in the front section, driving through a 6-speed ZF 6HP602 automatic gearbox. The buses have a low floor height of 340mm throughout the length with a kneeling facility to lower it to 270mm.

In addition, Volvo has supplied vehicles for BRT systems in Curitiba and Sao Paolo in Brazil, Leon and Mexico City in Mexico, Bogota in Columbia.

“Experience gained in Curitiba and other cities shows that the speed and convenience of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) persuades more of the inhabitants to leave their car or two-wheeled transport at home and take the bus instead,” says Christer Boman, Volvo’s recently-appointed BRT manager. “The investment in BRT however is as low as 5 per cent of what is needed for a subway system, for example.”

The reduced time taken to develop BRT is also one of its main advantages. Volvo aims to use the Gothenburg application as a demonstration for potential European customers interested in developing BRT systems.

Source : www.chinabuses.org

Editor : Volvo

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