Driving four buses into the exhibition hall, bodybuilder and bus manufacturer Bus & Coach International (BCI) had versatility on lock.
With small coaches, diesel and electric offerings and even a minibus on display, operators were spoiled for choice.
“This year we have tried to display products that we believe are some of the most interesting range models on offer now to the Australian customer,” BCI Australia sales development manager Armando Baylon told ABC.
“We have two diesel BCI coaches built on Europeans OEMs such as Volvo and Scania, one BCI electric coach and an innovative BCI minibus on display.”
Situated right at the entrance of the Show in a shower of orange, it was BCI’s newest build with a Volvo chassis that had attendees flocking for a peek.
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“It is a very interesting bus,” Baylon says. “It has a combo configuration, so it is a coach with a low floor.”
Now hitting the roads with Kangaroo Bus Lines, this particular build was an innovative request that posed unique challenges in both design and production.
“I think the outcome has been super positive and the customer is happy,” he says.
“There’s been a lot of attention. A lot of operators have shown their interest for creating something similar, even the other OEM manufacturers were looking at it and thinking we could do something similar.
“This coach shows the will of BCI to adapt to the customer’s requirements and be flexible when it comes to design and engineering. We are prepared to innovate.”
Contributing to the sustainability of the bus industry has been a focus for BCI the past couple of years, with the other buses on display highlighting its commitment to the new technology.
The fully electric minibus has been used by a large operator as a demo recently, while the Classmaster EV has acted as a school bus with large seating capacity.
“This is probably the largest amount of interest we have garnered at a show or expo in years,” Baylon says.
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