Buslink Queensland takes delivery of the first Mercedes-Benz 0 500R school bus chassis to meet Euro5 emission standards
April 20, 2011
Buslink Queensland, the major school bus operator in Gladstone and the Sunshine Coast, has taken delivery of the first Mercedes-Benz 0 500R school bus chassis to meet Euro5 emission standards.
The environmentally-friendly school bus, which Buslink took delivery of in early April, features AdBlue Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology to further reduce nitrous oxide emissions to new industry standards, without compromising power or fuel efficiency.
Dion Keating, Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach sales representative for Queensland/northern NSW, says it is the first Euro5 school bus chassis sold to an Australian operator.
“Apart from Euro5 compliance the main change with the new 0 500R is we pick up cruise control, onboard diagnostics to trace any fault codes, and an upgraded digital instrument cluster,” says Keating, pictured (left) handing over the new Euro 5 0 500R school bus to Buslink’s General Manager Queensland Paul Kelly (centre) and Fleet Maintenance Manager Shane Clements (right).
Delivering the first Euro5 school bus unit in Australia means a lot to Keating.
“It’s a privilege. And for it to be Buslink is even sweeter. They’ve been long-time big customers of ours, and I get on really well with the guys, so it’s just fantastic,” he adds.
Shane Clements, Buslink Queensland Fleet Maintenance Manager, shares his enthusiasm.
“We operate 160 vehicles in Queensland,” he says, “and 70 percent of those are Mercedes-Benz. We have had a long-time association with Benz, and taking delivery of the first Euro 5-compliant school bus is the beginning of a new era for us.
“Actually, it’s the first of many we’ve ordered and over the next few years that’s exactly where we want to be at. We want to be leaders in this area. We are all teaching our kids to be environmentally aware, and here we can lead by example, even as they get on the bus to go to school.
“So we are definitely excited at Buslink to be the first in Australia to take a delivery – it’s always a good feeling to be doing something positive for the environment.”