Scania Australia has been awarded a back-to-back contract with the South Australian Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, to supply
Scania Australia has been awarded a back-to-back contract with the South Australian Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, to supply 160 new buses over the next four years.
The new buses will be fitted with Scania’s own five-cylinder engine, which offers emission compliance to Euro 5 with EEV (Environmentally-friendly Enhanced Vehicle) standards.
The contract is split between 18 metre long articulated buses powered by 320hp engines, and the traditional-length rigid buses powered by a 230hp engine. All will be fitted with O-Bahn compatible guide wheels.
Adelaide’s unique-to-Australia O-Bahn is the world’s longest dedicated corridor at 12 kilometres long. It carries 7 million passengers a year, at up to 18,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
Scania Australia’s Trevor O’Brien says the contract will provide a steady stream of work for the new Scania branch in Wingfield, Adelaide.
“One of the key elements of the contract was that the vehicles had to comply with the ride quality benchmark set for the O-Bahn section of roadway, which is very different to regular public roads,” O’Brien says.
“Scania engineers in Sweden helped us formulate the correct setting for the O-Bahn’s driving conditions,” Trevor said.
Scania bus sales in Australia in 2009 are on target for a record result that should eclipse the previous 338-unit record.
The contract follows an earlier agreement that has seen a regular supply of bus chassis delivered since 2003.