Volgren Australia is set to unveil its FutureBus design at next month’s Australian Bus & Coach Show in Sydney. FutureBus is
Volgren Australia is set to unveil its FutureBus design at next month’s Australian Bus & Coach Show in Sydney.
FutureBus is a project between Volgren and Monash University’s Faculty of Art and Design and Institute of Transport Studies that has examined the industrial design and manufacture of a bus.
“We have been working on this concept for three years and the results are impressive,” says Volgren’s Managing Director Peter Dale.
“An industrial design PhD student at Monash University has come up with some world-leading ideas and we have incorporated these into our designs.”
Part of the FutureBus project focuses on the driver’s area of the bus, which has been redesigned with the interests of the bus driver in mind.
“There have been numerous interviews and focus groups with bus drivers, bus owners and even bus passengers as part of this project,” Dale says.
“As well as an improvement for drivers, FutureBus results in improvements in serviceability and manufacture, which makes Volgren buses even more attractive all round.”
Volgren will also show the first Australian manufactured Hybrid bus at the show, which will be held at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on October 7-8.
The Volgren Hybrid features a GM-Allison drive system that is proven to save fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The GM-Allison hybrid system uses two-mode parallel hybrid technology that combines drive from a conventional diesel engine and an electric drive motor.
Depending on conditions and vehicle speed, the system’s controller selects the appropriate power source or a blend of both.
“There are more than 2,200 GM-Allison two-mode parallel hybrid equipped buses in service in over 115 cities worldwide, but this is the first time this world-leading technology has been available in Australia,” Dale says.
“We already have the bus in service in Melbourne and look forward to monitoring the results over the next 12 months.”
Volgren Australia is Australia’s largest and most respected bus body-building company. The company uses a unique aluminium system to build buses that are stronger, lighter and more energy efficient than traditional steel buses.