Core values serve as the fundamental guiding principles that shape a company’s culture, decision-making and overall direction. They provide a clear framework for how the business should operate, what its focuses are and how it can better serve its customers.
For Volvo Bus Australia, safety has always been its original core value, deep-rooted in a belief that every life matters. This unwavering commitment is rooted in the company’s history, dating back to its founding in 1927.
- Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest news and classifieds from Australasia’s bus and coach industry
- Don’t miss a second and subscribe to our monthly ABC magazine
In the decades since, Volvo has consistently pushed the boundaries of automotive safety, pioneering innovations like the three-point seatbelt, the side-impact protection system and the advanced crumple zone design.
The company’s pursuit of safer roads has made it a trusted name among drivers and earned it a reputation as the industry’s gold standard for vehicle safety.
“Any incremental gains we can make on innovations to drive better safety outcomes is always something that we seek to explore and bring to market, even if it’s not necessarily requested by the operators,” Volvo Bus general manager Mitchell Peden told ABC.
This safety focus has manifested in Volvo’s latest geofencing innovations, which are already transforming the way operators manage their fleets and interact with the communities they serve.
Geofencing is the act of creating virtual geographic areas that trigger a specific action when a GPS tracking device enters or exits the zone.
One of the key applications of Volvo’s geofencing technology is the ability to map out routes and set customised speed limits in specific areas. Volvo Safety Zones has proven invaluable for public transport operators, who can now automatically enforce reduced speeds in high-risk zones like shopping centre car parks and school zones.
“Speed is a contributing factor in many accidents. The laws of physics show that when speed doubles, the braking distance is four times longer and the crash violence is four times greater,” Peden says.
“This technology just takes the element out of the driver’s hands.
“What is being requested of the vehicles on the road, particularly heavy vehicles, is being adhered to automatically.”
These safety zones are created in the Volvo Connect user interface, where operators can set an unlimited amount of zones and set the maximum speed they want to permit.
The benefits of this technology are already being realised by the Public Transport Authority (PTA) in Western Australia.
“PTA have been utilising the zone management feature since 2022 to ensure speed limits in bus stations and on certain sections of the highway are not exceeded,” PTA fleet manager Paul Burke told ABC.
Since using the technology, the PTA has seen a significant reduction in near-misses and off-road incidents around a tricky shopping centre bus stop.
“In that particular area, it’s quite congested with human traffic, and there is also quite a large incline and decline,” Peden says.
“Rather than these drivers coming down and nearly striking every single time because of the incline, it’s not happening at all.
“They’re not having buses off road. They’re not having extra costs in terms of repairs. They’re not having to try and manage driver behaviour. It just is done.”
The technology is also proving useful in and around depots, where vehicle movement and human traffic is at a high.
“By setting a geofence to that area to 15kmh, it significantly reduces the risk of an accident,” Peden says.
Volvo is also able to significantly reduce emissions and noise pollution using the technology – a feature that has been warmly welcomed by the team at CDC Victoria, who operate a fleet of 50 Volvo hybrid buses.
The geofencing capabilities of their hybrid buses allow them to automatically switch to zero-emission, electric-only mode when travelling through populated areas, reducing emissions and noise pollution.
“We initially thought that hybrid buses would be the next step between full diesel and full electric vehicles,” Peden says.
“So we created hybrids with the ability to be geofenced and put into a full electric mode for certain parts of their routes. It’s like the healthy middle ground.
“We don’t want the emissions or noise in places with high population, but when they’re on the highway or on the freeway, it can be in diesel mode, recharging the batteries.”
Volvo views these advancements as an important step towards a future where the environmental impact of public transport can be significantly reduced, without compromising performance or operational needs.
“At Volvo we are always seeking ways to make our products safer for the community and for our operators,” Peden says.
“This is just another great example of an evolved innovation that is making a real difference to operators that are working with us.
“We are working hand in hand with them to continue on this road and ensure our products are constantly evolving.”
Volvo’s safety-first mindset is not just a marketing ploy or a box to be checked – it is the very foundation upon which Volvo has built its business.
By continuously innovating and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, the company is ushering in a new era of transportation where the well-being of all road users is the top priority.