Volvo Buses
UNITED KINGDOM & IRELAND
Specified with Volvo’s Euro 5 Incentive D9B 9.4 litre engine rated at 260hp and ZF Ecolife gearbox combination, the vehicles will also benefit from Sentinel Bus’ safety stop system.
All eleven 10.4m double decks are fitted with Wrightbus’ new Eclipse Gemini2 bodywork boasting 84 Esteban Civic V3 seats, with extra padding for enhanced passenger comfort along with a heated seat for the driver. The buses will also feature passenger information and relevant advertising information via 15” monitors on the upper and lower decks, a large capacity luggage pen at the lower deck entrance, a ten camera CCTV system and reversing alarm, and Wrightbus’ battery protection system.
Hon Martyn Quayle, MHK, Minister for the Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure said, “The Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure is grateful to Treasury, Council of Ministers and Members of Tynwald for facilitating the funding required for the on-going investment required for the continued improvement of our bus fleet.”
Graham Cregeen, MHK, delegated political member for the Bus Services Division, explained, “The specification was developed for the kind of vehicle we believed would significantly raise the standards of quality and comfort on our buses for both passengers and drivers. The Volvo/Wrightbus combination best met our requirements and we have worked closely with both manufacturers over the past few months to develop vehicles which will satisfy our current and future public transport objectives.”
Mr Cregeen continued, “The new buses are low-floor with increased leg room, additional upper-deck head room and easily accessible – all features which compound our commitment to improving our passenger’s experience,” he added. “The eleven vehicles will be used on our ‘flagship’ arterial and express routes and our long term plan is to standardise our bus fleet. Indeed we are already drawing up the specification for a single deck vehicle.
“We really want to encourage more people out of their cars and onto the bus network and are confident that the new buses will help us to achieve that.”
Volvo’s Regional Commercial Manager, Arthur Argyle, commented, “We’re delighted to see the first Volvo buses go into service on the Isle of Man and are confident that they will meet with the approval of drivers and passengers alike. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with Isle of Man Bus and Rail as the new vehicles are extended across the fleet.”
ENDS
7th May 2009
Captions for photographs:
Image 1:
Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure Senior Government Officials and representatives from Volvo Group UK Ltd and Wrightbus Ltd pictured with new Volvo B9TL bus.
From left to right: Mike Ball, Director of Service Delivery, Sam McLaren, Commercial Director Wrightbus Ltd., Graham Cregeen, MHK, delegated political member for the Bus Services Divison, Arthur Argyle, Regional Commercial Manager – Volvo Group UK Ltd., David Kinrade, Head of Bus Services.