Volvo delivers buses for the Soccer World Cup

Volvo delivers buses for the Soccer World Cup 

Prior to the Soccer World Cup, several South African cities are investing in
building intelligent bus-based transport systems. Two of the three cities have
selected Volvo as its supplier of buses. 

An increasing number of global cities are currently enhancing the efficiency of
their transport systems by investing in Bus Rapid Transit, BRT. These are
intelligent bus-based transport systems with separate bus lanes, buses with high
passenger capacity, efficient bus stops and information systems for guiding
traffic.

South Africa is currently the country with the largest establishment of BRT.
This is being done now due to the needs brought on by the World Cup in soccer,
but this is just the beginning.

“Many South African cities have highly ambitious plans to solve the current,
often chaotic, traffic situation,” says Marius Botha, Head of Volvo Buses in
South Africa. “These expansion plans are scheduled to continue until 2020.This
is also very much an environmental project, since the BRT system contributes to
lower emissions. The cities have also decided that the buses will be equipped
with Euro-4 engines, despite there being no such legal requirements in South
Africa.” 

Two of the three cities that are now building BRT systems, Cape Town and Port
Elizabeth, have decided to place their orders for the buses required for the
Soccer World Cup with Volvo Buses.

In Port Elizabeth, the city selected Volvo Buses as its total supplier. This
includes the buses - gold contracts that involve Volvo taking responsibility for
all service and repair work on the vehicles, and the ITS4mobility
traffic-information system.

Port Elizabeth has ordered 25 articulated buses of the Volvo B9SLA model with
bodies from Marco Polo. South Africa has left-hand traffic and the buses will
have four doors on the right side for quickly getting on and off at the special
stops along the BRT corridors. The buses also have three doors on the left side
that are deployed when driving in mixed traffic further out on the bus routes.

The advantage of the B9SLA model is that the engine is placed far upfront on the
left side of the bus, which means that axle pressure can be optimally used, and
the bus has capacity for 115 passengers. The city has also ordered a normal
12-meter prototype bus, a Volvo B7RLE, for testing in the BRT system.

Cape Town has ordered 43 Volvo buses for its system with specifications for high
floor systems with elevated platforms at the bus stops. This order pertains to
eight articulated Volvo B12M buses and 35 12-meter Volvo B7R buses. Marco Polo
will also manufacture the bodies for these buses.

“Since the first BRT systems were built in South America in the 1980s, Volvo
Buses has been convinced that this is the most cost-effective way to modernize
and enhance the efficiency of urban public transportation,” says Peter
Danielsson, BRT Manager at Volvo Buses. “Today, Volvo is the world's leading
suppliers of buses to BRT systems and we are gratified that we can participate
in the ambitious investment by South African cities.”

May 4, 2010

For further information, please contact Per-Martin Johansson, press officer, +46
31 322 52 00, per-martin.johansson@volvo.com

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and coaches. The range comprises complete vehicles, chassis, bus bodies,
transport system solutions for metropolitan traffic, leasing, financing and
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