Vehicles will be used in urban and highway transport
Marcopolo closed an agreement for the supply of 295 new vehicles to Ghana, in Africa. This agreement is the result of a long negotiation and was conducted in partnership with Scania, worldwide renowned chassis manufacturer. The buses were purchased by the Ministry of Transport and are intended to urban passenger transport in Accra, capital of the country, and to intercity transport.
According to Ricardo Portolan, Marcopolo's export manager, this is an important business for the company. "The provision is one of the largest volumes of export sales in a single purchase and is the result of the various actions of the company to seek new business abroad. The agreement involved several business meetings in Brazil and in the African country. The attractiveness of the Marcopolo proposal, both about products and after-sales services, was fundamental to close the deal. The production of the buses has already started and will be completed this year. We are glad to be part of this project, which will contribute to improve people’s mobility in Ghana", says the businessman.
Among the 295 buses, 245 are Viale models and will be used in the Accra BRT system for urban passenger transport. The remaining 50 units are three different coach models (Paradiso 1200, Viaggio 1050 and Ideale) and will be used in routes between cities. The new fleet aims to offer new vehicles which are modern, safe and comfortable, in order to increase urban mobility in the country.
The Marcopolo Viale BRT has low floor and is the most modern bus produced in Brazil. It incorporates, among other technologies, rear engine with low emissions of polluting gases and automatic gear change. The larger internal width, associated to the seats configuration, provides a wide free area and facilitates passenger displacement, making the trip more comfortable. With greater internal height, it allows the inclusion of efficient air ducts, speakers and space for advertisement on the upper side.
The Viale has a robust and extremely reliable design, a status that was conquered through the people who use it and is a product with excellent cost/benefit ratio, attribute recognized by the sector's businessmen in the urban passenger transport. Other important characteristics are the two doors, coach seats, monitors and system in order to monitor and record images. The vehicle has a Scania chassis k250 UB 4x2.
Improved highway transport
Fifty units are coaches, 20 of them are Paradiso 1200 models, 20 are Viaggio 1050 models and ten units are Ideale models. The coaches Paradiso 1200 and Viaggio 1050 have semi sleeper seats, two access doors, toilette on the wheelbase, monitors and cameras to external view of the vehicle. The vehicles have air-conditioning system, individual audio and side windows with bonded glasses.
According to Paulo Corso, director of business operations and marketing at Marcopolo, vehicles have external signposting (Daytime Running in LED) and have even more sophisticated indoors, with automatic adjustment of the satellite control position and new semi sleeper seats. "The models Paradiso and Viaggio are equipped with multiplex system - assembled in the driver's cab that assists in monitoring functional equipment and facilitates the localization of possible failures in the bus".
The model Ideale has executive seats and two access doors. The model has a dashboard with an ergonomic and modern design, ventilation system for the driver and easy reach to the controls, providing greater comfort. It also incorporates an efficient system of ventilation and defogging of the windshield, with four directional outputs and console storage.
Images credits: Douglas De Souza Melo