Busfleet Australia fully shifts to Allison Automatics

 Sydney-based specialist coach hire business, Busfleet Australia, commits to Allison Automatics in its coach fleet because of the ease of operation and reliability they deliver. 

SYDNEY, August 10, 2020 -- Busfleet operates a fleet of hire coaches catering mostly to inbound tour operators who require vehicles to transport passengers as part of tours to various Australian tourism highlights and vacation resorts. Amongst its fleet of 45 hire vehicles, the company operates a fleet of 15 Higer coaches, including nine Higer H7s, a H9, two H10s and three H12s, all of which are fitted with Allison automatic transmissions, with the remainder of the fleet being smaller mini-buses and people movers. 

The success of the Allison transmissions in the Higer H9, H10s and H12s led Busfleet to choose the smaller H7s because they were the only mini-coach of this size to be equipped with an Allison automatic transmission as standard. 

“We used to have a lot of manual buses, but now we are only buying coaches specified with Allison Automatics because of the reliability and lower cost of repair and maintenance,” said Field. “At one point we replaced eight clutches in six weeks with our manual buses, so having the Allison Automatics has made life a lot easier and more cost effective as well.” 

The Busfleet coaches are driven by a variety of different drivers working for tour operators and organizations who hire the coaches. According to Busfleet’s Operations Manager, Ben Field, it means that an easy-to-operate and reliable automatic transmission is an absolute essential specification for their coaches. 

Field explained that with a lot of different drivers getting behind the controls of its coaches, it is difficult for them to be able to guarantee the skill levels and capability of drivers. 

“We have little control over who drives our vehicles and, while they have the right licensing, that doesn’t mean they have the skill to use a manual transmission properly and not cause damage or problems,” said Field. “There are an increasing number of drivers who cannot drive a manual so it is essential to have an automatic, and Allison is by far the best and most reliable for us. 

“We have had no issues with any of our Allison-equipped Higer, whether it’s with the smaller 28-seat H7 models or the larger H9s, H10s or H12s.” 

Field also cites the smooth shifting of the Allison automatics and the comfort that delivers tourists travelling on the coaches. “They are perfect for the job and they certainly deliver a comfortable and seamless ride for passengers, whether that is climbing up into the Blue Mountains west of Sydney or negotiating stop-start city traffic down by Sydney Harbour,” he said. Page 2 of 2 

The company, established in 2014 by New Zealand businessman Neil Geddes and the Ritchie family, has thrived because of the flexibility and tailored services offered to a variety of tourism and transport operators. 

Busfleet is an accredited bus and coach operator with bases in NSW, Victoria and Queensland and prides itself on having a hugely experienced team with direct experience in all areas of the market. Between them, the team has close to 70 years of experience in the Bus and Coach Hire Industry.

Aug 12, 2020

Back
Print

 

Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions, and a leader in electrified propulsion systems that Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.

Legal

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate” and other expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and trends and that do not relate to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements reflect management’s good faith beliefs, reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: our participation in markets that are competitive; our ability to prepare for, respond to and successfully achieve our objectives relating to technological and market developments, competitive threats and changing customer needs, including with respect to electric hybrid and fully electric commercial vehicles; increases in cost, disruption of supply or shortage of labor, freight, raw materials, energy or components used to manufacture or transport our products or those of our customers or suppliers, including as a result of geopolitical risks, wars and pandemics; global economic volatility; general economic and industry conditions, including the risk of recession; labor strikes, work stoppages or similar labor disputes, which could significantly disrupt our operations or those of our principal customers or suppliers; the duration and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, including new variants of the virus and the pace and availability of vaccines and boosters, mitigating efforts deployed by government agencies and the public at large, and the overall impact from such outbreak on economic conditions, financial market volatility and our business, including but not limited to the operations of our manufacturing and other facilities, the availability of labor, our supply chain, our distribution processes and demand for our products and the corresponding impacts to our net sales and cash flow; the highly cyclical industries in which certain of our end users operate; uncertainty in the global regulatory and business environments in which we operate; the concentration of our net sales in our top five customers and the loss of any one of these; the failure of markets outside North America to increase adoption of fully automatic transmissions; the success of our research and development efforts, the outcome of which is uncertain; U.S. and foreign defense spending; risks associated with our international operations, including acts of war and increased trade protectionism; the discovery of defects in our products, resulting in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns and/or increased warranty costs and reduction in future sales or damage to our brand and reputation; our ability to identify, consummate and effectively integrate acquisitions and collaborations; risks related to our indebtedness; and other risks and uncertainties associated with our business described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information is as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in expectations and risks related to our indebtedness.

SOURCE Allison Transmission Holdings Inc.