Allison Automatics Ring True for Belbaker’s Bus Fleet

Innovative Brisbane bus company, Belbaker, has shifted the majority of its fleet to Allison Automatics because they provide the best comfort and smoother shifts while also delivering strong after-sales service.

BRISBANE, Australia, July 2021 - More than half of Belbaker’s fleet of 70 buses are now fitted with Allison Automatics with the transport operator looking to add another 30 buses in the next five years.

Managing director of Belbaker, Adam Baker, says that Allison transmissions are the best transmission for bus operations, providing the smoothest shifts, the best reliability and a range of options for technical support.

“The vast majority of our large and medium buses are equipped with Allison transmissions and they have proven to be the best option for us in every aspect of operation. We have had no issues with Allison in our 10 years of operation and if you want to seek better fuel economy and efficiency with optimized shifting programs, then the technical back up is never far away,” said Baker. “Our drivers love the Allison transmissions and if they are in one of our buses with an Allison it is hard to move them into one of our other buses,” said Baker.

Fuel economy is a major focus for Belbaker and the company does everything it can to ensure the most efficient operation possible, including optimizing shift patterns with its Allison-equipped buses, driver training and strict maintenance schedules.

Belbaker has grown rapidly over the past decade, starting with three mini-buses used to service its original childcare centre business. Lending a hand to transport students when a neighbouring local school’s bus had broken down, leading to more offers of assistance and eventually to paid transport jobs.

“It grew quite organically and then quite quickly,” said Baker. “The Allison Automatics are part of our overall recipe for safety and efficiency, and they are an important aspect of ensuring our buses run safely, efficiently and smoothly.”

With increasing demand came the need for more buses and now ten years later Belbaker is a major bus charter operator, while still operating a growing number of childcare centres.

The company operates a fleet of 70 buses, with 26 Allison-equipped 12.5 metre BLK Bonluck buses, another eight Higer 28 seaters with Allison Automatics, and a single Allison-equipped Daewoo bus.

Now having grown the bus business from its childcare operations, the bus business has led Belbaker into the software app market with Baker developing a software program called Roll Book to manage student passenger manifests.

Baker says the company is looking to expand by at least 30 more buses over the next five years and move north into the Sunshine Coast region. The company is also looking keenly ahead to the strong possibility that Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympics.

Jul 20, 2021

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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.

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SOURCE Allison Transmission Holdings Inc.