Since 2013, the family company Sälen Buss has had an agreement with SkiStar to run recreation buses going between the slopes and the cabins within Sälen's four ski areas. Ahead of the 2021-2022 season, Sälen Buss acquired two new Isuzu NovoCiti Life buses with Allison transmissions for increased capacity and a smoother ride for drivers and passengers.

SÄLEN, Sweden, March 2022 – Founded in 1987, Sälen Buss began with a single taxi. Today, the Sälen-based family business has 12 taxis and 35 buses that run both county traffic and SkiStar's recreation buses in all of the local ski areas.

Ahead of the 2021-2022 season, Sälen Buss chose to replace two minibuses with two full-size Isuzu NovoCiti Life buses. The new buses have a capacity of 50 people including ski equipment, compared to the previous 30. In addition, they chose to switch to Euro VI engines and equip the buses with Allison Transmission’s T 327 xFE™ with Retarder.

Since the buses will pick people up at the cabins and take them to the ski area or the connecting express lines, it is required that they can handle both busy major roads and narrow streets in densely populated small villages. Therefore, they chose to equip the buses with Allison’s fully automatic transmissions.

“It is a challenge to drive in Sälen,” said Robin Andersson, founding son and co-owner of Sälen Buss. “The buses will run on both busy roads and smaller village streets that meander between the cabins. Therefore, we needed full-size buses with a strong engine and a good gearbox. A big advantage of Allison Transmission's gearbox is that we have the opportunity to adapt the transmission to fit our needs and our driving. We could not do that before, so now it is much smoother to drive in all weathers.”

“So far, the buses are running exactly as they should. Buses can often be a hassle with gearboxes, doors and more, but we are very happy with how everything has worked so far. In addition, we are happy that Allison has been up to visit and has been interested in seeing how we are doing. It feels good to have someone in our corner who can help if we encounter any problems,” said Andersson.

The buses are also a step forward from a climate perspective, thanks to the investment in Euro VI engines and driving on a diesel substitute made from hydrotreated vegetable oil called HVO100.

The new buses went into service when the season began on December 17 and will run on Sälen's winter roads until the last weekend in April. After that, they will be used for other events and customers.

During the year, it will be primarily SkiStar's operations that will utilize the bus capacity, and this season they are expected to carry more than 100,000 passengers.

“We have seen an increased demand for the ski buses and therefore we chose to invest in more capacity this season,” said Andersson. “And that's fortunate, because when we look at the statistics, we probably would not have made it with our old buses. Today, around 400-600 passengers ride the buses each day.”

“So far, we have only received good response from the driver and travelers. The buses are easier to get in and out of, they have large windows so you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings and no steps - which everyone who has ever worn ski boots knows is a great advantage,” said Andersson.