Volvo Buses
UNITED KINGDOM & IRELAND
Edwards Coaches, one of Wales’ premier award winning tour operators, took delivery of its new B7RLE single deck buses with MCV bodywork, following the success of a new Volvo B7RLE purchased last year. The new buses are being used for local service routes between Cardiff and Gwaun Miskin, South Wales.
“We had a demonstrator B7RLE vehicle in our fleet which we trialled for a week. It proved popular with our drivers, particularly for its smooth handling and driveability. It also has a high passenger capacity,” explained Stewart Isaac, Service Operations Manager, Edwards Coaches.
The company’s new B7RLE single deck buses joined Edwards Coaches’ fleet of 200 vehicles alongside other manufacturers. The company already relies on 33 B9Rs for its National Express work, and the Volvo B10M and B12, which are used mainly for school runs and some private hire.
The Volvo B7RLE is built with high quality, durable components in order to provide fuel efficiency and long service life. It is designed as a competitive, efficient chassis for all urban traffic environments where reliability is key.
For Edwards Coaches’ new B7RLE buses, the chassis provides a high passenger capacity, 44 seated and 42 standing, with efficient passenger flow. Its kneeling function and wide centre aisle enable quick entry and exit and the chassis layout permits wide doors.
Features onboard the B7RLE include eight CCTV security cameras and a GPS bus tracker device, which transmits the bus’s location and other data back to head office.
Edwards Coaches has been operating in South Wales as a well-established family business for nearly 90 years, and Stewart Isaac attributes its ongoing association with Volvo to excellent customer service and product support.
“The Volvo local customer service has been absolutely superb, all the way. We cannot fault them and they are always very responsive. We would certainly specify Volvo again in the future,” he explained.
Phil Fletcher, Bus Sales Manager, commented: “The B7RLE provides a quality, high capacity low floor bus that continues to set the industry standards on local routes, both for its fuel efficiency and drivability.
“This delivery once again underlines the strong relationship built up between Edwards Coaches and Volvo Buses over many years, reinforced with our commitment to offer world class service and parts support.”
ENDS
17 April 2014
Caption for Image:Two Volvo B7RLE single deck buses, built for fuel efficiency and drivability, are currently operating with Edwards Coaches in Pontypridd, Wales.