Colombiabus newsroom. By William Marroquín.
211 NEW BUSES ARRIVES FOR THE GRAN AMERICAS OPERATOR
The modernization of transport in Bogotá and the renewal of the entire bus fleet continue to advance, aiming to replace the traditional bus system that only has one year left. The pandemic has not slowed down the process of delivering and replacing vehicles, to offer all citizens of the Colombian capital a dignified and friendly transportation with modern, comfortable, safe and productive vehicles.
For this reason, Gran Americas, a bus operator in the southeast of Bogotá, began serving the routes of 7 regional services since January 16 that will benefit nearly 35,000 inhabitants of this town. These are 211 standard Scania K280CNG buses that reaffirm the progress of the Swedish manufacturer and its work in the development of natural CNG technologies that allow it to fulfill the commitment to provide benefits, be friendly to the environment and offer solutions for cities.
The vehicles feature air suspension with electronic level control, ABS brakes and the full suite of solutions that Scania’s connected services provide. “With these units we completed 1,467 Euro VI CNG buses, which we have delivered, there are 311 additional buses remaining, which makes Bogotá the city with the largest CNG bus fleet in the world ” As Juan Carlos Ocampo said, General Manager of Scania Colombia.
The 12-meter long buses are designed to transport up to 80 passengers (including seated and standing), builded in Pereira, Colombia by Busscar Colombia, which also have lifting mechanisms to facilitate accessibility to people in mobility reduced condition. The body model is the legendary Urbanuss Pluss, a great protagonist of massive systems both in Colombia and in different Latin American cities, a model that has evolved over 20 years. “We not only transport dreams in this alliance, we are teamwork, social commitment and we are very grateful to Bogotá and its citizens, since a large part of our suppliers are from the capital.” Roberto Gálvez Montealegre, President of Busscar de Colombia, declared.
Work has been done to improve the travel experience, seeking to win back users and invite them to use the buses, take care of them and enjoy them. That is why they have included additional comfort and safety elements such as WiFi Internet connection, electrical outlets and additionally they have information screens so that travelers can identify the stops and the different routes of the route. Likewise, it has surveillance cameras to increase the safety of passengers during the trip, provided by MET Group, a Pereiran company that has worked hand in hand with Busscar Colombia.
Finally, to ensure the correct supply of fuel, the Vanti Group (Colombian company dedicated to the provision of the domestic public service of distribution and commercialization of natural gas in the country) worked on the construction of a new station that allows the refueling of CNG. A job that involved extending the pipeline network for about three kilometers and that allows the station, which three compressors and a storage capacity of 5,000 cubic meters, to fill the tanks of each bus in about seven minutes and represented an investment close to 11,000 million Colombian pesos (More than €2,600,000)