Largest deal ever for Volvo Buses in Colômbia

Volvo Bus Latin America has recently sold 688 bus chassis to the capital of Colômbia, Bogotá. It's the company's largest deal ever in Colômbia. The deal encompasses chassis for conventional buses as well as articulated and biarticulated buses. The new vehicles were sold for the third phase expansion of Transmilenio in Bogotá, the continent’s most efficient and advanced BRT-system. BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) is the acronym for high-capacity bus-based urban transportation systems – a cost efficient alternative to rail-bound transport systems. “This deal reaffirms Volvo’s position as main supplier of BRT solutions in Latin America, in particular as a function of the high transportation capacity of our chassis and their low operating costs”, affirms Luis Pimenta, president of Volvo Bus Latin America. According to him, the option for vehicles of this size contributes decisively to improving the quality of life in Bogotá, a metropolis that still coexists with highly congested traffic by the 16 thousand passenger transportation vans. “Gradually removing this huge small capacity vehicle fleet reduces the number of traffic accidents and contributes significantly towards improving the quality of the air”, says Euclides Castro, urban bus manager at Volvo Bus Latin America. In total the deal encompasses 688 chassis including 48 articulated and 97 biarticulated vehicles that will operate the trunk lines of Transmilenio. The remaining over 500 chassis will be used for low entry buses, operating conventional lines and feeder lines. These are the first low floor buses to be used in Bogotá enabling access by wheelchairs to public transportation.