MANmagazin edition Bus 1/2016 International

1/2016
International
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Football professionals take MAN

1/2016
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The best of MAN’s world
How do the drivers of premier league football
clubs prepare for the important task of
safely transporting the stars to their games?
What characteristics render the Lion’s Intercity
a perfect school bus? And which challenges
are met by MAN engineers during bus testing
in the Sierra Nevada’s high-summer
months? In this edition of MANmagazine, we
1/2016
International
Sure thing!
Football professionals take MAN
once again focus on the topics of technology,
vehicles and mobility. Coverage, interviews
and features on and about buses offer a diverse
read of discovery.
Enjoy and experience the printed edition
of MANmagazine or download a digital tablet
version for free, which is available as an app
for iOS and Android.
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MANmagazine is published twice a year
in 16 languages.
Publisher MAN Truck & Bus
Stefan Klatt (V.i.S.d.P.),
Dachauer Straße 667, 80995 Munich, Germany
EDITOR IN CHIEF & project Manager
Joachim Kelz, Tel.: +49. 89. 1580-1175,
magazin@man.eu, www.man.eu
Publisher C3 Creative Code and Content GmbH,
Heiligegeistkirchplatz 1, 10178 Berlin, Germany
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of the Burda Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung is
the Hubert Burda Media Holding Kommanditgesellschaft
(limited partnership), Offenburg. Shareholders
of KB Holding GmbH are Mr Lukas Kircher (managing
director, Berlin) and Mr Rainer Burkhardt
(managing director, Berlin) with 50% each.
Head of CONTENT UNIT Klaus-Peter Hilger
Editors & Authors Yasmine Sailer (resp.),
Cedric Arnaud. Freelance authors: Marcus Schick,
Wolfgang Tschakert
international editors Patricia Preston
(resp., freelance editor), Caroline Evans (freelance),
Asa C. Tomash
MANAgiNg editor Sara Austen-Schrick
Graphics Christian Kühn, Tom Märkl (freelance),
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(freelance)
cover Bernd Jaufmann
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Photos: APPLE INC. Pr
20
COVER STORY
At the training facility of Germany’s
automobile club ADAC, the coach drivers
of football pros practice how to safely
transport the players to their games.
32
38
04 Swiss travels on a postbus
Astrid and Fred Krummenacher drive an
MAN Lion’s Regio through Graubünden for
the PostAuto Schweiz authority.
06 Oldtimer reborn
A 42-year-old Büssing bus receives a new
lease on life from MAN trainees.
08 Rock star
An MAN truck turns party platform.
10 News
Current reports from MAN’s world
14 Stress test under the scorching sky
In Spain’s Sierra Nevada, MAN and
NEOPLAN buses and coaches are pushed
to the very limit.
20 Training for excellence
Even the very best must practise: the
team coach drivers of football stars during
their safety drills.
26 Revéille to school
Brand-new MAN Lion’s Intercity buses
provide valuable transport services for the
school commute in the west of France.
32 Powerful pairings
Munich’s public transport authorities
rely on the efficient and flexible bus
trains of MAN.
38 The black shark
A luxury team coach of the Cologne Sharks
hockey team was customised in
the Bus Modification Centre Plauen.
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1/2016
Nifty vehicle: The MAN Lion’s
Regio negotiates narrow village
streets without difficulty.
my man
Swiss travels
on a postbus
Photos: Christian Grund
Postbuses are among the most essential
means of public transport in Switzerland. Carrying
commuters and travellers alike, the yellow
buses not only service alpine side valleys, regions
without a rail connection and tourist destinations,
but serve urban areas too. In the Canton
of Graubünden, PostAuto Schweiz deploys
22 MAN Lion’s Regio buses, which are also operated
by drivers Astrid and Fred Krummenacher.
What do you particularly like about the
vehicle? Astrid Krummenacher: The MAN
bus drives very responsively, and has an extremely
high steering angle. So it is actually
very agile despite the long wheel base.
Fred Krummenacher: The timeless, aesthetically
pleasing design, the powerful
sound of the engine – driving an MAN vehicle
is a simply a pleasure.
Which routes do you cover with the bus?
Fred Krummenacher: We service four different
routes. Starting from Chur, either the
Julier Pass line to St. Moritz or to Davos,
Flims-Laax or Bellinzona. Each of these lines
has its own special challenges. On the Julier
Pass line, it’s the steep gradients, Davos means
negotiating the tight village streets, while the
Bellinzona route represents a combination of
motorway stretches with the climb to the San
Bernardino Tunnel, at an altitude of 1,608 metres
above sea level. The MAN bus copes with
it all splendidly, it is just the right vehicle for
the challenges of this varied landscape.
What characterises MAN in your view?
Astrid Krummenacher: The quality and the
superb workmanship. MAN’s longtime experience
in building buses make a real and perceptible
difference.
Fred Krummenacher: The elaborate components
such as the outer mirror, or the arrangement
of the instruments at the driver
seat and the customer-friendly interior.
How do your passengers take to the bus?
Astrid Krummenacher: Passengers find it
very pleasant to travel on the Lion’s Regio. The
“Driving an MAN vehicle
is simply a pleasure.”
Fred Krummenacher, bus driver for PostAuto Schweiz AG
Astrid Krummenacher has been a bus driver since 2001,
while Fred has been driving buses since 1990. The
couple also met for the first time on a bus 24 years ago
while travelling to a youth meeting.
enormous stowage capacities are particularly
valued by passengers with a lot of luggage.
Fred Krummenacher: And there are even
passengers who decide quite spontaneously
to board an MAN bus at a postbus station, no
matter what the destination might be...
What do you particularly like about
your job? Astrid Krummenacher: Contact
with the passengers means a lot to me. And
being on the road with such a large vehicle is
a challenge that I just appreciate very much.
Fred Krummenacher: I like making the trip
as pleasant as possible for the passengers. Vacationers
should already enjoy themselves
while travelling to their destinations. Naturally,
it is also nice to share my work with my wife.
Experience a
postbus trip with
the Krummenachers
on the app!
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1/2016
As good as new: Due to weeks
of renovation work, the historic
Büssing bus is back in top shape.
In dire need of restoration:
After 14 years of service in
Zurich, the bus was no
longer fit to drive.
Oldtimer reborn
On the occasion of its centenary, MAN
received a very special gift by the municipal
transport authority of Zürich (VBZ), namely a
42-year-old Büssing bus that had served the inner
city lines of Zurich from 1974 to 1988. In
order to accelerate passenger flow, the bus already
featured three rather than two doors,
which was standard at the time – thus playing
a pioneering role in terms of urban mobility.
Upon reaching the end of its service life
at VBZ, the vintage bus had no longer been
roadworthy. Yet a team of trainees at MAN’s
branch located in Otelfingen, near Zurich,
succeeded in restoring the historic bus to its
former glory. Per the instruction efforts of
Training Manager Peter Sterchi, the trainees
spent several weeks transforming the brakes,
engine, on-board electronics and side panels
back into state-of-the-art condition, while
also replacing the blue and white paint as well
as the vehicle stickers.
Upon completion of the professional
restoration job, the bus was utilised for press
trips and today supplements the extensive
collection of historic vehicles at the MAN Bus
Forum in Munich, Germany.
Photos: MAN
Love of detail: The MAN trainees in
Zürich-Otelfingen faithfully restored
the bus to its original condition.
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1/2016
Rock st ar
Rock ’n’ roll: Spectators at
the Wacken Open Air
Festival truly stood in awe
of the Thundertruck
Matt black power pack:
The Teufel Thundertruck is a
party vehicle on eight wheels.
Photos: Teufel.de ( 2)
Thirteen square metres of dance floor,
four fog machines, a light system, a bar and
the sound vibrating from 10 Teufel Rockster
loudspeakers with a combined power of more
than 8,000 watts: The Thundertruck, aptly
named Teufel (or devil), is pure rock ’n’ roll on
wheels. This wicked vehicle celebrated its first
public appearance on the occasion of Berlin’s
Christopher Street Day parade in the summer
of 2015. Since then, the truck has hosted perfect
parties at numerous events, including the
Gamescom trade fair in Cologne, the IFA
consumer electronics show in Berlin and the
heavy-metal Wacken Open Air Festival.
The basis of the Thundertruck is a former
German military vehicle built by MAN in 1977.
Commissioned by the German hi-fi equipment
manufacturer Teufel, a team of eight
people worked seven weeks to convert the
MAN KAT1 8x8 into a rock mobile. The original
chassis of the former transport vehicle was
left intact. While merely the olive-green army
paint gave way to a rock-style matt black, the
opulent fittings and superstructure of the
four-axle truck presented more considerable
challenges. The Teufel Thundertruck features
320 hp, eight wheels and weighs in at 25.4
tonnes – heavy-metal groove at its coolest.
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1/2016
Desert giants
with 1,000 hp
Sustainability
prize for MAN
2016
Parts and accessories
MAN Truck & Bus
MAN Originalteile® Ecoline
At the Dakar Rally 2016, they were once
again the secret stars: The 55 powerful racing
trucks competing for a fortnight to cover
9,000 kilometres through the deserts of Argentina
and Bolivia in January 2016. As in the
previous year, MAN was once again the leading
manufacturer in the truck class with
16 racing trucks. For a long time, it was actually
a head-to-head race with Kamaz and Iveco
for the overall victory. Hans Stacey and his
EUROL/VEKA MAN rally team finally crossed
the finishing line in Rosario in fourth place.
The MAN service teams also made a significant
contribution to this applaudable result:
As always, the racing teams were able to
depend on their reliable support. Fifteen of
MAN’s 16 vehicles made it to the finish line,
merely one truck dropped out due to irreparable
crash damage. Besides procuring spare
parts in the desert, the service technicians
also carried out numerous repairs, ranging
from windscreen replacement to crash damages
to cylinder head replacement – all without
a crane, but with five strong men instead.
The newspaper Transport awarded
the “European Transport Prize for
Sustainability 2016” in Munich last November
and MAN Truck & Bus proved
a winner on two counts: first in the
“Parts and Accessories” category and
secondly with Euro-Leasing / MAN
Financial Services – in the “Hire of
Trailers and Commercial Vehicles”
class. Altogether, 17 companies received
awards in 16 different categories.
Bestowed for the third time, the
sustainability prize is designed to encourage
companies in the commercial
vehicles and transport logistics industries
to adopt a sustainable approach.
Platoon prototype: The lead vehicle and trailing vehicle drive convoy-style, saving fuel due to the shortened distance.
Slipstream efficiency
Platooning, a practice whereby several of automated vehicles taking to the roads in
vehicles are assisted by a technological control
system to drive in a convoy with very tion drive from Munich to Rotterdam with
April. MAN participated in the demonstra-
little spacing, is a highly promising solution a platoon prototype. Two serial vehicles
for the mobility of the future. Due to greatly equipped with car-to-car communication
reduced distances, automated and networked
platoon driving allows for reduced ment drove on the motorway, observing a
and the necessary on-board sensor equip-
fuel consumption. Holding the EU Council minimum safety distance of 10 metres. The
Presidency in 2016, the Netherlands decided demonstration tours were designed to promote
political discussion and encourage the
to highlight the potential of this approach
by organising the “European Truck Platooning
Challenge 2016”. This involved convoys cepts in the long
realisation of such innovative vehicle con-
term.
Oldest MAN truck in the Middle East
Best MAN driver at the
Dakar Rally 2016: Hans Stacey
raced to fourth place.
Photos: Robert W. Kranz / Ralleywerk.com, MAN (2)
Proud owner: Walid Seif
with his MAN truck from
1956 (left) and a modern
MAN TGS
Under the auspices of MAN’s centenary,
the company cooperated with MAN importer
Terramar to find the oldest MAN truck in the
Middle East – and succeeded. Built in 1956, a
truck from Damascus proved the winner of
the contest. Owner Walid Seif reported that
the vehicle has been in his family for five decades
and three generations. It travelled everywhere
in the region – from Jordan to Iraq and
Lebanon, while always providing reliable and
tireless service. “We installed an eight-cylinder
engine 25 years ago – and the truck has
been running since then without any need of
repairs,” says Seif. The vehicle is still underway
on the roads of the Middle East today,
transporting goods between Damascus and
the Lebanon on a weekly basis.
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1/2016
WORLD DEBUT
from MAN Diesel & Turbo
Under the sea:
The submersed compressor
station lies 300 metres
below the water surface
Gold for MAN
Lion’s Intercity
The MAN Lion’s Intercity was awarded
gold by the iF design award 2016 jury in the
category “Automobiles/Vehicles/Bikes”. The
intercity bus made by MAN is therefore one of
merely 75 gold prize winners out of thousands
of submissions.
Bestowed annually by the International
the launch was a quantum leap for the
oil and gas industry: In September 2015, the
first underwater compressor station for gas
production started up 300 metres below the
water surface and on the bed of the North Sea
off the coast of Norway – a global feat. The station
is equipped with two engine compressor
units from MAN Diesel & Turbo. During the
development phase, MAN worked closely
with the end customer, the Norwegian oil and
gas company Statoil and had continuously
optimised the technology according to customer
requirements.
Compared to the conventional offshore
production of mineral oil and natural gas, the
First launch: The world’s first
submersed compressor station became
operational as of September 2015.
utilisation of the new underwater technology
results not just in lower investment costs, but
especially a significantly higher pumping
rate, which amounts to an additional 36 million
barrel units of oil. At the same time,
energy consumption and CO2 emissions are
reduced. While the natural deposit pressure
decreases continuously, the engine compressor
units from MAN serve to keep pressure
constant throughout the production cycle.
Aker Solutions, general contractor for
Statoil, had ordered the compressors from
MAN Diesel & Turbo in Zurich in 2010. The
contract comprised four engine compressor
units, as well as maintenance and service.
MAN Truck & Bus has been supplying
axles to North America through its general
import agent MAN Engines & Components
for 25 years. In 2016, the company celebrates
a major milestone – the 50,000th axle delivered
to the United States.
An important customer for axles supplied
by MAN is the Canadian bus manufacturer
New Flyer, which orders around 4,000
units every year. With a market share of
Big city traffic: The New Flyer
buses dominate local urban
transport in New York.
New York transport
relies on German axles
almost 50%, the Canadian company is the
market leader in the US and therefore represents
an important cooperation partner for
MAN. In New York, local urban transport is
dominated by New Flyer: The municipal authority
New York City Transit alone operates
around 2,000 of MAN’s bus axles supplied
through New Flyer.
More information about MAN axles can
be found at > www.man.eu/engines-axle
Forum Design company iF, this award is a
world-renowned seal of design quality. Under
consideration of the awards garnered in recent
years – including the red dot design
award and the iF and German Design Awards
– this prize tops off MAN’s successful design
work. Since 2002, the vehicles under the MAN
and NEOPLAN brands have already received
as many as 13 design prizes.
UR:BAN: conclusion of a research project
Interaction of man and machine: Within the framework of
UR:BAN, MAN explored the interface between driver and
commercial vehicle from different angles.
In October 2015, the 31 UR:BAN partners
presented the results of their four-year research
work in Düsseldorf, Germany. Experts
from various UR:BAN projects exhibited about
50 demonstration vehicles. As the only participating
commercial vehicle manufacturer,
MAN was represented by two prototypes and a
walk-in truck cab. The aim of the project was to
render urban transport safer, more efficient
and fluid. The principal focus of MAN was on
the interaction between driver and vehicle.
More about the project: > www.urban-online.org
2 000
engines
have been delivered by MAN Engines &
Components to Viking Yachts, an American
manufacturer of luxury sportfishing boats,
since 1993. The eight- and 12-cylinder
marine engines are ideally suited for
sportfishing boats, as these operate for
up to 1,000 hours per year and must
feature high efficiency, reliability and
economic fuel consumption.
Photos: Aker Solutions/ Subsea, Sorin Morar, plainpicture/Westend61, MAN
Repair updates
in real time
With the Mobile24 Tracking Link, MAN offers users of its
breakdown service, Mobile24, the option of tracking the current
status of a repair assignment. Through the online link, customers
can check at a glance the estimated arrival time of the repair
technician, whether the service expert has started the repair,
and the estimated time as to the conclusion of repair work or
whether it was completed. Utilising this service merely requires
customer registration via a form in the Mobile24 prospectus. The
registration can be dropped off at the MAN support point in
charge and can be cancelled at any time.
1 2
Record data
3
Receive tracking link
@
Tracking website
5 ✔
Report breakdown
4
Click and view
current status
@
Total
transparency:
The Mobile24
Tracking Link
allows
customers to
track the repair
process.
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1/2016
Stress test
under the scorching sky
During summer trials in Spain’s Sierra Nevada, MAN
and NEOPLAN buses and coaches must prove their
capabilities under extreme conditions. They won’t be
ready for the customer unless they pass these tests.
Photo: Max Kratzer
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1/2016
Data collection: Probes,
measuring devices and
computers on board the bus
record all relevant test data.
F
inally a bit of shade. Over Calle los
Reyes Católicos – one of Granada’s
grandest streets – wide panels of
cloth are suspended to protect pedestrians
from the glittering sun on the edge of the
Sierra Nevada. Željko Krčelić manoeuvres
his white MAN Lion’s City GL through the picturesque
old town. While his 18-metre articulated
bus draws much attention, the 55-yearold
driver must leave waving hopefuls at bus
stops behind with a gesture of regret. As a matter
of fact, Krčelić desires nothing more than
to get out of the shade and right into the blazing
sun of Andalusia.
Especially those temperatures of more
than 4o°C are the reason why Krčelić has
made the 2,400-kilometre trip from Munich
to Granada in August 2015. Instead of passengers,
sandbags and bulky passenger dummies
occupied the seats. It is time for MAN’s major
summer trials. Krčelić is a vehicle electronics
specialist who has been with MAN for 38
years. The experienced test driver is now taking
part in the summer endurance tests for
the fifth time.
In Granada, the mechatronics engineer
Andreas Ruhtenberg is also on board. He is
responsible for the Bus Chassis Test Engineering
department, which examines the electrical
drive systems of articulated buses. “In
conditions of the extreme temperatures prevailing
here, we are investigating the engine
cooling and gear coordination, as well as vehicle
performance at optimal rotational
speeds. The functionality of the door systems,
the air consumption of the pneumatic
doors as well as the air conditioning of the
bus interior are also on our agenda,” says
Ruhtenberg. In order to obtain all this data,
the measuring devices, probes and temperature
sensors are already working at full speed
in the thoroughly wired city bus.
Fasten your seat belts:
dummies simulate real
passengers during the trials.
The journey takes them across the city,
along the river, through narrow streets and
across avenues fringed with plane trees to the
base of the Alhambra. The journey continues
along the urban motorway to a commercial
district close to the Santa Fe quarter. This area
resembles a ghost town: There are well-constructed
roads, pavements, crossings and
roundabouts, yet no buildings or people.
“This is the perfect testing ground for us,
where we are free to simulate and measure all
routine driving situations,” says Krčelić.
250
experts
from MAN’s development
department are in Granada
during the summer tests.
Photos: Max Kratzer
“Once I see our vehicles
at the customer, we have
indeed done a good job.”
Rainer Miksch, responsible for Road Tests at MAN Truck and Bus
Hairpin trial drive: NEOPLAN touring
coaches are tested in the Sierra
Nevada, while the MAN urban buses
navigate the streets of Granada.
Sun screen: in Granada’s old town, panels
hung over the streets provide welcome shade.
That is precisely the goal of the MAN summer
trials. In tandem with its counterpart in
the winter of northern Sweden, this is the last
major endurance test before the new vehicles
and their technology must prove themselves
on the market. By then, much work and innovative
efforts have gone into the engineering.
“In total, MAN has around 250 development
experts on site in Granada: drivers, engine
mechanics, workshop technicians, application
experts and engineers,” reports 50-year- old
Rainer Miksch, who is responsible for Road
Tests at MAN Truck and Bus. This morning
at eight o’clock, he and his project leader
Andreas Ruhtenberg summoned the engineers,
workshop technicians and drivers to
their morning briefing. The hall is filled with
two-storey office containers, where open laptops
sit side by side on the tables. The tangled
maze of cables indicates that all the trial results
are converging here. Buses and trucks are
lined up in the hall and initially all appear to
be well-known vehicles from current production
series. “The technical innovations this
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1/2016
Good soul: Joseph Betz not only ensures
smooth operations, but also looks after
the well-being of his team.
Test track: A deserted
commercial district near
Santa Fe offers perfect
trial conditions.
year relate to the engines and drive trains,”
says Ruhtenberg. Only signs reading “Test Vehicle”
or “Video Recording Test Vehicle” actually
suggest a special assignment purpose.
“Over the seven weeks of summer testing,
our to-do list includes functional and longterm
endurance tests for engines and gears,
the checking and adjustment of the brake
management system, as well as the functionality
of the innovative driver assistance and
GPS-based cruise control systems,” explains
Miksch, outlining the mission facing his
team. “Just preparing for the trials,” he says,
“takes all of six months. Besides defining the
crucial parameters, all the measurement and
control points must be determined and set
up.” This is already the 19th summer trial for
Miksch. “We started with just two employees
and four cars,” recalls the test manager. “It is
indeed impressive to witness what has
evolved since then.”
Upon concluding the trial runs, all the
test results must be fitted together akin to a
jigsaw puzzle to yield a result of 100%. Much
experience and elaborate logistics are needed
to accomplish a smooth execution so far removed
from the development departments
with their state-of-the-art test stands, measuring
systems and spare-parts depots. Among
those responsible for this feat is Josef Betz, 50,
a qualified agricultural vehicle mechanic. As
one of the organisers of both the summer and
the winter trials, he has been involved in testing
operations for 25 years. With his seasoned
routine, he manages communications between
the test engineers and the 50 employees
of the workshop, oversees the delivery
and return of the vehicles and also looks after
the creature comforts of the team. “As far as I
am concerned, the summer trials already begin
in late March, when we draw up the first
plans and start modifying the test vehicles,”
reports Betz. “And once we set off once more
from Granada and head for home, we are already
busy preparing for the winter trials in
Sweden’s Lapland region.”
Photos: Max Kratzer
that time has not come yet, however.
The next morning, Željko Krčelić starts up the
engine of his Lion’s City once again. All the
reading devices get to work. With much finesse,
Krčelić reverses the 18-metre juggernaut
out of the hall onto the plant premises. It could
not be a tighter squeeze in Granada’s rush
hour. The driver is headed for the Sierra Nevada,
where the baking heat of Andalusia
burns at its most intense. The engineer comes
aboard. “Today, our main focus is on the air
conditioning of the driver’s cab,” says Andreas
Ruhtenberg. “The driver must feel comfortable
here for eight hours at a time,” adds Krčelić. “In
their cabs, operators have requirements different
from those of passengers – who should be
spared extreme temperature differences when
they get on and off.”
The summer trials bring together practice
and engineering in widely varied ways. “It’s
impressive to observe how the team works together,
and how mature scientific expertise
coalesces with many years of practical experience,”
says Rainer Miksch. He notes that the
enthusiasm for the product and a high degree
of self-motivation of all participants is palpable
everywhere. “This is not an assignment
like any other,” is his conviction. He won’t be
satisfied until the tested vehicles and components
are finally delivered as serial products
to the customer, says Miksch. “Only then will
I know that we have indeed done a good job.”
Recording: The data
from numerous test
trips is registered
aboard the vehicle.
“We test engines
and drive trains
at extreme
temperatures.”
Mechatronics engineer Andreas Ruhtenberg (r.),
shown here with driver Željko Krčelić
Evaluation: With data
input, all the testing
results come together on
the engineers’ laptops.
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Reliable partner: As the sponsor of
numerous football clubs, MAN
ensures that the teams travel to their
games safely and comfortably.
Training for
EXCELLENCE
When the luxury buses of Germany’s
best Bundesliga football teams meet
up, a hefty dose of adrenalin and
excitement flanks the occasion.
Furthermore, the principles of safety
are paramount on the ADAC training
grounds. For even the very best
professional coach operators can still
learn something new.
More images of the
Bundesliga drivers’
fast-paced training are
available on the app.
Photos: Bernd Jaufmann
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1/2016
Aquaplaning with a difference:
the bus of FC Bayern whilst
manoeuvring on a wet roadway.
W
hen meeting up at the
training grounds kept in
Schlüsselfeld, Northern Bavaria,
by Germany’s Automobile Club ADAC, a
big hello resounds all around. Obviously, participants
are well-acquainted from countless
Bundesliga and cup matches and are happy to
reminisce about the most recent weekend of
games, spiced up with a few jokes and witty
comments. This cheerful interlude will suffice,
however, as the topic of safety is on the agenda
today and is certainly no laughing matter.
“The next winter season is certain to arrive,”
says a pensive Michael Lauerbach. The principal
driver of the FC Bayern München football
club reflects on icy roads, and safe travels to
the team’s destinations. As a driving professional,
he knows what he is talking about: He
and his colleagues cover more than 60,000
kilometres, with the red team bus of the record-breaking
German champions, every year.
Their trips to the stadiums are always on a
tight schedule and absolutely nothing may go
wrong. Long distances are specifically the rule
for games played among European teams
games. Known as “Schulle”, Christian Schulz is
the driver of the Borussia Dortmund bus and
knows the drill: “Our BVB pros will take the
bus for distances up to 300 kilometres,” says
Schulz. For destinations further away, the
team will use a plane, with the team bus hurrying
ahead with not only the jerseys and football
shoes, but also the training accessories
and everything needed by a professional club
for the game and overall event. Last but not
least, the team coach is viewed as a kind of
sanctum and retreat – especially in away
games.
It gets rather colourful on the ADAC training
grounds. Lined up alongside the red Bayern
coach is the black and yellow MAN vehicle of
Five professionals: the bus drivers
from Dortmund, Wolfsburg, Basel,
Augsburg and Munich (from left to
right) at the driver safety course.
Basel drives MAN
Since the start of the 2015/2016 season, MAN has been the
official partner of the current and 18-times Swiss football
champions FC Basel (FCB) 1893. MAN provides the team
coach, a Lion’s Coach L. The three-axle vehicle in the blue
and red club colours, which carries the professional footballers
of FCB to venues in Switzerland and in Europe, is
equipped with every imaginable comfort and convenience.
The handover itself was a spectacular occasion: The MAN
team coach was christened on a floating pontoon by a fire
boat of the Basel fire brigade. It is now called “Bebbibus”
(as Bebbi is the affectionate nickname of Basel residents)
after the FCB conducted a fan contest to pick a name.
Photos: Bernd Jaufmann
Dry run: ProfiDrive trainer Rolf
Lechner explains the physical
aspects of a driving manoeuvre.
the Borussia Dortmund team, diagonally to
the new three-axled coach of FC Augsburg in
silver and green. Apart from the coaches serving
Gladbach and the Hamburg Sportverein,
all Bundesliga team vehicles made by MAN are
represented here. Instead, the TSV 1860
München and Braunschweig Eintracht teams
can take a little sniff of Bundesliga air – the two
second-division clubs also own an MAN coach.
A particular eye-catcher is the new team coach
of FC Basel 1893, likewise attending training at
this summit meeting of Bundesliga wheelers.
At this moment, the green bus of the VfL
Wolfsburg Wolves rolls onto the tarmac. Correct
braking is the exercise and the full brake
application from a speed of 60 kilometres per
hour succeeds perfectly. Especially experienced
operators tend to avoid real emergency
stops, as they don’t wish to inconvenience
their passengers with such a drastic manoeuvre.
But the timely initiation of an emergency
stop with full brake pressure can prevent accidents,
with hesitation quite out of place in a
truly testing situation. The exercise is now intensified
and moved on to the coated track,
where the friction coefficient is the equivalent
to black ice on the road. And this time,
the drivers are astonished to observe how the
Three questions to ...
Michael Lauerbach and Christian Schulz,
coach drivers for FC Bayern München and
Borussia Dortmund:
What’s it like, when you meet up for a
top-level game in Munich or Dortmund?
Christian: First of all, it’s a big hello ...
Michael: ... and then the crammed daily
agenda awaits, every minute counts.
Your teams, of course, are bitter rivals
in the league. Must the drivers also have
their hackles up?
Michael: While we are fans of our club and
our team, we are essentially colleagues.
Christian: And good ones at that, who can
put up with a bit of ribbing. We support
each other whenever we can. Even while
approaching the stadium, so nobody gets
stuck in traffic.
How important is a safety training
course and how effective do you rate it?
Christian: We are professionals at the
wheel, like Formula 1 drivers. They train to
improve their skills, and we do the same.
We are just not into improving our lap
times, but rather concerned about absolute
safety, as it were.
Michael: In any event, we are completely
behind it. Here you learn how to handle
extreme situations. And when things get a
little tight in an everyday context, those
skills can be called upon.
22
23

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braking distance is extended, while the ABS
systems of the Lion’s Coach vehicles prevent
wheels from blocking by applying cadence
braking. And there is still worse to come: On
to the sliding surface with great momentum
where water fountains enforce the necessity
to brake and dodge simultaneously. The beneficial
functionality of the ESP systems impedes
the tendency of transverse dynamics,
and after a short swivel of the rear end, the
briskly manoeuvred three-axle coaches come
to a safe standstill.
Christian “Schulle” Schulz applauds the
seriousness of the training and its practical
impact: “Where else, after all, can you try out
such extreme situations in such a massive vehicle?
Should you ever go into a skid on a slippery
road, you have experienced the moment
before and know what can be done.” Even if
the drivers have heard it all before, the trainers
repeat the familiar rules that are all too
easily neglected in everyday routine. It starts
with sitting properly, which is indispensable
for an effective response in tricky situations
and ostensively demonstrated during a giant
slalom manoeuvre on a slippery carriageway.
Sprawling too deeply on the seat or driving
with stretched-out arms inhibits the necessary
steering action – and at a speed of just 30
kilometres an hour at that.
Everything is more easily memorised
when the coherencies of physics are known.
So it’s back to school for everyone, with
MAN’s ProfiDrive trainers drilling the basics
together with the drivers. How is the needed
braking distance properly assessed? How do
assistance systems work, what functions can
an emergency braking assistant provide? The
trainers align their standard with prevailing
knowledge levels and favour a multimedia
approach. This training concept is named
“Learning and Driving” and once participants
have evaluated their individual driving
styles and concluded their training, they become
true believers. Just like Michael Lauerbach
of FC Bayern, who says: “A regular refresher
course is always worthwhile – if only
to become acquainted with the latest in vehicle
technology.”
Practice ground for drivers: the
ADAC grounds in Schlüsselfeld
provide the perfect test track.
60 000
kilometres
is the distance covered by the team
buses of the Bundesliga football
professionals in a year. Comfort
and safety are the top priorities.
Photos: Bernd Jaufmann
24

1/2016
No time for tardiness:
Students who miss the Line 8
bus, will be late for school.
Time to get up! Many pupils already have MAN’s
alarm app on their mobiles (above). As a reward,
bus driver Christophe Beloni (below), passes out
tickets for the wake-up call sweepstakes.
Réveille
to school
Photos: Tim Fox
In the far west of France, brand-new MAN Lion’s
Intercity overland buses provide regular services
in school and public transport. The young
entrepreneur Vincent Bobet intends to
set quality standards for the transit system
in Brittany’s Morbihan department.
D
awn is already descending on
this dreary December day, when
Grégory’s mobile phone launches
MAN’s alarm call app. Argentinian footballer
Javier Pastore, one of the stars of the French
football club Paris Saint-Germain, appears on
the display. In a rousing video clip, the midfielder
rather insistently addresses Grégory:
“Hola! Je suis Javier Pastore! On se réveille!” –
or in translation: “Hello, it’s Javier Pastore!
Time to get up!” The teenager has loaded the
app to enter a prizewinning draw contrived by
MAN, which offers the chance of winning tickets
for a home game of his favourite football
club. And due to the invigorating voice of his
revered player, Grégory now hurls himself out
of bed like a world champion. Fully charged, he
leaps up and readies himself for school. He
must hurry, as the bus – a smart MAN Lion’s
Intercity – will be here in just 20 minutes.
Grégory lives with his parents in Damgan,
a coastal village in the Morbihan department.
While the idyllic place lives by tourism during
26
27

1/2016
Picturesque: The Line 8
route passes through the
idyllic township of Vannes.
No barriers: A wheelchair lift
is mandatory in the eyes of
the local authorities.
the summer months, the raw Atlantic dominates
the landscape in winter, bestowing every
imaginable variety of rain and storm on its residents.
At this south tip of Brittany, anyone
wishing to attend a secondary school depends
on a reliable bus connection to Vannes. The
capital of the department is 30 kilometres
away and offers a wide range of educational institutions
and training centres, which attract
students and trainees from all over the region.
Since September 2015, bus entrepreneur
Vincent Bobet and his two new MAN Lion’s
Intercity overland buses have ensured that
Grégory and many of his fellow students arrive
punctually in the classroom and return
home safely at the end of the day. “The MAN
Lion’s Intercity is just perfect for the job. The
buses are flexible and versatile, efficient and
reliable, with the MAN service station in
Nantes also providing excellent work,” declares
the 26-year-old director.
Vincent Bobet knows what he is talking
about, as he has been familiar with passenger
transport from a very early age. His parents
Martine and Jean-Claude Bobet had founded a
successful bus company in the metropolitan
region of Paris in 1982. “We had 32 vehicles in
service at times and employed more than
60 drivers,” recalls the young bus company
boss – “including night owl buses for the
French national rail company SNCF.” These attractive
contracts brought the family business
to the attention of the Keolis Group. After the
parents decided to sell out, they retired with
the family to their Breton homeland, where
the corporate head office of Autocars Vincent
Bobet (AVB) is located today. Jean-Claude and
Martine were by no means tired of the game:
“They have been supportive to this very day
and their experience and contacts are priceless.
When it comes to motor mechanics, nobody
understands things better than they do!
And one thing is absolutely clear to me – MAN
has always delivered loyal services to our family,”
states Vincent Bobet. Indeed, four of the
seven buses owned by the company he set up
in 2014 come from MAN: two luxurious NEO-
PLANs, which tour France and all of Europe for
his partnering travel agent Rouxel Lambert
Voyages, and the two brand-new MAN Lion’s
Intercity overland buses for local and school
transport in the region.
yet why would the local authorities
choose AVB as the operator for their Line 8? In
Vannes, at the Place de la Libération, Carole
Corbel, member of the regional government
council and responsible for school transport,
knows the answer: “Due to its ultra-modern
vehicle fleet, AVB was in a position to make us
a competitive offer. They meet all of our requirements
with regard to environmental
conservation, barrier-free access and especially
safety. The best bid won the contract.”
As a matter of fact, the MAN Lion’s Intercity
“The MAN Lion’s
Intercity is just
perfect for school
transport.”
Vincent Bobet, CEO of Autocars AVB
59
students
have room on the long version of the
MAN Lion’s Intercity. AVB always keeps
a bus in reserve, in case more students
should be waiting at the stop.
Photos: Tim Fox
28
29

is certainly one of the safest buses in its
class, and comes serially equipped with an
Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Electronic
Braking System (EBS), Traction Control
System (TCS) and braking assistance. In addition,
the vehicles already meet the standard
for over-rolling resistance – norm ECE R66.02
that becomes mandatory in 2017 – thereby
providing even higher standards of passive
safety. “That was also included in the department’s
functional specifications documentation,
along with the integrated wheelchair lift
and compliance with Euro 6,’” says Bobet. And
Carole Corbel adds: “The contracts with bus
companies usually run for 10 years. We therefore
expect sustainable and future-oriented
solutions from our partners.”
And how is the MAN Lion’s Intercity perceived
by the kids? Bus driver Christophe
Beloni shrugs his shoulders and says with a
laugh, “Well, they are teenagers and not exactly
focused on buses! MAN’s Paris Saint
Germain prize draw is a real hit all the same.
Yet only proper buckling up will persuade
me to pass out a sweepstakes voucher.” Formerly
a truck driver, Christophe Beloni has
steered buses for six years and he truly appreciates
the advantages of his new working
tool: “The MAN Lion’s Intercity is top notch:
well-motorised, agile, comfortable. That
makes it easy to get up in the mornings. And
I don’t even need an alarm app for that.”
Subsidy support for the school
bus network: Single trips cost
2€ and subscription tickets are
even cheaper.
Vannes railway station: On Friday
evenings, numerous students
disembark here and continue on
to their parents by train.
VIP CLASS
Built of Highlights.
Photos: Tim Fox
WHOEVER INVENTED THE TOURIST DOUBLE-DECKER
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travel on two decks with its extraordinary highlights. It raises the bar considerably
when it comes to experience, comfort and safety.
30
www.neoplan-bus.com

1/2016
Powerful
Pairin gs
Ready for departure: An MAN
bus train awaits passengers
at the Aidenbachstrasse bus
terminal in Munich.
Photo: Max Kratzer
Munich has become the first major German city to invest in
bus trains, namely MAN buses pulling an attached trailer.
These vehicles heighten capacity and accelerate passenger
turnover. A test ride.
32
33

1/2016
Bus over train: Anne Zitschke
could just as easily commute
to the office via rail, but
prefers to take the bus.
“Boarding and
exiting takes
only a moment.”
Erik Schultheiss, MVG bus driver
Popular line 53: Munich’s
municipal transport authorities
have deployed MAN’s bus trains
on busy routes since 2014.
The infographic in the
app illustrates the
modern features of
MAN’s bus trains.
Bavaria’s idyllic image is nowhere
near Aidenbachstrasse 46 in the
southwest of Munich: Alongside
the six-lane access highway, a
sprawling bus and underground
station serves as a major transport
hub. The roof of the Park & Ride complex
has space for more than 180 cars, while the U3
underground line links the suburban district
to the city centre at the lower level. In between,
under the shelter of a massive ceiling, a
number of passengers are waiting for their
bus. Five lines of the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft
(MVG), Munich’s municipal transport
authority, serve the Aidenbachstrasse
In the picture: Inside the trailer,
driver announcements and
information screens are also a given.
stop, including three MetroBus lines that connect
the different parts of the city.
At 9.46 am, the line 53 bus turns into the
station. “We will continue on at 9.55,” announces
bus driver Erik Schultheiss, “time for
a quick break.” He stretches his legs. There is a
trip right across Munich ahead of him, 13 kilometres
along some of the city’s main transport
arteries. “Line 53 is one of the most demanding
routes, especially with a vehicle like
this,” explains Schultheiss. It is indeed unusual,
namely an MAN Lion’s City bus train. Together,
the traction unit and trailer add up to
an impressive 23 metres in length and can accommodate
about 130 passengers. “More than
Photos: Max Kratzer, SWM-MVG (1)
any other bus in our fleet,” remarks the MVG
employee. “Getting through traffic with such
a large bus requires a lot of concentration. At
first, the driving characteristics were rather
unfamiliar: The axles of the trailer are steered
in tandem, so that the rear trailer will follow
in the wake of the traction unit,” explains
Schultheiss, who has manoeuvred buses
through the state capital for 23 years.
Enough chitchat, it is departure time. A
few seats are still unoccupied. “That will
change very soon, as passenger numbers vary
a lot on this line,” predicts Schultheiss. “It all
depends on the time of day and the city district.”
And his prophesy proves accurate: At
the next stop, the bus train fills up at once.
Among the newly boarding passengers is
Anne Zitschke. The young woman travels
with line 53 every day and the MAN bus train
takes her to work in 15 minutes. “I could just as
well take the S-Bahn railway, but I prefer the
bus. There is more of a view and it’s almost as
timely. Yet I must admit that space permitting,
I would rather travel up front. It’s sometimes
a bit too quiet for me in the back,” she
says with a laugh. Other passengers, on the
other hand, exactly appreciate that the trailer
is less occupied, making it more likely to find
a seat. “Getting to work in a relaxed fashion
during rush hour is a true luxury,” says a businessman
in a suit. The bus train has already
reached Zitschke’s stop. All five doors open at
once, she bids a quick farewell and after just a
few seconds for passengers to exit and board,
the bus continues on its route. “Another advantage
of the bus train is that it features an
additional door compared to an articulated
bus. Boarding and exiting therefore takes
only a moment,” explains the friendly driver.
This vehicle concept is also eco-friendly:
When passenger volume goes down, during
the weekends for instance, the trailer can be
easily detached. This saves fuel.
Attaching trailers to buses is by no
means a new idea and such teams already
were a common sight on the streets of European
cities until the early 1960s. In the more
recent past, however, this vehicle combination
led a niche existence. Until MVG requested
tenders for a considerable fleet of bus trains in
2012, the first large public transport authority
to do so. “That was the initial spark,” recalls
Reinhard Niggemann, who works in sales at
MAN Truck & Bus. “While MAN did carry bus
trains as part of its extended range up to this
point, these were classic Lion’s City vehicles
that had to be elaborately adapted and modified
by partner companies. As a result of
MVG’s interest, MAN decided to develop its
own integrated solution.” Subsequently, MAN
raised bus-train technology to a new level: The
trailer steering is mechanical and electrohydraulic
with electronic controls, there is air
conditioning in both the front and back, the
driver can observe events in the trailer at all
times on the video display and a two-way intercom
system guarantees passenger safety.
Three questions for …
Herbert König, Head of Munich’s municipal
transport authorities (MVG) and Managing
Director at the city’s municipal works (SWM)
Why did MVG decide to opt for the bus
train solution?
Our bus sector continues to grow, with the
number of passengers increasing by nearly
20% in just the last decade. Our acquisition
of bus trains responds to this demand:
These vehicle teams offer around 30%
more capacity than articulated buses,
feature five doors and are ideal for widely
fluctuating passenger volumes. In addition,
they are truly an eyecatcher!
Where are the vehicles primarily used?
The bus trains assist us in handling
bottlenecks in school and commuter
transport, but can be always utilised as
solo buses without the trailer, which makes
them exceptionally flexible and economical.
They have also already rendered very
useful services as rail replacement
vehicles.
And what do passengers think of the
bus trains?
Our passengers especially value the
generous amount of space. In short: This is
truly a success story.
34
35

People
Since 2014, 35 MAN traction vehicles and
12 trailers have been serving Munich’s local
public transport system. “And the success story
continues,” says a pleased Niggeman. “In
late 2015, Munich’s municipal utilities ordered
another 15 complete bus trains for MVG from
MAN. The vehicles will be ready in time for the
new 2016 timetable.”
IN THE MEANTIME, Line 53 is approaching its
final destination. Erik Schultheiss manoeuvres
his megabus carefully along the narrow
Herzogstrasse in Munich’s Schwabing quarter.
Right at the back of the trailer, on the last
row of seats, two-year-old Lena is gazing in
amazement out of the big windows, totally
captivated by the shop windows of the
numerous boutiques. Her mother Maike
Ludwig, explains: “We don’t travel by bus very
often, so it’s a real adventure for Lena. I also
think the bus is brilliant: The trailer has plenty
of standing room in the middle, which provides
plenty of room for Lena’s pushchair.”
Maike Ludwig is not alone with her positive
opinion. According to a representative
survey conducted by MVG, 93% of passengers
feel safe on the bus train due to its video
monitoring system, and 55% approve of the
trailer’s spacious facilities for prams and
wheelchairs. Upon arriving at the final stop,
Münchner Freiheit, Erik Schultheiss imparts
a little secret when saying goodbye: “Young
people are particularly keen on the trailer,
probably because they feel unsupervised in
the back. Apparently, that trailer is just cool.”
“The trailer offers
plenty of room
for pushchairs.”
Maike Ludwig, MVG passenger,
here with her daughter Lena
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Last stop Münchner
Freiheit: The 23-metrelong
bus has reached
its destination.
Photos: Max Kratzer
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36

1/2016
The black
shark
In the MAN Bus Modification Centre in Plauen,
customised bus and coach interiors are made to
order. Even ice hockey stars are fans – including
the legendary Kölner Haie, or Cologne Sharks,
who just received a spectacular new team coach.
First point of contact: In Plauen, Alexander Röhler combines all
customer requests for custom-made coach and bus design.
Showtime: The new team
coach of the Cologne Sharks
is polished and spiffed up
before taking its first drive.
Photos: Jörg Gläscher
T
his predator is still a work in progress.
The last black strip of foil must
first be attached to the tail of the
NEOPLAN Skyliner, before the shark logo of the
traditional ice hockey club from Cologne
makes its grand entrance. The foil specialists
hereby deliver precision work: Edges remain invisible,
not a single bubble mars the high-gloss
film of the bodywork. In Hall 5 of the MAN Bus
Modification Centre at Plauen in Saxony, the
team coach of the eight-time German ice hockey
champion receives its finishing touches.
Where once NEOPLAN buses rolled off the
production line, a highly specialised workshop
for customised bus and coach designs has
emerged. “Together with and for our customers,
we develop customised solutions for the
interior of special vehicles,” explains site manager
André Körner. These include team coaches
for professional sports, such as most recently
the Bundesliga football team FC Augsburg or
the basketball stars of Brose Baskets Bamberg.
Yet the bus modification specialists also have
the capacity to design mobile showrooms, like
one that a savings bank had put on the road to
illustrate everyday networking to its customers.
To this end, his team own a wealth of experience,
reports Körner: “At the Plauen location,
we have regularly met special customer requests
beyond the normal production routine.
The employees are therefore familiar with the
entire manufacturing process, reflect customer
wishes during the implementation of specifications
and are highly flexible. It’s an enjoyable
experience for everyone,” says Körner.
Jürgen Weinzierl, the managing director
of a Cologne-based transport company, had
approached MAN back in April 2014 to order a
NEOPLAN Skyliner in a team coach design,
which the travel coach enterprise uses to carry
the Cologne Sharks to their away games. Wellacquainted
with the special needs of his sporting
clients, Weinzierl knows what makes athletes
and their surroundings tick and had himself
served as manager of the Fortuna Köln
football club for many years. In his role as
chairman of the “Bus and Football” committee,
he also contributed his experience to the
International Coach Tourism Federation on
the occasion of the 2006 FIFA World Cup held
in Germany.
“We conducted marvellous talks with this
experienced customer,” recalls a delighted
Alexander Röhler, 36, who is a design engineer
Meals on wheels: An
MAN technician installs
the top-quality kitchen.
38
39

1/2016
Just one of many details:
the comfortable seats
with LED lighting running
along the floor.
“Furnishing these
coaches requires
experience and great
craftsman skills.”
Jens Schönrich, master carpenter at the
MAN Bus Modification Centre, Plauen
Behind perfect fronts:
Accommodating cables
and ducts in the coach
shell is quite a challenge.
New clothes: The black foil is
applied to the rear, while the
shark logo adorns the sides.
in works technology at the Bus Modification
Centre. He is the point of contact for all customer
requests. Modifications specified by
Weinzierl for “his” ice hockey team included
upholstered seats sporting the club logo, special
cupboards for the team’s anoraks and
sports jackets, an inviting L-shaped kitchen
range, a high-tech vacuum toilet, classy
19-inch screens as well as power and WLAN
connections for mobile infotainment, combined
with the complete vehicle branding.
“During this process, we must identify the
ideal position for every single component and
plan the basic configuration for the production
team in Turkish Ankara in such a way
that no additional constructional interventions
are hopefully required,” says Röhler,
Photos: Jörg Gläscher
while outlining the demands made on the designer
team. In order to conduct their team
conferences and game analysis, the ice hockey
pros asked for a plexiglass door with an incorporated
screen to partition off the driver’s
cab. In addition, two so-called dos-à-dos or
back-to-back seating units with power and
VGA connections were ordered. These allow
trainers, support staff and athletes to sit
across each other and jointly watch video sequences
streamed on a laptop. A second and
rearward-facing monitor was also included to
screen the events for those with their backs to
the driving direction.
to accomplish all these requests, the
MAN team in Plauen is involved in the coach
planning process from the earliest start of
production. It took about five months from
the first customer meeting, recording of special
requests and production in Ankara to the
transfer to Plauen. Once the bus had reached
Plauen in late October, the team had just four
weeks' time to complete the entire interior.
Mario Scheffel, segment manager for bus
modification and carpentry at the Bus Modification
Centre, makes sure that the timetable
is met. A qualified automotive technician
with a master’s certificate, the 45-year-old
has been with the company since 1998 and
previously held the position of segment
manager at NEOPLAN. As the connective link
between technology and work planning, he
directs vehicle modification in conjunction
with the group coordinators. “Our logistics
department and our linking to the MAN system
world represent a considerable advantage,”
says Scheffel. Six weeks before coach
arrival, the scheduling team had ensured
that all the necessary parts were delivered to
Plauen. The carpentry shop receives the design
data about four weeks before the start of
modification and thereupon prepares all the
customised built-in components. “Once the
Precision work: Applying the logo
of the Cologne Sharks to the
coach calls for concentration and
a most delicate touch.
Up to hotel standards: The high-tech vacuum toilet is
not just practical, but also ultra-modern.
40
41

1/2016
Proud team: The Cologne
Sharks take delivery of
their new coach.
Efficient. Durable. Comfortable.
The New Goodyear Coach Line.
coach gets to us, everything must be done
and ready for installation go-ahead,” says
Scheffel, describing the requirements expected
of the Plauen team.
Right alongside Hall 5, the carpentry
crew supervised by Jens Schönrich has set up
an ultra-modern carpentry workshop, including
sanding machinery and the latest in
CAD-controlled saws and milling units. The
52-year-old master carpenter is well-experienced
in special modification solutions and
top-quality materials such as wood, carbon
and mineral plastics. Over the course of his
career, he has always taken on truly special
artisanal challenges – whether for the exclusive
building of sauna landscapes or the interior
design of yachts and cruisers. “Furnishing
these coaches requires experience and
great craftsman skills”, ascertains Schönrich.
“Obviously, merely the perfect front of kitchen
and cupboard elements is visible at first.
The nooks, crannies and complex structures
where pipes and cables are lined up and
where struts and stanchions get in the way
all remain out of sight,” points out the mas-
ter carpenter. “The raw vehicle shell is anything
but a smooth wall that lends itself as a
surface to simply attach a piece of furniture
to, like in any apartment.”
The striking shark logo and the fiery
script are now adorning the coach. After a final
cleaning, and a comprehensive check-out
of both the technical details and craftsmanship,
the Sharks’ coach can set off for Cologne,
to be handed over to the club with all due ceremony.
For André Körner and his team, this
means bidding farewell to their “baby”. “A
coach is always a very special vehicle, which
also carries so many emotions. And when
dealing with a truly matchless individual
construction, this emotional association is
multiplied many times,” says Körner. “We all
feel a little bit proud whenever we catch a
glimpse of our unique creation on television
or the motorway.”
Experience the pictorial passage of the
Sharks’ coach through the Bus Modification
Centre at > www.man.eu/cologne-sharks
“We all feel proud
whenever we
spot our coach
on television.”
André Körner, Site Manager at the MAN Bus
Modification Centre in Plauen
Photos: Herbert Bucco, Jörg Gläscher
The new Goodyear Marathon Coach and UltraGrip Coach
Made to enhance your fleet efficiency*, Goodyear offers you coach tires featuring TravelMax Technology.
Asymmetric design, Silefex tread compound, waffle blades – it all stands for reduced rolling resistance,
improved fuel efficiency, longer lasting performance and low running noise for more comfort.
In addition, it offers you mobility in all weather conditions. Learn more at goodyear.eu/truck
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*
Performances compared to Goodyear’s previous recommended fi tment for coaches (Marathon LHS II, UltraGrip WTD).
MADE TO FEEL GOOD.
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Economical Across
the Line.
The DIWA efficiency package for your citybuses: with the new DIWA.6 automatic
transmission plus topography-dependent gear shifting program SensoTop you ensure
lower fuel consumption and higher driving comfort. In combination with the telemetric
system DIWA SmartNet you are in control of your maintenance costs and increase your
availability. Get to your destination more economically and comfortably – with the DIWA
efficiency package.
Give us a call on +49 7321 37-8579
www.voith.com