Volgren, Australia’s largest bus body manufacturer continues to grow its school and charter bus segments across regional and rural Australia with the delivery of their 100th Marcopolo Audace.
Imported from Volgren’s parent company, Marcopolo, the 12.3 metre European styled Audace was the first Australian Marcopolo product to go into service from December 2013.
Volgren marked the milestone by presenting a scale model bus to John Kennedy, owner of Kennedy’s Bus & Coach in Nowra, NSW who took possession of the 100th Audace last month.
Peter Dale, chief executive officer of Volgren said, “The Marcopolo Audace is a great example of a quality import, built on a top-class European chassis, backed by Volgren’s after-sale service and support.
Dale said the main drivers behind the Audace were the safety, style, passenger comfort and value in the market sector.
“For quality operators like Kennedy’s who have been in the business for more than 80 years, the Audace really delivers the flexibility to conduct a range of services and it’s been test-proofed in a range of conditions, ”Mr Dale said.
The 57-seat Audace has a bold, clean design with windshields and bonded glass panes that maximise visibility for passengers and driver. The bus comes with standard seat belts; parking sensor; reverse cameras, DVD player, reading lights; Multiplex; an advanced natural ventilation and air-conditioning system; and individual air controls.
John Kennedy, from Kennedy’s Bus and Coach, whose family business has serviced Nowra and the greater Shoalhaven, Southern Highlands & Illawarra since 1935 – the newly arrived Marcopolo Audace is their second in two years.
John said the quality of build, price, reliability and the combination of Volgren and a European chassis were key factors in choosing the Audace.
“We’re in the process of replacing some of our older buses and the Audace made sense from a price perspective and it’s proven to be the perfect bus servicing our school and special charter market.”
“We use our fleet for a range of purposes; trips to the snow, school charter and excursions, tours and special charter to Sydney for sporting events, so to have a quality bus that looks great, performs well and is highly versatile is critical to our business,” John said.
Dale said the future looks bright for Volgren, and the company is looking to actively grow market share across the school and charter bus segments through quality products like the Marcolpolo Audace and the Volgren Endura.
