Bustech

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Bustech is a bus body manufacturer based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It was created in 1998 by Surfside Buslines to produce buses for their growing fleet, which was eventually expanded building for other companies.

Bustech started out building bodies on Mercedes-Benz O400's, for its affiliate Surfside Buslines. The company then moved its focus to building low-floor buses on the Mercedes-Benz O405NH chassis. Bustech have built low-floor buses, route buses, school buses, minibuses and even coaches in its relatively short history. They have built more than 500 bodies since they began 9 years ago.

Chassis built on include:

• Mercedes-Benz O400
• Mercedes-Benz O405NH
• Mercedes-Benz OC500LE (which is known as O500LE in Australia)
• Mercedes-Benz O815D
• Volvo B7R
• Volvo B7RLE
• Volvo B12BLE
• Hino RG230
• Scania L94UB
• Scania K94IB
• MAN 15.220
• Mercedes OH1830L

Bustech designed and built the first low-entry, wheelchair accessible minibus in 2001 on the Mercedes-Benz O815D chassis. But Bustech did not have the factory capacity at that time to build any in large numbers. Its rival, Custom Coaches, began to build these mini-buses, under licence, at the Arundel, Queensland plant as the CB20 body.

In 2004, the Bustech factory was moved from Burleigh Heads to a significantly larger purpose-built facility at Reedy Creek, where up to 250 buses can be produced a year, in a new production-line format. The environmentally friendly plant opened on the 26 October, after a $10 million investment and a three-year design and development phase.

Bustech's major product today is the low-floor VST body.

[edit] Current Products

VST body

In late 2003, Bustech produced a new low-floor, wheelchair-accessible bus model called the VST. The VST is available on Volvo B12BLE and Mercedes-Benz OC500LE (O500LE) chassis. The bus is available in single-door (55 seats) or two-door (51 seats) format.

Bustech used the latest materials and manufacturing technologies to reduce weight and manufacturing cost. The 12.5-metre VST bus is designed to have greater seating capacity with lower vehicle weight and less body repair over the life of the bus. In fact, its latest VST model weighs a tonne less than other low-floor buses from competitors Volgren and Custom Coaches.

The VST was successful at the 2003, 2004 and 2005 BCA NSW 'Bus Show', taking out the prestigious 'Bus of the Show' award. This makes the VST the most awarded Australian built bus ever.

More than 250 VST's have been built since their introduction in late 2003. Naturally, sister company and co-developer of the bus, Surfside Buslines have purchased approximately 80 VST's model for use in their fleet, making them the largest VST customer.

The majority of Queensland TransLink operators now have VST's in their fleets including:

• Logan City Bus Service (formerly Clark's)
• Sunbus Sunshine Coast
• Mt Gravatt Bus Service
• Westside Bus Company
• Park Ridge Transit
• Veolia Transport Brisbane
• Bribie Island Coaches

Rural Queensland:

• Young's Rockhampton
• Duffy's Bundaberg
• Mackay Transit
• Whitsunday Transit
• Kynoch Coaches

As does quite a number of Sydney and country New South Wales operators. These include:

• Veolia NSW
• Busabout
• Forest Coach Lines
• Interline Bus Services, Sydney
• Greens Northern Coaches, Helensburg
• Buslines Group: Picton & Berrima
• Fearnes' Wagga Wagga
• Coastal Liner, Central Coast
• Port Stephens Coaches
• Blanch's Ballina
• Prior's Batemans Bay
• Osbourn's Muswellbrook
• Charter Bus Direct, formerly Harris Park Transport
• Bundeena Maianbar Bus Service

Graduate body

Bustech is also beginning to manufacture a 61-seat school bus body called the Graduate, which started out on the Volvo B7R chassis. It shares many parts with the VST body for parts commonality. The Graduate is beginning to sell more strongly with the introduction Scania K94IB and Mercedes OH1830L models.

'Graduate' Customers include:

• Westside Bus Company
• Park Ridge Transit
• Duffy's Bundaberg
• Port Stephens Coaches
• Buslines Group: Picton, Dubbo & Lismore
• Christenson's Buses
• Osbourn's Muswellbrook
• Buslink QLD & NT
• CYC Tours
• Kennedy’s Bus Service
• Mackay Transit
• Fearnes' Wagga Wagga