In celebration of a golden relationship
INDUSTRY NEWS/ Golden Arrow Bus Services in Cape Town has taken delivery of its 1,000th MAN bus
The sight of the MAN lion on the front of a bus is a common one for commuters in Cape Town. Recently the relationship between the company and Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) reached a milestone with a formal handover of the 1,000th MAN bus supplied to the public transport operator.
“In 2011 GABS celebrated 150 years of providing efficient transport to the people of Cape Town. In 2015 we, at MAN, celebrated a 100 years of providing technologically advanced trucks and buses to our customers,” says Markus Geyer, MD of MAN Truck and Bus SA.
“In 2001 we sold our first bus, a MAN A63 18.232/Explorer, to GABS. This was the start of a collaborative partnership, a partnership that led us to this event, 15 years later, where we are proud to deliver bus number 1,000 to the GABS team.”
Jerone Lagarde, senior vicepresident of MAN Truck and Bus, who had flown from the global head office in Germany for the occasion, commented on the philosophy at MAN of collaborating with its clients to develop and produce efficient and safe transport solutions.
“We have a dedicated team that interacts with the engineers at GABS on a regular basis, ensuring they get the bus they need,” he said. “I do not know of many international bus companies who have USB chargers or free onboard Wi-Fi for their passengers in their buses. This is just another way SA, GABS and MAN is leading the way.”
LOCAL CONTENT
Lagarde stressed the long-term commitment of the company to investing in SA, with more than 80% local content being used in the manufacturing of its buses, creating local employment and upskilling workers.
He paid particular tribute to the drivers at GABS stating that the meticulous effort put into manufacturing the safest buses possible was only one side of the safety coin, with well trained, safety aware drivers the other vital side.
Referring to the overall commitment of the company to the environment, Lagarde said: “We are aware of the impact we have on our planet. As such we provide strategies that mitigate, reduce or cut our carbon offset.
“An example is our assembly plant in SA. It is one of the first in the world, and the first within the MAN Group, to be 110% energy independent. The extra 10% we send back into a local energy grid.”
Provincial minister of transport, Donald Grant, praised the management and staff of MAN and GABS for keeping Cape Town moving over all these years — with a safety record that is really impressive.
Referring to the Independent Customer Survey report, he said: “The majority of the customers of GABS are really complimentary about the service. Most of these passengers earn less than R3,500 a month which makes the company vital to the transport needs of the poor.”
Golden Arrow CEO Francois Meyer said: “I am proud to be part of this collaboration between GABS and MAN. This relationship has ensured the R1.4bn that we have spent on MAN buses over the past 15 years has made GABS an enduring provider of reliable and safe public transport to the people of Cape Town — with a laudable 97% efficiency ratio.”