If performance is anything to go by then the Volvo carrying the registration plates, MSL 081GP, makes a proud statement. This remarkable Volvo B12 luxury double-decker coach has clocked up a staggering 2-million kilometres on South African roads since it was introduced into the Greyhound fleet in 2001.
Leon Nelson, technical manager of Unitrans Passenger, which owns and operates the Greyhound Intercity coach service in that country, says the MSL 081GP runs the 1 200 km route between Cape Town and the port city of Durban and has been averaging between 45 000 and 50 000 km a month.
The coach carries an average of 48 passengers on each long haul run, which means that to date MSL081GP has carried 50 000 passengers safely between Cape Town and Durban return.
A satisfied customer
“It has been a phenomenal performance”, says Nelson. “The normal industry average in South Africa before a coach like this goes for a rebuild is between 1-million and 1.5-million kilometres. This B12 has passed the 2-million kilometres mark without any work on the drive train other than normal maintenance”.
Nelson says Greyhound has a number of Volvo B12s in its fleet and they are all performing “exceptionally well”.
“Most of the other B12s in our fleet have clocked between 1.5 and 2-million kilometres, which is above the industry average. Generally we are getting about 500 000 kilometres more out of the B12s than from similar vehicles in this division of the passenger industry”, Nelson concludes.