One of Israel's largest bus operators, DAN Society for Public Transport, has presented the first of 172 futuristically designed buses in Haifa that will form the backbone of the state-of-the-art Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems in the major cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv. MAN Truck & Bus is supplying three-axle low-floor articulated buses for this system, powered by 360-hp common-rail diesel engines that comply with the currently strictest EEV (enhanced environmentally-friendly vehicle) emission standard. The futuristic bodies of the buses, which are equipped with powerful air-conditioning systems suitable for hot climates, are manufactured locally in Israel by the Ha'argaz company.

What is special about the bus chassis supplied by MAN is that they combine low floors throughout with a vehicle length of 18.75 metres. This construction, together with the body's four double doors, makes for especially time-saving boarding and alighting, a vital feature of an efficient BRT system.

With MAN common-rail diesel engines, transportation company DAN will be focusing on clean exhaust engines. The EEV standard sets considerably lower limits for particulate emission than the Euro 5 standard currently applicable in Europe.

MAN is the market leader for city buses in Israel. The basis of over thirty years of cooperation between DAN and MAN is the reliability of the buses. Today almost every single one of DAN's fleet of 1,200 buses is built on an MAN chassis.

Bus Rapid Transit systems enable the modernization of a city's transportation infrastructure without the need for extensive construction work on building underground lines. In principle, BRT systems can be compared with inner-city rail systems such as trams and metros, but they can be constructed more quickly and more cost-effectively, besides having far more flexibility. They are relatively easy to integrate into existing urban structures and are not reliant on an exclusive infrastructure end-to-end.

The foundation of any BRT system is formed by modern city buses with high passenger capacities. MAN's broad range of bus chassis and complete buses are an excellent basis for this. MAN is also in a position to offer individual vehicle solutions with the reliability of a high-volume manufacturer.

Other characteristics of a BRT system are separate lanes and platform stops where tickets are sold and access is automatically controlled - i.e. before the bus is boarded, in order to optimize the passenger flow. Passenger information and automatic display of upcoming departure also enable the transportation of passengers to run more smoothly.

Source MAN SE