Redirecting

Redirecting to pre-owned vehicles certified by IVECO at OK TRUCKS.co.uk

Devon County Council upgrades minibus fleet, helped by Hendy IVECO

Wednesday 24th January 2018

Devon County Council upgrades minibus fleet, helped by Hendy IVECO

When it came to Devon County Council needing to upgrade its community transport fleet, it didn’t take long to decide that 20 new wheelchair-accessible Euro 6 IVECO Daily minibuses were the most suitable choice by far – and Hendy IVECO was happy to supply these.

To make them fit for purpose and ready for school transportation, Tiverton-based Courtside Conversions – part of the IVECO Busmaster advocate programme – secured the contract to carry out the bespoke conversions.

Senior Procurement Officer at Devon County Council, Daniela Pleiss, said: “We evaluated the full range of suppliers that submitted a bid, and it was Iveco Bus and converters Courtside Conversions which ticked all of the right boxes and could offer the exact specification we wanted. Their proposal also offered the best value, and we had confidence in the product to meet our requirements over a long life in service.”

As supplier of choice, Hendy IVECO delivered the minibuses complete with ‘ultra-efficient’ on-board LED lighting, which can be controlled by the driver, roller blinds on all side windows, a reversing beeper with a ‘silent’ function for night-time use, a glass emergency lift-up roof vent in the centre of the saloon, four audio speakers in the saloon, high-level rear lights and a fuel-burning heater to keep the passenger area warm in colder weather.

These M2 category, 17-seater Daily 50C15 minibuses have been built to the council’s precise specification, following in the footsteps of six similar Daily minibuses converted by the company two years ago. They each have a gross vehicle weight of five tonnes, are fitted with tracking for up to six wheelchairs to be secured on-board and can be accessed via an inboard tail-lift at the rear doors for wheelchair passengers, or through a nearside passenger door featuring a cut-in triple step entrance with safety grab rails on both sides.

Now that these advanced vehicles are ready, Devon County Council will be using them for school transport, and so each minibus is equipped with folding school bus signage at the front and rear. Power is provided by a three-litre IVECO diesel engine producing 146hp between 3,000 and 3,500 rev/min, and up to 350Nm of torque between 1,200 and 2,600 rev/min, driven through a six-speed manual gearbox. In the driver’s seat, find a leather steering wheel and multiple storage compartments, so the driver and passengers alike will make it to school in style.

For additional information on the IVECO Daily, contact Hendy IVECO today.