World Cup 2010: 460 New Buses For South Africa

World Cup fever means big bus business for Mercedes-Benz South Africa after its parent company secured a contract to deliver 460 buses to be used in the tournament next year.

According to a report in East London’s Daily Dispatch, Germany’s Daimler yesterday announced that the contract was signed with Autopax, a subsidiary of the PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa).

A total of 570 new buses will be added to the Autopax fleet at a total cost of R1.4 billion to the Department of Transport.

The 460 buses awarded to Daimler are divided into 168 inter-city coaches and 292 semi-luxury coaches, and will be delivered by April next year to Autopax in Johannesburg.

Parts of the buses are to be manufactured in Brazil, with final assembly at MBSA’s East London plant.

In 2008, the capacity of the dedicated bus line at the EL plant received an R11 million boost from Daimler. Once the World Cup is over, the buses will form part of Autopax’s Translux and City-to-City fleet.

MBSA president and CEO Dr Hansgeorg Niefer said, "The increased fleet will create at least 300 new jobs," according to Kickoff.com.

Both the inter-city and semi-luxury coaches – which seat 61 and 52 people respectively – are fitted with seat-belts, air-conditioning, entertainment equipment including DVD and MP3 players and monitors, and microphone facilities.

Source: Goal.com