Swedish ski resort fleet opts for Allison transmissions with purchase of HVO-fuelled Isuzu NovoCiti Life buses
Sälen Buss, a family-owned transport company working for Swedish tour operator, SkiStar, has replaced two minibuses with two 50-seater Isuzu NovoCiti Life buses, equipped with Allison Transmission’s T 327 xFE transmission with retarder. With Euro VI engines, the buses run on HVO100, a diesel substitute made from hydro-treated vegetable oil.
The buses have been operational in the ski resort of Sälen since December and by the end of the season, will have transported an estimated 100,000 passengers. The resort comprises over 150km of ski slopes across four ski areas. The buses’ daily duties involve picking up customers at their cabins and taking them to the ski areas and connecting express lines. Because they are required to handle both busy major roads and narrow streets in densely populated small villages, it was decided to equip the buses with Allison’s fully automatic transmissions.
“It is a challenge to drive in Sälen,” says Robin Andersson, founding son and co-owner of Sälen Buss. “The buses run on both busy roads and smaller village streets that meander between the cabins. Therefore, we needed full-size buses with a strong engine and a good gearbox. A big advantage of Allison Transmission’s gearbox is that we have the opportunity to adapt the transmission to fit our needs and our driving. We could not do that before, so now it is much smoother to drive in all weathers.
“So far, the buses are running exactly as they should. Buses can often be a hassle with gearboxes, doors and more, but we are very happy with how everything has worked so far. In addition, we are happy that Allison has been up to visit and has been interested in seeing how we are doing. It feels good to have someone in our corner who can help if we encounter any problems.”
Founded in 1987, Sälen Buss began with a single taxi. Today, the Sälen-based family business has 12 taxis and 35 buses that run both county traffic and SkiStar’s recreation buses in all of the local ski areas.