Arriva Slovenija received 45 Mercedes-Benz Intouro intercity buses. Another 20 Mercedes-Benz Intouro buses will follow next year. The purchase is the largest investment in intercity bus passenger traffic in Slovenia to date and the largest single purchase of buses in the country.
It is the latest generation of Mercedes-Benz Intouro buses with of course the latest Euro 6e engines. Emissions released by these buses are significantly lower than older diesel buses. They are also quieter and more comfortable to drive, which is beneficial for both passengers and nearby residents. The drivetrain contains the 6-cylinder Mercedes-Benz OM 936 engine with a displacement of 7.7 litre and an output of 260 kW (354 hp). The power is transmitted via the fully automated Mercedes-Benz GO 250–8 PowerShift manual transmission. The current delivered contingent consists of 35 Intouro buses with a classic length of twelve meters and 10 particularly manoeuvrable and compact Intouro K buses (10.75 meters in length). Passengers are seated on 55 (Intouro) and 43 (Intouro K) comfortable Travel Star Eco type coach seats manufactured in-house.
The buses are equipped with welcoming seat covers in blue-yellow with blue headrests, adjustable backrests, swivel-mounted armrests on the aisle side, a wooden floor, yellow curtains on the windows, continuous luggage racks, double glazing on the side windows and a high-performance roof-mounted air-conditioning system with an active anti-virus filter. A Wi-Fi network with free internet access is also available to the passengers. Drivers have an ergonomically designed cockpit at coach level as well as a reversing camera and reversing warning signal when manoeuvring. For additional safety, the buses are equipped with the vehicle stability control system ESP and the new electronic and braking system B2E and EBS4+, which ensure faster signal transmissions and thus shorter braking distances.
Rasto Oderlap (CEO of the general distributor Autocommerce Slovenija) handed over 45 intercity buses to Bo Karlsson, CEO of Arriva Slovenija, in the presence of Alenka Bratusek (Slovenian State Secretary for Transport). The buses connect the cities of Ljubljana, Maribor, Kranj, Koper, Novo Mesto, Jesenice and Koper, among others. Arriva is a British transportation company that is owned by Deutsche Bahn and operates bus and rail lines in numerous European countries. The subsidiary Arriva Slovenija has been operating in Slovenia for almost ten years and has around 950 employees and a fleet of 550 buses.