The ACEA figures for the first five months of this year show that the registrations of coaches and buses are doing better. In May registrations reached a total of 2,452 units in the EU, an increase of 32.8%, It looks things are going in the right direction not only in terms of city buses, but also with regard to the purchase of coaches, as evidenced by the stream of press releases from Daimler Evobus Netherlands about deliveries.
There are five Mercedes-Benz Tourismo's for Pouw Vervoer based in the city of Vianen, thirteen-metre long 2-axle vehicles with 56 luxurious seats. There is a sleeping cabin for the driver. Pouw Vervoer was founded in 1992 and started with just one bus. After that, the business took off. Today it has a fleet of 278 coaches and buses and about 700 people work there. Verschoor Reizen in the city of Hardinxveld-Giessendam recently received one new Tourismo, a 3-axis 17 RHD with monitors with HDMI connection, useful for giving presentations. Director Chris Verschoor: “The market is picking up fast at the moment. So this beautiful Tourismo has arrived at the right moment. The company has about thirty employees and a fleet of fifteen coaches. Chris Verschoor: ”At the moment it is very hard work because everyone wants to travel again. At the moment, our fleet cannot be large enough.”
Earlier this year, coach company Juijn purchased five new Mercedes-Benz Tourismo's: two 17 RHD and three 15 RHD. There is room for 63 and 52 passengers respectively. Juijn has about 350 employees and has a fleet of 36 coaches and buses, all of which are now Euro VI. A special feature that all five Tourismos have in common is the special drawbar coupling. An essential accessory for Juijn, because the Tourismo's are used for bicycle shuttles to various destinations. There will then be a large trailer behind the bus for 36 bicycles. The rest of the bicycles will be placed on the bus itself.
Van Driel Groep based in the city Oss is active in coach travel, car rental up to and including taxi services and healthcare transport. The company added a brand new Mercedes-Benz Tourismo to its fleet. It is a 2-axle 16 RDH of 13 meters long. The number of seats is 53, with a guide chair next to it. Coach company Hellingman in the city of Zaandam welcomed the new AZ player bus. AZ is the footballclub acting in the Dutch “Football Eredivisie”. The new team bus is a 3-axle Tourismo 17 RHD of 14 meters long, which is really equipped with all the gadgets: luxuriously royal class seats, an extensive kitchen, satellite TV, wifi and card tables. And on the outside of course the AZ logo. In addition to the new AZ player bus, Hellingman has also purchased three new coaches from EvoBus.