Australasian Bus & Coach - May 2018

(^30) ABC May 2018 busnews.com.au
COVERSTORY NEW PRODUCT
Specs
MAKE: Setra - TopClass 500
MODEL: S 531 DT
DIMENSIONS: Length – 14m,
Width – 2.55m
ENGINE: OM 471 Euro 6,
12.8-litre, in-line six-cylinder
POWER: 375kW/503hp
TORQUE: 2500Nm @ 1100rpm
TRANSMISSION: Mercedes-
Benz GO 250-8 MPS, eight-
speed
there were annual international
arrivals of 3,775,000, which was
an annual increase of 7 per cent,
with total international visitor
expenditure (NZ$ millions year
ending December 2017) of $10,563

• growth of 5 per cent. Notably,
  this, “excludes international airfares
  and individuals whose purpose
  of visit to New Zealand was to
  attend a recognised educational
  institute, and are foreign-fee paying
  students.” In layman’s terms that’s
  a stack of people bumming around

the joint who aren’t budget-

conscious students looking for

something to do. Result!

So what can they do? Aside

from Australasia’s pristine beaches,

mountains and forests, pavlovas,

weird (to them) accents and

whatnot, collectively the region

boasts some of the world’s prime

wine regions all over. And these

days, whether it’s wine-tasting

tours, golf or weekend getaways for

locals – or the increasing number of

music festivals and concerts held at

the larger wineries, a quick peruse

of YouTube videos reveals many

tourists and travellers catching a

bus of some sort to these regions.

The regrettable part? Often it

seems the ‘bus or coach’ journey is

the most boring and uninspiring

part of their experience. Something

like a Setra Topclass 500 S 531 DT

could flip that notion upside down,

making it the highlight for many

tourists and travellers instead.

... a luminary of such safety

capability that arguably would, could,

or should be regulation standard in

cities around the world.

Above (L-R):

Toilet horozontal

for extra space -

true; Open wide,

come inside.

Below: ‘Under

the hood’.