Overview awards ECW 2011
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Grand Award - Coach
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Grand Award - Bus
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Grand Award - Midi/Mini Bus
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Grand Award - Midi/Mini Coach
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Environment Award
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Innovation Award
BUSWORLD Kortrijk Styling & Design Award
The winners of the 15th European Coach Week 2011
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK GRAND AWARD BUS 2011
This award has been granted by the Jury to the new Mercedes-Benz Citaro, the very ambitious successor to a citybus with the same name, which has been sold more than 30.000 units since its launch in 1997. The new Citaro has an exterior design, which is breaking new grounds and will increase the attractiveness of urban public transport for its users. It is supported in this aim by an interior, which combines cosiness with a number of large and small innovative features like an improved lighting system, and oval grab rails which increase the comfort of standing passengers by offering a much better grip. In general, comfort and safety for all passengers have been much improved.
The new Citaro offers the driver a completely restyled compartment as his/her work place, the main feature being the increased height of the driver’s seat, which puts the driver at the same level as the passengers entering the bus. The driver’s door opens to the rear, thus creating a barrier between the driver and a passenger in a critical situation. Further, there is a lot of storage space for the driver, while the driver’s seat and the steering column, including the instrument cluster, are both widely adjustable in an effort to offer every driver an ergonomically sound working position.
The overall safety concept of the new Citaro sets new standards by adding ESP (Electronic Stability Program) to the safety features of this vehicle, though the jury doubts if it is useful on citybuses. But on the inter-urban versions of the Citaro it is considered to be a very good addition, improving the active safety. The passive safety has been improved by adding frontal impact protection and further strengthening the rigid body structure, so that it complies with roll-over regulations that are only legally required on coaches.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK GRAND AWARD COACH 2011
This award is going to the Van Hool TX16. According to the Jury members this new coach combines the traditional Van Hool values like perfect comfort for the passengers, the driver and the guide with a number of innovative improvements, like full LED lighting inside the vehicle and at the rear part of the exterior. But creating a new coach always starts with the design. Van Hool has opted for an evolutionary shape which offers a number of new elements, like the aluminium profile underlining the side windows, though it also includes a number of familiar styling elements from the previous line of vehicles. The advantage of this approach is that it maintains the family ties between the new and the previous coach generations.
The interior of the new TX coach by Van Hool is also characterized by evolution rather than revolution, keeping the best of the previous generation of vehicles and combining it with a number of improvements in order to reach a higher level of comfort and safety for the passengers, the driver and the guide. It led to improvement like a climate control system with a number of sensors, separate zone control and increased capacity. The new TX also has improved driving behaviour and easier maintenance.
For the driver, the positioning of the instruments and switches has improved by clustering them more around the steering wheel. The AS-Tronic's gear lever has been moved to the dashboard so the driver has easier access to the seat. A unique feature is an easily accessible knob to the left of the driver, which he can use to operate the mirrors, interior lighting and heating. A colour screen keeps the driver fully informed about the settings he has selected. Coming from the T9 is the night vision camera, a unique Van Hool feature. Altogether, the new Van Hool TX is a fine example of smart evolution instead of revolution, according to the jury.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK GRAND AWARD MINI/MIDI BUS 2011
The jury was unanimous in granting this award to the VDL Midcity, a bus which succeeds in combining a number of very solid advantages in one concept. Among these advantages are outstanding accessibility for all kinds of passengers, combined with good ground clearance that does not limit the flexibility of this midibus: it can easily reach any place. The compact size gives it excellent manoeuvrability. For the driver this vehicle is a joy to work with – the Midcity offers an excellent working place and a vehicle which is very easy to handle. Both passengers and the driver are protected by excellent active and passive safety systems.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK GRAND AWARD MINI/MIDI COACH 2011
The Temsa MD C9 has been given this award by the jury, mainly due to its multi-functional character. It can be used for all kinds of work, transferring passengers with or without luggage, in a well-constructed vehicle that offers a lot of comfort to all occupants. The Temsa MD C9 has a well-designed driveline, which managed to create the impression that it is very economical on fuel consumption. This driveline is integrated in an equally well-designed body, fitted with a climate control system with separate zone control for the passenger and the driver area. The driving behaviour of the Temsa MD C9, experienced by the Jury, was excellent.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK ENVIRONMENT AWARD 2011
The Jury has decided that this award should become a second accolade for the new Van Hool TX16, underlining its specification with regard to recycling. The Van Hool TX16 deserves this award since a very high percentage of the body and the driveline can be recycled. Parts like the trim panels have been selected for their recycleability. For Van Hool this is a step towards the possible implementation of an altered business model which relies more on recycling than the current business model in the bus and coach manufacturing industry. Additional arguments to give this award to the Van Hool TX are the extensive use of energy-saving LED lighting, and the improvements of the vehicle’s aerodynamics, which also contribute to saving energy.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK INNOVATION AWARD 2011
This award goes to the BUSiness B-Style eH2 minibus with fuelcell driveline. According to the jury this vehicle deserves the award because of the fact that it succeeded in downsizing a fuelcell-powered electric driveline to fit into a minibus. Though the development of this driveline needs more time and refinement, the Jury believes in the viability of this project, and wants to reinforce this belief by granting this project the Busworld Kortrijk Innovation Award 2011.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK STYLING & DESIGN AWARD 2011
According to the Busworld Jury, the new Irisbus Magelys PRO is a kind of blessing-in-disguise: outside it is looking like a classic coach, which has hardly any spectacular details to show. But inside it creates a real “ Wow” experience due to its unique roof construction, with the large glass roof arches offering a wide panoramic view on the world outside the coach. By combining these panels with perfectly shaped luggage racks, and a very high standard of finish, it deserves the Busworld Kortrijk Styling & Design Award 2011.
BUSWORLD KORTRIJK SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE JURY 2011
This prize is awarded by the Jury of the Busworld Kortrijk 2011 Awards to the Otokar Kent C bus. It deserves this prize for a number of reasons – one of them is that the exterior and interior design of the bus are considered by the jury as very well co-ordinated. Further the Jury has taken good notice of the fact that Otokar in recent times has invested heavily in testing and validation facilities, which were used for the development of this Kent C citybus, resulting in a fast growing market share on the Turkish citybus market. Considered by the Jury as very interesting is the fact that the Kent C is fitted with a mobile digital video recording security system, and an accident record and storage system which is activated by a crash sensor and has a 1 terabyte hard disc for recording.
