Kyungnam Bus to Order Additional Allison Transmission-Equipped Buses to Attract Drivers
The first public transport fleet to introduce automatic buses in Yongin City plans to purchase additional Allison-equipped Hyundai County buses due to driver feedback over the past year.
SEOUL, Korea, May 18, 2023 — Allison Transmission, a leading designer and manufacturer of conventional and electrified vehicle propulsion solutions and the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions for commercial and defense vehicles, today announced that Kyungnam Bus, the first public transport fleet to introduce automatic buses in Yongin City in Gyeonggi-do, is planning to purchase additional Allison-equipped Hyundai County buses due to the high level of driver satisfaction.
Kyungnam Bus, which operates more than 500 city and village buses in Yongin City, has been successfully operating several Hyundai County vehicles equipped with Allison Torqmatic® Series transmissions since April 2022.
"As Yongin City is a city with both urban and rural areas, bus drivers have to drive for a long time, and generally drivers feel exhausted after driving because of the gears and clutches,” said Choi Bong-cheol, head of the maintenance team at Kyungnam Bus. "On the other hand, drivers of automatic buses do not have to operate gears and clutches, so they hardly feel tired and are highly satisfied with automatic vehicles."
"Maintenance is crucial in buses, and Alison Automatics are very economical and durable as they have no particular maintenance costs other than regular filter and fluid changes,” said Bong-cheol. For this reason, other fleets in Yongin City are increasingly introducing village buses with Alison fully automatic transmissions."
Bus fleets also can hire from a larger pool of drivers when operating fully automatic buses. Fewer people can drive manual vehicles, so it is inevitable that increasing the number of automatic buses will aid recruitment efforts. Whether experienced or newly recruited, drivers of automatic vehicles benefit from greater precision, improved handling and increased comfort.
"Fleets are turning to automatic buses for easy and comfortable driving, as well as reduced maintenance costs in the long run," said Kyoungmee Lee, Regional Director of Allison Transmission Korea. "Allison is proud to lead the transition to fully automatic transmissions in Korea."
About Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is a leading designer and manufacturer of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions, and a leader in electrified propulsion systems that Improve the Way the World Works. Allison products are used in a wide variety of applications, including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (school, transit and coach), motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (energy, mining and construction applications) and defense vehicles (tactical wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. With a presence in more than 150 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil, manufacturing facilities in the USA, Hungary and India, as well as global engineering resources, including electrification engineering centers in Indianapolis, Indiana, Auburn Hills, Michigan and London in the United Kingdom. Allison also has approximately 1,600 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.