BUS HAS ARRIVED: GV Florida purchases 23 units of Scania, including ‘sleeper buses’

Scania officially turned over to G.V. Florida Transport Inc., its first sleeper bus in the Philippines last Thursday. And what better way to admire it but to take it for a spin.

All the way to Tarlac City.

Executives of the Scania as well as those of G.V. Florida and several members of the media witnessed the handover ceremony in Balintawak, Quezon City before joining the ride.

While buses where passengers can lie down although the trip is already plying the routes — mostly to Baguio City — these Scania sleep buses have enough, breathable space.

It began operations, under the banner GV Florida Executive Sleeper Bus, last 5 July plying the route of Manila-Tuguegarao and vice versa. Fare is P1,800.

It leaves Manila 9:30 p.m. via Ilagan. Tuguegarao back to Manila also leaves 9:30 p.m., beginning 7 July.

Walk-in passengers can go straight to GV Florida Sampaloc and Tuguegarao terminals.

It has 23 spacious and comfortable “Executive Sleeper Beds” equipped with headrest pillow. Each seat has USB charging ports, individual bus pad or tablet with headphones for listening to music, watching videos and playing games.

Oh, the entire bus has free WiFi connection.

Each seat had dual cup holders, complimentary blankets, aisle curtains, dual-color lights. That’s on top of wider aisle, complimentary snack and beverage, shoe bag and power folding stairs.

And before I forget, the restroom has bidet — something even airlines don’t have.

The unit, named K360 Coach Bus, is one of four sleeper buses and is part of the 23-unit delivery by Scania, a part of the Volkswagen Trucks and Bus, one of the world’s leading manufacturers for heavy transport applications

Scania K360 chassis are equipped with safety features like Electronic stability program — Scania ESP is designed to work on wet or slippery roads, where under- or oversteering often occurs, and on dry roads, where the main risk is a rollover resulting from excessive speed or adverse camber on bends.

It also has secondary brakes (retarder and exhaust brakes), hill hold, cruise control, air suspension — with adjustable height, cctv cameras and dashcam.

The Scania K360 Powertrain features include a 360 horsepower, direct injection engine, Euro 5 emission compliance, Scaniaopticruise (semi-automatic gear box), eight-speed forward, one reverse transmission and manual mode.

There are also different kinds of driving modes: Economy, standard and power. Gross weight is 19,000 kilograms.

It has high torque (1,750 Nm) at low revs (1,300 to 1,400) and optimized powertrain for low fuel consumption without performance loss.

Boasting of excellent after sales, service contract with fleet management system and driver training programs, Scania is also leading provider of industrial and marine engines, and operates in about 100 countries.

It is exclusively distributed by BJ Mercantile Inc., which was founded in 1974 and has made a name for itself in the importation trade of used engines and trucks.

G.V. Florida Transport Inc., previously known as Florida Liner, is a Philippine bus company is one of the major bus companies in Northern Philippines. It was founded by Virgilio Florida Sr. in 1970.