From autumn 2013, passengers boarding a bus in Vienna stand a good chance of reaching their destination in one of the city's most modern and comfortable buses. The reason: Wiener Linien is refurbishing its fleet with 217 new Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses.
All of these buses will be fitted with the new DIWA.6 automatic transmission. The Voith transmission has been optimally designed for the modern Euro 6 driveline and ensures economical operation.
Every day, thousands of Viennese use the city's public transport facilities. With about 600 vehicles on 132 routes, Wiener Linien keeps the city on the move. As part of a fleet modernization, 217 Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses are now entering operation. In a first step, half of the fleet will be replaced by 2016.
The procurement of about 140 articulated and nearly 70 solobuses was preceded by intensive scientific investigations, in order to find the most economical and resource-sparing drive concept for the capital. After a Europe-wide tender, Wiener Linien decided in favor of a new vehicle supplier and a new drive concept. This change does, however, not affect the choice of transmission used for the majority of Vienna's buses: since 2000 all vehicles of Wiener Linien drive with Voith transmissions. For the new Citaro buses, the DIWA.6 transmission convinced down to the last detail.
Compared with its predecessor model, the latest transmission generation from Voith saves another five percent of fuel. This is made possible by the need-based reduction of the operating pressure and an intelligent start-up management. The newly designed housing reduces vibrations and consequently cuts down on noise emissions. This makes the DIWA.6 the optimum transmission for even the strictest emission requirements.
Wiener Linien also use the modern telemetric system DIWA SmartNet. The system's continuous transmission monitoring facility allows a permanent overview of the condition of the transmission via mobile radio.
Apart from the transmission itself, the customer's decision was also primarily based on the successful and equally proven Voith service concept. Voith has been supporting the operator on site for many decades and offers customer-oriented solutions that are tailored to Wiener Linien's specific requirements.
The cooperation between Voith and Wiener Linien has a long tradition: the two companies have been enjoying a close business relationship since 1954. The market share of Voith in the Austrian citybus sector is about 90 percent. But DIWA transmissions are also very popular for intercity buses: since 2002, ÖBB Postbus has been increasingly ordering Voith transmissions for high-floor vehicles on interurban routes.
