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Press release

MAN Truck & Bus AG

Press release

MAN Truck & Bus AG______3

State-of-the-art city-bus system for Haifa and Tel Aviv based on MAN chassis

MAN Truck & Bus delivers 172 articulated bus chassis with EEV engines for Israel's "Metronit" and “Red Line” Bus Rapid Transit systems. The futuristically designed buses are low-floor from end to end.

One of Israel's largest bus operators, DAN Society for Public Transport, presented the first of 172 futuristically designed buses in Haifa. These vehicles will form the backbone of the state-of-the-art Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the major cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv. MAN Truck & Bus is supplying three-axle low-floor articulated buses for this system, powered by 360-hp common-rail diesel engines that comply with the currently strictest emission standard EEV (Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle). The futuristic bodies of the buses, which are equipped with powerful air-conditioning systems suitable for hot climates, are manufactured locally in Israel by the Ha´argaz company.

Michael Nagar, Chairman of the DAN Board and Shmuel Rafaeli, General Manager, are putting their trust in engines with particularly clean exhaust emissions, as well as in separate bus lanes and a very special product design: "The new bus networks ´Metronit´ in Haifa and ´Red Line´ in Tel Aviv enable us to introduce highly modern transport systems into these built-up metropolitan areas in a short space of time. The design of the buses, which emphasizes the future, communicates that we are making innovative ideas for local public transport reality."

What is special about the bus chassis supplied by MAN is that they combine low floors throughout with a vehicle length of 18.75 metres. This construction, together with the body's four double doors, makes for especially time-saving boarding and alighting, a vital feature of an efficient BRT system.

The EEV standard sets considerably lower limits for particulate emission than the Euro 5 standard currently applicable in Europe. The EEV diesel engines from MAN fulfil these exhaust standards without the use of the additive AdBlue® - in other words, the buses only require filling up with diesel fuel.

MAN is the market leader for city buses in Israel. The basis of over thirty years of cooperation between DAN and MAN is the reliability of the buses: almost every single one of DAN's fleet of 1,200 buses is built on an MAN chassis.

MAN competence: Bus Rapid Transit

The wide range of bus chassis and complete buses from MAN forms an excellent basis for any BRT system. On top of that there is MAN's recognised competence in providing individual vehicle solutions with the reliability that only a major manufacturer of large-scale series can offer.

Bus Rapid Transit systems enable the modernisation of a city's transport infrastructure without the need for extensive construction work on building underground lines. In principle, BRT systems can be compared with inner-city rail systems such as trams and metros, but they can be constructed more quickly and more economically, besides having far more flexibility. BRT systems are relatively easy to integrate into existing urban structures and are not reliant on an exclusive infrastructure end-to-end. Buses are more flexible and can make detours when the unforeseen happens (blocked streets), thus ensuring with a greater degree of certainty that passengers will arrive at their destinations.

The foundation of any BRT system is formed by modern city buses with high passenger capacities. Other characteristics are separate lanes and platform stops where tickets are sold and access is automatically controlled – i.e. before the bus is boarded, in order to optimise the passenger flow. BRT systems also offer intelligent traffic management as well as passenger information and automatic display of the upcoming departure times, to mention just two examples. An infrastructure specifically for buses ensures that passengers are conveyed rapidly, smoothly and comfortably.

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The Transport Efficiency Program from MAN Truck & Bus

The amount of transport and traffic on Europe's roads is rising. At the same time, the long-term dwindling of energy resources is making transport increasingly more expensive. As one of the world's leading manufacturers of buses and trucks, MAN Truck & Bus makes an important contribution to the continued improvement of transport efficiency. MAN offers a comprehensive efficiency program to reduce total cost of ownership. Transport efficiency, consolidated in the fields of technology, service, the driver and future expertise protects the environment and is added value for our customers.

MAN Truck & Bus AG, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is the largest company of the MAN Group and a leading international supplier of efficient commercial vehicles and innovative transport solutions. In fiscal 2011 the enterprise, with around 34,000 employees, posted sales of more than 77,600 trucks and over 5,700 buses and bus chassis of the MAN and NEOPLAN brands worth 9 billion euros.