City, country, bus
SetraWorld Magazine

City, country, bus

S 415 LE business in operation around Strasbourg.

The French bus company, LK Kunegel, operates seven lines that connect the surrounding communities with the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg. An ideal mission for the S 415 LE business from the MultiClass.

Narrow streets, old half-timbered houses and traffic islands adorned with flowers: the small French town of La Wantzenau in the Bas-Rhin département looks almost dreamlike in the soft autumnal morning sunlight. Yet on the Rue des Héros, the town’s main road, not much of this idyllic setting can be felt. Judging by the dense traffic, many Alsatian people are in a hurry to get from their homes to work in Strasbourg just a few kilometres away.

There are also plenty of people at the bus stops already. Commuters and school children mainly get on the Line 72 bus here operated by Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois (CTS), which connects the north-eastern outlying districts with Strasbourg city centre from five in the morning to nine in the evening. It is one of seven routes in the area around Strasbourg that the family-run bus company, LK Kunegel, has been operating for about a year on behalf of CTS. The requirements stipulated by CTS for the buses used include a low-floor entry at both doors as well as two wheelchair and pushchair spaces. So that the majority of passengers can be transported in comfort on the 30-minute journey even in rush hours, at least 41 seats are also prescribed.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

Low entry, plenty of seats: for Jean-Philippe Collard the Setra S 415 LE business is the ideal solution for connecting outlying districts with the city.

“The LE business provides the ride comfort and seating capacity of a high-floor bus and at the same time the easy access of a low-floor bus.”

S 415 LE business in operation around Strasbourg.
S 415 LE business in operation around Strasbourg.
S 415 LE business in operation around Strasbourg.

“We have to be able to cover long cross-country stretches, as well as short intervals between bus stops in the city, which require a fast flow of passengers,” stresses Jean-Philippe Collard, head of the LK subsidiary, Hoerdt. A requirements profile for which, in his view, there is no better bus than the Setra S 415 LE business. “The LE business provides the ride comfort and seating capacity of a high-floor bus and at the same time the easy access of a low-floor bus,” says Collard summarising the convincing vehicle concept. Since June 2018 the operator’s fleet has included a total of 20 low-entry buses of this type.

The low-entry concept with the two different zones – low floor at the front and elevated seating area at the rear – is popular among all passenger generations. Driver, Sebastian Thenet, observes: “Older people sit down at the front because the seats here are very easily accessible. Young people, on the other hand, usually always sit high up at the back, even if there are still seats free at the front.” The elevated seating area makes the ride on Line 72 feel almost like a tourist trip, including a clear view of the European Parliament on the far bank of the River Ill.

Thenet particularly values the good vision in the LE business. Because for him safety comes first. Thus the slightly elevated driver’s seat is a major benefit particularly in city traffic. The Setra is easy to operate in any case and is very popular with the LK Kunegel drivers due to its driving comfort and manoeuvrability. Thanks to the automatic gearbox, the driver can adapt perfectly to the urban traffic.

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