Overhauled buses with TM65 compressor for Athens and Thessaloniki
MED Bus & Truck SA is about to finalise the procurement of 609 used city buses for the Athens and Thessaloniki public transport companies.
The bus importer for city buses and coaches will deliver the buses to the end customer completely overhauled.
This also includes the replacement of the air conditioning compressors: the Valeo TM65 is being used where is was necessary, to 50 buses.
The two largest urban transport operators in Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, have decided to upgrade their bus fleets with second-hand buses in order to improve their transport quality. These will be over a period of 2-3 years and completely overhauled before being handed over to the transport company. The decision in favour of used vehicles was made primarily the background of the upcoming tender for 1,000 new buses (diesel, electric and CNG).
MED Bus & Truck SA, a subsidiary of the Papadakis Group and Greece’s largest bus seller (market share over 65 %),
imports the used buses mainly from Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. The vehicles exported to Athens and Thessaloniki are Mercedes-Benz Citaro O 530 and O 530 G, MAN Lion’s City A21 and A23, Solaris Urbino 18 and Volvo 7700A.
In addition to overhauling the buses, MED also takes care of regular maintenance. As the buses are often not suited to the climatic conditions of Greece or not at all air-conditioned, the components are retrofitted.
ELECAR, the official representative of VALEO TCV in Greece, works together with the MED service team, installs all air conditioning components such as the TM65 compressor, the rooftop air conditioning system, refrigerant hoses and all the necessary peripherals.
To date around 50pieces of TM65 compressors have been installed.
The Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organisation has leased a total of 180 buses from MED to date,
another 80 are optionally in preparation. The city transport company of Athens is adding to its fleet 203 buses, which were already purchased in 2020 by MED and with 146 additional further buses to date.
The work on the vehicles should be completed by the end of be completed by the end of 2021.
About the Valeo TM65 compressor
Compared to alternative compressors, the TM65 from VALEO due to its reduced weight, low-noise operation and
high fuel savings, it is a clear winner. “The increased operational reliability and system performance of the Valeo TM65 series has proved to be the most efficient choice for for this project and also the performance of the cooling units
units has also been extremely satisfactory,” says Mr. Kostas G. Papadakis, President and CEO of MED Bus & Truck SA.