Ajin Traffic Corp., a major bus operator in Seoul for 50 years, plans to incorporate all new buses with fully automatic transmissions as it adds more low-floor buses to its fleet. The move is a response to plans by the South Korean capital city to ensure that all buses running in the city will be low-floor by 2025 and follows the successful operation of more than 60 city buses with Allison fully automatic transmissions over the past decade, roughly 60 per cent of the company’s fleet.
Ajin Traffic Corp.’s buses are managed under a semi-public system, and as such the city government evaluates the operator every year. Ajin always ranks high, with government regulators often asking the company how it manages its buses, to glean insights for policymaking.
“We are proud of our excellent bus maintenance and safety,” said Cheon Yeong-mun, General Affairs Manager of Ajin Traffic. “Fewer incidents of idling, sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) and sudden starts translate into higher fuel efficiency and greater profits for the company. Fully automatic transmissions are by far cheaper to maintain than manual transmissions, which require replacement of components every six to ten months.”
“In 2009, we began to introduce low-floor buses,” said Cheon. “That’s how our full experience with Allison fully automatic transmissions began. Over the past ten years, we have had no trouble with the Allison products, which demonstrates their exceptional durability. I also want to praise their effective maintenance support system, which has been a great help.”
The only maintenance that fully automatic transmissions require is periodic replacement of the oil and filter, which is simpler and cheaper than frequently replacing clutches and brakes that manual transmissions often require. Moreover, Allison Transmission’s after sales service includes regularly visits from technicians to city bus operators to confirm how well the fully automatic transmissions are functioning. Last October, Allison inspected all of Ajin’s buses with fully automatic transmissions even though no issues had been reported.
“Two other strengths of Allison products are superb safety and convenience,” said Cheon. “With Allison fully automatic transmissions, bus drivers do not have to start or stop suddenly, leaving little room for accidents inside or outside the bus. With Allison transmissions, drivers also feel less tired and find the buses more convenient to drive because they can focus more on driving without being distracted.”
About Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission (NYSE: ALSN) is the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and is a leader in electric hybrid-propulsion systems for city buses. Allison transmissions are used in a variety of applications including refuse, construction, fire, distribution, bus, motorhomes, defense and energy. Founded in 1915, the company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA and employs approximately 2,700 people worldwide. With a market presence in more than 80 countries, Allison has regional headquarters in the Netherlands, China and Brazil with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Hungary and India. Allison also has approximately 1,400 independent distributor and dealer locations worldwide. For more information, visit allisontransmission.com.