An urban and intercity transport company in Rio de Janeiro positively analyzes its experience of using Allison automatic transmissions in public transport.
SAO PAULO, Brazil, August 2021 — A year and a half after receiving its first five buses featuring Allison's fully automatic transmissions, Expresso Garcia, a company belonging to a group from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that includes
Auto Viação Santo Antonio and Auto Viação Três Amigos — analyzed their vehicles first period of activity. These units were the first Mercedes-Benz OF 1721 equipped with Allison 3000 Series™ transmissions
that the group started using for public transport.
“This first period of evaluation of automatic buses pleasantly surprised us, even though they have circulated in adverse conditions of continuous use during the pandemic. Despite such setbacks, we are happy with the quality of Allison transmissions
in terms of operation, safety and comfort for passengers”, said Bruno Sousa, Director of Operations at Expresso Garcia.
Among the advantages listed by Expresso Garcia,are a more agile acceleration, which allows the vehicle to reach its cruising speed faster,smoother operation due to the absence of bumpiness during shifting, and less noise inside the cabin, because the
gears are shifted at lower engine speeds. The comfort obtained on the route even leads some passengers to wait to aboard only the vehicles with automatic transmissions before continuing their journey.
“Drivers also approved of the fully automatic transmissions”, said Sousa. “They pointed out the ease of handling the gearbox, the rapid development of speed, and the smoothness of shifting, which increases comfort for passengers and
reduces physical wear and tear for operators at the end of the day. They also pointed out the greater safety of buses due to the transmission's performance in that it automatically reduces gears on a downhill and in speed reductions, acting as a great
auxiliary to the engine brake."
Expresso Garcia also emphasized the quality of Allison Transmission’s after-sales services. "We wish to congratulate Allison for its outstanding services during our company's adaptation to the new vehicles, both in adjusting the transmissions to
the needs of our routes, in terms of terrain and passenger density, and the training provided to our drivers. This significantly helped them to understand better how the transmission works and have the knowledge of how to make the most of its advantages,”
said Sousa.