Victorian bus and coach operator Fallons Bus Group has reached a major fleet milestone, taking delivery of its 70th MAN bus from Penske Australia & New Zealand.
The milestone vehicle combines a 330hp MAN RR8 chassis with a Coach Concepts body.
Fallons Bus Group is a third-generation family business now led by brothers Luke, Brock and Heath Fallon, the grandsons of founders Frank and Lorna Fallon.
The company began in 1962 after Frank and Lorna successfully tendered to operate a single school bus service in Neerim South, Victoria.
Luke Fallon, a director of Fallons Bus Group, said the operation expanded significantly after his father, Larry Fallon, secured four additional school bus runs in 1972 and later purchased the business from his parents.
Today, the Fallon brothers operate five business entities across 10 depots.
The company’s relationship with MAN began through the acquisition of two 1996 MAN 16.290 buses and a 2002 MAN 18.360.
The 2002 model remains in the Fallons fleet and has travelled more than 1.3 million kilometres.
Luke said his own appreciation of MAN vehicles developed while working as a bus driver in Europe.
“I personally first became familiar with the MAN brand when I worked in Europe as a driver and was very impressed by the product,” he said.
Fallons transitioned to MAN as its primary chassis supplier in 2012, with Luke pointing to the brand’s safety technology, powertrain performance and operating costs as key reasons for the ongoing relationship.
“I believe MAN is the industry-leading chassis, and key to that is the safety features and innovative driver assistance systems like adaptive cruise control, which is fantastic, especially at night,” he said.
“Plus stability control, traction control, ABS and descent control, together with the powertrain, which dominates other brands on the market.
“It all comes down to safety, reliability, cents per kilometre, and MAN ticks those boxes.”
Luke said aftersales support was also critical to keeping the group’s fleet operating reliably.
“The support we get from MAN and Penske is paramount to keep our fleet on the road at all times,” he said.
Derek Schroff, head of MAN Truck & Bus at Penske Australia & New Zealand, said the 70th delivery reflected the strength of the long-running relationship between the two organisations.
“Reaching the milestone of 70 MAN buses is a significant achievement and reflects the confidence that Fallons Bus Group has placed in the MAN brand over many years,” Schroff said.
“A highly respected family-owned business with a proud history of delivering safe and reliable passenger transport services, we are honoured to be part of the journey.”
