Huski Reizen, the largest school transporter in the Netherlands, has been busy in recent months to prepare for the so-called 'new reality'. The starting point for the company is that as soon as the children can sit together again in the classroom, traveling with Huski should also be possible again. No hassle with numbers, plexiglass, the one and a half meters, mouth masks, etc., with a coach where the spreading of germs is minimized by a well-functioning ventilation system.
Jeroen Kassing, owner Huski To travel:
“At the Van Hool Service Point at Kassing Tours in Bunnik, we were asked which adjustments are needed to make coaches Corona-proof. The biggest challenge for this is the ventilation and air circulation in the coach. Pumping air in a coach is not good, because you spread the germs through the air conditioning system. But without air conditioning, the temperature in the coach rises to high values, which also creates an unhealthy situation. We want to create a situation that is equal or preferably better than the air treatment in an airplane. ”
but what should be done then?
The solution to this is to adjust the air inlet and outlet with a cooling in between, all without circulating. So “fresh air” in the bus and “polluted air” out again. Kassing wants to save all kinds of technical details, but this piece of technical ingenuity is called HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning). They invented and executed this piece of ingenuity together with the technical department of Van Hool and their technical man in the Netherlands (Michael Jansen).
What was very nice for the company that Van Hool, one of the largest coach suppliers in the Benelux, has made a real study of this. They have been locked up for weeks to put all the ins and outs of this solution on paper, both the technical and implementation aspects. Ultimately, we succeeded in fully customizing a coach according to the wishes.
This modification consists of upgrades in the control system of the air conditioning unit and the adjustment of the intake and exhaust air valves of this system. And we have achieved our goal. For example, an aircraft can refresh the air in the aircraft 3 times an hour. With our HVAC this can be done in a coach at least 3, but also 5, 7 or even 10 times! In addition, you talk about refreshment on an airplane, with a coach with HVAC it is supplying clean air. Overall, a significant improvement over what is possible with aircraft.
The new system can in principle be built into any coach or city bus, depending on the operating system and the age of the coach. For example, a Van Hool coach can supply up to 100% fresh air, the other brands up to 80% fresh air. Coaches are currently being extensively modified by Van Hool. According to some interest groups of the travel industry and larger tour operators, traveling (with masks) can also be the breakthrough of stopping bankruptcies in the travel sector, for both the coach companies and the travel organizations.
Also read: RDW advice on the use of guards in the taxi
