A contribution for sustainable urban transport systems worldwide
For more than 60 years, Hübner Group is manufacturing key components for the public transportation industry. Started in 1946, Kurt Hübner laid the foundation for today's international Hübner Group, with his rubber product repair business in Kassel/Germany which led a few years later to the production of door and window profiles and rubber tubes as gangways for railway carriages.
Hübner developed first folding bellow for articulated buses in 1952. In 1995, the company delivered the first generation of low-floor bus articulations. Hübner continued to grow its business all over the world and today has subsidiaries in Brazil, China, France, Hungary, India (planned), Italy, Russia, Sweden and the US. The main Hübner products like folding bellows for different applications in the public transport sector, articulation systems for buses and gangway systems for rail vehicles are known and appreciated all over the world.
Hübner's gangway system solutions are internationally the most utilized components for articulated public transport vehicles. Professional experience in product design, the permanent development of particular materials, close collaboration with the vehicle manufacturers and a very good service are leading to high quality means of public transportation which are based on long-term environmental sustainability, economic aspects and the needs of operators and end-users. Sustainable development in the transport sector, a worldwide key issue of the last decade, is self-evident for the business of Hübner.
It is part of the philosophy of Hübner to look onto actual traffic necessities and develop adequate technologies for the future. In this context, Bus-Rapid-Transit-Systems (BRT), which are very useful in big cities with high population growth and lots of transport problems are a big issue for Hübner.
BRT systems are defined as urban mass transportation services utilizing buses to perform premium services on existing roadways or dedicated lanes. The key argument for BRT systems is that they provide a high quality of service (similar to light-rail transit systems), but at greatly reduced capital investment. The first BRT system in the world has been installed 1974 in Curitiba/Brazil. The BRT of Bogota/Columbia which has opened in 2000 has become very famous and is today a role model around the world for best practice example to solve traffic overcrowded cities. Lots of international institutions are supporting such transport systems because they can be realized costefficient in a relatively short time. At the moment, Hübner produces most of the existing articulation systems for big buses which are used in BRT systems, especially for lowfloor and trolley buses.
The increasing need for urban
mass transit mobility is meanwhile
also being addressed by various cities
in India . The Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission
(JnNURM) does consider projects
in the field of urban, public transport
and as well Bus Rapid Transit
Systems. BRT proposals are in various
stages of appraisal and implementation.
In Ahmedabad, Bhopal,
Indore, Jaipur, Pune, Rajkot, Surat,
Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam,
BRT systems with a total length of
359 km are designed to come to
existence.
Articulated buses which have a high passenger capacity are the most suitable vehicles for BRT systems but as well for public transport with buses in bigger cities in general. But up to now only in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chandigarh are few articulated buses in use. Most of these highfloor articulated buses have been built from Ashok Leyland who are located in Chennai. They are all fitted with Hübner articulations.
The various Hübner articulations could be used for different operation purposes, for elaborated buses which operate in high tech environments as well as buses which operate in poor road conditions. The newly conceived basic-articulation HNG 21 which is suitable for pusher buses, has been developed for the specific requirements for markets like India. Manufactured with the established and proven quality, the range of functions and the purchased parts package are kept to the basic technical characteristics. It possesses clear interfaces, based purely on the articulation; it is however delivered without any attached construction . This gives the vehicle manufacturer leeway to produce an economically interesting chassis to local possibilities and technical standards. Despite the absence of electronics, a high degree of dynamic rigidity can be guaranteed.
Hübner's employees work closely together with the customers to develop innovative solutions. This cooperative relationship is the key factor for the success of Hübner products and the background on which this family enterprise stands.
MOTORINDIA
Vol. 55, No. 5, December 2010 · Photo: Motorindia
