The HINO Poncho 7 meter minibus is starting a trial run within Johor Bahru. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been recently entered into between Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Hino Malaysia) and Handal Indah Sdn Bhd (Handal Indah) to start a trial run of a low-floor mini bus in Johor Bahru. The Poncho, is a cute looking, low floor minibus that will be plying Route 10B, which is the route that travels along Johor Bahru City, Pelangi, Sentosa, Pandan, Taman Daya and Taman Setia Indah. It will be almost a one month trial which begins today, the 15th of June to the 12th of July 2020.
Hino Malaysia and Handal Indah have worked together previously. In 2017, Hino Malaysia collaborated with Handal Indah to conduct a trial on Hino’s low floor 10.5 meter hybrid bus model. Handal Indah are one of the larger bus operators in Johor Bahru and are best known for their Causeway Link bus service, of which you can see the livery in the photograph of the Poncho minibus above.
According to Hino Malaysia, Hino’s trial operation in Johor Bahru comes at quite a right time as the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) is in the midst of planning for the Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit (IMBRT) project. The IMBRT project aims to transform the public transportation system here in Iskandar Malaysia. Its services comprise three main lines running from Skudai, Tebrau and Iskandar Puteri to Johor Bahru city centre. This is basically a fully fledged out bus transport network for this economic zone which would need direct and feeder transport routes to ensure that the movement of the people is efficient.
With a network of more than 1200km, covering 90% of the populated areas of Iskandar Malaysia. IMBRT consolidates certain existing routes as well as opening new routes to serve the people of Johor better in terms of its public transportation needs. IMBRT has an emphasis on providing better access to an extensive network, first and last mile connectivity, and sustainable green technology, IMBRT aims to be a game changer for public transportation in Malaysia. Of course, if you have been to the Iskandar region, you would notice that it is still a distance away from the state capital, Johor Bahru and even development in the area are spaced out far apart from one another. Most people who work there would need their own transportation, and if they had the option of efficient public transport, it would be better.
So one option that Hino Malaysia would like to see implemented is for better last mile integration with their small minibuses giving efficient last mile service to the commuters. With its small size, the HINO Poncho is a solution to enable expansion of new routes that were not accessible earlier due to unavailability of low floor mini buses. Its small size enables it to easily maneuver through narrow city roads and quieter residential areas while its low floor design make it easier to board for senior citizens, children and wheelchair bound passengers.
“We have been working together on our past collaboration to run the first hybrid bus in Malaysia supporting economical and clean public transport system. It was an obvious choice to work with Handal Indah again for this Poncho trial in Johor and we are glad that they are as excited as we are to run this”, said Hino Malaysia’s Managing Director, Atsushi Uchiyama.
“Handal Indah is experienced and provides great insight on the public transportation needs here in Johor Bahru that is valuable in this trial”, he added.
Below is a video we shot of the Poncho at the recent Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Exhibition at Mines a year or so ago, take a look at it and see how compact the bus is. Asidfe from that, this is the second official trial the Poncho has done here in Malaysia, the previous one was with RAPID KL, the arm of PRASARANA, the government arm which provides public transportation throughout Malaysia. The Poncho was trialed in Petaling Jaya and was plying a route from the Taman Bahagia LRT station to the surrounding areas.
The HINO Poncho - A Small-sized and environmental friendly minibus
In Japan, there are more than 2,000 units of HINO Poncho manoeuvring within the busy cities and narrow road. It is designed to match the most innovative community transport solution and deemed as one of the solutions to cater to the first and last-mile travel for passengers.
Hino Malaysia sees the need in ‘first and last-mile connectivity’, meaning the first and last leg of a person’s travel within the city. The minibus has its advantages for narrow city residential and low ridership areas.
Its small size yet ample capacity makes HINO Poncho easier to manoeuvre through the busy city and narrow roads compared to the current buses now in operation which are approximately 10-12 meter length. HINO Poncho has excellent accessibility that features an ultra-low floor with the kneeling function that can be further lowered down. This feature aids senior citizen and disable passengers on wheelchair.
Besides being equipped with flexibility for the special needs passengers, the minibus is able to cater up to 31 including standing passengers. Designed with a vehicle height adjusting system, this system performs vehicle height lowering and raising control. The height can be lowered down by 50mm which will enhance the boarding or alighting property at bus stops and with the raising control, the chassis is able to lifted up to 30mm higher to improve driveability on rough road.
This trial unit Poncho is equipped with its five (5) liter Euro-V engine, common-rail fuel injection system and 5-speed fully automatic transmission, this minibus will help improve the operational cost as it is more fuel-efficient than current buses.
The Euro-V technologically-advanced diesel engine is to provide improved engine performance for acceleration, better fuel economy, and reduce harmful emissions, hence it is environmentally friendly. HINO Poncho with the Euro-V engine is equipped with Diesel Particulate Reduction (DPR) system; an after-treatment system that significantly reduces particulate matter. This feature differs to other current Euro-V vehicles where the HINO Poncho does not require any additional fluid such as AdBlue urea fluid, which eventually will save the operating cost and maintenance time for the customer.
The HINO Poncho trial run unites the objectives of providing efficient public transport system that best serves the people as this innovation will enhance the public transport services which aimed at eliminating the first and last mile barrier.
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