With the 30 Mercedes-Benz Tourismo M/2 touring coaches Italian bus companies Autostradale and Stie started a campaign to revive tourism in northern Italy and improve long-distance services between major cities and airports in northern Italy. Twenty-five of the Tourismo vehicles will go to Autostradale and five to Stie. These new high-deck touring coaches will be used in what is called “Gran Tourismo long-distance services”.
The equipment and paintwork are identical on all 30 of the new Tourismo M/2 vehicles. Each of the 13-metre-long coaches has 61 seats in 16 rows, 59 of which are reserved for passengers and two for the driver and co-driver. Autostradale and Stie have also equipped the high-deck coaches with a wheelchair lift to enable passengers with reduced mobility to use the buses and so offer an efficient and comfortable means of transport to all passengers. All vehicles have numerous safety features, such as the emergency braking assistant Active Brake Assist 4 (ABA 4). Both
companies have concluded a six-year Omniplus full-service contract with the after-sales organisation of Daimler Buses Italia to keep the new Tourismo coaches in their long-distance bus fleets in optimal condition at all times. By investing in these new Mercedes-Benz touring coaches, Autostradale and Stie want to consolidate and expand their business and offer high demands and quality awareness for national and international travellers who on these coaches will experience their first impression of public transport in Italy travelling from the airport to their hotel.