Bus tyres are an important growing segment for Goodyear, and the company aims to become the preferred partner of customers by providing a complete package with the goodyear total mobility offer combining tyres and solutions.
Goodyear’s View of the Bus And Coach Sector
Recently the company launched the latest addition to its people mobility tyre range, the Urbanmax Commuter, which bridges the gap between tyres with long-distance and inner-city applications. The tyre was developed specifically for vehicles operating on inter-city and ‘park and ride’ routes for the growing commuter service requirements.
Specific requirements for the tyres can generally be seen in both “worlds” – truck and bus. For long haul fleets, Goodyear tyres are focused more on rolling resistance and the quality of the wear, whereas for regional or short-haul fleets, the focus is more on the robustness and strength of the sidewall. Furthermore, Goodyear provides a wide range of tyres in its portfolio which fits the needs of customers across Europe. For special climate situations like in the Nordic countries there are specific winter tyres available in this segment as well.
In general, Goodyear is focused on a balanced approach regarding the performance aspects of its bus tyres between mileage, fuel efficiency and ride & noise comfort as this is a specific customer need in people transport but also including start & stop capabilities and sidewall resistance as these tyres touch the carbs quite often. Goodyear’s bus tyres are electric drive ready which means they fulfil the need of higher load-carrying capacity and torque resistance to regenerate the batteries.
Usually, the tyres can be retreaded. As bus and truck tyres have different sizes Goodyear offers its customers the possibility to get their specific casing back. By this offer, Goodyear is giving a second life to the tyre, which makes this process very sustainable as it is reducing the needed crude oil for a tyre by 56% (based on internal data), less landfill as tyres last longer and have a longer tyre life and it reduces the manufacturing footprint by using less energy in the manufacturing process.
By providing advanced bus tyres Goodyear is supporting the general trend of growing public transport and developing public transportation, which helps reducing CO2 emissions. The company’s latest tyres are fit for use on electric, hybrid and conventional diesel machines. This reduces operator stocking requirements and reduces complexity in tyre management for fleet operators as the same tyre can be used, whatever the motive power.
With Goodyear Better Future the company also has a corporate responsibility framework which outlines Goodyear’s high-priority environmental and social sustainability topics.
