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Enjoy some good vibes with GV Florida’s sleeper bus

Scania PH turned over new units to the transport company

The turnover ceremony was held at Scania's showroom in Balintawak. PHOTO BY LEANDRO MANGUBAT

If you’d like to visit Cagayan province, GV Florida Transit has a new ride for you. Scania Philippines and BJ Mercantile turned over a new fleet of Scania K360s—including four units of sleeper buses. I was given a taste of the Executive Sleeper Class through a day trip to Tarlac.

Thankfully, the bidet was working. PHOTOS BY LEANDRO MANGUBAT

The Scania K360 is powered by a 13-liter in-line-six turbodiesel engine with 360hp and 1,750Nm. The fuel efficiency ranges from 2.73.4km/L depending on the route. At first glance, that makes a gas-guzzling SUV look like a hybrid, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. After all, a single bus can transport as many as 45 people, almost seven times the capacity of a seven-seater passenger car.

While the chassis and the engine are manufactured in Sweden, the rest of the components are sourced elsewhere. In the case of the sleeper bus, the body is locally made by Del Monte Motors and the interior is by GV Florida. All Scania units come with a communicator to keep track of driver behavior and vehicle performance. The Scania sleeper bus can accommodate up to 23 passengers plus the driver and the conductor.

The author's iPhone was recognized as a USB device. PHOTOS BY LEANDRO MANGUBAT

Step inside and you’ll be greeted by a wide aisle with beds on both sides. In the middle of the bus is the bathroom complete with a toilet and a bidet. If you’re staying on the upper bunk, you won’t have to do parkour since there are steps and handrails. Each cabin comes with a blanket, two cupholders, and curtains on the side. I appreciated the shoe bag in particular since it allowed me to store my footwear without dirtying the bed.

There’s also an entertainment system in the form of a tablet with a USB port and a jack for the included headphones. Although the internal storage is filled with movies and music, it seems that you could load your own media with a USB drive. There was supposed to be complimentary Wi-Fi, but that hadn’t been installed yet when I rode the bus, and the same could be said for the seat recliners.

The author could hear the noise and feel the rain. PHOTO BY LEANDRO MANGUBAT

Given the popularity of Victory Liner’s sleeper bus, I couldn’t help but compare it with GV Florida’s. My main gripe with the former is the lack of accessibility. You’d need the flexibility and the moves of a ninja to get around inside, and the cabin felt more like a capsule hotel. Most, if not all, of my complaints were addressed by the latter. And it appears to be no coincidence as GV Florida observed its competitor so as not to repeat the same mistakes.

However, there was one issue I encountered during the maiden voyage. I noticed that I could clearly hear the noise coming from nearby vehicles on NLEX. I didn’t mind it as much since the air-conditioning was cold. But once the rain started pouring late in the afternoon, I felt water dripping on me. Apparently, the window wasn’t sealed properly, and this explained the lack of insulation. Hopefully, that issue has been solved now that the unit is operational.

Scania buses are loaded with fleet-management tech. PHOTOS BY LEANDRO MANGUBAT

When I asked representatives from GV Florida, they said the route traveled between Manila and Tuguegarao. Coming from the Sampaloc terminal, that journey spans almost 500km of more than nine hours of nonstop driving (according to Google Maps). The sleeper bus has two stops. The first one is in Pura, Tarlac, where passengers can have a meal (included with the fare). The other stopover is at Aritao in Nueva Vizcaya.

Although the fare was said to be P1,800, the online ticket booking has a different price. And it appears that the sleeper bus also has other destinations aside from Tuguegarao. For updated information, it’s best that you check with GV Florida on its website or Facebook page.

The sleeper buses stopped at GV Florida's stopover in Pura, Tarlac, before returning to Metro Manila. PHOTOS BY LEANDRO MANGUBAT

Overall, I enjoyed the new Scania sleeper bus of GV Florida, and I would gladly ride it if it went as far as Baguio. However, whether I would choose it over air travel when going to Tuguegarao might be a different story.



Leandro Mangubat

Leandro is our staff writer. Although having a background in mechanical engineering, he enjoys photography and writing more.



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