Company Partners with J.S. Alliance, LTD of Seoul to Supply 100 Yellow School Buses per Year
Warwick, NY — Trans Tech Bus, Inc. (Trans Tech), New York’s only school bus manufacturer, announced today that they have successfully exported one of their Trans Tech SST (Type-A) school buses to South Korea. The school bus, which is currently being used to transport South Korean school children, is the first yellow school bus manufactured in the United States and approved by the South Korean government for use in the country.
“Exporting an American-made yellow school bus to South Korea from New York State is truly an historic moment, not just for Trans Tech, but for United States and South Korea,” said Trans Tech President, John Phraner. “We are honored that J.S. Alliance LTD CEO, Sungwon Bae and his team chose Trans Tech to be the exclusive manufacturer and supplier of yellow school buses for South Korea.”
A deal three-years in the making, Trans Tech was approached by J.S. Alliance, LTD of Seoul, South Korea about supplying Type-A school buses to their country because of the need to bring more uniformity and proven safety features to South Korea’s school transportation system. South Korea currently provides school transportation through a system of independent contractors who operate vans that are not specifically designed for carrying students and do not come close to the safety standards of a school bus made in the United States.
“After a world-wide search, J.S. Alliance, LTD decided to partner with Trans Tech because they build the best Type-A school bus on the market,” said J.S. Alliance, LTD CEO Sungwon Bae. “There is a real need for the yellow school bus in South Korea and we are proud to be importing Trans Tech’s SST Type-A school bus to our country.”
Bae continued, “This is truly an historic partnership for us, and one that will help make the ride to and from school for South Korean children even safer. Trans Tech makes a very safe, durable and efficient school bus – and we also felt that it was the best designed and nicest looking school bus the market had to offer.”
The first Trans Tech SST Type-A school bus was shipped out of California and arrived in South Korea in January. Trans Tech worked with J.S. Alliance, LTD, International Fleet Sales, and General Motors (the manufacturer of the school bus’s chassis) to successfully prepare the bus for export.
Once arriving in South Korea, the school bus underwent a series of government tests and was subsequently approved for operation in the country. The Trans Tech SST Type-A school bus is now safely transporting school children under the age of 13 in South Korea.
There were a number of factors that contributed to J.S. Alliance, LTD choosing the Trans Tech. First and foremost were the safety features and the toughness of a Trans Tech school bus. The bus is built with 14-guage galvanized steel and has pan-formed floors, which gives it increased strength and resists corrosion. The buses bolted safety cage provides enhanced crash protections, which was important to Mr. Bae and his company.
The SST is also the perfect size for the South Korean streets. The bus is designed for maximum driver visibility, maneuverability and comfort. The aerodynamic design was not only appealing, because of the added efficiency, but Mr. Bae and his team loved the subtly streamlined and stylish look.
J.S. Alliance cited Trans Tech’s leadership and engineering team’s willingness to make subtle changes to the design to customize the bus for the South Korean school transportation system – things like reducing the height of the school buses stairs to accommodate South Korean children. Trans Tech made additional modifications to conform to South Korean laws and regulations that included exterior lighting changes, converting the speedometer and all the measurement gauges to the metric system and language conversion for things like the stop arm.
Seating capacity of up to 30 passengers and the Trans Tech vehicle warranty were also important in J.S. Alliance LTD’s choice to partner with Trans Tech.
“Our main objective is to help make South Korea’s school transportation system as safe as possible and to use Trans Tech school buses to accomplish that goal,” said Mr. Bae. “Trans Tech makes a great bus and it perfectly meets the needs of our country.”
“We could not be more appreciative of our partnership with J.S. Alliance LTD, Mr. Bae and his entire team,” said Phraner. “We are looking forward to manufacturing many more Trans Tech school buses for South Korea.”