The 400th MAN Lion's City DD 'double-decker bus was handed over to Berlin's public transport company, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, at MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Gruppe's Bus Forum.
MAN's forereunner, The Büssing company, delivered its first double-decker – baaed on the London bus – to Berlin in 1907, with space for 42 passengers: 19 on the lower deck, 20 on top and standing room for three on the rear platform.
Today's equivalent, affectionately know as 'Big Yellows', have space for 128: 83 seats, with standing room for a further 45.
Since last autumn all the Berlin MAN Lion's City DD buses equipped with EEV-compliant engines have carried the 'Blue Angel' environmental seal for low-noise and low-pollutant municipal vehicles.
MAN's giant buses feature its MANPure Diesel concept, which meets the voluntary EEV exhaust-gas standard, currently the most stringent in the Europe for buses and trucks – even lower than Euro 5.
"We appreciate the confidence that the Berlin Transport Authority has placed in us for more than a hundred years", said Dr Frank Hiller, director marketing, sales and services of MAN Nutzfahrzeuge.
