Improved wear, safety and fuel economy are the main benefits resulting from trials of the latest coach tyre and pressure monitoring system from Continental carried out by leading Wiltshire coach operator Barnes Coaches.

Designed specifically for bus and coach applications, Continental’s new generation CityPlus HA3 tyres were fitted to a Bova Futura touring coach earlier this year by the Swindon based company. Continuous close monitoring since the trial began shows them to be wearing evenly and providing increased resistance to damage from ‘kerbing’. Road holding and handling characteristics, especially in the wet, are also reported to be good.

As a result Barnes Coaches has made this tyre its choice when buying new tyres rather than the Conti regional truck tyres that it has previously used and which are commonly used across the bus and coach industry.

A trial of the innovative ContiPressureCheck™ tyre pressure monitoring system also proved such a success that the company decided to fit one to another of its premium touring coaches. Workshop Manager Trevor Summers says that the system is resulting in drivers more readily reporting incidences of falling pressure to the workshop enabling early action to be taken to avoid any potential problems.

Continental believes that the benefits of fitting a TPMS unit couldn’t be clearer. Studies have shown that over 90 percent of tyre failures are preceded by slow leaks, causing gradual loss of air pressure which often goes undetected. Underinflated tyres can significantly affect rolling resistance, increasing fuel consumption and therefore carbon emissions, as well as causing increased tyre wear and reduced service life, all of which can adversely impact on operating costs and potentially on safety.

ContiPressureCheck measures the pressure and temperature of each individual tyre every few seconds and delivers the results to the driver information display enabling problems to be quickly identified and acted upon, as is happening at Barnes Coaches.

The measuring device is a single module with integrated sensors, data processor and communication system, housed in a rubber container that is glued to the inner surface of the tyre tread.

Designed for regional usage and for fitting to all axles, the Conti CityPlus regional coach tyre carries a grade A for wet grip and B for rolling resistance under the EU tyre labelling system. It precisely meets the requirements of this demanding and growing segment of the bus and coach market and with the tyre also carrying a ‘Mud and Snow’ marking, Barnes is able to use them on school winter skiing trips.

As these ski trips get underway Barnes Coaches will also be trialling a set of Continental’s HSW2 coach winter tyres. The tread of the HSW2 has been designed so that with use it gradually evolves into a conventional grooved pattern enabling the tyre to remain on the coach right through spring and summer. This reduces the cost of storing tyres for seasonal use and gives the company the flexibility to travel anywhere in Europe at any time of the year without the need to change tyres.

Established almost a century ago, Barnes Coaches runs a fleet of 35 coaches including Bovas, Van Hool bodied Volvos and DAFs, and Jonckheere tourers. It also provides the team coach for Swindon football team.

The fleet is kept busy on the company’s extensive programme of excursions and touring holidays and on school services in the Swindon area as well as providing coach transport for UK and Continental school trips. The company is holder of six stars under the BUSK benchmark scheme for safe transport of schoolchildren and is also a ‘Simply Safe’ member.

Barnes Coaches buys its Continental tyres from Barry Shaddick Tyres, which has outlets in five locations across Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Avon. Advice on tyre fitment and management and monitoring of the trials is provided by Continental through their Technical Services team.