Setra
Setra is a German bus brand of Daimler Buses, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG.
The name "Setra" comes from "selbsttragend". This refers to the integral nature of the construction of the vehicles back in the 1950s when competitor vehicles still featured a separate chassis and body. It is also possible that, with an eye to export markets, the company was mindful that for non-German speakers, the name "Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke|Kässbohrer]" is difficult to pronounce. Until 1995 the firm operated under the name Karl Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke GmbH, but in that year economic difficulties enforced its sale to Daimler-Benz AG. Since 1995, Setra has been a brand of the Daimler subsidiary, EvoBus GmbH.
The North American distribution for Setra was taken over Motor Coach Industries on April 25, 2012; this agreement lasted until the end of 2017 when the REV Group assumed distribution responsibilities. Daimler has again self-distributed Setra coaches in North America since January 2020, through its new subsidiary, Daimler Coaches North America, LLC, with service support from Daimler Truck North America.
History
The first Setra coach, the Type S8, so called because it contained eight rows of seats, was introduced in April 1951 at the French Internationale Automobile-vouz. It featured a self-supporting body designed by Otto Kässbohrer, a concept now featured in most modern coaches and buses. Equally unusual at the time was the decision to locate the engine behind the rear axle; the rear-mounted engine configuration is another Setra innovation which subsequently became mainstream as it simplified the production process. This led to the creation of a range of passenger-focused possibilities regarding the flooring level in the crew/driver and passenger areas such as high-floor interior layouts due to a now-increased capacity and flexibility of use of the underfloor area.Models
The maximum number of seat rows can be identified by the type designation. In the first Setra series, the number of seats was alone. In the second series, a 0 or 5 was affixed, and one of the numbers preceded in each of the following series. Example: S 8, S 140, S 215, S 417, or S 319 UL. The seats are reduced by comforter buildings or a certain star classification; The type designation is retained. Starting from the series 200, additions after the number indicated the equipment: current are H for high-floor construction, HD for high floor, HDH for an extra-high floor, DT for double-deck touring bus, MD for mid-height floor, UL for interurban commuter buses and NF for low-floor buses. In the past, the Grand Tourisme, HDS for double-deck, SL for city buses, and NR were used for the first highway low-floor. Only a few types were given different designations, for example, the S 250 Special and the S 300 NC.The different models of the 200 series also bore the name designations with name suffixes, whereby the designation International for travel and combi-buses with simplified heating/ventilation was used. The term Communal and Regional were used for regular services, and Rational for travel combination models. The short-term offered club bus model based on the S 210 H deviated from the name Real. Air-conditioned high-floor buses were called Optimal, the double-deck S 216 HDS Royal and the double-deck S 228 DT Imperial. The export version of the 215 HDH for the US market was called Transcontinental. Some of these designations still existed with the introduction of the 300 series, as for the S 328 DT, at the latest with the introduction of the 400 series, these name additions with the division into MultiClass, ComfortClass and TopClass were abandoned. Additionally, the name Business has been produced in Turkey since 2013, with simpler equipment.
Historic
| DT | Doppelstock-Touristikbus | double-deck touring bus |
| HD | Hochdecker | high floor |
| HDH | Hochdecker high | extra-high floor |
| HDS | Superhochdecker | super-high floor |
| HR | Hochdecker Regional | high floor commuter |
| MD | Mitteldecker | mid floor |
| NR | Niederflur Rational | sloped floor |
| UL | Überland | interurban |
Major incidents
- 2018 Kazakhstan bus fire – On January 18, 2018, a fire occurred in the passenger compartment of a 1989 Setra bus in Kazakhstan, resulting in 52 deaths. The fire was due to an open-flame cooker being used on board the vehicle, adjacent to fuel canisters being kept in the passenger compartment.