On Monday 6 February 2017, VDL Bus & Coach will deliver two crowd and riot control vehicles to the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Maasdijk (NL). These are the first buses from an order for 256 crowd and riot control buses that VDL Bus & Coach is converting as a subcontractor. As regards vehicle conversion it is the largest order in VDL history. VDL Bus & Coach has also been awarded the 10-year repair and maintenance contract. The vehicles will be delivered to the Dutch police in March 2017 through the Mercedes-Benz dealer. The first batch consists of 44 group vehicles and 11 command vehicles. The last vehicles from this first batch will be delivered in late June 2017. The final delivery of buses for the complete order will take place in 2019.
Custom-made
The conversion of the vehicles is being done at VDL Bus Venlo. VDL Bus Venlo has delivered many custom-made vehicles for the police over the years. This is the first time the work is being carried out in a production line, to make the conversion process for this order as efficient as possible. The compact Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is used as the base vehicle. This makes the crowd and riot control buses very agile and perfectly suited for their intended task, allowing the riot police to move through crowds of people in small groups. The order consists of group vehicles and command vehicles. The group vehicle offers space for 9 people: the driver and the commandant in the cab, a team of 6 and possibly 1 suspect behind, and is designed with features including extra- wide side doors on either side, special windows and a cell. The command vehicle has room for the driver and commandant in the cab and 2 operators in the rear of the vehicle. Also installed in the rear of the vehicle is a conference table and various technical gadgets such as the sound commander, which lets the police address people up to 1,000 metres away.
Dutch police
The Dutch police is made up of 10 regional units, the National Unit and the Police Service Centre. The main structure of the police has 3 closely cooperating levels: national, regional and local. Police management, supported by the Police Management Executive, functions at national level. This also applies on an operational level for the National Unit, which amongst other things carries out cross-regional and specialist policing tasks, and the Police Service Centre, which brings together all management departments. The 10 other units operate at regional level. Within these units, local districts consist of basic teams, a district intelligence unit and a flexible response team.
VDL Bus & Coach
The core activities of VDL Bus & Coach consist of the development, manufacturing, sales and after-sales of a wide range of buses, coaches and chassis modules, the conversion or extension of mini & midi buses and the purchase and sales of second-hand buses. Manufacturing takes place in the Netherlands and Belgium. VDL Bus & Coach places high value on quality, safety, durability, the environment, low fuel consumption, comfort and low maintenance costs. Sales of VDL Bus & Coach products take place through a worldwide network consisting of corporate-owned sales offices, importers and agents in more than 30 countries. This makes it possible to offer custom- made transport solutions. For after-sales and maintenance, the client can count on rapid, hassle- free assistance from VDL Bus & Coach employees in any of the many service locations. An extensive distribution network ensures that spare parts and accessories are delivered to the requested destination as quickly as possible. VDL Bus & Coach is one of the largest bus producers in Europe.
