- S 516 HD offers space for 48 passengers in 4-star comfort
- Hessian bus operator convinced by design and economic efficiency
Stuttgart/Nidderau. Neu-Ulm, Nidderau, Vienna. The route that their new coach would take on its maiden journey had been determined long before the German busoperator “Schäfer‑Reisen” took delivery of the S 516 HD at the Setra Customer Centre. This was the first ComfortClass 500 touring coach to be delivered by Daimler AG’s Ulm-based brand to the German state of Hesse.
It was also quite clear to the company’s proprietor, Horst Lauer, just who would be driving and looking after the milestone vehicle that was handed over to him and his son Dirk in Neu-Ulm: “Inour company, each driver has his own personal bus, so I’m going to treat myself to the ComfortClass 500, the newest of them all.” The decision to take a model from the new generation of Setra buses onto the fleet was not a difficult one for the company’s CEO – and the choice was very quickly made: “The sale was actually agreed during the launch event last summer.”
Horst Lauer was impressed right from the start by both the new design and the excellent economic efficiency of this future-oriented vehicle concept. His decision was confirmed after just the first few test drives: “The quality and handling of the vehicle have once again been improved significantly.” And, getting straight to the heart of the matter, he summed up the level of comfort enjoyed by both driver and passengers very succinctly with the words: “I just feel right at home in this S 516 HD from the ComfortClass 500.” Among the features of the 4-star luxury bus are an on-board galley kitchen with a water heater and hot-dog warmer, a multipurpose area behind the second entrance and a DVB tuner for the audio/video system. The vehicle seats up to 48 passengers, who can relax in comfort on reclining seats with leather headrests.
Schäfer-Reisen opened in the year the Setra brand was established
The Hessianbus and coach operator Schäfer-Reisen was founded by Eugen Schäfer in 1951, and thus in the very same year that the first Setra buses saw the light of the world in Ulm. Horst Lauer and his uncle, Erich Hildebrand, took over the management of the company in 1982 – along with their first Setra bus, an S 215 HD. The company offers long-distance tours throughout Europe and is also active in the school bus and regular-service bus sector.
