An IVECO BUS Crossway belonging to the Italian Red Cross is the world's first high-biocontainment bus

Tuesday 1st February 2022

The Italian Red Cross chose Crossway by IVECO BUS, a brand of Iveco Group (MI: IVG) and a leading manufacturer of buses and coaches, for its new high-biocontainment vehicle. The vehicle is a world first, capable of transporting up to 41 potentially infectious people plus 6 crew members, in total safety, within restricted areas like airports and to accommodation, hospitals, and care facilities.

The IVECO BUS Crossway was chosen from the organisation's fleet and has already been used for urgent transport missions in Calabria. The 12-metre-long vehicle features the Cursor 9 engine from FPT Industrial, another global brand of Iveco Group that specialises in propulsion systems. The unique set-up includes a negative pressure chamber, which is a transparent envelope that surrounds the passenger compartment, where a difference in pressure from the outside prevents air from escaping unless it is filtered. The crew can monitor the pressure in the chamber, carbon dioxide saturation, temperature, and state of the filters using an integrated digital interface.

This special IVECO BUS Crossway, fitted out by the Italian Red Cross, is equipped with an electro-hydraulic wheelchair lift and has high comfort standards: air conditioning, night lighting, audio diffusion, tinted windows, and toilets inside the bio-containment chamber. The upholstery and interior have been covered with easily washable materials to ensure effective sanitisation.

"We are very proud that the Italian Red Cross has chosen one of the IVECO BUS flagship vehicles to create this special vehicle, the first in the world", commented Domenico Nucera, President, Bus Business Unit of Iveco Group. "At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread through its variants, we are confident that this high-biocontainment vehicle will make an important contribution to reducing the risk of contamination, ensuring the safe transport of many patients".