Australia
Large numbers of buses built on the OC 500 LE chassis can be found in Australia, where it is marketed as the O 500LE. Particularly notable are the OC 500 LE/Volgren CNG-fuelled buses that were delivered to the city of Perth in Western Australia for operation on the Transperth suburban bus network between 2003 and 2010.
State Transit Authority (Sydney buses) in NSW, Australia are currently taking delivery of 255 Mercedes OC 500 LE CNG units with Custom Coaches 'CB60' Evo II bodies. Weight and performance issues has delayed the delivery of the first vehicles from mid 2007 until June 2008, with the final unit delivered in June 2011. In 2010, 20 OC 500 LE Euro 5 diesel units, also with Custom Coaches 'CB60 Evo II bodies (but with Denso airconditioning instead of Thermo King), were introduced to Sydney's northern beaches bus services.
Many operators across Australia have now purchased the OC 500 LE in various configurations. Problems related to quality control and unreliable electronics have not been uncommon. A lot of these complaints have come from drivers due to some units being under-powered, uncomfortable or rough.
Brisbane Transport withdrew their OC 500 LEs from the fleet for a short period because of a major unidentified fault which caused buses to suddenly accelerate without warning. This problem was reportedly fixed by Mercedes-Benz and these vehicles are now back on the road.
In January 2009, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd issued a recall on 443 CNG-fuelled OC500LE units due to respecified welding specifications for the turbocharger oil supply pipe.
Read more about this topic: Mercedes-Benz OC500LE
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