NBT The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada Volume XLVI, No. 3

National Bus Trader

The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada Volume XLVI, No. 3

February, 2023

Serving the bus industry since 1977.

Visit us at www.busmag.com.

• European Buses in the United States and Canada • A Look at tne New Increased EPA Emission Regulations • Theological Maintenance

ALWAYS FORWARD We chose to be inspired by you.

BUSWORLD NORTH AMERICA powered by ABA FEB 4-7, 2023 Huntington Place, Detroit BOOTH# 2417

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National Bus Trader The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada STAFF Editor & Publisher Larry Plachno

Business Manager Nancy Ann Plachno Typesetting/Page Layout Sherry Mekeel

Production/Design/Web Jake Ron Plaras

CONTRIBUTORS Safety and Liability Ned Einstein Dave Millhouser

N ATIONAL B US T RADER (ISSN 0194-939X) is published monthly

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Affiliations and Memberships: American Bus Association, The Bus History Association, Family Motor Coach Association, International Bus Collectors, North American Trackless Trolley Association, Motor Bus Society, Omnibus Society of America, Tourist Railway Association, United Motorcoach Association.

N ATIONAL B US T RADER is THE Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada.

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher. The name National Bus Trader, the logo incorporating the outline of the United States, and the pricing guide to used buses are trade marks of National Bus Trader, Inc.

Volume XLVI

National Bus Trader 9698 W. Judson Road Polo, Illinois 61064-9015 Phone: (815) 946-2341 Web site: www.busmag.com

Number 3

February, 2023

Features European Buses in the United States and Canada (by Larry Plachno) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 This serves to answer those readers who requested a list of European buses sold in the United States and Canada. We start way back with the Eagle and move up through the years with both coaches and transit buses to the most recent imports. We welcome any additions from readers.

A Look at the New Increased EPA Emission Regulations (by Larry Plachno) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 December of 2022 found the EPA mandating another round of environmental regulations on diesel engines guaranteed to impact engines and buses. While the underlying pressure to move to electric is obvious, there may be other options and alternatives.

Theological Maintenance (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Operating without a good maintenance program may not be a good idea even with a great deal of prayer and faith. If nothing else, this should give the reader some good reasons for developing and working with a sound and effective maintenance agenda.

Cover Photo

Departments

TEMSA has been one of the most successful of the European imports. Original success came from introducing a small coach to the American market that became popular with operators. Today, TEMSA offers a range of three different models including a full-size, 45-foot coach. TEMSA.

Equipment News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Survival and Prosperity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Curious Coachowner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Back Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Advertiser’s Index appears on page 42

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 3

Equipment News and more comfortable. Another aerodynamic advantage is less soil dispersion, resulting in better mirror visibility for the driver and an overall cleaner exterior.

All New Prevost H3-45 Takes Center Stage at 2023 UMA Expo Prevost introduced its all-new, nextgeneration H3-45 during the 2023 UMA Expo in Orlando, Florida. The redesigned H3-45 features a series of engineering advances that deliver improved fuel efficiency, an enhanced driver experience and ultimate comfort for passengers.

In addition, a plethora of top-to-bottom engineering, ergonomic and aesthetic improvements surround drivers and passengers.

“The H3-45 is our flagship and has for the past two decades set the standard in the industry,” said Prevost president Francois Tremblay. “We’ve re-engineered all aspects of the coach in order to create a best-in-class vehicle that is an obvious standout. The interior, which has been completely redesigned, was inspired by the automobile and aerospace industries. Everything we executed on the H3-45 we did with the user experience in mind.”

For drivers, the H3-45 has more than a dozen advances, including an intuitive dash featuring elegant automotive styling with a full-color digital and analog instrument cluster and push-button start. On the safety and comfort side, the H3-45 boasts an HVAC system that is 20 percent more powerful, defrosts 37 percent faster than SAE requirements and is eight decibels quieter. Thanks to its aerodynamic shape, the H3-45 is nearly 50 percent quieter in the driver area.

The H3-45 made its public debut at the UMA Motorcoach Expo as part of a yearlong introduction of the updated coach.

For passengers, the host of amenities and safety features includes a redesigned, larger entrance that makes boarding smoother and easier – especially for those with limited mobility. The entry stair width has been increased by seven percent, sharp corners have been smoothed out, there is 300 percent more lighting and an updated handrail provides a secure grip point. In addition, the interior has 50 percent more

The most visibly striking innovation is the coach’s new aerodynamic shape that makes it up to 12 percent more fuel efficient. The sleeker profile also produces a smoother ride and significantly reduces noise – advances that make driving the H3-45 easier

As promised for several weeks, Prevost introduced their next-generation H3-45 coach at the UMA Expo. The newly redesigned H3-45 features a number of engineering advances that increase fuel efficiency, improve the driver’s experience and increase passenger comfort. The new coach will hit the road for a debut tour after the show.

lighting to provide a brighter and more enjoyable experience and a new window layout delivers better sightlines and views.

Prevost has also made changes that make the H3-45 easier for operators to maintain. The new lighting system, which is all LED for a longer life, has a cleaning mode to fully illuminate the cabin for better visibility during interior cleaning and upkeep. For ease of maintenance, a front panel has been added to conveniently access and service the wiper and defrost systems and driver air conditioning units. In addition, the front junction box, which provides access to the multiplex components, now has an interior door for improved protection and is 70 percent larger. Plus, three standardized passenger window and blind sizes reduce the need to stock excess inventory.

“At Prevost, we focus on people,” said Commercial Operations Vice President Kevin Dawson. “It’s our commitment and dedication to operators, drivers and passengers that has led to our number 1 position in the marketplace. In fact, we’re seeing an increase in new and established customers who are coming to us for their vehicle solutions due to our reputation as a strong, trusted partner who will always be there for them.”

As part of that commitment, Prevost has built the largest service network in the industry with strategically-placed, OEM-owned service centers and more than 160 service providers throughout North America dedicated to supporting the H3-45 and the entire line of coaches.

“2023 is an exciting time for Prevost,” said Dawson. “The all-new H3-45 couples the quality, reliability and serviceability that have been hallmarks of Prevost for nearly 100 years with advanced engineering innovations that have been implemented with the customer in mind.”

Following UMA, the H3-45 will hit the road for a months-long debut tour. The coach will be at the RV Supershow in Tampa, January 18-22; IMG Maintenance & Safety Forum in Detroit, February 2-4; ABA Marketplace & BusWorld in Detroit, February 4-7; Motorhome Expo in West Palm Beach, Florida, February 8-9; Chauffeur Driven Show in Las Vegas, March 5-8; and OTE in Toronto, April 18.

4 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

For more information on the all-new H3-45 coach, visit prevostcar.com.

Equipment News Prevost has provided coach solutions for nearly a century with an uncompromising commitment to quality, a drive for constant innovation and improvement and dedication to safety and sustainability in every business aspect. Today, Prevost is one of North America’s largest producers of premium intercity touring coaches and is the world leader in the production of high-end motor home and specialty conversion coaches. Customer support is secured via the largest service network in the motorcoach industry with strategically-located OEM-owned and operated service centers across North America, a specialized customer support team with more than 260 years of industry experience, and 50+ mobile service vans. Prevost manufacturing facilities are located in SainteClaire, Quebec, Canada. Prevost is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of buses, trucks, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and services that increase customer uptime and productivity. For more information, visit www.volvogroup.com.

MCI Delivers Its First Zero-Emission J4500 CHARGE™ Coaches Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, announced on December 19 that it has delivered its first battery-electric J4500 coaches in North America, with two batteryelectric, zero-emission J4500 CHARGE™ 45-foot coaches going to a California Bay Area operator.

The battery-electric, zero-emission luxury coaches feature spacious interiors with industry-leading legroom and will

complement clean-diesel models in the California Bay Area employee shuttle market. Technology companies in the Bay Area first introduced employee commuting in the late 1990s to offer alternative commuter options to supplement local public transportation.

“MCI is proud to deliver our first batteryelectric J4500 CHARGE coaches to the Bay Area employee shuttle market,” said Brent Maitland, vice president, sales and marketing, MCI. “This growing market continues to advance employee transportation, making commuter shuttle service even more environmentally-friendly, inviting and comfortable. The employee shuttle market is an excellent application for MCI’s EVs as their range covers the length of the shuttle service routes and does not require a large amount of baggage bay space. MCI has rigorously tested J4500 CHARGE coach for this business segment throughout locations in the U.S. and Canada to ensure its high performance for our customers.”

Introduced in 2021, the J4500 CHARGE is a zero-emission version of the industry’s best-selling J series tour and charter luxury coach. Powered by American-made, highenergy batteries, the J4500 CHARGE leverages EV technology from New Flyer and delivers a range of more than 230 miles (544 kWh) on a single charge.

All MCI battery-electric coaches incorporate advanced EV technology, including enhanced regeneration for energy recovery and greater efficiency, a smooth-riding suspension and a high-torque electric drive system for efficient performance at highway speeds. Designed for long-distance applications, MCI electric coaches deliver plug-

MCI J4500 CHARGE™ battery-electric coaches are now on the road and in service. In December, two new coaches were delivered to a California operator who will use them to provide employee shuttle service in the Bay Area. The MCI J4500 CHARGE is the zero-emission electric version of the popular J4500 model.

in battery charging to 100 percent in four hours or less.

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 120 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zeroemission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 85 million EV service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With zeroemission buses and coaches, infrastructure and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean and sustainable transportation.

With 7,500 team members in nine countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands New Flyer ® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI® (motorcoaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single- and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motorcoaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses) and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid and clean diesel. In total, NFI supports its installed base of more than 105,000 buses and coaches around the world.

MCI is North America’s public and private market motorcoach leader. Products include the luxury J-Series (an industry best-seller for more than a decade), the workhorse D-Series and the brand new zero-emission luxury and commuter coaches: the batteryelectric J4500 CHARGE™, D45 CRT CHARGE™ and MCI D45 CRT LE CHARGE™. MCI also provides maintenance, repair, 24-hour roadside assistance, parts and technician training through the industry’s only Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) accredited and award-winning MCI Academy.

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 5

Equipment News Busworld is Coming to North America For the First Time In February 2023 Busworld will land in the United States for the first time in its history. A long history of organizing trade shows – later on accompanied by conferences – for the bus and motorcoach industry goes back all the way to 1971.

Recognizing the fact that buses and motorcoaches needed a trade show of their own, Busworld organized a first event in Kortrijk, Belgium in November 1971. Bus and coach no longer had to play the third fiddle in the commercial vehicle industry (versus truck and van) or in the public transport world (versus train, tram and metro); they now had the leading role. Year after year, this idea proved to be more right and the importance of the event kept growing. Today, Busworld not only organizes the biggest bus and motorcoach exhibition in the world in Brussels, the event is also exported to other regions and countries like Turkey, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Central Asia and last but not least North America.

In partnership with ABA (American Bus Association) a Busworld trade show and conference will be organized in Detroit from February 4-7: the trade show from February 4-6 and the conference from February 5-7.

Contrary to what the partnership might suggest, Busworld is an event that brings together the whole bus industry, meaning: transit bus, school bus, motorcoach and any other type of bus. Although the different subsectors have a diverse playground, they still share the same core: passenger transportation on the road. Therefore a lot of synergies can be found by reaching out cross sector and working all together.

Exhibitors such as ABC Companies, MCI, Mobility TRANS, Daimler Coaches, BYD, Prevost, Temsa, Marcopolo, Pegasus Specialty and National Bus Sales will showcase their latest vehicles. This list will become bigger; other contracts are still in the pipeline. Suppliers of drivetrains, charging systems, IT systems, glazing, fire sup-

pression and even solar panels will be on the fairground too. The exhibitor list on the Web site is regularly updated with new exhibitors.

The Busworld conference program in partnership with CTE (Center for Transportation and the Environment) and Endava will present many relevant topics for the different sub-sectors with top notch speakers. Topics are: zero emission vehicles, the market in North America, connectivity, insurance, charging systems, hydrogen, MaaS, ticketing, lessons learned from aviation (with American Airlines and Southwest Airlines) and many more. The detailed schedule can be consulted on the Web site at www. busworldnorthamerica.org.

Visiting the Busworld trade show and participating in the conference is free of charge to attract as many people as possible. Tickets are available on the Web site.

Vincent Dewaele, CEO of Busworld International, invites the North American bus and motorcoach people to become part of the Busworld family: “Let’s have a wonderful event together with the whole sector. Let’s experience the latest products, let’s exchange information and let’s network. The Busworld team is more than ready to welcome you and all of your colleagues.”¡ NFI Receives 157 Bus Contract from Pennsylvania’s PRT New Flyer of America Inc. (New Flyer), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on December 22 announced that it has received a five-year contract from Port Authority of Allegheny County, d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) for 15 zeroemission, battery-electric Xcelsior Charge NG™ 60-foot, heavy-duty transit buses (30 equivalent units or EUs) and 54 clean-diesel Xcelsior® 60-foot buses (108 EUs), for a total of 138 EUs, with options to purchase up to 88 additional 60-foot, battery-electric or clean-diesel buses. In total NFI will add 157 60-foot buses (314 EUs) to its backlog.

A recent contract with the Port Authority of Allegheny County will see new NFI buses delivered to Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

Included are 15 zeroemisison 60-foot Xcelsior CHARGE articulated buses and 54 clean diesel articulated buses. There are options to purchase up to 88 additional articulated buses.

6 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

PRT is the second largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania, operating a fleet of 730 buses and providing more than 60 million annual passenger trips a year in the Pittsburgh area. In September 2022, PRT announced its plan to transition to a zeroemission bus fleet by 2045 to improve the health and safety of the area it serves.

Supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds, this order will spur PRT’s transition to a more sustainable fleet and replace vehicles that have reached the end of their lifespan with more efficient and reliable battery-electric and cleandiesel buses, delivering an enhanced passenger experience.

“Since 2011 NFI has delivered more than 130 vehicles to PRT, eight of which were battery-electric buses. NFI continues to deliver the most advanced transit technology available in North America,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “Designed on NFI’s Xcelsior platform, both electric and clean-diesel 60-foot buses share common parts, tooling and training, enabling PRT’s smooth transition to a zeroemission fleet. Together with PRT, we are delivering safe, reliable, efficient and more sustainable mobility for the greater Pittsburgh community.”

Introduced in 2021, the Xcelsior CHARGE NG bus incorporates three distinct technology advancements, including highenergy batteries, advanced protective battery packaging for easy install and simpler serviceability and a new lightweight electric traction drive system with up to 90 percent energy recovery. For more information visit newflyer.com/ng.

New Flyer’s Xcelsior buses conform to the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for heavyduty highway vehicles. For more information visit newflyer.com/xcelsior.

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 120 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zeroemission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 85 million EV service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North America cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only

Equipment News innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 300 interactive events, welcoming 5,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With zeroemission buses and coaches, infrastructure and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean and sustainable transportation.

With 7,500 team members in nine countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands New Flyer ® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI® (motorcoaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single- and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motorcoaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses) and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid and clean diesel.

In total, NFI supports its installed base of

more than 105,000 buses and coaches around the world.

New Flyer is North America’s heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE® brands. It also offers infrastructure development through NFI Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe, sustainable and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New Flyer actively supports more than 35,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI and Orion) currently in service, of which 8,600 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are zero-emission. Further information is available at www.newflyer.com.

Proposed Higher Penalties for Idling in New York Matthew Daus reported that the Committee for Environmental Protection held an oversight hearing on December 15 on the city’s air quality and its effect on public health. Discussion included Councilwoman Julie Menin’s anti-idling bill, which aims to increase fines imposed on bus and truck drivers who violate the anti-idling provision of the city’s air pollution control code – a practice long denounced by environmental activists.

The new law, which has received support from 38 city council members, would increase violation penalties from a flat $350 per violation to a range of $1,000 to $2,000 for first-time offenders. From there, violations penalties would only go up, depending on the number of offenses. (Second-time offenders would owe between $2,000 and $4,000. For three or more violations, the range would be $3,000 to $6,000).

In an interview with Gothamist, Menin said the current penalty is too low to motivate enough drivers to consistently obey the law.

“Right now, we’ve got a problem where there’s a single rate of $350 for violators, and the current law is not taking into account repeat offenses,” said Menin, who represents a section of the Upper East Side. “So we have corporate actors like Amazon and ConEd that are continuing to flout the law, and the fine is basically $350. So they’re viewing it as a cost of doing business, and yet they’re clogging up the streets with the idling.”

She added, “We need to toughen the penalties to send a loud and clear message to these corporations that they cannot continues to idle on our city streets.”

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 7

Equipment News TEMSA Announces In-House Financial Services TEMSA has announced TEMSA Financial Services, a new and more affordable way to acquire its highly innovative and comfortable motorcoaches.

TEMSA Financial Services is the result of a collaboration between TEMSA, the company that sets the standard in innovative and sustainable mobility and Auxilior Capital Partners, North America’s fastest growing sales catalyst, finance company. TEMSA Financial Services offers customers affordable acquisition methods for its full line of motorcoaches with fast, frictionless service.

Fatih Kozan, TEMSA’s managing director, commented, “A branded finance offering is part of the total solution TEMSA North America now offers its clients and aligns with our goal to be among the world’s most customer-centered businesses. We chose the Auxilior team because of their long and successful history in rolling out finance programs and enabling sales and market share growth for their partners. In addition, our value of innovation is aligned, so we knew that providing our clients with a seamless finance experience enabled by worldclass technologies and focus on service was guaranteed.”

Kosan continued, “One of the criteria of paramount importance was to partner with an organization that we believed would be good stewards of our growing and prestigious brand. The choice was clear based on the marquee brands with which the Auxilior leadership team has been associated.”

Don Campbell, Auxilior’s chief risk officer and TEMSA Financial Services executive leader, said “We’re so pleased to partner with TEMSA. Our organizations have synergies and common corporate cultures and beliefs, which will result in the best financial solutions being offered to TEMSA’s clients.”

TEMSA Financial Services enables clients to be approved for up to $350,000 with application only. Lower total cost of ownership takes on new meaning with customized finance structures to meet clients’ business and balance sheet needs. TEMSA Financial Services’ finance executives are experienced deal engineers who understand how to structure transactions to help clients get more of what they need – whether it is additional motorcoaches for their existing fleet or more fully featured, innovative TEMSA models.

Ronnie DeMarco, TEMSA Financial Services VP of sales, said, “Our organizations are connected at every level from executive sponsorship through the sales and closing processes. This connection ensures 8 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

TEMSA recently announced the introduction of TEMSA Financial Services, a new and affordable way to purchase innovative and comfortable TEMSA coaches. Auxilior Capital Partners has joined TEMSA in providing this new service to TEMSA operators. Shown here is the TEMSA staff at the recent UMA Motorcoach Expo in Orlando.

maximum focus and attention on TEMSA’s clients, and I believe that together, we’re offering a best-in-class product with the added feature of affordability.”

TEMSA Financial Services’ finance executive are aligned geographically with TEMSA’s seasoned team of regional sales managers. TEMSA clients can count on fast approvals, timely communications regarding their finance transactions and seamless closings. TEMSA regional sales executives confidently connect their clients with TESMA Financial Services, who take the finance process from front to back. By continually enhancing its product and service offersings, TEMSA expects its North American sales to double and continue its mission to be the human-centered technology company which provides smart and sustainable mobility solutions to the world for more pleasant journeys.

With more than 15,000 vehicles in 66 countries, TEMSA is reinforcing its position in the U .S. day by day. Having entered the U.S. market in 2010, TEMSA continues to operate through the TEMSA North America Company founded in 2018. TEMSA that has managed to be one of the most important actors in the industry by achieving a noteworthy market share where it operates presently, appears to be an “automotivefocused technology company” with more than 1,500 vehicles in the U.S. The company considers the North American market as one of its growth accelerators in the future and aims to bring the TS45E Electric motor-

coach that it has recently developed specifically for the U.S. market.

PBA 2023 Family Day at the Bus Museum in Hershey The Pennsylvania Bus Association’s annual Family Day event this year will be at the Bus Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania on June 10, 2023.

This year the Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum’s Spring Fling in Hershey, Pennsylvania will take place on June 9 and 10, 2023. The theme for this year’s event will be celebrating the Centennial of the founding of the Pennsylvania Bus Association. As a result, the Pennsylvania Bus Association has designated June 10 as their 2023 Family Day at the museum.

Pennsylvania’s bus industry has a long tradition of innovation and service, and the Pennsylvania Bus Association’s membership is a unique blend of long, successful family-owned operations with rich histories, mixed with innovative newer companies.

Not only is PBA one of the nation’s oldest state bus associations, it remains one of the strongest and most influential.

Prior to Covid, Spring Fling was averaging more than 500 guests and more than 100 buses. With the extra energy that PBA brings, the museum is hoping to far exceed that this year. The block of hotel rooms that the bus museum reserved as sold out, but there are still a few left in the block arranged

by PBA.

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Equipment News If PBA members want to drive a bus to the event, the museum will need to give the AACA a bus count in April, so as to provide a designated parking area large enough.

Please let the museum know if you plan to bring a bus.

Overnight accommodations are available at the Best Western Premier, the Central Hotel, 800 East Park Drive, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17111. You can phone and give the front desk your check-in and checkout dates as well as the Pennsylvania Bus Association group name.

NFI Receives Award for 46 ZeroEmission, High-Capacity Buses from Wisconsin’s Metro Transit New Flyer of America Inc. (New Flyer), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on January 10 announced that the City of Madison (Metro Transit) ordered 46 battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ 60foot, heavy-duty transit buses (92 equivalent units or EUs). The purchase was supported

by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds.

The high-capacity, zero-emission articulated buses will be configured with five doors to operate on Metro Transit’s new East-West Bus Rapid Transit system, which is expected to begin its service in 2024. In addition, the new battery-electric buses for Metro Transit will be equipped with high-power batteries, providing 410 kWh of power to deliver more energy-efficient and longer-range zero-emission buses. Metro Transit provides public transportation service throughout the City of Madison, Wisconsin, delivering more than 4.6 million annual fixed route bus and paratransit rides.

“Metro transit is excited to partner with New Flyer to help make our ambitious BRT plans a reality,” said Justin Stuehrenberg, general manager, Metro Transit. “New Flyer’s track record of innovation, quality products and on-time delivery give us complete confidence that they will be a trustworthy partner for the largest infrastructure project the City of Madison has ever undertaken.”

development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

“With more than 16,000 Xcelsior buses on North America’s roads, NFI is a proven mass mobility leader that provides reliable and safe mobility solutions,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “These 60-foot CHARGE NG buses will immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions, delivering cleaner, more sustainable mobility all while providing faster, high-capacity transportation to the City of Madison community.”

Gillig Sets Records at Altoona Gillig, America’s leading manufacturer of heavy-duty, clean-energy transit buses, announced on December 19 that they received the highest-ever score for a batteryelectric bus tested at Altoona, with a total score of 89.5.

Introduced in 2021, the Xcelsior CHARGE NG incorporates three distinct technology advancements, including highenergy batteries, advanced protective battery packaging for easy install and simpler serviceability and a new lightweight electric traction drive system with up to 90 percent energy recovery. For more information, visit newflyer.com/ng.

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 120 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 85 million electric service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North America cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce

The Federal Transit Administratio¡n’s (FTA) Bus Test Program, conducted by the Larson Transportation Institute’s Bus Research and Testing Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania, evaluates how well vehicles perform under conditions that simulate the rigorous duty cycles required of transit buses.

To be eligible for purchase with federal grant funding, such as the recently awarded $1.66 billion in FTA grants, all buses must demonstrate that they meet or exceed performance minimums. The comprehensive testing assesses key performance areas, such as maintainability, reliability, safety, structural integrity, noise, fuel economy and emissions. The FTA introduced a 100-point scoring system in 2016 to better inform buyers by offering an unbiased, standardized assessment of vehicle durability, safety and performance.

With an overall score of 89.5 out of 100, Gillig’s battery-electric bus far exceeds the Altoona minimum standards and passed all pass/fail performance tests, qualifying for

The Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum’s Spring Fling will take place on June 9 and 10, 2023 at the museum facility in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

This year’s theme will be celebrating the Centennial of the founding of the Pennsylvania Bus Association. Hence, the PBA designated June 10 as their 2023 Family Day at the museum.

10 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio – Photo by Mark Bealer

Northern Kentucky Skyline with Roebling Suspension Bridge – Photo by Liz Dufour The Beast Roller Coaster at Kings Island, Mason, Ohio – Photo by Kings Island

Ark Encounter, Williamstown, Kentucky – Photo by Ark Encounter

Newport Aquarium, Newport, Kentucky – Photo by Newport Aquarium

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, Cincinnati, Ohio – Photo by Robert Webber

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Equipment News purchase with federal funding (as all Gillig buses are). Performing beyond Altoona’s requirements, Gillig’s 40-foot bus scored exceptionally well in all evaluated categories and broke the previous highest records for reliability and safety performance.

The report, released earlier this month, clearly proves that Gillig produces the safest and most reliable battery-electric buses available in the U.S. Altoona evaluates reliability, in part, through measuring in a range of 0 to 125 hours of unscheduled maintenance throughout the testing process, with higher scores going to those with fewer required repairs. During more than 15,000 miles of testing, the Gillig battery-electric bus required only 15.2 repair hours of unscheduled maintenance. Comparatively, other battery-electric buses tested at Altoona over the last seven years have each needed, on average, 72.3 hours of repair time to complete their testing.

In addition to proving Gillig’s commitment to quality, the results also clearly demonstrate Gillig’s dedication to safety. The Gillig battery-electric bus received the highest score ever in the critical braking test, stoping, on average, more than 30 feet – or more than two car lengths – earlier than other manufacturers’ comparable electric buses.

“We talk a lot of ‘quality without compromise’ here at Gillig,” said Ben Grunat, VP of product planning and strategy, Gillig. “These scores demonstrate exactly what that means; our product being the safest and most reliable zero-emission bus on the market is not our goal. Rather, it’s Gillig’s standard.”

Their standard of excellence comes from a focused vision, exemplary products, steadfast customer care and Gillig’s 130 years of American-built craftsmanship.

Known for being ruggedly reliable, all Gillig buses are built on their proven low-floor platform, which has decades of successful inservice performance and excels in-depth validation testing, such as at Altoona.

Gillig’s battery-electric bus combines the unmatched durability of their platform with a highly efficient electric powertrain and a unique modular energy storage system that is plug-in, overhead conductive and inductive charging compatible. The result is a record-setting product that offers trusted quality, proven performance and maximum flexibility for operators and agencies as they plan and expand their zero-emission fleets.

The latest Altoona report concretely proves that Gillig’s battery-electric bus is the gold standard of reliability, durability and safety. As shown by their recent recordbreaking low-no funding partnerships, the

12 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

Gillig recently announced that they had received the highest-ever score for a battery-electric bus tested at the Bus Research and Testing Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The Gillig bus being tested received a total score of 89.5 out of 100, which not only passed all pass/fail performance tests but also broke the previous highest records.

market agrees. Since releasing their first electric bus in 2018, Gillig has rapidly gained a market reputation as the highest-quality, best-performing and safest zero-emissions bus manufacturer in America.

CapMetro Orders 30 Chargers from NFI NFI Group (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on January 3 announced that the Capital Metro Transportation Authority (CapMetro) has exercised options to purchase 30 Heliox 180 kWh depot overhead chargers, including 90 pantograph dispensers, by NFI Infrastructure Solutions™. The purchase is part of CapMetro’s five-year contract with NFI subsidiary of New Flyer of America Inc. (New Flyer) for up to 171 battery-electric buses and 427 chargers.

The Heliox depot overhead chargers will support CapMetro’s initiative of transitioning to a battery-electric bus fleet. The order will also support Project Connect, CapMetro’s and the City of Austin’s joint initiative to improve the public transportation network across the Central Texas region. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, CapMetro provides public transportation services, delivering more than 20 million annual trips through bus, paratransit and commuter rail services.

“This is just another step forward in our mission to create a clean environment for our community,” said Andrew Skabowski, chief operating officer, CapMetro. “Sustain-

ability is one of the core values at CapMetro, and through our partnership with New Flyer, we are investing in a sustainable future for all Central Texans.”

“For 25 years, NFI has supported CapMetro with efficient, safe and accessible transit solutions, having delivered more than 360 vehicles to CapMetro since 1997. NFI now continues to enable CapMetro’s transition to zero-emission mobility through its reliable, safe and sustainable infrastructure services,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “By leveraging NFI’s extensive experience in smart charging infrastructure, CapMetro will support zero-emission bus deployment in Austin, ultimately delivering cleaner, quieter mobility in Texas.”

NFI Infrastructure Solutions is a service dedicated to providing safe and reliable infrastructure services for smart, sustainable mobility projects with more than 330 chargers installed to date. For more information, visit nfigroup.com/IS. NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 120 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 85 million electric service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North America cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a

Equipment News four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

Santa Maria Launches Electric Fleet with Proterra Buses Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT) has started down the path to building a fully electric fleet. The California-based transit agency unveiled its first electric buses at a recent community event: Proterra ZX5+ models with vibrant and local landscape-inspired designs.

City officials have their sights set on adding up to 15 more e-buses to the SMRT fleet in the near future, with plans to operate a fully electric fleet and become carbon-free by 2024.

Winnipeg Opts for NFI Buses NFI Group Inc. (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on January 4 announced that its subsidiary New Flyer Industries Canada ULC (New Flyer) has received new firm orders for 16 battery-electric and fuel cell-electric transit buses from Winnipeg Transit. The contract also has options to be extended for up to four years to purchase up to 150 40-foot, zero-emission buses (ZEB). In total NFI will add up to 166 buses (or 174 equivalent units EUs) to its backlog from firm and option orders. The new five-year contract includes the following firm order: • Four Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ fuel cellelectric 40-foot, heavy-duty transit buses (four EUs) and four Xcelsior CHARGE FC fuel cell-electric 60-foot transit buses (eight EUs), and

Santa Maria Regional Transit, located on the Pacific Coast north and east of Los Angeles, recently acquired its first electric buses. A recent community event marked the delivery of new Proterra ZX5+ battery-electric buses. City officials are contemplating adding 15 more e-buses to the fleet.

• Four Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ batteryelectric 40-foot transit buses (four EUs) and four Xcelsior CHARGE NG battery-electric 60-foot transit buses (eight EUs).

Named one of Canada’s most efficient transit systems, Winnipeg Transit is the public transit agency serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, delivering more than 48 million passenger trips annually.

Through this purchase of ZEBs, Winnipeg Transit accelerates its transition to a 100 percent zero-emission fleet ahead of the 2050 target outlined in Winnipeg’s Climate Action Plan, delivering on a promise to realize the city’s sustainable future vision. Funded through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, the high-performance ZEBs will be built on New Flyer’s proven Xcelsior® platform and will deliver reduced greenhouse gas emissions and annual operating costs compared to diesel buses.

Winnipeg, Manitoba recently opted to purchase both batteryelectric and fuel cellelectric buses from local manufacturer New Flyer. The contract has options to be extended for up to four years for an additional 150 40-foot zero-emission buses. Winnipeg Transit, providing more than 48 million passenger trips annually, will operate the buses.

“We’re proud to extend our partnership with NFI to modernize our transit fleet and move toward zero emissions,” said Mayor Scott Gilligham. “This purchase will also support local jobs and build Winnipeg’s reputation as a center of excellence for transit manufacturing and sustainable transit technology.”

“NFI has led innovation in North American public transit for decades, and today we stand ready with our next generation zeroemission buses to help communities transition to no-emission mobility,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “NFI’s partnership with Winnipeg Transit spans 35 years, and we have delivered more than 1,560 transit buses to Winnipeg Transit since 1987. We are now proudly enabling the agency’s transition to a low-carbon future through our efficient, long-range battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses for healthier Manitoba communities.”

New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE FC incorporates four distinct technology advancements, including a lighter, simpler and more efficient heavy-duty fuel cell power module that is easier to service; recyclable, highpower batteries; a redesigned waterproof battery enclosure providing improved serviceability; and a high-grade electric drive traction system. For more information visit newflyer.com/FC. The Xcelsior CHARGE NG bus incorporates three distinct technology advancements, including high-energy batteries, advanced protective battery packaging for easy install and simpler serviceability and National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 13

Equipment News innovative lightweight electric traction. For more information, visit newflyer.com/NG.

mond, Indiana; Michigan City, Indiana and Elgin, Illinois.

NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating or on order in more than 120 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 85 million EV service miles.

“We have been providing shuttle service to O’Hare from Purdue University for 18 years, and we are excited to expand our service in Urbana-Champaign from a weekend service to Purdue to a daily O’Hare shuttle service,” said EAC President Paul David.

“We have many years of experience offering airport shuttle services to university students from O’Hare.”

Today, NFI supports growing North America cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

Express Air Coach Launches New Shuttle Service Express Air Coach (EAC) now offers pickup points at the University of Illinois-UrbanaChampaign to shuttle students to O’Hare International Airport. The new shuttle service routes began on December 5, 2022.

The Lafayette, Indiana-based company also offers shuttle service multiple times daily to O’Hare from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; Portage, Indiana; Ham-

Davis said that EAC will initially offer a modest schedule to determine market demand and interest in the service. As demand grows, EAC will expand its schedule accordingly.

“This will be an express service with limited stops to achieve our goal of delivering passengers to O’Hare in under three hours.

We look forward to providing a safe, convenient, low-cost option that will deliver you to your terminal at O’Hare,” said Davis.

“We feel this new service will be a great option to get to O’Hare in a convenient, quick, affordable and direct manner without having to deal with airport parking and transfers,” Davis added.

The University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign shuttle will pick up at Altgeld Hall and the Armory. Reservations will be required for confirmed travel and can be made and paid for in advance at expressaircoach.com

Fuenlabrada, located southwest of Madrid, Spain, has ordered seven electric buses from Irizar. Chosen was the Irizar 12-meter ie tram model with modern design and zero-emission power. The buses will have three doors, 26 seats and a capacity for 80 passengers.

Express Air Coach is a bus transportation company that has been in business for 18 years. Founded in West Lafayette, Indiana in 2004, the company offers scheduled airport shuttle service, charters and tours to its customers throughout Indiana and Illinois.

Irizar e-Mobility Will Deliver Seven Electric Buses to EMT Fuenlabrada Irizar e-mobility is still leading the domestic market and has added a new contract to supply seven 100 percent electric zeroemissions buses to EMT Fuenlabrada, located southwest of Madrid, to their portfolio of orders.

The model chosen by the operator is the 12-meter-long Irizar ie tram. It is a vehicle with an avant-garde and innovative design similar to a tram that will change the look of public transport for the city of Fuenlabrada.

It is a vehicle that stands out, among other reasons, for its low noise level (below 70 dB with the air conditioning running), and its high capacity, easy access and the ample space for passengers inside. The passenger area of the bus is luminous, comfortable, spacious, pleasant and safe. It has USB ports for charging the batteries of passengers’ phone.

In terms of accessibility, it is a low-floor vehicle that has a ramp, priority spaces and seats for people with reduced mobility, sound and light emitting door buttons and stops can be requested in Braille.

It is a completely safe bus that has video surveillance cameras and obstacle proximity radar, among other things.

The vehicles that will become part of the EMT Fuenlabrada fleet will have three doors, 26 seats, and they will be able to carry 80 passengers. They will have 403 kWh Irizar batteries and can be charged using an inverted pantograph or a Combo 2 charging outlet. The drive unit will be a 206 kW central motor. The ie trams will have enough range to provide service for 16 hours.

Without a doubt, these sustainable and innovative vehicles will contribute to the decarbonization project for public transport in Fuenlabrada.

12 Ebusco Buses for NIAG Ebusco, a pioneer and frontrunner in the development of electric buses and charging systems, has signed a contract with NIAG (like Transdev part of the Tethmann Group) for 12 Ebusco 3.0 12-meter buses. The delivery of these buses is planned for the end of 2023.

14 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

Sustainable technology at your service

SALES

SERVICE

Irizar USA

Jason Rounsaville (916) 802-9802

Miguel Oliva (702) 756-1995

jrounsaville@irizarusa.com

service@irizarusa.com

100 Cassia Way Henderson NV, 89014 (702) 431-0707

@IrizarUSA www.irizarusa.com

Equipment News The new 12 Ebusco 3.0 12-meter buses will be used by public transport company NIAG. NIAG will deploy the buses in the dis-

trict of Wesell and Kleve in Western Germany. For this order, Ebusco competed

Ebusco has signed a contract with part of the Rethmann Group for 12 battery-electric buses. These 12-meter buses will be operated by NIAG in the district of Wesel and Kleve in Western Germany. NIAG, the biggest bus operation in the Lower Rhine region, has a staff of about 800 and carries 36.5 million passengers annually.

against other preferred suppliers in a socalled mini-tender.

Niederrheinische Verkehrsbetriebe AG (NIAG) is a modern, multimodal transport and mobility service provider with around 800 employees. NIAG creates connections for the region in two core business areas: local public transport and logistics. With its bus route network of more than 2,200 kilometers and 36.5 million passengers per year, NIAG is the largest provider of public bus transport in the Lower Rhine region.

Hendrik Vonnegut, board member at NIAG, comments: “We are pleased to have ordered the first 12 electric buses for NIAG from Ebusco. This initial order is the first important step towards the electrification of the entire bus fleet.”

Peter Bijvelds, CEO of Ebusco, comments: “We are delighted with this collaboration with NIAG/Transdev, as we share the commitment to drive the transition to zero emission public transport, in which Transdev is an industry leader. Having already delivered more than 170 buses to Transdev, this order is a clear recognition for Ebusco, and we look forward to further expanding our successful partnership with Transdev and NIAG.” q

16 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

of the initial buses that crossed the Atlantic from Europe arrived with European configuration or components rather than American configuration and components.

Observations suggest that the European companies that have done the best tend to do these three things: 1) Modify their product for the American market including components and configuration. 2) Invest the money to provide parts, support and repair centers (similar to what is available in much of Western Europe). 3) Because of Buy America provisions, those selling transit buses will do better if their products are assembled or manufactured here.

Are there any common reasons as to why these manufacturers decided to expand their market to America? Two events appear to have prompted half of these companies to take this step. The more important of the two was deregulation in 1982 that increased competition and interest in buses that attract riders. This prompted the arrival of five European brands in America between late 1984 and late 1985. In addition, the breakup of the Eastern European Communist Block prompted three manufacturers to look west for new markets.

European Buses in the United States and Canada

by Larry Plachno Many if not most of the European bus builders offered a product that had been modified in configuration and components for the American market. TEMSA went one step further with its TS45 coach by getting American bus operators involved with its design. Shown here in 2013 at the TEMSA plant in Adana, Turkey is an early prototype of the TS45 after input and suggestions from the American operators who had previously visited. TEMSA.

A

s with several previous articles in N ATIONAL B US T RADER , this one originated with a query to our “Curious Coachowner” question and answer column asking about a list of European bus brands that had been sold in the United States and Canada. This brought up two things. One is that none of us had ever seen a list like this. The second was that any list would be too long to fit into that column and would require at least an article.

18 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

After challenging our memory and checking back issues of N ATIONAL B US T RADER we came up with more than 15 brands of European buses that have been sold in the United States and Canada. In many cases the manufacturers were looking to expand their business, and going into the American market was looked at as adding some prestige to their company. However, many if not most of them failed to understand that this is a different market with different needs and requirements. Virtually all

Following is our list of European buses that were sold in the United States and Canada. Where possible we have tried to present them in chronological order of appearance although a few are somewhat sketchy and difficult to document. Providing details on the models sold would expand the size of this work substantially, so we have tried to limit this while still providing some corporate background and information where it is interesting or helps explain things. Since this appears to be the first attempt to gather this information in one place, we would welcome additional information or corrections from our readers.

Eagles The Eagle was originally developed as the Trailways answer to the 40-foot Scenicruiser of Greyhound. After making the rounds of the American bus manufacturers and failing to find an interested partner, Continental Trailways ended up working with the Kässbohrer company in Ulm, Germany.

A single prototype was delivered in 1956 and was followed by an order for 50 Golden Eagles. Then there were orders for two articulated Academy Express buses, four 60-foot articulated Eagles and 41 Silver Eagles.

According to our notes, these were not only the first serious importation of European coaches but also the second meaningful group of 40-foot coaches in America.

For the record, Kässbohrer gave up building Eagles in 1959 as the economy in West Germany picked up and local bus orders increased. We will talk again about Kässbohrer later in this listing. Eagle production continued in 1960 under La Brugeoise SA.

in Brugge, Belgium, just down the street from the Hochbahnhoff (main railroad station). Following that, Continental Trailways opened their own factory in Brugge in 1961 under the name Bus & Car. N.V.

Although ownership of the manufacturing company changed, reports are that Eagles were produced in Brugge as late as 1976. In 1974, Eagle International opened their new manufacturing plant adjacent to

the airport in Brownsville, Texas and Eagle production went domestic. The Eagles were probably the first significant European coach import, and I think that they were also the first European design assembled or manufacturered in the United States.

British Double Deckers & Other Imports For many years, used London doubledecker buses were sold in America mainly as a novelty. Most would end up in shuttle

The Eagle was obviously planned as the Trailways answer to the 40-foot Greyhound Scenicruiser.

After being unable to find a manufacturing partner in the United States, Continental Trailways turned to Kässbohrer in Ulm, Germany. This is the initial demo Eagle that arrived in the United States in 1956 and started the first major importation of European coaches. NBT ARCHIVES.

service to promote an attraction, store or shopping mall. One was used to promote a major department store in Chicago and another brought tourists to a shopping mall in Hawaii. In many cases they were difficult to keep running because of the lack of parts and support. In the early 1980s there was an attempt by a company in Minnesota called Porter’s Double Deckers to modernize these buses and make them more reliable, but there was apparently not enough interest to continue this.

It should also be noted that there were occasional European buses imported in small quantities that we were unable to document. Some Mercedes-Benz buses were operating in Hawaii in 1980 and we believe that a few body-on-chassis buses from Europe with Jonckheere bodies were imported.

Neoplan Gottlob Auwärter GmbH & Co. was originally founded in 1935. While the company had several locations, it was headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany after a new plant was built there in 1969 that doubled production.

As a result, the company expanded their exports to several countries that eventually represented 45 percent of production. As early as 1969, Neoplan had sales representatives in the United States selling German-built coaches and in 1976 entered into a license agreement with Gillig to build smaller buses.

There were a few American bus operators that bought and operated the imported Neoplan coaches in these early years.

Neoplan coaches were imported into the United States as early as the 1960s and were operated by a handful of bus companies. It was not until later in the 1980s that Neoplan began building coaches at their new plant in Lamar, Colorado. ABC Bus sold new Neoplan coaches for a while and this photo shows several Neoplan coaches in their booth at the 1987 UBOA Bus Expo. NBT ARCHIVES.

In 1979, Neoplan built a factory in Lamar, Colorado for transit buses but continued to import and sell coaches built in Germany. By 1983 they had their own Neoplan Coach Sales organization. In early 1985 Neoplan announced the importation of an Americanized N116/3 Cityliner model designed for the American market. This plus a later announcement that Neoplan would start building coaches domestically in Lamar by 1987 increased interest in Neoplan coaches among American operators. ABC Bus already had four facilities nationwide for used bus sales and was looking for a new coach to sell.

As a result, they took on Neoplan coach sales for more than a year. At the UBOA Bus Expo shows in January of 1986 and 1987, they had five Neoplan buses on display.

ABC changed partners to go with Van Hool in April of 1987 and Neoplan began building coaches domestically although there still were occasional imports for special models. In 2000 new management stepped in. There was an attempt to build coaches at the former Eagle plant in Brownsville, but that fell through because of the 9-11 tragedy.

In 2006 Neoplan ceased production in the United States. The European Neoplan company was merged into M.A.N. A few Neoplan models are still built at the M.A.N. facility in Turkey.

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 19

M.A.N. In the late 1970s and early 1980s several transit operations developed an interest in articulated transit buses because they provided additional capacity in rush hours without requiring more drivers. Since articulated transit buses had not been popular in the United States and Canada, some European builders took advantage of the situation to offer their own articulateds.

M.A.N. traces its history back to an ironworks in Oberhausen, Germany in 1758. The shortened initials is derived from an earlier company name: Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürenberg A.G. Over the years the company was involved in other areas besides truck and buses. It built printing presses, helped Rudolf Diesel perfect the diesel engine and even built bridges and got involved in mining.

In 1978-79, M.A.N. made an agreement with AM General of Mishawaka, Indiana to do the final assembly of articulated bus shells from Germany. Nearly 400 model 297 and 298 articulated buses were built and sold to various U.S. transit operators. In 1981 M.A.N. developed a manufacturing plant in Cleveland, North Carolina through a subsidiary that initially built articulated buses.

Later, 40-foot buses were built including some trolley buses for Seattle. An interesting side note is that because of their involvement with M.A.N. engines in Europe, the early Van Hool sales staff maintained an office at this facility.

M.A.N. partnered with AM General to build articulated transit buses in Indiana and then built their own plant in North Carolina for both articulated and conventional buses. However, several used M.A.N. coaches that had been traded in for new European coaches were imported during the 1980s and sold in the United States. This two-axle model was displayed at the UBOA Bus Expo in 1988. NBT ARCHIVES.

Production ended in 1988 when a lawsuit prohibiting non-accessible buses in Chicago forced the cancellation of an order that had already started. M.A.N. shut the factory down on relatively short notice. The facility was then sold to Daimler/Freightliner and used to build trucks.

Neoplan opened this factory in Lamar, Colorado in 1979 but initially only built transit buses. They did not start building coaches here until the later 1980s. Meanwhile, coaches were still imported from Europe. A few specialized coaches were still imported in later years. NBT ARCHIVES.

Several used M.A.N. coaches were imported into the United States during the 1980s, mostly their SR280 and SR321 models.

They were trade-ins on new European coaches that were reconditioned and partially Americanized although they retained their center door and lower level restroom.

Operators who wanted the European look but did not want to pay for a new coach found them attractive. VIP Coach of Orlando, Florida acted as a dealer for many of the units. Sales diminished and ended later in the decade when more European coaches came on the market.

Ikarus/NABI Originally founded back in 1895, Ikarus in Hungary became a major bus supplier in the Eastern Block Countries and was the first of the Eastern Block builders to come to the United States to look for increased business.

During the 1980s they produced more than 10,000 buses annually in various plants in Hungary, many of which went to other countries in the Eastern Block. This story runs from 1980 to 2013 and generally involves importing bus shells from Hungary and completing them in the United States or Canada. Since this saga involves numerous corporations and name changes, we will try to condense it as much as we can.

20 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

American operations started in 1980 when Ikarus Hungary entered into partnerships with Crown in Los Angeles and Orion in Mississauga, Ontario to build the Ikarus 280 articulated bus using Ikarus bodies from Hungary. The resulting buses were known as the Crown-Ikarus 286 and the OrionIkarus 286. These partnerships were dissolved prior to the end of the decade. The

Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the following political changes prompted Ikarus to again look for business in America.

In 1989 Ikarus Hungary formed another partnership with Union City Body Company of Union City, Indiana to build Ikarus transit buses in Anniston, Alabama under the Ikarus USA name. However, the bankruptcy of Union City Body Company in 1992 prompted the creation of American Ikarus, Inc. in Alabama in November of that year. American Ikarus, in turn, was owned by a Hungarian holding

company known as North American Bus Industries. The factory in Anniston opened in 1993 and did final assembly on knocked-down buses imported from Hungary. Ikarus experienced problems because of political and economic changes so NABI stepped in, purchased an Ikarus plant in Budapest and continued production in Hungary.

The company expanded in aftermarket and service parts for other brands in 1996 with the acquisition of the former Flxible facility in Delaware, Ohio. At this same time

In 1982, Ikarus entered into partnerships with Crown in Los Angeles and with Orion in Mississauga, Ontario to build articulated buses using bodies from Hungary. The resulting buses were known as the Crown-Ikarus 286 and the Orion-Ikarus 286. Shown here is a 1982 Crown-Ikarus photographed in September of 1982 while operating for Tri-Met in Portland, Oregon. The unusual lettering on the side was a reference to a popular Portland disc jockey at the time. STEVE MORGAN/PIXABAY.

Van Hool coaches were introduced at a show in December of 1984. The first coach was lettered for Seniors Unlimited but had European configuration and components with two doors, a lower level restroom, stick shift and a M.A.N. engine. When the imported coaches were Americanized at the end of the decade, sales went up. NBT. ARCHIVES.

American Ikarus was renamed North American Bus Industries, Inc. The following years were a complexity of completing final assembly of Hungarian buses in the United States, expanding in the European bus market with ownership of UK’s Optare for a few years, selling buses in Hungary and building a new plant in Hungary in 2002.

In December of 2005 NABI lost Federal Transportation Administration waivers on its popular CompoBus allowing exemptions to the Buy America provisions. Early in 2006 NABI was sold to Cerberus Capital Management who soon made two more acquisitions. Optima Bus Corporation in Wichita, Kansas was purchased in 2006 with production moved to Anniston in 2007. Optima was the bus division of Chance Manufacturing, a builder of amusement park rides. At that same time. NABI acquired the Blue Bird commercial bus product line. The Blue Bird school bus and the Wanderlodge RV operations went elsewhere.

In 2007 the CompoBus was put back into production using parts from NABI’s Hungarian plant but shifting more assembly work to the enlarged Anniston plant to comply with Buy America provisions. Neither the Optima nor the Blue Bird lines worked out well for NABI and were discontinued in 2010. Production of some bodies were shifted to Anniston in 2011-2012, but the CompoBus shells continued to be built in Hungary until the end of production in 2013.

Production in Hungary ended in April of 2013. New Flyer acquired NABI from Cerberus in June of 2013. New Flyer continued production of some NABI models until October of 2015. Now named New Flyer of America, the Anniston plant today produces New Flyer Xcelsior transit buses.

Deregulation The intercity bus industry faced a major turning point with deregulation in 1982.

With new applications for operating authority, the industry moved from being primarily scheduled service to being primarily charter and tour. Because of deregulation, competition increased substantially as coach operators looked for ways to differentiate themselves and attract customers. Many looked to put buses in their fleet that were unusual and attractive. To meet this need five European brands that we know of began selling in the United States between late 1984 and late 1985. The first three showed up at the ABA Marketplace in Salt Lake City in December of 1984.

Van Hool Antwerp is a large city and port located in northern Belgium. If you drive about 11 miles southeast, you will reach the city of Lier. From there if you continue southeast on Highway N10 for about five miles, you will reach a traffic circle on the outskirts of Koningshooikt. Turning right and west from the circle, you will enter Koningshooikt with

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 21

the old Van Hool homestead on your right followed by large bus building facilities on your right and bus and truck building facilities on your left. Encompassing more than 100 acres, the Van Hool complex seems to make up half of the community when seen from the air.

The company was originally founded in 1947 by Bernard Van Hool to deal with the post-war transportation shortage in Belgium.

In the following years the company developed a wide range of buses and coaches.

Today’s product line includes both conventional transit buses and articulated tram buses using a wide range of power including diesel, hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell, trolley bus, battery-electric and CNG. Several different coach models are produced including a doubledeck version. Much of the production is exported to other countries with the United States high on the list. The second Van Hool factory is located in Skopje, Macedonia and a third being built in Tennessee has been paused because of the pandemic.

Van Hool was one of the exhibitors at that show in December of 1984. Wim Van Hool, the son of one of the seven brothers then managing the company, showed a Van Hool coach with two axles, two doors, a M.A.N. engine and a manual transmission. Van Hool handled their own sales until April of 1987 when ABC Bus became the American distributor. This worked well for both companies because ABC had four locations selling used coaches and was looking for a new coach line to sell.

ABC worked with Van Hool to help them develop a unique American product line.

This was initiated in 1989 with the T-800

The Setra coach was introduced to the American market in December of 1984. Unlike most initial imports, it arrived with American single-door configuration, a right rear restroom and American components. As this photo shows, the Setra was more paintable than the American coaches with stainless steel sides. NBT. ARCHIVES.

model. Very quickly, Van Hool became the most popular imported coach and has retained that title. The American product line was later enhanced with additional and newer models including a double-deck and a battery-electric coach. ABC continues as the North American distributor of Van Hool with the contract up for renewal soon.

Kässbohrer/Setra/Daimler The Kässbohrer family from Ulm, Germany in Bavaria was originally involved with

Today’s imported Van Hool coaches are much improved. Shown here is their double-deck coach with battery-electric power. The Van Hool American product line also includes single-deck coaches and diesel power. ABC COMPANIES.

22 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

building “Ulmer Zille” boats that went down the Danube River to the Black Sea. In 1893 Karl Kässbohrer founded a wagon building company in Ulm which by this time had a reputation for wooden transportation construction. By 1907 the company was building motor vehicles and in 1911 built its first bus.

In 1951 they developed their version of integral construction, calling it “selbsttragagent” or self-supporting that developed into the Setra name. They were essentially the first European coach manufacturer to export to North America when they delivered the first Eagles to Trailways in the later 1950s that was mentioned earlier.

Their second entry into the American market was prompted by a combination of the fact that they already had a facility in Gray, Maine selling their Pisten Bully snow grooming equipment and the American post-deregulation interest in European buses. They showed their S215HDH model at the show in December of 1984 but deserve credit for the fact that is was Americanized with a single door, a right rear restroom and American components. This made them somewhat unique among the importers.

Almost immediately, the Setra became the best selling import and retained that honor for about five years. Although they did develop an office in Nevada, Setra never tried to establish factory-owned support locations and seemed content with their level of sales.

It should be noted that in Europe, the Setra was regarded as the top-of-the-line coach while the Mercedes-Benz buses were considered more of a bread-and-butter style. Hence, it was not unexpected that following some

expansion problems the Kässbohrer operation in Ulm was acquired in 1995 and merged with the Mercedes-Benz bus operation under the name EvoBus. Expectedly, this involved several changes. Daimler discontinued the Setra transit bus line because it would complete with the Mercedes-Benz transit buses, but these had never been imported and sold in America. A new Setra factory was established across the Danube in Neu Ulm. Frames for the Setra coaches, which were not stainless, were now built at the big Mercedes-Benz facility in Mannheim where they could be

dunked in the big rustproofing tank before being shipped by rail to New Ulm for finishing. Some Mercedes-Benz buses were also sent to Neu Ulm for finishing. Setra offices were moved to the Daimler facility in Greensboro, North Carolina.

For several years Setra had their own American sales team and management.

There were some changes after the Orion bus brand in Mississauga, Ontario was discontinued in 2010. Sprinter sales were moved from Dodge and Freightliner to Mer-

The latest import from Daimler is their Tourrider model. Built at their plant in Turkey, it was designed particularly for the American market. It is being sold under the Mercedes-Benz name.

DAIMLER.

cedes-Benz. In mid-2012 MCI was appointed to sell and provide service for Setra coaches in America. MCI even acquired some of the Setra management and sales team. This continued until 2018 when REV Group was briefly designated as the general distributor for Setra coaches in the United States and Canada after which Setra went back to having their own sales team. What is interesting is that while the 200 and 400 series Setra coaches were sold in America, the 300 and 500 Setra coach series were never modified for North American sales.

The most recent development is that in 2021 Daimler announced the introduction of their new Tourrider model for the American market. Built at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Turkey, it was designed for North American operators and is sold by the Setra sales staff.

The factory in Neu Ulm continues to complete the traditional Setra line of coaches sold in Europe and exported elsewhere.

LAG LAG history dates back to a blacksmith shop founded in Belgium just prior to World War II. Just after the war two brothers, Lambert and Arnold Geusens, took over the shop from their stepfather and expanded into building small trailers. In 1953 the company began building general transport equipment and adopted the name LAG derived from the names of the founding brothers. By 1958 they were respected builders of semi-trailers and road tankers. In 1975 a bus division was started by Tony Geusens, the son of Arnold.

As its product line grew to both transit buses and coaches, it began to do more exporting.

By the mid-1980s the bus division employed 100 people.

Under the Sabre name, LAG coaches also made their debut in December of 1984. Shown here is the first coach, known as the “Silver Bullet,” that arrived with European configuration including a center door and a lower level restroom. Noteworthy was the reintroduction of a Cummins engine to the bus industry. That is your editor behind the wheel. NBT ARCHIVES.

Pat Nelson, who had previous bus operating experience in England, made arrangements to bring an LAG to the United States under his Sabre name. The original unit, affectionally known as the “Silver Bullet” because of its external paint, had typical European styling including two doors, a lower level restroom and a manual ZF “long throw” transmission. The Sabre contribution was in talking Cummins to put their engine in the coach, thereby bringing Cummins back into a bus industry dominated by Detroit Diesel.

Nelson drove to coach to my bus garage in Wisconsin and I helped drive it to Salt Lake City, learning about Cummins low end torque along the way. It became the third European coach to debut in December of 1984 but was displayed outside. Originally, the LAG coaches carried Nelson’s Sabre name.

Early sales success prompted LAG to take over and create a subsidiary sales company called LAGUSA in early 1986. In July of 1987 LAGUSA moved to their new U.S. home in an industrial park in Belcamp, Maryland, northeast of Baltimore. Incorporated into this facility were corporate and sales offices, a parts depot and a service facility. Coaches arriving from Belgium were prepped here prior to sale.

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 23

This facility was a major reason why LAG had a good following in the Northeast states. Subsequent imported coaches were more Americanized as some had a single passenger door and American components.

In 1990, LAG opened a new bus factory in Bree, Belgium. This not only offered additional separation between LAG’s truck and bus operators but also provided additional manufacturing capacity for future expansion.

A new model, the Eos tour coach for the European market, was produced here but was never sold in America. Van Hool took over the bus division of LAG in 1990 and renamed it Eos Bus Manufacturing. The Bree plant continued to build the Eos model but discontinued production of the traditional LAG model coaches because they were similar to Van Hool’s own product line. In 1991 some remaining traditional new LAG coaches at the plant were exported to the United States and sold by the LAG sales organization, effectively being their last activity.

The final traditional LAG models built at Bree were 20 constructed for sale in the Middle East. That sale never went through and those 20 coaches were sent to the United States in 1993. All but one were sold by ABC Bus. Ken Stranger, the former U.S. manager of LAG, took over the Belcamp facility and used it to obtain and sell parts for European buses and trucks. It would later be involved with the importation and sale of TAM coaches from Slovenia.

Renault While one of the more interesting of the import stories, this one may be the least successful. Renault is a French automotive manufacturer founded by three Renault brothers

The Renault FR-1 coach was introduced by Mack in late 1985. The initial imports had a single passenger door but came with only two axles and a Mack engine. Here we see the first three-axle coach that was shown at the UBOA show in 1987. Offering three axles did not significantly increase sales.

NBT ARCHIVES.

in 1899. The company was headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris. By 1983, Renault had a 44.6 percent ownership in Mack in the United States. Their primary interest was using the extensive Mack dealer network to sell smaller Renault trucks. However, seeing other European coaches crossing the Atlantic, Renault decided to sell buses through Mack.

Depending on who you ask, the Mack Brothers Company built their first vehicle

In later years, LAG would import models that were closer to American configuration with a single passenger door and a right rear restroom. Support and parts were provided by a facility in Belcamp, Maryland. This LAG was operated by Escot Bus Lines and was photographed at Furnace Creek Ranch. ESCOT BUS LINES.

24 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

in a trolley barn in New York in 1900 or 1902.

Considered the first bus in the United States, it went into tour service in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. They built their first truck in 1905 and moved their company headquarters to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mack had a habit of going into and out of bus manufacturing.

In earlier years they built buses for Greyhound and Pickwick but concentrated on transit buses in the late 1930s. In 1956 Mack purchased the C.D. Beck Company of Sidney, Ohio and introduced a new model but quit bus production in 1958. Mack did complete a prototype for a revolutionary new 40-foot coach in 1957 known as the MV-620, but it was never put into production.

The debut of the Renault buses took place in Nevada in 1985, a year behind Van Hool, Setra and LAG. An impressive introduction included driving through a man-made fog.

While they did have a single passenger door (as well as the European driver’s door) there were three questionable items. The standard transmission was a Mack five-speed manual, although a ZF automatic was optional.

Coaches came with a Mack engine which was virtually unknown in the bus industry except for a few bus operators who also operated trucks. In addition, the initial coaches came with only two axles which made them questionable in the United States.

Sales were very slow so Renault promised a three-axle version, but it proved to be elusive since the Renault assembly line had been set up for two axles. The first threeaxle coach was shown at a bus show in Tampa in January of 1987. Even with three axles the sales did not increase. Rather than attempt to support the imported Renault

coach in America, Mack made the decision to get out of the bus business. The Mack bus department and staff were disbanded while the Renault coaches were repurchased and resold outside of the United States.

Scania/Jonckheere There are suggestions that a few other European buses may have been imported at this time, but documentation appears to be lacking. We do know that KrafTours of Tulsa, Oklahoma purchased two European coaches somewhere around 1985. Both buses were 40 feet long and the standard European 98.5 inches wide. One was a two-axle coach while the other had three axles as well as the center European door and a lower level restroom.

They were the higher quality body-on-chassis European design with what we presume were Jonckheere bodies.

An interesting side note that Jonckheere was one of several companies combined to create what today is VDL Group that is based in Netherlands. They are unusual in being a composite of several smaller bus and body builders. VDL was a leader in moving to battery-electric transit buses in Europe.

They did look at exporting to the United States but never made that decision.

Pat Famos/Sabre The same management involved with importing the early LAG coaches under the Sabre name attempted to do something similar a second time. In 1987 the Sabre management made arrangements with the Pat Famos company of Yugoslavia to market their bus in the United States. This would be the second time a company from the Eastern Block looked at exporting into North America. Several different charter

TAM originally intended to offer a high-quality school bus but instead ended up importing its 260 charter and tour coach model from Slovenia. It was displayed at bus shows in both 1993 and 1994 with this photo taken at the 1994 show in San Antonio. Problems in Slovenia stopped further imports. NBT ARCHIVES.

and tour coaches were planned with different lengths. Marketing starting in May of 1988 with an imported demonstrator model S-411 from Yugoslavia. It was only 30 feet long and more suited to transit or shuttle service than charters and tours. This bus toured several states trying to interest operators in the proposed larger coaches. We are not sure whether marketing efforts ceased because of a lack of interest from American operators or because of unrest in Yugoslavia. We never did hear where the demonstration bus went.

In the late 1990s, Metrotrans sold buses with Irizar bodies on Spartan chassis to provide a larger tour and charter bus in their product line. It had three axles and was powered by a Detroit Diesel engine. This one was on display at the 1998 UMA show. NBT ARCHIVES.

TAM This would be the third example of an import from the Eastern Block. Slovenia declared its independence from Yugoslavia on June 26, 1991 and became a member of the United Nations in May of 1992. Slovenia borders both Italy and Austria, was the northern part of Yugoslavia and arguably its most commercial part.

TAM (Tovarna Mobilov in Motorjev) was based in Maribor, Slovenia and traced its history back to 1944. By 1948 the factory was producing both Praga automobiles and trucks. Bodies from Avtomontaza in Ljubljana, Slovenia were merged with the chassis from TAM to produce integral buses. TAM’s original intention in coming to the United States was to offer their high-quality model 252 school bus similar to what was offered

by Crown and Gillig. Yes, this is the same Crown that had previously partnered with Ikarus to assemble articulated buses in the United States. However, Crown shut down in 1991 and Gillig began concentrating on transit buses so the school bus buyers began acquiring body-on-chassis buses. After the stop arms were removed, the two demo units were repainted and sold locally as motorcoaches. Due to the Cummins 8.3L engine, they got 10 miles per gallon.

Efforts then moved to work with an American bus marketing group and offer their TAM 260 intercity coach. This was nearly 40 feet long and had a Cummins engine.

Although it only had two axles, its light weight made this less of a problem. One coach was brought over from Slovenia and shown at the UBOA Bus Expo in Miami in January of 1993. It developed enough interest and potential sales that nine coaches were National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 25

imported into Baltimore in September, 1993.

They were prepped at European Bus & Truck in Belcamp, Maryland, the same facility that had been started by LAG. Virtually all were sold or delivered within a few weeks. Some arrived already painted for their new owners.

Another 30 coaches were ordered but never delivered due to complications in Slovenia.

TAM did sell a large number of similar coaches to Russia and smaller buses to Israel, many with U.S. components.

Irizar Irizar was founded in 1889 by Jose Antonio Irizar in the Basque section of Northern Spain and just west of France. Originally the company built iron fittings for carriages but soon began building the carriages themselves.

They moved from wood to metal in 1948 and eventually developed a reputation as one of the best bus body builders in the world. Irizar bodies were used on Mercedes, Volvo and Irisbus chassis, but the Irizar body on a Scania chassis became very popular in Europe.

Metrotrans based in Atlanta built smaller buses and was looking for a larger bus to add to its product line. Arrangements were made to put Irizar bodies on Spartan chassis with American components. Metrotrans sold these in 1998 and 1999. Ongoing production ceased because of problems at Metrotrans.

Meanwhile several factors, including the introduction of Chinese bodies to Europe and the high quality of the Irizar product prompted Irizar customers to ask for integral coaches. Irizar began moving to an integral bus line in 2009 and eventually developed an impressive integral bus product line including coaches, transit buses and even a tram bus although they continue to provide bus bodies. They have also become leaders in electric buses with a plant dedicated solely to electric bus production.

Irizar offered their i6 intercity coach model to the North American market at the UMA show in early 2016. Originally a distributor was used, but this was replaced by a company distributor, Irizar USA. Operations are headquartered in Nevada and Irizar USA has their own sales staff.

TEMSA Some people might object to including TEMSA in a European bus listing because their plant in Adana, Turkey is located east of the Bosphorus and hence is in the Asian part of Turkey. However, since M.A.N., Neoplan and Mercedes-Benz also build buses in Turkey and since TEMSA is very active in the European bus market, it would be difficult to exclude them.

TEMSA was originally founded in 1968.

The first three letters of the TEMSA name come from “Thermomekanik” since the original product line was air conditioning equipment. The last two letters point to the founder and owner, Sabanci Group, a large 26 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

In 2016, Irizar began offering their i6 coach on the American market. This model has been very successful in Europe and is operated in numerous countries. They now have a company-owned distributorship known as Irizar USA. IRIZAR.

a diversified holding company in Turkey. In the mid-1980s, TEMSA started building buses under license from Mitsubishi and over the years developed an extensive product line of their own. Today, TEMSA offers a range of transit and school/suburban buses as well as several coach models. They have four battery-electric models in production including a 45-foot coach.

In 2008 TEMSA entered the American market with their 35-foot coach. Other

manufacturers had given up offering a smaller integral coach because of limited sales, but operators were looking for an integral coach with big coach features to transport smaller groups. After working with two local companies as distributors, TEMSA decided to develop their own distributor company, TEMSA North America, Inc. The company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. They also began offering a 30-foot coach, a 45-foot coach and now a battery-electric coach.

TEMSA originally got into the American market with their 35-foot TS35 in 2008 when operators were looking for a short, integral coach for smaller groups. Later, they added their 30-foot TS30 and 45-foot TS45 to their product line. Recently, they also began offering a 45-foot battery-electric coach. TEMSA.

Alexander Dennis Alexander Dennis is difficult to cover because it has a rather complex history.

Rather than repeat it all, I would refer readers to the article in the August, 2019 N ATIONAL B US T RADER written after Alexander Dennis became part of NFI. This article provides substantial details on the history of Alexander Dennis and the other NFI companies.

Basically, we can start with the fact that Alexander Dennis has been the largest bus manufacturer in the United Kingdom with a 50 percent market share. They are also the largest builder of double-deck buses in the world. Alexander Dennis has also been moving into electric buses and have been a major exporter. Their activities started with exporting buses to North America. Then there were partnerships

Based in the United Kingdom, Alexander-Dennis has a long history and became the largest bus builder in the UK as well as the largest builder of double-deck buses in the world. Hence, it was not unexpected that their initial efforts at importing to America involved double-deck buses. Shown here is a Dennis Trident II chassis with an Alexander body operating for Grayline NY Tours Inc. in 2001. Subsequently, Alexander Dennis began building buses on this side of the Atlantic and was acquired by NFI Group. J.C. REBIS JR.

What may well be the next European bus maker to come to the United States is Ebusco, a Dutch company specializing in battery-electric transit buses. Major accomplishments include an order for 156 electric buses for Transdev in Holland and an agreement with Deutsche Bahn in Germany.

To break into the American market would probably require a local factory. EBUSCO.

with companies that built or completed Alexander Dennis buses locally. Finally, Alexander Dennis started building their own buses in North America. The following list is far from complete but does touch upon the key points.

It appears that the first of the imports to North American came in 2000 when Alexander Dennis provided Dennis Trident double-deck buses for BC Transit in Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. Their high capacity proved useful in transit and commuter services and peaked the interest of other bus operators. Dennis Trident chassis with an Alexander body were soon sold to Grayline NY Tour Inc. where they operated in New York tour service. Among numerous other examples is that double-deck buses were sold to GO Transit in Ontario and Sound Transit in Seattle for transit and commuter service.

There were also several partnerships.

October of 2008 saw a deal with ElDorado National to assemble their double-deck Enviro500 for the United States market. In 2012 Alexander Dennis entered into a joint venture with NFI Group to design and build low-floor midibuses. An assembly plant was established in Vaughan, Ontario in 2015 to handle orders for Metrolinx. Production of the Alexander Dennis doubledeck buses was started at the ABC facility in Nappanee, Indiana. ABC had originally refurbished a large number of Greyhound buses and then used the facility to refurbish Van Hool coaches. In 2017, Alexander Dennis moved to their own facility in Nappanee. As mentioned earlier, Alexander Dennis was acquired by NFI Group in May of 2019.

Ebusco The latest possible entrant into the North American bus market is a Dutch company called Ebusco. Founded in 2012 it specializes in battery-electric transit buses. The initial bus was built in 2013 and went to Helsinki, Finland. Since then Ebusco has delivered buses around Europe including an order for 156 electric city and regional buses for Transdev in Holland and an agreement with Deutsche Bahn in Germany for regional buses. Late 2021 saw Ebusco successfully listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange when the company announced that it will be expanding to the United States. They had a booth at the APTA Expo in Orlando, but we have not seen any information on the possibility of building a factory in the United States.

As mentioned earlier, this is apparently the first attempt to document European bus brands that have come to the United States and Canada. Hence, we would welcome any missing information and corrections from our readers. q

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 27

O

n December 20, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency increased emission regulations on buses, tractor-trailers, delivery vans and other vehicles.

This new rule is designed to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the vehicles by 48 to 50 percent by 2046. The new regulations go into effect in 2027. Here is some basic information on the new regulations as well as comments and concerns from the industry.

This new regulation primarily aims at on-highway vehicles, but it also includes provisions for engine categories including off-highway engines that are used in construction equipment. Michael Regan, EPA’s administrator, said that the new regulations are the “strongest-ever national standards” for the buses and trucks covered by the rules.

The EPA commented that the new regulations are more than 80 percent stronger than current standards.

A Look at the New Increased EPA Emission Regulations

by Larry Plachno

It was noted that these new regulations do not require vehicle manufacturers to cut greenhouse gas emissions from diesel fuel nor do they require converting fleets to electric power. However, the EPA said that new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions would come out in the spring. EPA Administrator Regan said that issuing both regulations at the same time would have delayed things so he pushed the new nitrogen dioxide regulations first because he felt that they were more important.

Some History According to the EPA, these new regulations are the first update to bus and truck standards in more than 20 years. The previous round of major regulations were phased in over the first decade of the 2000s. They became very challenging when it was obvious that it was difficult to meet the regulations without using Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology. Caterpillar left the market while Navistar lost market share.

More recently, Detroit Diesel opted out of the market at one point. Hence, the engine options available on buses are limited compared to 20 years ago.

These new regulations were not unexpected. In March of 2022, the EPA had proposed new emissions rules. Two options were offered and comments were solicited. Option One talked about new requirements in May of 2027 with additional requirements in May of 2031. Option Two called for new standards and requirements for model year 2027. So far it appears that the EPA has opted for the first option. Several industry groups submitted comments and concerns to the proposals with many feeling that they were ignored.

New Requirements These new EPA requirements limit NOx emissions on heavy-duty commercial vehicles in 2027 to 0.035 grams per horsepowerhour during normal operation, 0.050 grams at low load and 10 grams at idle. They also 28 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

The new EPA engine emission regulations mark the first major change in 20 years. Many people in the industry will remember the earlier set of engine emission regulations that were introduced early in the new century. Not only did they move the industry to Selective Catalytic Reduction technology and DEF fluid, but they also caused several changes in engine suppliers. PREVOST.

Several industry people have mentioned that emissions from the new Clean Diesel engines are only 1/60th as much as they were in 2000. Hence, it has been suggested that money and effort would be better spent elsewhere where they could generate more results. MCI.

require these new standards to be met for a longer period of time as these vehicles run on the road. An increase of useful life of 1.5 to 2.5 times is required under the new rules. They must also provide emission warranties that are 2.8 to 4.5 times longer.

According to EPA, these longer useful life and warranty periods guarantee that as these vehicles age they will meet the new and stricter emission requirements for a longer period of time.

Under the new regulations, vehicle manufacturers are required to make sure that the electronic pollution controls are tamperproof. Manufacturers must now demonstrate that engines and related equipment is designed to prevent drivers from tampering with the emission controls by limiting access.

EPA also mentioned that the new rules include a “balanced approach to engine derates related to the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emission control system.” In particular, the new regulations require that the engines provide more advanced warning to drivers that their SCR system is not working properly. The EPA feels that this will encourage operators to schedule maintenance sooner rather than disabling emission control systems to get to their destination.

To comply with recent emission standards, engines generally had to convert to Selective Catalytic Reduction technology and use DEF fluid. Many European operators had already made this transition although in Europe the fluid added to the engine was called AdBlue. MYSHOUN.

reduce them further seems like a terrible waste of effort and cost when there are so many other things that pollute even more like coal mine fires and ocean-going ships using bunker oil.

It has been pointed out that these new regulations ignore the competition. The airlines continue to use fossil fuel and freight railroads are almost exclusively powered by diesel fuel. In the past there were several railroads that used electric locomotives on freight trains including the Pennsylvania, Norfolk & Western, Piedmont & Northern, Milwaukee Road, Great Northern and Butte, Anaconda & Pacific as well as numerous electric interurban lines.

A major concern is that maintenance of the emission control system has increasingly become a higher share of maintenance costs. A comment from the American Trucking Association offered: “After all, a truck in a service bay is an unproductive truck – even if such truck is under warranty for repairs.” They added: “Stringency levels teetering on a notch above zero cause great hesitation for fleets that can ill afford more false-positive NOx sensor readings and greater potential for manufacturer recalls. Daimler questioned whether NOx sensors were up to the task since current sensors are not. They went on to suggest that sensor suppliers are not investing in diesel technology.

It is very obvious that while these new regulations are geared primarily at trucks, the bus industry is forced to go along for the ride. Several people have commented that Clean Diesel engines are already so clean that any additional environmental efforts would be best directed in other areas.

It is also obvious that these new regulations are pushing trucks and buses in the direction of electric power. BENDIX.

The EPA is looking at waiver requests from the state of California to set their own and stricter emission standards. The agency said it would respond to the waivers in early 2023.

Comments and Concerns Not unexpectedly, there seems to be no end to the comments and concerns from industry representatives and groups addressing the original proposal last March or the new regulations in December. In particular, it has been pointed out that bus engine emissions are now only 1/60th as much as they were in 2000. Trying to

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 29

The new rule will be costly, particularly for small truckers, said trucking industry officials. Director of federal affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Driver ’s Association, Jay Grimes, said that the requirements that emissions be cut by 2027 was too aggressive. He added that rules requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would be costly with increased prices being passed on to consumers. A similar comment came from the American Trucking Associations indicating that fleet operators are worried that the engine and vehicle manufacturers will not be able to produce compliant vehicles in time.

This same theme has been repeated by others. In response to the original proposal, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association offered: “Broadly speaking, EPA’s assumption that its proposed Option 1 standards and requirements are fully feasible is a fallacy.” They added: “Moreover, that fallacy is premised on only one set of data – in some instances just one data point – from one still-evolving prototype engine used in one not-fully successful experiment.” They questioned whether an engine existed that could reach the requirements at the 800,000mile mark without the need to replace emission related components. Daimler mentioned that: “Notably, no vehicle has been demonstrated that can meet EPA’s proposed standards.” The EPA did admit that these engines were still in the development stage but some improvements were anticipated in the future.

New Trucks / Old Trucks While the new regulations apply to vehicles built after 2027, they do not eliminate or require operators to stop driving the older vehicles. Jed Mandel, president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, commented: “Ultimately, the success and future of this rule hinges on the willingness and ability of trucking fleets to invest in purchasing

Looking for ways to make electric trucks more practical, there are experimental highway sections with overhead wires that would allow trucks to charge along the way. The trucks are equipped with twin overhead power collectors that can be raised and lowered automatically. This could be an answer to making electric power practical on longer trips. SIEMENS.

new technology to replace their older, higheremitting vehicles.” The director of federal affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association mentioned: “Certainly we all want cleaner air, but if independent and small business owners can’t afford the new trucks, they are going to stay with the older trucks, which are not going to be as clean and efficient.” He added that the price of a new truck with pollution controls is about $200,000.

“For most of our members it makes it hard for them to invest in new equipment.” Of course, the price of new buses is much higher.

A statement from Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent

Driver’s Association, said: “If small business truckers can’t afford the new compliant trucks, they’re going to stay with older, lessefficient trucks or leave the industry entirely.” He went on to say that once again the EPA has ignored the warnings and concerns raised by truckers in this latest rule. It is interesting that a recent report issued by ACT Research found that a significant “prebuy” of Class 8 trucks is likely before the new EPA standards go into effect. This is said to be the largest truck prebuy ever.

Electric Buses and Trucks While these new regulations stopped short of asking fleet operators to throw away their

In many ways this new regulation seems to push truck and bus operators towards electric operation.

While battery-electric buses are increasingly popular in transit operations, they are slower to catch on in coaches because of cost, range and charging requirements.

Shown here is the new electric MCI D45 CRTe LE with its low entry. MCI.

30 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

diesel vehicles and move to electric, the pressure to move to electric was obvious. EPA Director Michael Regan said that the EPA was working with vehicle manufacturers to see if they could take advantage of federal tax credits for electric vehicles that are part of the $370 billion in clean energy provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act. Several comments to the new regulations encouraged the EPA to put more pressure on fleet operators to move to electric vehicles.

Electric buses have had success in city transit operations, but there are concerns with range, charging and cost with trucks and buses. The typical truck tractor has diesel fuel tanks on both sides of the cab. If these are replaced with batties of equivalent size, the driving range is considerably less than with diesel fuel. To solve this problem the Europeans have been experimenting with placing overhead wires above highways so trucks can charge “on the go.” For details see “Charging Along the Way” in the June, 2022 NATIONAL BUS TRADER. So far this is still in the experimental stages and is far from having enough highway miles outfitted to be practical.

Although there is more room in buses for batteries, range is still a major problem. Stopping along the way to recharge is not practical on either a scheduled route or tour.

Adding more batteries would eliminate space for luggage, making the bus less practical. With both buses and trucks, the cost of

Some bus builders are also experimenting with hydrogen fuel cell power for long distance coaches because it may provide better range. This Marcopolo Audace 500 model with hydrogen fuel cell power was displayed at the IAA show in Germany in late 2022 and reportedly had a range of 600 kilometers (370 miles). However, the hydrogen tanks end up taking as much space as battery packs on electric buses. MARCOPOLO.

the batteries adds substantially to the price of the vehicle.

What is interesting is that there are longer distance buses being built and

tested with hydrogen fuel cell power.

Depending on results, the hydrogen fuel cell alternative may offer greater range and less need to recharge than battery-electric buses. q

National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 31

Theological Maintenance

by Dave Millhouser

This article gives the reader several things to think about in regard to bus age and good maintenance. While not every operation can afford a fleet of all new equipment, most everyone recommends that buses be maintained in proper facilities with experienced staff and parts on hand. An appropriate example would be this Temsa maintenance facility that provides the proper equipment, staff and parts. TEMSA.

Y

ou might call it the “theological method” of maintaining coaches.

It was 1967, and our fleet consisted of three 1947 Brills, a 1937 Brill, and a 1947 Aerocoach.

All summer they did non-stop, back-to-back, trips between Baltimore and Colorado – transporting kids to camp. We dubbed the

32 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

1937 “Wind Wagon” because the floor had a gaping hole in it, and at 30 m.p.h. a gale blew through the bus.

All five were gasoline powered and built by manufacturers by then long resting in bussy heaven. Parts were hard to find, so our meager inventory traveled with us in the storage bays. Theology was critical. Every time

a bus burped we prayed like hell that we had the needed part with us.

We operated ancient equipment because it was all we could afford, not as a spiritual exercise. Older vehicles are not as efficient or safe as new ones. They burn more fuel, emit more C02, and have fewer safety features.

Motorcoaches are so expensive to build that they make economic sense only if they have a lengthy service life. The point being that there is a balance between cost, “greenness” and safety. Have we, as an industry, and the government as a regulating agent, tipped that balance too far?

Our industry went through a period when we seemed to tell the public to insist on newer equipment, (and by the way they did not need to pay extra for it). If you have newer coaches, that seems a good marketing strategy – until it is time to trade them in. If we have suggested that coaches are old at five years, who is going to ride five-year-old buses (and what does that do to residual value)?

The regulatory side of the equation has a similar problem with unintended consequences. In the quest for clean, efficient, safe coaches, have they driven the price of new equipment so high that the nation’s fleet will necessarily age? Despite improvements in technology, fewer new coaches will be sold and we will be less safe and “green?” Is some of the new mandated technology so unreliable that savvy companies find that some older buses are more reliable than new ones?

A third factor is the public’s desire for more amenities (and their reluctance to pay for them). That “stuff” is expensive to buy, and some of it does not age too well – growing expensive to maintain as the bus matures. In my opinion, if you can not remember who you swiped an idea from, it is not plagiarism to use it. I can not remember where I stole this, so consider it mine.

Another thought from this column is that it might be a good idea to trust engine work to those who are fully trained, qualified and have experience in engines. Doing things this way tends to ensure success and longevity. Shown is a Prevost technician working on an engine in a customer’s coach.

PREVOST.

“It is easy to manage in the short-term, and easy to manage long-term – doing both is incredibly difficult.” It is also easy for old fat retired columnists to take shots, when they have little at stake. Even so, it seems to me that we, as an industry have done far better at short-term management than longterm thinking.

We have been so busy eeking out shortterm cash-flow that we have not managed

For those who do not remember or might be too young, here is a photo of a pair of IC 41 Brill coaches that were built around the 1947 era. One has been restored while the other has not, but both have the expected underfloor engine and entrance door behind the front axle. It appears that the coach on the left is not the same one in the Greyhound Historical Fleet. NBT ARCHIVES.

to convince the public of the value of our service, so that we can charge appropriately.

We give away goodies like videos and WiFi while airlines get away with charging passengers to carry their own bags on board.

We often speak with a fragmented voice, making it more difficult to make a cogent case to legislative and regulatory organizations. We sometimes lose the opportunity to point out instances where regulations may have an effect opposite what is intended.

As usual, I am providing few answers.

Heck, I am even stealing my major premise.

On the other hand, it seems clear that we need to do some serious long-term thinking, and give thought to where we want to go together as an industry. If we do not, we will continue to shrink, and are in danger of ending up like the private transit operators, sucked up by government agencies.

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything,” seems a good way to look at it.

I know where I stole that concept, and it worked well for Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Strategies we develop may not work out as planned when they bump against reality, but the process of developing them makes us think about our direction and priorities.

Hoping (and praying) will not be enough.

Oakie [John Oakman] and I were rebuilding an 8V-71 when I asked him if we should look at the manual. “The manual makes me nervous. Don’t think . . . just work faster,” he said. The engine lasted 20 miles. This is a hard-working industry, but we need to work smart, too. q National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 33

Survival and Prosperityby Ned Einstein Making Public Transportation Work Part 4: System Design and Networks

I have written about the regrettable disappearance of system design in prior N ATIONAL B US T RADER articles (see https://transalt.com/article/survival-andprosperity-part-4-service-concepts/; https://transalt.com/article/cutting-costsby-mastering-time-and-space-part-i/ – including the substitution of robots for live earthlings for creating routes and schedules and selecting stops (see https:// transalt.com/article/drivers-v-robots-part7-betrayal-by-robots/). Today, the term “system design” is most-commonly applied to digital systems or applications. In transportation, system design refers to an effort to configure the vehicles of a single mode, or a combination of modes, into some coherent form so that they work together as a system.

At its best, the design of a public transportation system includes multiple modes (or types of service) working in concert to produce a network that makes most trips using all or part of the network as safe, efficient and reliable as reasonably possible.

Focused mostly on safety, few attorneys litigating public transportation cases – “experts” on the law and not the subject matter – fail to recognize, or even care, that both efficiency and reliability (measured primarily in terms of the “on-time performance” of pick-ups and drop-offs) have a direct and powerful impact on safety.

Reliability and Safety Compromises Regarding reliability, when any vehicle (by itself or as part of a network) is running behind schedule, drivers are induced (and most accept this inducement) to compromise multiple safety principles in order to catch up (see https://safetycompromises.com as well as 12 installments about this phenomenon in N ATIONAL B US T RADER : https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-1-introduction/; https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-2-on-board-slips-and-falls/; https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-3-wheelchair-and-passengersecurement/; https://transalt.com/ article/safety-compromises-part-4-speeding/; https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-5-failing-to-kneel-the-busor-coach/; https://transalt.com/article/ 34 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

safety-compromises-part-6-failing-to-pullto-the-curb/; https://transalt.com/article/ safety-compromises-part-7-stopping-onthe-wrong-side-of-the-intersection/; https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-8-boarding-and-alighting/; https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-9-rolling-turns-and-sharpturns/; https://transalt.com/article/safetycompromises-part-10-passenger-assistance-s tandards-practices-and-disincentives/; https://transalt.com/article/safety-compromises-part-11-wheelchair-and-passenger-securement/ and https://transalt.com/ article/safety-compromises-part-12-conclusions/).

Some safety compromises require only a few seconds to commit.

Some safety compromises require only a few seconds to commit. For example, kneeling and (after passengers board and/or alight) raising the front curb-side corner (or the entire curb side) of a bus or motorcoach with a pneumatic suspension system generally consumes about six seconds. On a “run” with perhaps 100 boardings and/or alightings per hour – not uncommon in dense urban areas – eliminating this procedure 50 times will shave a full five minutes off the run’s “running time” (the actual time it takes the vehicle to go from one end of a route to the other). This is hardly trivial: A full fourth of the roughly 700 lawsuits in which I have served as an expert have involved incidents when passengers were simply getting on or off the vehicle – when it was not even moving.

It can easily take a driver five minutes to properly secure a garden variety manual wheelchair.

At the other end of the spectrum, it can easily take a driver five minutes to properly secure a garden variety manual wheelchair – or longer for the most obscure of the more

than 5,000 types of wheelchairs and motorized scooters on the market. The variety of even the most obvious safety compromises (see https://safetycompromises.com) and the time saved by each commission of one can easily allow a driver to “make up the time” when his or her schedule would otherwise run 20 or even more minutes behind schedule if all the (almost-always) required safety procedures were executed.

Overall, safety compromises were the most direct cause of roughly one-half of all the lawsuits on which I served as an expert.

Usually, the underlying cause is a tight schedule. My sample is hardly the only proof: A 2011 study found that 73.6 percent of the wheelchairs transported on transit buses were either not secured or not properly and completely secured. Compared to modes like non-emergency medical service, where most service providers are paid $X/trip and $Y/mile – effectively paid nothing when the vehicle (a) is not moving (b) with a passenger on board – transit services (public or private) are paid for by the hour.

Periodically vehicles run behind schedule through no fault of the driver or the scheduler. I am not taking about rush-hour traffic, delays from which should be factored into the scheduling process. So too should be the time to secure a wheelchair, and execute the numerous other procedures needed to keep the passengers (and pedestrians, motorists, bicyclists, motorcyclists, skateboarders, scooter-users and other travelers) safe. I am talking about detours, parades, construction, collisions (involving other vehicles) and irregular aberrations that are less-predictable, one-of-a-kind or which last only for brief periods. Otherwise, tight schedules are common in a range of public transportation modes (see https://transalt.com/article/tight-schedules-part-1-the-otherachilles-heel/; https://transalt.com/ article/tight-schedules-part-2-lessons-fromthe-nemt-sector/; https://transalt.com/article/tight-schedules-part-3-fixed-route-transit-service-2/; https://transalt.com/ article/tight-schedules-part-4-complementary-paratransit-service/; https:// transalt.com/article/tight-schedules-part5-motorcoach-service/ and https:// transalt.com/article/tight-schedules-part6-schoolbus-service/).

Regardless, it requires only a crayon-level understanding of transportation to grasp

Survival and Prosperity why the driver of a vehicle running behind schedule would commit safety compromises – even while drivers regularly testify that there are no consequences if and when they run behind schedule – completely understandable by anyone who believes in Santa or the Easter Bunny, or that his “fridge is a portal to Wakanda.”

Efficiency and Safety Compromises The connection between efficiency and safety is a bit harder to grasp, although just as powerful as that between on-time performance and safety. As a starting point (to not write a book about this), the more inefficient a service is, the more prone, in general, many drivers are to commit safety compromises.

When systems devolve beyond inefficiency to chaos, all type and manner of forces are unleashed which expose passengers and others (see parenthetical above) to risk. I have occasionally seen buses leapfrog one another. Drivers of fixed route buses whose performance is rarely if ever monitored often improvise route deviations – often operating on streets that are not designed for vehicles with large wheelbases to travel on or turn onto and off of (see https://transalt.com/ article/the-danger-deterrent-long-wheelbases-and-left-turns/ and https:// transalt.com/article/dancing-in-the-oncoming-lane-long-wheelbases-and-right-turns/).

I have been involved in numerous crossing/turning cases where drivers rolled around turns (usually to “beat the light” that would have delayed them a minute or so) only to nail pedestrians in the perpendicular crosswalk). Almost every driver involved testifies that he or she did not see the victim, and that the victim (or plaintiff or decedent) “came out of nowhere” – even when the nose of the bus came to a stop five to 10 feet beyond the point of impact – a mathematical impossibility when one considers (a) reaction time and (b) braking time and distance (see https://transalt.com/article/the-follyof-fake-facts/ and https://transalt.com/ article/the-folly-of-fake-facts-part-2/).

Today’s drivers occasionally make turns at the last possible moment.

In demand-responsive modes like paratransit, NEMT service, taxi and limousine service, where a “familiarity with the service area” was common in the age before “navigators” emerged, Today’s drivers occasionally make turns at the last possible moment or get mixed up by the discrepancy between

their navigator’s information and the incompetence of signage.

For those unfamiliar with these states or cities, lettering on most signs in New York and New Jersey is white on a forest-green background – perfectly camouflaged for those country roads in wooded areas on days where the skies are covered with cumulous clouds. In Los Angeles and many other California cities, the lettering is white on a powder-blue background – perfectly camouflaged against the same clouds and “sky blue” surrounding them. These are under optimal conditions, not at night and/or during a thunderstorm. Forget about the fact that most personal vehicles today – black or various shades of gray – are the same color of the roadway.

Thankfully, today’s navigators provide redundant information, warning motorists of the upcoming turns and announcing them again just before they encountering them.

Particularly with services deploying larger vehicles, drivers rely on navigators less often than ordinary motorists (like TNC drivers), or taxi, paratransit or NEMT drivers, these color-spectrum choices compound the discrepancies between the navigators and colorcompromised signage. In the days before navigators became common, I have served as an expert on cases where drivers crashed into the thick cement wedge separating freeways, or where they drove up an off-ramp.

Regardless, even when chaos emerges only for short periods, it can instantly translate into a serious incident.

System Design and Networks As a matter of efficiency, on-time performance and safety (again, often interrelated and overlapping), a coherent network of services provides a vast improvement over what transportation professionals refer to as “spaghetti routing.” The most coherent systems employ a strong design whose characteristics are understandable to those who are non-lingual. (I myself designed such a system in southern California in 1983: see https://transalt.com/wp-content/ uploads/2018/08/carson_circuit_schedule_large.jpg and https://transalt.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/08/route_d_and_g_ thumbnail.jpg).

Many or most fixed route transit systems essentially have no design – with the exception of some routes serving as “commuter/express” service connecting groups of pick-ups at one end of the line and groups of drop-offs at the other (and reversing the direction in the opposing peak period). Instead, vehicles deployed in what is often referred to as “regional service” meander through a sequence of cities, mostly on major “arterials” and “collector streets”

(not freeways or, at the other end of the spectrum, “local streets”), focusing stops on what are known as “major trip generators” – mostly commercial, industrial and institutional centers, facilities and buildings. These circuitous routes designed to capture the greatest number of riders are often long, and usually tight. While I suspect some exist during at least the “base period,” I have yet to find a single transit route in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston or anywhere in New Jersey that was not too tight.

Total travel time is further reduced when Park-andRide lots are abundant.

One important characteristic of a coherent collection of routes, or a network of services, is that all the routes and/or services form a hierarchy. Passengers can transfer from one to the next in the most efficient manner (which, as noted, is also the safest manner). As noted in Part 3 of this series (see the January, 2023 issue of NATIONAL BUS T RADER subtitled “Feeder Service”), one mode “feeds” its riders into the next: Taxis or TNCs take one to the nearest bus stop, one may transfer from one route to the next, buses feed subway stations and so on. Total travel time is further reduced when Parkand-Ride lots are abundant (see https://transalt.com/article/making-public-transportation-work-part-2-park-andride-lots/ and https://transalt.com/article/making-public-transportation-work-par t-3-feeder-service, which greatly shorten the time and distance passengers must travel by personal vehicle to reach a stop, regardless of how many additional connections may be needed.

All this is hardly innovative. Think about Tarzan swinging from, and transferring to, vine after vine before reaching his destination – often a tree or the back of an elephant (which took him further along in the network). Forget about more advanced civilizations where one traveled by horse or camel to a dock or port where the rider transferred to a boat or ship.

Franky, a hierarchy of modes overlapped the end of The Ice Age (which terminated only about 11,500 years ago).

Principles and Pocketbooks Some of the most rudimentary principles of fixed route design may be found on my Web site (see https://transalt.com/content/principles-system-design/). Similarly, one may find some of the most rudimentary principles of demand-responsive (door-todoor or curb-to-curb service on this same National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 35

Survival and Prosperity site (see https://transalt.com/content/principles-paratransit-system-design/). Assembling some of these principles to produce a coherent transportation system is not at the crayon level – even while many individual elements of it are (as Tarzan recognized). Yet with a base map of the service area, a couple layers of mylar or acetate and a set of grease crayons, one should easily be able to develop a number of what I call “concept sketches.”

Unfortunately, this is a task your robots cannot perform. Instead, they can only optimize the chaos of your failure to do such a thing, or anything else that might resemble some effort toward design.

Even forgetting about safety, another important principle of efficiency is that money does not grow on trees. I am certain that even Tarzan knew this. As those of us used to currency know, “It takes money to make money.” In transportation, the enlightened members know that it takes money to save money. Passing the recent infrastructure bill is a decent modern re-start – although it is hardly the Defense Highway Act of 1956.

Other than repairing crumbling roads, bridges and tunnels, we must spend money wisely to create the infrastructure to transform the chaos and waste of spaghetti routing into a coherent network of services if we

36 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

hope to build and/or sustain a public transportation system of almost any kind. Parkand-ride lots and feeder services (again, see https://transalt.com/article/making-public-transportation-work-part-2-park-andride-lots and https://transalt.com/article/making-public-transportation-work-par t-3-feeder-service ) are a good starting point – and major keys to success. Otherwise, all the world’s robots (see https:// transalt.com/article/the-price-of-digitalmadness/ and https://transalt.com/article/drivers-v-robots-part-7-betrayal-byrobots/) will fall far short of what is needed to stifle traffic (an ironic use of language), improve the quality of our lives and save a streetful of them along the way.

The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of National Bus Trader, Inc. or its staff q and management.

Ned Einstein is the president of Transportation Alternatives (www.transalt.com [1]), a public transportation witness firm.

Einstein (einstein@transit.com) specializes in catastrophic motorcoach accidents.

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Photographs

Readers and advertisers are encouraged to send in photographs or slides of buses or equipment that may be of special interest to our readers. Please, include a list explaining what makes the pictured item different, unusual or interesting.

The “News” section in the December, 2022 NATIONAL BUS TRADER mentioned a large order of Van Hool CX45 coaches going to Echo AFC Transportation. Here is a photo of several of those coaches posed at the front of the ABC Companies facility in Winter Garden, Florida. There are 47 coaches in this order.

Can any readers provide information on this historic sightseeing bus that apparently operated in Toronto more than 100 years ago? The photo comes from a postcard that was probably mailed in September of 1909. Lettering on the vehicle includes “Imperial Coach Limited” and “The King Co.”

38 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

Photos should be sent to N ATIONAL B US TRADER, 9698 West Judson Road, Polo, Illinois 61064. Please indicate if you would like your picture returned. Picture usage is dependent on the quality of the photo and space available.

The Curious Coachowner Number 290 of a Series “The Curious Coachowner” is a question and answer column that provides simple answers to simple questions that are too short to warrant a full article or inclusion in one of our regular columns. We will accept reasonably simple technical or historical questions on coaches, buses or even converted coach shells by letter, fax, e-mail or phone. If our staff is unable to answer them, we will call upon our panel of experts.

Names and addresses should be submitted with your questions, but we will withhold names from publication on request. We reserve the right to modify questions to make them more useful to our readers.

Q. The January issue of National Bus Trader in the Greyhound Historical Fleet article mentions that one of the extra model 743 buses was sold by Greyhound in 1990. Do you know the story behind this bus and what happened to it?

–– Reader in Illinois

A. We knew some of the story but were fortunate to get help from Ron Medaglia in California for most of it.

The information we have suggests that when Greyhound originally ordered the 743 models from Yellow Coach, two were ordered with two-and-one seating. These were reportedly to be used for special service on routes to Florida.

Following World War II these two buses were transferred to California Parlor Car Tours, a subsidiary of Pacific Greyhound Lines. Here, they received fleet numbers 61 and 62. At some point in the later 1950s, 62 was sold to Bay Area Transportation Company where it was converted to a Detroit Diesel 6-71 engine.

Eastshore Lines acquired Bay Area Transportation Company in the early 1960s, and this 743 was renumbered 308 in the Eastshore fleet. It was reportedly used occasionally for charter work, but its seating capacity was limited to only 22 passengers because of the two-and-one seating.

This bus was acquired by Greyhound, but it was decided not to include it in the Historical Fleet because of the unusual seating.

Instead, Greyhound was able to acquire a 743 with standard seating from Black Hills Stages that had formerly operated for North-

land Greyhound. A third 743 was also acquired as a parts bus.

The 743 from Northland Greyhound became the bus in the Historical Fleet. It received parts from the parts bus and the engine from the 743 with the two-and-one seating that is called 62.

In 1990, 62 went to Alex Lock in California but had no engine. It was soon acquired by Ted Campbell of Coach Maintenance Company in Williams, California. Restoration on this bus was started in 2001 and was completed in 2007. The bus is now complete and operable.

Q. Are changes being planned for rules on Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)?

–– Northeast Bus Operator

A. Several things have been in the news lately but as of mid-December I have not heard any new rules.

Statistics have shown that going to ELDs has increased accidents. The feds are now looking at reducing speed limits to help while many truckers are suggesting that the answer is to eliminate the use of ELDs. To the best of my knowledge, there are three exceptions to the requirement to use ELDs. 1) Drivers who use paper logs no more than eight days during any 30-day period. 2) There is an exception for towing an RV or motor home. 3) Drivers of vehicles manufactured prior to 2000.

This past September the FMCSA asked for input on making changes to ELD regulations. Some of the questions get pretty technical like how to deal with ELDs if the manufacturer is no longer in business.

Answers, primarily from truckers, suggest that the ELD regulations were never about safety. Many suggest that since ELDs have decreased safety, the entire program should be scrapped.

Q. Is it true that Eagle produced a 102inch wide coach at the same time as the MCI MC-6 model?

–– Reader in California

A. Yes. The MCI MC-6 model was originally planned as the replacement for the very popular Scenicruisers. It had numerous special features including three roof levels, an

improved air suspension and a huge Detroit Diesel 12V-71 engine to give it sufficient power. The main feature was going from the traditional 96-inch width to a new 102-inch width. Since the Scenicruiser had pioneered the 40-foot length, the MC-6 was supposed to pioneer the 102-inch width.

Approval for the 102-inch width failed to happen. Hence, it was the MC-7 model that replaced the Scenicruisers. The MC-6 model was eventually placed in production in 1969 and 1970. There were only 100 production units although there had been two earlier prototypes. These were used on certain routes where Greyhound could get permission for the 102-inch width.

Most of our readers are probably aware that after Greyhound introduced the 40-foot long Scenicruiser, Trailways brought out its new 40-foot Eagle soon afterward. The same thing happened with the MC-6. When Eagle foud out about Greyhound going with a 102inch wide bus, they began working on their own 102-inch wide bus.

This was the Eagle Model 07. Instead of creating an entirely different model, Eagle simply took their popular Model 05 design and extended the body three inches on each side. However, since permission for the 102inch width was not immediately forthcoming, only 45 were built in 1969 and 1970.

An interesting side note on this is that both the MC-6 and Eagle Model 07 models were on the highways for years before the 102inch width became legal. Operators who purchased the MC-6 model from Greyhound sometimes had problems with regulations because the bus design was unique and hence could be spotted by troopers who were familiar. On the other hand, it was difficult to spot a wide Eagle other than the tires looked like they were recessed slightly into the body.

Q. Can I get an article on my bus company into National Bus Trader?

–– Midwest Bus Operator A. Yes, just let us know by sending an email to management@busmag.com and we will get back to you with details on the information and photos we need in order to put something together.

Answers not credited to other individuals are provided by Larry Plachno. q National Bus Trader / February, 2023 • 39

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q Vol. XXVI, No. 11 —October, 2003 q Vol. XXVI, No. 12 —November, 2003 q Vol. XXVII, No. 2 —January, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 3 —February, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 4 —March, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 5 —April, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 8 —July, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 9 —August, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 10 —September, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 11 —October, 2004 q Vol. XXVII, No. 12 —November, 2004 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 2 —January, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 3 —February, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 4 —March, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 5 —April, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 6 —May, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 7 —June, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 9 —August, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No.10 — September, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 11 — October, 2005 q Vol. XXVIII, No. 12 — November, 2005 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 2 — January, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 3 — February, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 4 — March, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 5 — April, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 6 — May, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 7 — June, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 8 — July, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 9 — August, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 10 — September, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 11 — October, 2006 q Vol. XXVIV, No. 12 — November, 2006 q Vol. XXX, No. 1 — December, 2006 q Vol. XXX, No. 2 — January, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 3 — February, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 4 — March, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 5 — April, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 6 — May, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 7 — June, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 8 — July, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 9 — August, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 10 — September, 2007 q Vol. XXX No. 11 — October, 2007 q Vol. XXX, No. 12 — November, 2007 q Vol. XXXI, No. 1 — December, 2007 q Vol. XXXI, No. 2 — January, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 3 — February, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 4 — March, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 5 — April, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 6 — May, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 7 — June, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 8 — July, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 9 — August, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 10 — September, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 11 — October, 2008 q Vol. XXXI, No. 12 — November, 2008 q Vol. XXXII, No. 1 — December, 2008 q Vol. XXXII, No. 2 — January, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 3 — February, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 4 — March, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 5 —April, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 6 —May, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 7 —June, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 8 —July, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 9 —August, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 10 —September, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 11 —October, 2009 q Vol. XXXII, No. 12 —November, 2009 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 1 —December, 2009 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 —January, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 —February, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 4 —March, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 5 — April, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 6 — May, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 7 — June, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 8 — July, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 9 — August, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 10 — September, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 11 — October, 2010 q Vol. XXXIII, No. 12 — November, 2010 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 1 — December, 2010 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 2— January, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 3— February, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 4— March, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 5— April, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 6— May, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 7 June, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 8 July, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 9 August, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 10 September, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 11 October, 2011 q Vol. XXXIV, No. 12 November, 2011 q Vol. XXXV, No. 1 December, 2011 q Vol. XXXV, No. 2 January, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 3 February, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 4 March, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 5 April, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 6 May, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 7 June, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 8 July, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 9 August, 2012

q Vol. XXXV, No. 10 September, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 11 October, 2012 q Vol. XXXV, No. 12 November, 2012 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 1 December, 2012 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 2 January, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 3 February, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 4 March, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 5 April, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 6 May, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 7 June, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 8 July, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 9 August, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 10 September, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 11 October, 2013 q Vol. XXXVI, No. 12 November, 2013 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 1 December, 2013 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 January, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 3 February, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 4 March, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 5 April, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 6 May, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 7 June, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 8 July, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 9 August, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 10 September, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 11 October, 2014 q Vol. XXXVII, No. 12 November, 2014 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1 December, 2014 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 2 January, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3 February, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 4 March, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 5 April, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 6 May, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 7 June, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 8 July, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 9 August, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 10 September, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 11 October, 2015 q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 12 November, 2015 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 1 December, 2015 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 2 January, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 3 February, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 4 March, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 5 April, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 6 May, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 7 June, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 8 July, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 9 August, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 10 September, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 11 October, 2016 q Vol. XXXIX, No. 12 November, 2016 q Vol. XL, No. 1 December, 2016 q Vol. XL, No. 2 January, 2017 q Vol. XL, No. 3 February, 2017 q Vol. XL, No. 4 March, 2017 q Vol. XXXX, No. 5 April, 2017 q Vol. XXXX, No. 6 May, 2017 • UMA Motorcoach Expo in St. Louis • The Prize-Winning Aerocoach at the Museum of Bus Transportation • Rochester City Lines Still Making, Preserving and Celebrating History q Vol. XXXX, No. 7 June, 2017 • Industry History From UMA Shows – Installment I • Extended Service Protection on Your Bus Fleet • Bus History on a Wall q Vol. XXXX, No. 8 July, 2017 • Vicinity – A Mid-Size Bus Success Story • Prevost Conversion Shells for All Types of Coaches • The Bus Accident in Red Lion, Delaware q Vol. XXXX, No. 9 August, 2017 • “J” is for Jackpot with the 2018 J4500 • Industry History from UMA Shows – Installment II • Book Review q Vol. XXXX, No. 10 September, 2017 • Propane Continues to be Clean and Economical • H&L Charter – The Best Comes in Small Packages • Industry History from UMA Shows – Installment III q Vol. XXXX, No. 11 October, 2017 • ABC & Van Hool Celebrate 30 Years • Taking a Venture in Norfolk •The Five “No’s” You Must Overcome to Sell Your Bus Business q Vol. XXXX, No. 12 November, 2017 • MCI Reliability Rally 2017 • BusCon 2017 in Indianapolis • Exit Planning Becoming More Complicated for Family-Owned Bus Businesses q Vol. XXXXI, No. 1 December, 2017 • Complete Coach Works and the Carson Heritage • The Busboys Vintage Bus Rally in Evansville, Indiana • Virginia’s Commonwealth Coach and Trolley Museum Ravaged by Fire • Re-Energizing the North American Diecast Model Bus Scene

q Vol. XXXXI, No. 2 January, 2018 • Prevost Again Moves Ahead in Support, Service and Parts • New 2018 J4500 Highlights Busy Season for MCI • Common Rail Technology and the GHG17 Volvo Engine q Vol. XXXXI, No. 3 February, 2018 • Walking the Irizar Assembly Line in Ormaiztegi • Busworld 2017 in Belgium q Vol. XXXXI, No. 4 March, 2018 • UMA Motorcoach Expo 2018i • Van Hool to Build Buses in Eastern Tennessee • The New MCI D45 CRT LE q Vol. XXXXI, No. 5 April, 2018 • Charging Ahead with Electric Buses • Holiday Tours Puts Customers First • How Chicago’s “Party Bus” Ordinance is Affecting Bus Tourism q Vol. XXXXI, No. 6 May, 2018 • The CHTC HT45 amd HT35 Coaches • The Pacific Bus Museum – From Hobby to Formal Museum • Twenty Tips on Hiring Bus Drivers • Van Hool Builds Bus Factoryin Morristown, Tennessee q Vol. XXXXI, No. 7 June, 2018 • MCI Academy Wins Fans Across Industry • Where are the Buses Built? #1 • The Campaign Bus for the President of the Philippines • The Penn Highway Transit Company q Vol. XXXXI, No. 8 July, 2018 • Farber Continues Custom Coach Traditions • Prevost’s New Flat Floor Slide-Outs • Liberty Coach Busch Bus q Vol. XXXXI, No. 9 August, 2018 • ZF Components for Electric Buses • Museum of Bus Transportation Spring Fling Open House Success • “Friends” of the NJ Heritage Center Takes Eight Vintage Coaches to the 2018 MOBT Spring Fling q Vol. XXXXI, No. 10 September, 2018 • Van Hool’s CX35 – Small in Size, Big in Quality • Diecast Model Buses Impress in a Big Way • Master’s Transportation – Where to go to increase your fleet quickly or temporarily q Vol. XXXXI, No. 11 October, 2018 • ZF Technology Day in Friedrichshafen • MCI’s 2018 Reliability Rally • How Will Autonomous Cars Impact the Bus Industry? q Vol. XXXXI, No. 12 November, 2018 • Peter Pan Celebrates 85 Years on the Road • Clean Up Your Fleet with a Bitimec Wash-Bot q Vol. XXXXII, No. 1 December, 2018 • Prevost Unveils New Features and New Possibility on the Volvo 9700 at UMA Expo • MCI’s New J3500 – Small in Size, Big in Features • The e.GO Mover – Filling a Gap in Transportation with ZF Technology • Giving Buses a Second Life at Complete Coach Works q Vol. XXXXII, No. 2 January, 2019 • BusCon 2018 in Indianapolis • Panorama Tours Keeps Things in the Family • How Will Demand or Congestion Toll Pricing Impact Bus Operations? q Vol. XXXXII, No. 3 February, 2019 • Test Driving the New Electric MCI J4500e CHARGE • Stagecoach Group Sells Coach USA and Coach Canada • The Story of the Australian Scenicruiser q Vol. XXXXII, No. 4 March, 2019 • UMA 2019 Motorcoach Expo in Fort Lauderdale • Angel Tours Celebrates 20 Years • The Saga of #5496, a 1937 Yellow Coach Model 733 q Vol. XXXXII, No. 5 April, 2019 • Buses at the 2019 ABA Marketplace in Louisville • Are Pre-Owned Coach Sales Declining?

• The Six Levels of Autonomous Vehicles q Vol. XXXXII, No. 6 May, 2019 • Temsa North America Inc. – Temsa’s Increased Support for the American Market • MCI Launches Motorcoach Technician Apprenticeship Program • 2019 Spring Fling Announced q Vol. XXXXII, No. 7 June, 2019 • Looking Beyond the Driver Shortage to Demography and the Global Economy • Are the Reasons for Coach Seat Belts Changing?

• The Passengers Left Behind – Take the Accessible Information Test q Vol. XXXXII, No. 8 July, 2019 • Prevost Motorhome Expo • Featherlite Luxury Coaches • Emerald Luxury Coaches Unveils First H3-45 Conversions

• Ten Things to Consider When Choosing a Luxury RV q Vol. XXXXII, No. 9 August, 2019 • NFI Group Acquires Alexander Dennis • Getting the Glow – Take a look inside the “New Look” of Liberty • Book Review – Chicago Motor Coach q Vol. XXXXII, No. 10 September, 2019 • The 2019 Spring Fling in Hershey • Congestion Pricing May Affect Bus Operators • In the Beginning – The Bus Industry Prior to Regulation in 1935 q Vol. XXXXII, No. 11 October, 2019 • Proterra Launches Proterra Powered™ Vehicle Electrification Solutions for Commercial Fleets • Bendix Tech Tips: Avoiding the “Gotchas” • The “Shorty” Flxibles of Pikes Peak q Vol. XXXXII, No. 12 November, 2019 • 30 Years of Foxy Travel & FTI Coach • Fleet Graphics is an Art at ABC Companies • MCI debuts 2020 model line-up with a SNEAK PREVIEW of the battery-electric D45 CRTe LE CHARGE at Bay Area Reliability Symposium on October 1 q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 1 December, 2019 • Temsa’s Redesigned TS 30 • BusCon 2019 in Indianapolis • Hammond Transportation q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 2 January, 2020 • Anchor Transportation – 30 Years and Counting in a Growing Nashville • David Thomas Tours and Their Short Temsa Coaches • Museum of Bus Transportation to Merge with Antique Automobile Club of America Museum q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 3 February, 2020 • Busworld 2019 in Brussels, Part I • Heroes’ Honeymoon • Philadelphia to New York Every Half Hour q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 4 March, 2020 • Busworld 2019 in Brussels, Part II • The Changing Bus Industry q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 5 April, 2020 • ABA Marketplace 2020 in Omaha • Procedure and Liability After a Collision with an Automated Vehicle • Impaired Drivers q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 6 May, 2020 • Bringing Back the Bus Industry • Bus Industry Suggestions from Shriver Insurance • What Can Bus Companies Do To Reduce Insurance Costs During COVID-19?

• UMA Motorcoach Expo 2020 in Nashville • Bus Preservation After the Merger q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 7 June, 2020 • Grants, Loans and Programs to Help Transportation Companies Survive COVID-19 Business Disruption • Time to Think Tours • Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 8 July, 2020 • What the IATR and Transportation Regulators are Doing to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic • A Tribute to Kirwan Elmers and Custom Coach Corporation • RiverLandings Motorcoach Resort, Where True Luxury Reaches New Heights q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 9 August, 2020 • The Evolving MCI Product Line • The Impact of COVID-19 on the Transportation Ecosystem • Marijuana and Drivers q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 10 September, 2020 • New Coach Review • Seven Simple Steps to Show Your Customers You Are Open for Business • Can Bus Operators Change to Survive? q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 11 October, 2020 • Getting People Back on the Buses • 10 Easy Ways to Update Your Web Site During COVID-19 • Didn’t See That Coming • The Eucharistic Congress in Chicago q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 12 November, 2020 • How Temsa Developed Their Programmable Electric Bus • Can Bus Companies Get to and Survive in the “New Normal?”

• Talk’s Cheap – Let’s Play q Vol. XXXXIV, No. 1 December, 2020 • Keolis Moves People • Are Mergers the Answer?

• A Lesson from the Sea – Time to Choose a Strategy • Now is Not the Time to Skip on Bus Maintenance • The Small Business Reorganization Act – A New Option in Bankruptcy

Classified Classified ad rate is $30 per issue for first 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word. Rate includes Internet access. Name, address, zip and phone number are not included in word count. The total number of words in a classified ad can not exceed 70. Rates apply on each ad individually – the rate for multiple insertions is the total of each ad figured individually. Free classified ads are acceptable ONLY when submitted on or with your free classified ad certificate. Display advertising rates on request.

1 – BUSES WANTED seeking 102d3 converted by Custom Coach. Prefer motor home interior with side aisle or semi-side aisle.

Please provide details by e-mail to safety@busmag.com or phone larry at (815) 946-2341.

5A – ADULT MINIBUSES FOR SALE shuttle, limo, ada configurations. New & pre-owned.

Buy or lease. Financing available. Contact Coachwest luxury & Professional Motorcars inc at (310) 609-2900 in Ca. q 6 – MOTOR HOMES FOR SALE MCi MC5a ’67 (shell). 8V-71, 4-speed. For sale to highest bidder. Call (928) 358-6415 or (505) 713-9242 in I aZ. 1991 Hawkins motorcoach. 3208t Cat, 35 ft. with all awnings. alcoa wheels, landing/docking lights, heated mirrors, ducted heat, levelers, two air conditioners, propane generator, exhaust brake. always stored indoors. asking $15,000. Contact dallas in Mi at (269) 591-2564.I

6 – MOTOR HOMES FOR SALE 1956 Flxible coach – old conversion. Phone (802) 948I 2886 in Vt for details.

10 – PARTS AND EQUIPMENT 6V-92t detroit diesel engine. Fresh overhaul. in storage. spent $4,700. Make offer. Phone (815) 262-0587 I in il.

14 – NOTICES Visit our 40+ vintage bus collection most saturday mornings at lakewood NJ Bus terminal. Join: Friends NJ transport Heritage Center ($30 annually). see/learn: I www.friendsnjthc.org.

NOTICE

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Advertiser’s Index

Bus Conversions Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Busworld North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Complete Coach Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Dupree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

FMCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Heartland Travel Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Irizar USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Midwest Bus Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Motor Coach Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Museum of Bus Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

National Watch & Clock Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

New York Power Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Prevost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Temsa Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The Windmill Farm & Craft Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Transportation Trails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 42 • National Bus Trader / February, 2023

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Down The Road

Coming events of interest to readers of NATIONAL BUS TRADER. Submissions for the department should be directed to the editor. Unless otherwise indicated, events are not open to the general public.

March 15-18, 2023. FMCA's 106th International Convention and RV Expo. Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter, Perry, Georgia.

March 28, 2023. Pennsylvania Bus Association Marketplace. Holiday Inn, Morgantown, Pennsylvania.

June 9-10, 2023. Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum Spring Fling 2023. For more information view www.aacamuseum/org/event/msuemof-bus-transportation-spring-fling./

August 23-26, 2023. FMCA's 107th International Convention and RV Expo. Cam-Plex Multi-Event Facilities, Gillette, Wyoming. Visit www.fmca. com/fmca-perry-2023-learn-more to register or for more information.

ALL ROADS HAVE LED TO THIS The next. The future. It’s here, now.

The All-New H3-45.

@PrevostCoach