BusTalk

DE60LF · Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM

It has been rumored that Orion was interested in producing an articulated Orion VII. Does anyone have any updates on this? Orion could potentially win some orders from their major customers such as the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). NYCT could also place an order, however, it seems they want a high floor articulated bus. NABI offers the 436, but the market for an Orion V artic would be very small.

Also, what about an articulated Gillig Advantage/BRT? While Gillig is traditionally a company who serves smaller TAs, they have grown and have won a few orders from some larger TAs. Some potential customers might include some large Gillig operators such as LYNX (Orlando, FL) and Denver RTD. King County Metro Transit of Seattle might have also been a potential customer, however, their massive order of New Flyer DE60LFs seem to suggest otherwise.

So, does anyone have thoughts on whether Orion or Gillig should produce an articulated bus?

RTS_04 · Joined: 26 Apr 2007 Posts: 66

I'd see Orion entering the artic market before Gillig ever would. Still, like you said, the market for artics is limited, and competing against the D/E/60 series or even NABI's 60-footers may be difficult.

I know some properties have solicited bids that require companies to provide both artics and normal buses (Millennium was shut-out of one city's process for this reason); being able to provide both may offer an advantage.

DE60LF · Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063

If I had to guess, I think we'll see an Orion articulated bus announced in the next year or two. I think they wanted to successfully introduce the Orion VII and work the bugs out (especially the version with the hybrid drive) before tackling an artic. It only makes even more sense when you consider the fact that Orion's sister company is a major builder of articulated buses in Europe and can help provide expertise. Just my 2 cents worth.

Q65A · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:14 pm Post subject:

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063

MTA was 'sold' on the 40-foot version of the Orion VII because it supposedly offers more capacity than earlier low-floor models, so I would think that a 60-foot version of the O7 would also be attractive to them.

Q65A · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 8:14 pm Post subject:

Interesting info, Jim.
If I were working in Orion's marketing or engineering staff, I think I'd been working pretty feverishly on this project; could be another handsome payback.