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ElDorado Axess - a failed design?

 
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DE60LF




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

PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:25 pm    Post subject: ElDorado Axess - a failed design? Reply with quote

I was wondering, is the ElDorado Axess a failed design? It is ElDorado's first and only 40 foot transit bus. The majority of ElDorado Axess buses in service are airport shuttles. On the contrary, the ElDorado E-ZRider II has been quite successful, with Santa Fe Trails of Santa Fe, New Mexico being one of the latest customers.

Doesn't it seem strange that the E-ZRider II would be popular with transit authorities, while the Axess is only popular with airports? Normally, airports generally purchase smaller buses. The ElDorado E-ZRider II is designed to compete against the Optima Opus and Blue Bird Ultra LF (and to a lesser extent, the Thomas/Dennis SLF200).

However, what is preventing the ElDorado Axess from being an effective competitor against the New Flyer x40LF(R), the Gillig Advantage/BRT, the Orion VII (NG), and the NABI 40-LFW? I don't know whether brand recognition has anything to do with this or not. Perhaps ElDorado should follow Gillig's business model and go after the smaller transit authorities.
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Mr. Transit




Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 12:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think El Dorado National does bid their Axess bus for transit bus contracts, but I think they're always are lowballed by their main competitors--NFI, Gillig, Orion and NABI. Does anyone stop and think, why NFI hasn't posted any significant profit the last few years? It's pretty obivious that they lose money and have small profit margains, when they receive the majority of large contracts in North America. On the order hand, El Dorado National controls the 35ft-30ft bus market in North America, so their is no urgency on their part, to compete with the Big 4.
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