BusTalk

Lothian · Joined: 30 Oct 2009 Posts: 14

A NYC LFS Artic was spotted road testing near the St-Eustache NovaBUS plant. According to an employee, units 1200-1201 are the pilot buses for the 2010 order. Looks like they might show up in NYC before the year's end!

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 11:20 pm Post subject:

Here's a Nova LFS Artic working demo on the M15 Line - pretty nice looking piece of equipment!

Mr. 'L'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsHscskg_Jg

novabuslfsafan · Joined: 24 Oct 2009 Posts: 19

I saw same topic on subchat and pretty happy the MTA is getting it.

Also I think Westchester Beeline, SEPTA, MBTA, Port Authority of Allegheny County, Houston METRO, and other TAs should buy NOVABus LFSA to replace their current Artic but they have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVqhrJY11Ok

Also I think it should replace all Neoplan Artic ( i mean all of them in any age and year) , New Flyer Artic (the old one's that are 12 years old and over), and NABI Artic (all of them made before 1999) in any TA that has them.

timecruncher · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:27 pm Post subject:

The pea-green LFS articulated demo that has been roving around the US for a few months came through Louisville a few weeks back and the timecruncher got to drive it from our Union Station office at 10th & Broadway down to the NIA Center at 29th and back.

After almost 36 years in transit (most as a bus driver), finally got to drive an artic. Nice coach. Good ride, easy handling, definitely turned heads all along Broadway, our heaviest transit route and one of three routes where I would like to deploy artics.

It was headed down to Nashville, TN, where MTA has a bunch of high-floor Neoplan and BRT NABI artics. Sales rep said that Opryland was going to run it on their shuttles for a couple of days. I'm sure the old Hee Haw crew would have some one-liners about buses that just kept on coming...

Both photos are from the debut day of Music City Star commuter rail service between Lebanon, TN and Nashville. MTA operates two shuttle routes that meet the train at the tiny depot at the end of Broadway. One route serves downtown offices and the state capitol, while the other serves West End, Vanderbilt University and the medical center. In the first photo, that is MTA's general manager conferring with the operator.

The rail line has struggled, with daily ridership topping 1,000 during Summer 2008 when gas got into the $4.30/gallon range. Ridership then settled back down to around 750-800. The artics appear to get plenty of work in Nashville.

And it is off-thread, but MTA has one of the cleanest, best-kept transit systems in North America. Funding is scarce and service levels show it, but they do a lot with what they have.

timecruncher
It isn't your run. Its my run, and I'll let you pick it for the next three months!
We schedulers are so mean!

Q65A · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 1:40 pm Post subject:

Kudos to Nova for winning this order.
New Flyer must find this situation difficult to accept.
NF delivered 630 D60HF's to NYCT from 1997 to 2003, most of which still are in service in Manhattan and The Bronx.
Clearly NF and NABI already have proven artics available for sale.
If Orion has an artic design on the drawing board, they'll have to wait for future orders.
I suppose that the disputes between NF and MTA were just too much for both parties.
Nova delivered 1300 RTS-06's to NYCT from 1995-1999, most of which are still in service (mainly at depots in the Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan Divisions, as well as at a few MTAB depots in Queens).

novabuslfsafan · Joined: 24 Oct 2009 Posts: 19

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063

Please explain why the Neoplan artics are 'crappy'?

I’d also point out that the Neoplan high-floor articulated bus was sold for over two decades in the U.S. – time will tell if Nova’s artics do as well.

novabuslfsafan · Joined: 24 Oct 2009 Posts: 19

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063

daimlerbuses · Age: 31 Joined: 22 Jul 2009 Posts: 30

Keep in mind however that Nova and NABI offer something New Flyer does not: Stainless Steel Frames. This is a big sticking point with some transit agencies (New York, etc.) Not to mention that NABI's bids could be more expensive because they only have a BRT variant.

And I'm going to argue your comment about NABI having a strong foothold on the BRT market. They may be BRT styled artics, but it dosen't mean they're being used in a true BRT service. It's really because it's the only articulated product they have to bid with.

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063

daimlerbuses · Age: 31 Joined: 22 Jul 2009 Posts: 30

novabuslfsafan · Joined: 24 Oct 2009 Posts: 19

Lothian · Joined: 30 Oct 2009 Posts: 14

I wonder how having the pilot buses built in Quebec satisfies the 'Made in USA' funding requirements? Shocked

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063