BusTalk

[ripta42]

In this month's Metro magazine, Executive Editor Janna Starcic sat down with John Marinucci, CEO of New Flyer Industries to talk about industry trends. The article doesn't seem to appear in the online edition, but here are some key points:

- Transit agencies are switching from short-term/small procurements to long-term procurements

- Buses ordered today tend to be more fully-equipped and customized than in the past

- Transit agencies that do not have adequate capital funds to procure new buses could benefit from leasing partnerships

- The trend toward alternative fuels is growing, especially for diesel-electric and gasoline-electric hybrids. Smaller transit systems are sticking with diesel, since they generally do not have the capital to convert. Vancouver will be receiving fuel cell buses beginning in 2009.

[DE60LF]

I agree that buses are generally more equipped today than they were in the past. ABQ RIDE's new DE40LFR buses have triple bike racks, video displays, TwinVision Chroma destination signs, the Digital Recorders Talking Bus GPS automated stop announcement system, and the new GFI Genfare Odyssey Electronic Revenue Center fareboxes.

I wonder if ABQ RIDE will stick with New Flyer for future purchases. ABQ RIDE's New Flyer dynasty began when the first DE60LFs were delivered in 2004 for the Rapid Ride Red Line route. Six more DE60LFs were ordered in 2006 and were delivered early this year. The TMC RTS (100 and 200 series buses) replacement was up in the air. The original plan was to do a piggyback order via San Joaquin RTD for Gillig Advantage Hybrid buses, however, ABQ RIDE director Greg Payne opposed the idea of a piggyback order due to the fact that they were not ordered to ABQ RIDE specifications. Greg Payne felt that it was better to order buses on their own, and he decided to stick with New Flyer.

While the first DE40LFR (bus 701) initially had problems with its transmission, it is all fixed now. So far, I have seen buses 701, 702, 703, and 705 on the road. Currently, they are primarily found on the 5 (Montgomery/Carlisile) route. After all the new buses enter service, most of the TMC RTS buses will be scrapped, but some will be kept for other community needs.

I wonder what will ABQ RIDE order in the future. The Neoplan AN440A CNG (300 series) buses are approaching their 12 year lifetime, however, they are still working well and are still in decent condition. In fact, they outperform ABQ RIDE's newer Thomas SLF232 CNG (400 series, minus #436) buses that were delivered in 2001. The only flaw with the Neoplans is that their wheelchair lifts have a higher failure rate than those on the Thomases and New Flyers.