BusTalk

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

With my recent discussion about Disney Transport, I have been wondering, how many transit authorities today are loyal to only one manufacturer? I know there were a lot more in the past than there are today. However, they still exist. One of the most notable examples is AC Transit, who is 100% loyal to Van Hool.

For ABQ RIDE, except for a small order from Grumman in the 1970s, ABQ RIDE was a loyal GMC/TMC customer for some time since the 1960s up to 1996. This loyalty ended when the Neoplans were delievered in 1996. I have heard that ABQ RIDE did consider ordering 20 Nova RTS buses in 2000, but abruptly cancelled those orders. The Thomases were delivered a year later.

Since 2004, all of ABQ RIDE's orders have been from New Flyer. However, I still wouldn't say they are 100% loyal, as ABQ RIDE did consider ordering Gilligs prior to the purchase of the DE40LFRs. They even received a demo from Gillig, but drivers said that their instrument panel was too confusing.

Still, I wouldn't rule out if ABQ RIDE orders Gillig buses in the future, perhaps when ABQ RIDE starts to retire the Neoplans and/or Thomases. With NovaBus re-entering the U.S. market, that could give ABQ RIDE a third option for diesel-electric hybrid buses, as Nova uses the same Allison hybrid technology that is used by New Flyer and Gillig. As for Orion, they use a different hybrid drivetrain, so I would be suprised if ABQ RIDE orders Orion VII NG HEVs. NABI now also offers a diesel-electric hybrid option on their buses, with Citizens Area Transit of Las Vegas being the launch customer.

It also seems like NYCT/MTA is 100% loyal to Orion, however, they have demoed buses from other manufacturers and still do today.

RTS_04 · Joined: 26 Apr 2007 Posts: 66

SMART in Metro Detroit used to be more-or-less an all-RTS fleet (buying 03s, 04s, 06s, 07s and 08s), but is now 100% Gillig Advantage, with the exception of the various cutaways used for shuttle and paratransit runs.

RailBus63 · Moderator Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 1063

The Port of Authority · Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 118 Location: Hong Kong

Los Angeles is definitely a loyal NABI customer. They've got more than 1,000 NABI buses and plan to order hundreds more.

RTS_04 · Joined: 26 Apr 2007 Posts: 66