National Bus Trader The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada Volume XLVI, No.1

N a t i o n a l B u s T r a d e r

The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada

N AT I O N A L B U S T R A D E R ( I S S N 0194 939X) is published monthly by National Bus Trader, Inc , 9698 W J u d s o n R o a d , P o l o , I l l i n o i s 61064 9015 Subscriptions, $30 (in U S f u n d s ) a n n u a l l y, C a n a d a & I n t e r n a t i o n a l $ 3 5 ( i n U S f u n d s ) P r i n t e d i n U S A P e r i o d i c a l s postage paid in Polo, Illinois 61064 and at additional mailing offices P O S T M A S T E R : S e n d a d d r e s s c h a n g e s t o N a t i o n a l B u s Tr a d e r, 9698 W Judson Road, Polo, Illinois 61064 9015

Change of Address: Please send old mailing label (or old address and computer number) as well as new address

Advertising: Classified ad rate is $30 for first 25 words, 25¢ for each a d d i t i o n a l w o r d R a t e i n c l u d e s Internet access Name, address, and phone number are not included in word count Display advertising rates sent on request Advertising deadline is the fifteenth day of the 2nd preceding month unless other wise indicated Affiliations and Memberships: American Bus Association, The Bus History Association, Family Motor Coach Association, International B u s C o l l e c t o r s , N o r t h A m e r i c a n Tr a c k l e s s Tr o l l e y A s s o c i a t i o n , Motor Bus Society, Omnibus Soci e t y o f A m e r i c a , To u r i s t R a i l w a y Association, United Motorcoach Association N AT I O N A L B U S T R A D E R i s T H E M a g a z i n e o f B u s E q u i p m e n t f o r t h e United States and Canada

The contents of this publication m a y n o t b e re p ro d u c e d e i t h e r i n whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher The name National Bus Trader, the logo incor porating the outline of the United S t a t e s , a n d t h e p r i c i n g g u i d e t o u s e d b u s e s a r e t r a d e m a r k s o f National Bus Trader, Inc

Cyr Bus Line Celebrates 110 Years (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

2022 marks the 110th anniversary of Cyr Bus Line. Headquartered in Old Town, Maine, Cyr Bus Line, operating both coaches and school buses, is one of the most respected operators in the industry

The New Fire Risks Associated with EVs and HEVs (by Jonas Bergström) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Jonas Bergström, an expert in fire protection, takes a look at the increasing number of electric buses and explains their fire protection needs

Thrasher Brothers Celebrating 50 Years (by Pat Plodzeen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Recently celebrating a 50th anniversary, Thrasher Brothers can boast of a heritage that started with a singing group and converted coaches.

Politicians and Pollution (by Larry Plachno) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 How politicians and America’s love of the automobile decimated the clean electric transit systems that we had a century ago

The Race to the Bottom (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Our columnist expresses concern that we need to avoid a rate war to the bottom in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Equipment News

Tips for Cold Weather from MCI

“Inspections are an integral part of a pre ventative maintenance program to ensure your coaches run smoothly in every season,” says William Pfeifer, technical solutions man ager, MCI

Follow MCI’s maintenance “to do” list to k e e p t h i n g s r u n n i n g s m o o t h l y w h e n t h e weather is not

• Keep coolant mixture strength and pH levels as specified by the coolant manufac turer

• Pressurize the engine cooling system a n d c h e c k f o r l e a k s C o o l i n g s y s t e m s m a y d e v e l o p “ c o l d w a t e r l e a k s ” a t l o w e r temperatures

• C h e c k t h e m a i n b l o w e r, d e f r o s t e r motors, brushes and amperage draws

• U n c l o g h e a t e r c o re s i f n e e d e d a n d clean or replace air filters

• Clean batter y posts and check water levels for the proper state of charge

• Verify that all electrical cable connec tions are tight and corrosion free Apply pro tective coating to prevent corrosion

• Inspect engine and lavator y holding tank immersion heaters and connections

• Make sure the windshield washer sol vent is at the right concentration level to pre vent freezing

• Turn off the windshield wipers to ensure the motor and washer are operating properly and look for cracking rubber on the wiper b l a d e s t o d e t e r m i n e i f re p l a c e m e n t s a re needed

• R e p l a c e c r a c k e d o r c h i p p e d w i n d shields

• Install valve stem caps on all tires and keep tire pressure at recommended levels

• R e f e r t o a u x i l i a r y h e a t e r m a i n t e nance manuals for pre winter preparation i n s t r u c t i o n s

In addition to transporting passengers, electric buses can also serve as a portable energy source The California Energy Commission is experimenting with using battery power from AC Transit buses to power the air conditioning at a branch of the Oakland Public Library. Each battery bus will be able to contribute six hours of backup power for this project while the hydrogen fuel cell buses will be able to provide 11 hours of backup power

• I n s p e c t t h e s p a re t i re a n d fi re e x t i n g u i s h e r a n d k e e p a b e l t a n d b u l b k i t o n board

Heeding these tips helps to improve reli ability on the road and maintain the longevity o f y o u r c o a c h I f y o u n e e d m a i n t e n a n c e a s s i s t a n c e , c o n t a c t y o u r n e a r e s t M C I Service Center, which can provide service, parts and warranty work to complete coach refurbishing by MCI training technicians

F o r t e c h n i c a l o r e m e r g e n c y ro a d s i d e assistance, MCI stands alongside you 24/7 at (800) 241 2947

Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Char ging

A new project funded by the Califor nia Energy Commission (CEC) will demonstrate t h e v a l u e o f b i d i re c t i o n a l e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e charging to support a first of its kind vehicle t o b u i l d i n g ( V 2 B ) r e s i l i e n c e h u b T h i s groundbreaking project will leverage stored energy from zero emission electric buses, owned and operated by AC Transit, to pro vide filtered air conditioning at the West Oak land Branch of the Oakland Public Librar y for local residents in the event of unhealthy h e a t o r s m o k e c o n d i t i o n s C E C ’s E l e c t r i c

P r o g r a m I n v e s t m e n t C h a r g e p r o g r a m awarded the project $3 2 million in funding, with combined $400,000 in matching funds

With the cold winter weather upon us once again, extra attention must be paid to make sure that your buses run smoothly Here is a list of suggestions from MCI on what to do and look for to keep your fleet running in this season Paying attention to these tips will improve reliability on the road for your buses

contributed by West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project (WOEIP) and AC Transit T h i s p i l o t s t u d y i s k n o w n l o c a l l y a s “ V 2 B Oakland” and will be executed by a power house green energy project team: Center f o r Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d t h e E n v i r o n m e n t (CTE), the Mobility House, AC Transit, New F l y e r, S c h n e i d e r E l e c t r i c , C i t y o f O a k l a n d and WOEIP

Each battery electric bus (BEB) will con tribute six hours of backup power to the crit ical loads at the library, and each hydrogen fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) will provide up t o 1 1 c o n t i n u o u s h o u r s o f b a c k u p p o w e r, d i s p l a c i n g n e a r l y 1 0 0 p o u n d s o f c a r b o n emissions per hour compared to traditional diesel backup generators Working in close c o o rd i n a t i o n w i t h b u s m a n u f a c t u re r N e w F l y e r o f A m e r i c a I n c ( N e w F l y e r ) , a s u b sidiar y of NFI Group Inc (NFI), this project also marks the first time a U S transit agency will have the capability to use a hydrogen vehicle for V2B backup power

“Initiating the first community resilience hub powered by a bidirectional V2B charg ing system has been an incredible jour ney By bringing together leading edge techno logical innovation and sustainability, we are a b l e t o o f f e r m u c h n e e d e d e m e r g e n c y response benefits for both transit agencies and communities,” said Jason Hanlin, direc t o r o f t e c h n o l o g y re s e a rc h a t C T E “ F o r a p ro j e c t w i t h s o m a n y k e y p l a y e r s , w e a re excited to apply CTE’s proven project man agement approach to usher this novel pro ject from concept to fruition ”

T h e r e s i l i e n t b a c k u p p o w e r s y s t e m , which combines Bus Exportable Power Sup p l y ( B E P S ) c a p a b i l i t y w i t h b i d i r e c t i o n a l

chargers and smar t software, will be inte grated and tested at NFI’s Hayward facility, then deployed at an AC Transit bus division a n d t h e O a k l a n d L i b r a r y T h e s y s t e m i s designed to power the librar y’s upgraded H VA C a n d a i r fi l t r a t i o n s y s t e m , p ro v i d i n g clean air and electricity inside the building to create a public shelter during emergen cies and outages

“We are thrilled to bring our ‘vehicle to ever ything’ exper tise from numerous pro jects in Europe and Asia to now develop the first ever vehicle to building resilience hub in the U S , ” said The Mobility House U S M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r G r e g o r H i n t l e r “ O u r ChargePilot system ensures all transit mobil i t y n e e d s a r e m e t a n d o r c h e s t r a t e s t h e charge and discharge of the bidirectional chargers so that the buses can power critical building loads ”

E l e c t r i c d r i v e b u s fl e e t s a r e u n i q u e l y s u i t e d f o r b a c k u p p o w e r a n d e m e r g e n c y r e l i e f b e c a u s e o f t h e i r e n e r g y s t o r a g e capacity, electrical architecture, indepen dent mobility and ability to be quickly dis patched When compared to diesel gener a t o r s t h e c u r re n t d e f a u l t t e c h n o l o g y f o r emergency backup power BEPS provides quicker response times, avoids emission of h a r m f u l p o l l u t a n t s , c a n b e m o r e c o s t effective and increases the value of procur ing zero emission vehicles and chargers by providing community suppor t benefits

“ P o w e r i n g e m e r g e n c y s h e l t e r s w i t h islanded energy supply is an innovative feat we are honored to help facilitate,” said Jana Gerber, president of Microgrids North Amer ica at Schneider Electric “It is also exciting to demonstrate how different technologies

can integrate with each other so seamlessly and intelligently to allow for crucial backup power for the community and infrastructure ”

“Unquestionably, delivering reliable pub lic transit service to nearly 22 million annual riders is our highest priority, but we also pur sue partnerships and initiatives that advance zero emissions technology,” said AC Transit General Manager Michel Hursh “V2B is one e x a m p l e o f a z e ro e m i s s i o n p ro g r a m t h a t p e r m i t s u s t o l e v e r a g e o u r r e s o u r c e s t o enhance the resiliency and emergency pre paredness of the diverse communities we’ve served for the past 60 years ”

“NFI is proud to work with AC Transit and our other par tners on this exciting project that enables our vehicles to act as genera tors suppor ting resiliency and emergency preparedness This platfor m, the first vehi cle to everything fuel cell electric bus in the w o r l d , w i l l c h a n g e t h e g a m e f o r e l e c t r i c p r o p u l s i o n t e c h n o l o g y a n d w i l l v a s t l y e x p a n d t h e c a p a b i l i t i e s a n d u t i l i t y o f o u r mobility solutions,” said Paul Soubr y, pres ident and chief executive officer, NFI

“Many low income communities of color share streets and fence lines with the freight i n d u s t r y a n d s u ff e r d e a d l y p o l l u t i o n f ro m petroleum combustion With our electrical grids straining under the demands of global w a r m i n g a n d s o l a r a n d w i n d n o t k e e p i n g pace with the urgent need, hydrogen may o f f e r a n o t h e r t o o l i n t h e t o o l b o x o f z e r o emission freight transportation opportunities Communities like West Oakland will benefit f r o m a n e x p a n d e d s e t o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n e n e r g y o p t i o n s b y g e t t i n g c l e a n e r, s a f e r s t re e t s a n d a i r q u a l i t y, ” s t a t e d B r i a n B e v eridge, co executive director of WOIEP

Infrastructure is expected to be installed by mid 2023 Demonstration, analysis, eval uation and knowledge transfer for the pilot program will continue until July 2025

ECHO AFC Transpor tation

Celebrates 30th Anniversar y ABC Companies, a leading provider of motorcoach, transit and specialty passenger transport equipment in the U S and Canada, c o n t i n u e s t o f u l fi l l o rd e r s f o r 4 7 Va n H o o l CX45 motorcoaches in 2022 to ECHO AFC Transpor tation, as the full service ground transpor tation and logistics management p ro v i d e r c e l e b r a t e s 3 0 y e a r s i n b u s i n e s s this month ECHO AFC’s service area spans the state of Texas and par ts of Florida and ongoing deliveries of new, custom specified Va n H o o l m o d e l s w i l l b e u t i l i z e d t o s e r v e , attract and retain customers throughout the region

F r o m i t s i n c e p t i o n i n 1 9 9 2 , E C H O ’s m a n t r a “ P e o p l e P o w e re d , S a f e t y D r i v e n , ” has defined the brand, highlighting the oper

Founded in 1992, ECHO AFD Transportation celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2022 ABC Companies is providing 47 Van Hool CX45 coaches to ECHO AFC in 2022 These new coaches feature leatherette seating, enclosed parcel racks, collision mitigation, security cameras, a reflective paint scheme and 360 camera systems

ator’s number one goal of safety and dedi cated customer service “Recognizing the value that every member brings to our team i s c e n t r a l t o t h e c o m p a n y ’s c u l t u re , ” s a i d John Ferrari, ECHO AFC president/CEO “In conjunction with a continuous improvement mindset, we believe that our laser focus on elevating the customer experience has been e s s e n t i a l t o o u r s u c c e s s f o r t h e p a s t 3 0 years As we celebrate this major milestone, we are excited to expand our fleet with these current Van Hool models that enable us to offer all of the comfor ts, high per for mance, s t y l e a n d s a f e t y f e a t u re s t h a t c u s t o m e r s appreciate and expect when they travel with our operation ”

The new Van Hool models include a num ber of passenger safety, comfor t and sig n a t u re E C H O A F C a m e n i t i e s s u c h a s f u l l l e a t h e re t t e s e a t i n g a n d e n c l o s e d p a rc e l racks that provide a sleek interior look The coaches also include a complement of inte grated safety features including ACC/colli s i o n m i t i g a t i o n , i n t e r i o r s e c u r i t y c a m e r a s a n d 3 6 0 c a m e r a s y s t e m s a l l d e s i g n e d t o e n s u re a s e a m l e s s , l u x u r i o u s a n d m e m o rable passenger experience Additionally, all new models feature a custom black on b l a c k re fl e c t i v e p a i n t s c h e m e t h a t s h o w c a s e s t h e E C H O A F C b r a n d , c r e a t i n g a cohesive and elegant signature look for the fleet

“Consistency is key to our marketing and u s e r e x p e r i e n c e s t r a t e g y, ” s a i d F e r r a r i , “From the moment a passenger sees and then steps aboard any vehicle in our fleet,

they will experience the same look, feel and l e v e l o f l u x u r y a n d c o m f o r t T h i s f o c u s o n unifor mity and dependability also extends to the hospitality and professionalism cus t o m e r s c a n e x p e c t w h e n i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h every member of the ECHO AFC staff ” The new coaches will be used primarily for char ter service with professional spor ts teams, as well as university athletics, public or pri vate school char ter field trips, spor ts, edu cational outings, youth group transportation and more

“John and the entire ECHO AFC Trans portation team emulate a passion for unpar a l l e l e d c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e , ” s a i d B r e n d a Wordelman, senior vice president midwest & southwest sales “Their attitude and ded ication parallels ABC Companies’ own focus on providing an excellent customer experi ence, which may explain why this leader in ground transportation has been a loyal cus tomer with ABC for 30+ years We are grate ful and excited to support ECHO AFC’s con tinued growth for decades to come ”

NYMTA Orders Five Batter yElectric Nova Buses

Nova Bus, a member of the Volvo Group and a leading Nor th American transit bus m a n u f a c t u re r, i s d e l i g h t e d t o a n n o u n c e i t has been awarded a contract for five LFSe+, the 40 foot, long range, 100 percent battery electric bus model of Nova Bus, by the New Yo r k S t a t e M e t r o p o l i t a n Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y ( M TA ) T h e fi r s t d e l i v e r y i s expected by the fourth quarter of 2023 The

buses will be assembled at the Nova Bus facility in Plattsburgh, New York State

T h i s p u rc h a s e i s i n l i n e w i t h t h e M TA’s goal of transitioning its entire 5,800 bus fleet to zero emission vehicles by 2040 All bus p r o c u r e m e n t s w i l l b e e x c l u s i v e l y z e r o emissions by 2029 This order of five Nova Bus LFSe+ will suppor t the MTA’s transition by integrating a new electric bus model to its fleet

T h e M TA o p e r a t e s t h e l a r g e s t p u b l i c transportation agency in North America, car rying 16 percent of all bus passengers This y e a r, i t re c e i v e d $ 1 1 6 m i l l i o n t h ro u g h t h e Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Low o r N o E m i s s i o n G r a n t P r o g r a m t o b u y battery electric buses to replace older diesel buses and launch a comprehensive work force training and development program

W i t h a n e l e c t r i c d r i v e m o t o r c o u p l e d with BAE Systems’ next generation power electronics focused on efficiency, the Nova B u s L F S e + l o n g r a n g e e l e c t r i c b u s p r o v i d e s r e d u c e d m a i n t e n a n c e c o s t s a n d e l i m i n a t e s a l l e m i s s i o n o f p o l l u t a n t s a n d g re e n h o u s e g a s e s T h e L F S e + i s t h e p e r fect pairing of Nova Bus’ proven exper tise with the latest innovations in clean and sus t a i n a b l e t e c h n o l o g i e s , m a k i n g i t a fi r s t c h o i c e s o l u t i o n f o r t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o s u s t a i n a b l e p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t

“We are delighted that our LFSe+ will be j o i n i n g t h e g r o w i n g M TA fl e e t o f e l e c t r i c b u s e s , ” s a i d M a r t i n L a ro s e , p re s i d e n t o f Nova Bus “The MTA is a long standing part n e r o f N o v a B u s a n d w e a re t h r i l l e d t o b e part of its transition to electromobility, as well a s h u m b l e d t o b e s u p p o r t i n g i t s g o a l o f reaching a zero emission fleet by 2040 We are excited about the future and looking for w a rd t o e v e r y c o m m u n i t y b e n e fi t i n g f ro m cleaner air thanks to zero emission buses in New York ”

Thomas Built Buses Celebrates 200th Proterra-Powered Electric School Bus Deliver y

T h o m a s B u i l t B u s e s ( T B B ) , a l e a d i n g manufacturer of school buses in North Amer ica, has announced delivery the TBB’s 200th P r o t e r r a p o w e r e d S a f T L i n e r C 2 J o u l e y b a t t e r y e l e c t r i c s c h o o l b u s t o M o n r o e County Public Schools in Indiana

M o n ro e b e c a m e t h e fi r s t c o u n t y i n t h e state to receive an electric school bus in fall 2020 Since then, the district has continued to grow its zero emission fleet, ordering an additional two buses in 2021 and 10 buses in 2022

“Our district is delighted to have received the 200th Jouley from TBB as we continue to lead electrification efforts for our students,

The New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority recently ordered five LFSe+ 40 foot bat tery electric buses from Nova Bus MTA operates a fleet of 5,800 buses and is moving towards a fleet of zero emission vehicles by 2040 The buses will be assembled at the Nova Bus facility in Plattsburgh, New York

staff and the larger Bloomington community,” said Dr Jeff Hauswald,

savings benefits, conver ting our fleet also helps us meet safety and sustainability goals set forth by school administration, reducing CO2 emissions by 27 tons and saving 1,080 gallons of diesel per bus in our fleet With every additional bus we convert, we’re only adding to those numbers ”

This will be the sixth delivery of 13 electric school buses ordered by the district from Kerlin Bus Sales, a full service TBB dealer in Indiana MCCSC has committed to elec t r i f y a l l ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y 8 5 ) p r i m a r y b u s routes by 2028, exclusively with Jouley elec tric buses from TBB The district has been a p p l a u d e d f o r i t s s t r o n g e l e c t r i fi c a t i o n efforts, including recognition in the “Electric S c h o o l B u s F l e e t Aw a rd ” b y D r i v e C l e a n Indiana

T B B ’s S a f e T L i n e r C 2 J o u l e y e l e c t r i c school bus is equipped with the same vehi cle quality, durability, per for mance, safety and comfor t as the popular Saf T Liner C2 Jouley is powered by Proterra electric vehi c l e t e c h n o l o g y a n d i s e q u i p p e d w i t h 2 2 6 kilowatt hours (kWh) of total energy capacity in a Proterra powered battery system, a two speed transmission and an estimated oper ating range of up to 138 miles Thomas Built Buses is currently the only school bus man u f a c t u re r t o o ff e r D C ( d i re c t c u r re n t ) f a s t

superintendent for

Monroe County Community School Corpo ration (MCCSC) “Beyond the long term cost

Thomas Built Buses is celebrating the delivery of its 200th battery electric school bus This 200th bus was a Proterra powered Saf T Liner C2 Jouley battery electric school bus delivered to Monroe County Public Schools in Indiana Monroe County became the first county in the state to operate electric school buses when they received their first in the fall of 2020

charging architecture as standard equip ment Jouley can charge in approximately three hours and can supply power back to the power grid using vehicle to grid (V2G) technology

“ W e a r e t h r i l l e d t o p a v e t h e w a y f o r a c l e a n e r f u t u re f o r t h e c h i l d re n i n I n d i a n a a n d a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y, ” s a i d K e v i n Bangston, president and CEO of TBB “We b e l i e v e e l e c t r i c s c h o o l b u s e s t o b e t h e future of pupil transportation and with a qui eter operation, lower operating costs and z e ro e m i s s i o n s M C C S C w i l l c o n t i n u e t o reap the cost and social benefits of school bus fleet conversion This milestone deliv er y is an impor tant marker for Thomas Built Buses on our mission to provide school dis tricts with the tools and technology needed to transition to cleaner futures for our stu dents and communities ”

“ S c h o o l s a c r o s s A m e r i c a a r e d r i v i n g towards a clean transpor tation future Pro terra congratulates Monroe County Schools for their leadership in the growing movement of school districts that are embracing zero e m i s s i o n , a l l e l e c t r i c s c h o o l b u s e s N o w, with 200 Proterra powered electric school buses on the road, we look forward to help ing clean air for more schoolkids and com munities throughout the country,” said Chris B a i l e y, p r e s i d e n t o f P r o t e r r a P o w e r e d & Energy

TBB and Proterra offer school bus oper a t o r s a c o m p re h e n s i v e , t u r n k e y e l e c t r i c vehicle program that includes EV planning a n d f u n d i n g c o n s u l t a t i o n , e l e c t r i c s c h o o l b u s e s , c h a r g i n g s y s t e m s a n d c h a r g i n g infrastructure design and installation

“Kerlin Bus Sales is on a mission to make I n d i a n a a p i o n e e r f o r e l e c t r i c s c h o o l b u s

o p e r a t i o n a n d fl e e t m a n a g e m e n t i n t h e U S , ” said Melanie Zehr, vice president of K e r l i n B u s S a l e s “ M C C S C i s a l e a d i n g example of the many benefits beyond zero emissions that make the transition to electric wor thwhile, including greater fuel cost sav ings as well as lower maintenance and oper ating costs ”

As the Electric Bus Authority, TBB con t i n u e s t o h e l p s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s m a k e t h e switch to electric For more information visit h t t p s : / / t h o m a s b u i l t b u s e s c o m / e l e c t r i c school buses/electric bus/

D a i m l e r Tr u c k N o r t h A m e r i c a ( D T N A ) , TBB, a subsidiar y of DTNA, is fully commit t e d t o l e a d i n g t h e w a y t o c a r b o n n e u t r a l (tank to wheel) transpor tation in the U S by reaching their 2039 goal to offer only new vehicles that are carbon neutral in driving o p e r a t i o n T h e s c h o o l b u s i n d u s t r y i s t h e ideal application based on the use case to i n t ro d u c e b a t t e r y e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s t o t h e market Already in 2018, TBB and Proterra unveiled the high performance Jouley elec tric school bus Now, the 200th nationwide deployment of battery electric school buses represents a big milestone as cities, towns and school districts continue to transition to all electric school bus fleets

Califor nia’s Ebmeyer Char ter Welcomes New MCI Luxur y Motorcoach

M C I h a s r e c e n t l y d e l i v e r e d i t s l u x u r y J4500 clean diesel motorcoach to Ebmeyer Charter & Tour, one of the leading providers o f c h a r t e r s e r v i c e s i n t h e S o u t h w e s t e r n United States, servicing more than 120 cities in 10 states

E b m e y e r C h a r t e r ’s p a s s e n g e r s w i l l b e n e f i t f ro m M C I ’s s t a t e o f t h e a r t J 4 5 0 0

c o a c h , w h i c h c o m e s w i t h t h e m a r k e t ’s b e s t i n i n d u s t r y l e g ro o m a n d M C I a f t e r m a r k e t s u p p o r t

N F I ’s H i g h P e r f o r m a n c e E V To u r s Across

Ontario

O n N o v e m b e r 3 , N e w F l y e r ’s b a t t e r y electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ bus visited Guelph, Ontario, Canada, for a zero emis sion bus demonstration with t Guelph Transit Commission

T h e G u e l p h Tr a n s i t C o m m i s s i o n t e a m tested the high per for mance EV technolo gies of the Xcelsior CHARGE NG bus with a test drive During the demo, the team also tested New Flyer’s smar t leveling system SmartRider™ by using objects of different heights to simulate different curb heights

The demo results provided that the Xcel sior CHARGE NG has unmatched accessi bility, ease of maneuverability, an efficient electric traction drive system and convenient interior design to provide passengers with a quiet, smooth and comfor table ride

Gillig to Equip 45 Communities Across America with Low- and Zero-Emission Buses

Gillig LLC, the leading manufacturer of h e a v y d u t y t r a n s i t b u s e s i n t h e U S , a n n o u n c e d t h a t 4 5 t r a n s i t a g e n c i e s h a v e chosen to par tner with Gillig to utilize their f e d e r a l a w a rd s t o i n v e s t i n G i l l i g ’s c l e a n energy buses for their fleets

T h e s e a w a r d s w e r e m a d e p o s s i b l e t h r o u g h F e d e r a l Tr a n s i t A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (FTA)’s annual Buses and Bus Facilities and L o w a n d N o E m i s s i o n ( L o w N o ) Ve h i c l e programs These dovetailed programs were d e v e l o p e d i n 2 0 1 6 t o s u p p o r t u p g r a d i n g and expanding public mass transit fleets,

MCI recently delivered a new luxury J4500 clean diesel coach with impressive legroom and aftermarket support to Ebmeyer Charter & Tour, a leading provider of charter service in the Southwestern United States The company serves more than 120 cities in 10 states

Making its way across Canada, New Flyer ’s battery electric CHARGE NG bus made a stop on November 3 at the Guelph Transit Commission in Guelph, Ontario The Guelph Transit Commission team tested several features of the bus during a demo test drive

Newport Aquarium, Newport, Kentucky – Photo by Newport Aquarium

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, Cincinnati, Ohio – Photo by Robert Webber

The Beast Roller Coaster at Kings Island, Mason, Ohio – Photo by Kings Island

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio – Photo by Mark BealerNorthern Kentucky Skyline with Roebling Suspension Bridge – Photo by Liz Dufour

Ark Encounter, Williamstown, Kentucky – Photo by Ark Encounter

improving bus facilities and for the Low No program specifically, funding the transition f r o m o l d e r, h i g h e r e m i s s i o n s v e h i c l e s t o more efficient, less polluting fleets

With a remarkable $1 66 billion available, FTA’s competitive grant process selected 150 projects across 48 states and territo ries Out of the 115 projects that include the acquisition of new vehicles, 1,100 new zero emission vehicles will join America’s transit s y s t e m s , n e a r l y d o u b l i n g t h e c u r re n t n o emission transit buses in service This his toric level of funding was made possible by t h e 2 0 2 1 B i p a r t i s a n I n f r a s t r u c t u re I n v e s t ment and Jobs Act, as well as through other f e d e r a l i n v e s t m e n t s a i m e d a t i n c re a s i n g a c c e s s t o p u b l i c t r a n s i t a n d d e c r e a s i n g overall carbon emissions

S e l e c t e d b y n e a r l y h a l f o f a l l b u s acquisition projects, Gillig plays a crucial role in fulfilling the goals of these FTA pro grams Gillig’s portfolio of clean tech buses p ro v i d e s t r a n s i t a g e n c i e s w i t h a r a n g e o f solutions that align with the purposes of FTA’s L o w N o E m i s s i o n s p ro g r a m W i t h G i l l i g ’s proven platfor m suppor ting CNG, hybrid electric, clean diesel and batter y electric options, customers can utilize their funding a s i t b e s t s e r v e s t h e i r u n i q u e t r a n s i t s y s tems’s needs

“We are honored to be the trusted partner for each of these awarded agencies, and we look forward to celebrating the impact these new buses will have in their commu nities,” said Bill Fay, Gillig’s vice president of sales “Gillig buses have long set the stan dard of quality and reliability for American public transit This historic funding will allow Gillig and our partners throughout American t o s h a p e a g re e n e r, c l e a n e r f u t u re o f o u r nation’s public transit systems ’

Fitting the needs of transit agencies shift ing to cleaner, lower emission technology, nearly half of Gillig’s partnerships are utilizing Low No funding to purchase Gillig’s zero emissions batter y electric bus This third generation iteration of their batter y electric bus, dubbed the Gen3, is built on the same proven platform durability as previous gen erations but now has a batter y capacity of up to 686 kWh, as well as increased com patibility with depot and opportunity modular charging solutions, including plug in, over h e a d c o n d u c t i v e a n d w i re l e s s i n d u c t i v e charging options

The Gen 3 battery electric bus is built on t h e i n d u s t r y p r o v e n , l o w fl o o r p l a t f o r m s h a r e d a c r o s s a l l G i l l i g ’s b u s p r o d u c t s , e n s u r i n g a h i g h d e g r e e o f o p e r a t o r a n d mechanic familiarity and par t commonality With the all new batter y capacity, this next generation offers a 32 percent increase from p re v i o u s m o d e l s , e n s u r i n g c u s t o m e r s d o

G i l l i g r e c e n t l y a n nounced that 45 transit agencies have chosen to partner with Gillig for clean energy buses for their fleet Gillig offers c l e a n d i e s e l , C N G , hybrid electric and bat t e r y e l e c t r i c p o w e r options Nearly half of all bus acquisition pro jects select Gillig

n o t h a v e “ r a n g e a n x i e t y ” a s t h e y w o r k t o reduce their fleet’s emissions

The advancement in capacity and range is a result of Gillig’s new partnership with the m o d u l a r l i t h i u m i o n b a t t e r y m a n u f a c t u re r Akasol Akasol’s ultra high energy batteries have industry leading proprietary safety fea tures and other various scalable capacity configurations Alongside the new batteries reducing concerns about range, Gillig offers customers fur ther suppor t by creating cus t o m i z e d c h a r g i n g s o l u t i o n s t o b e f u l fi l l e d with their new batter y electric buses

T h e G i l l i g t e a m w o r k s w i t h e a c h c u s t o m e r t o t a i l o r t h e i r c h a r g i n g s o l u t i o n t o the optimal equipment based on their duty cycle and operational needs They offer a variety of Gillig compatible chargers sup plied by the largest and most experienced e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s u p p l y m a n u f a c t u re r s i n t h e U S E v e r y p r o d u c t m e e t s t h e l a t e s t S A E I n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s , a n d G i l l i g i n d e p e n d e n t l y v a l i d a t e s e a c h c h a r g e r t o e n s u re c o m p a t i b i l i t y

The FTA allows awardees to utilize funds for supportive zero emission infrastructure By choosing Gillig’s charging solutions, the awardees have the peace of mind that their new battery electric buses can start serving t h e p u b l i c f r o m d a y o n e C o u p l e d w i t h Gillig’s legacy of quality and durability, cus tomers can be confident in their stewardship o f t h i s h i s t o r i c i n v e s t m e n t i n t o a c l e a n e r future for America’s mass transit systems

ABC Offers Tur tle Top Odyssey

ABC Companies, a leading provider of motorcoach, transit and specialty passenger transport equipment in the U S and Canada, continues to expand its equipment lineup with the unveiling of the Tur tle Top Odyssey XL S2C at NLA’s Chauffeur Driven Show The f e a t u re r i c h , 4 1 p a s s e n g e r s h u t t l e b u s i s available from ABC on both the Freightliner S2C and Ford F600 chassis, offering fully customizable options for exterior and interior

components, as well as a variety of seating configurations

“We’re seeing many operators diversify t h e i r fl e e t s w i t h m o re t r a n s p o r t o p t i o n s t o expand their service and better serve evolv ing customer bases,” said Roman Cor nell, president and CCO ABC Companies “It’s a savvy move, and customers are extremely receptive to this premium product They also appreciate the confidence of partnering with s e a s o n e d i n d u s t r y e x p e r t s f o r a l l o f t h e i r p a r t s , s e r v i c e , s u p p o r t a n d t e c h n i c a l n e e d s w h i c h f u l l s i z e c o a c h o p e r a t o r s have enjoyed with ABC for decades ”

Business owners can expect high quality a s w e l l a s g e n e ro u s p a s s e n g e r a p p o i n t ments aboard the 41 passenger Tur tle Top Odyssey XL series featuring:

– I n c r e a s e d p a s s e n g e r c a p a c i t y f o r c h u rc h e s , c o l l e g e s , c i t y o r c o u n t r y t r a n s portation authorities, assisted living services, cross country touring companies, excursion companies and many more

– High quality Ford F600 or Freightliner S2C chassis

– Aerodynamic automotive exterior

– Bi fold or 29 inch plug door passenger entr y option

– Wide interior with double row 19 inch luxur y seating

– C u s t o m a u d i o v i d e o p a c k a g e s available

– Large passenger windshield option

– F i v e s i d e d s t e e l r o l l c a g e w i t h r u s t inhibitor

– Drop floor rear luggage option

– Available restroom packages

– Standard white full body paint

The Chauffer Driven show floor model is customized with executive livery “wow” fac t o r f e a t u re s i n c l u d i n g a s c e n i c v i e w f ro n t w i n d s h i e l d a n d s i d e w i n d o w s , o n b o a r d charge por ts, color LED lighting package, sleek leather seating, parcel racks and rear l u g g a g e s t o w a g e A d d i t i o n a l l y, o p t i o n a l w h e e l c h a i r s p a c e s m a k e t h e Tu r t l e To p

Odyssey XL an ideal solution for a variety of operators, including those servicing ADA routes or requiring full accessibility Show v i s i t o r s c a n i n s p e c t t h e n e w Tu r t l e To p Odyssey XL at ABC Companies booth #240 ABC is taking orders now with new inventory on the way View at abc companies com

NFI Named as Par tner of Choice for More Than $380 Million in FTA Low-No and Buses and Bus Facilities Grants

NFI Group Inc (NFI or the company), a leading independent bus and coach man u f a c t u r e r a n d a l e a d e r i n e l e c t r i c m a s s m o b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s , o n N o v e m b e r 3 announced that NFI subsidiar y New Flyer of America Inc (New Flyer) has been named partner of choice by a total of 38 major transit a g e n c i e s a c ro s s t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s f o r i t s successful project awards from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) 2022 Low or No Emission (Low No) and Buses and Bus Facilities Grant Programs

N e w F l y e r s u p p o r t e d t h e s u c c e s s f u l applications for more than $380 million in g r a n t s a w a rd e d t o 3 8 U S p u b l i c t r a n s i t a g e n c i e s a n d w a s t h e n a m e d p a r t n e r f o r two individual agency awards of more than $25 million each This was an increase from the $40 million in Low No grants awarded to nine U S public transit agencies that NFI subsidiaries suppor ted in 2021 While New F l y e r h a s b e e n n a m e d a s a p a r t n e r, n e w awards will not be added to NFI’s backlog until contract documentation is completed a n d a f o r m a l p u rc h a s e o rd e r i s re c e i v e d New Flyer’s success with Low No and Buses

a n d b u s F a c i l i t i e s g r a n t s p r o v i d e f u t u r e backlog growth oppor tunities

“NFI is proud that subsidiar y New Flyer has been selected as the par tner of choice for numerous public transit agencies as they l o o k t o r e d u c e e m i s s i o n s i n t h e i r c i t i e s t h ro u g h t h e s e F TA g r a n t p ro g r a m s , ” s a i d Chris Stoddar t, president, Nor th American

Bus and Coach, NFI “Our success demon s t r a t e s N F I ’s l e a d e r s h i p i n l o w a n d z e ro emission buses, including our wide range o f b a t t e r y a n d f u e l c e l l e l e c t r i c p ro d u c t s a n d o u r I n f r a s t r u c t u re S o l u t i o n s o ff e r i n g charging The growth in these FTA grant pro grams from $182 million in 2021 to more than $1 6 billion of funding in 2022, is a testament to the strong tailwind of public suppor t that w i l l i n e v i t a b l y t r a n s f o r m A m e r i c a n i n t o a n electric bus future NFI looks forward to con tinuing to lead the evolution to zero emission mobility what we call the ZEvolution ”

Grant funds suppor t the procurement of Z E B s a n d t h e a s s o c i a t e d c h a r g i n g i n f r a structure from New Flyer In addition to those awards where New Flyer is a named partner, almost $800 million of Low No and Buses a n d B u s F a c i l i t i e s a w a rd s w e re m a d e t o other U S public transit agencies that have n o t y e t t o s e l e c t a s p e c i fi c p ro v i d e r T h e company expects these awards to create future bidding oppor tunities for NFI’s busi n e s s e s a s u n i q u e p ro g r a m s a re re l e a s e d by agencies

I n t r o d u c e d i n 2 0 1 5 , w i t h t h e fi r s t d i s bursements in 2016, the FTA Low No Grant P r o g r a m i s a c o m p e t i t i v e a p p l i c a t i o n process and exists to support the U S tran sition to low and zero emission public transit fleets Funding can be used to purchase or lease low and zero emission buses, includ ing acquisition, construction and leasing of the necessar y charging infrastructure and f a c i l i t i e s T h e F TA h a s n o w a w a rd e d U S p u b l i c t r a n s i t a g e n c i e s L o w N o g r a n t s t

o

ABC Companies continues to expand its product line with the addition of the Turtle Top Odyssey XL S2C This 41 passenger shuttle bus is available from ABC on both the Freightliner S2C and Ford F600 chassis A list of options and special features is available

New Flyer has been named as the partner of choice by a total of 38 major transit agencies across the United States for Low or No Emission and Buses and Bus Facilities Programs New Flyer offers the widest range of zero emission, battery and fuel cell buses and coaches The company has electric vehicles in more than 110 cities in six countries

procure New Flyer buses and charging infra structure for seven consecutive years

The Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program makes federal resources available to states and direct recipients to replace, rehabilitate and purchase buses and related e q u i p m e n t a n d t o c o n s t r u c t b u s re l a t e d facilities, including technological changes or innovations to modify low or no emission v e h i c l e s o r f a c i l i t i e s F u n d i n g i s p ro v i d e d through formula allocations and competitive g r a n t s F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e F TA G r a n t P r o g r a m s f o r 2 0 2 2 , v i s i t https://www transit dot gov/lowno

NFI is a leader in zero emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 110 cities in six countries NFI offers the widest range of zero emission bat t e r y a n d f u e l c e l l e l e c t r i c b u s e s a n d coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 70 million EV service miles

Today, NFI supports growing North Amer ican cities with scalable, clean and sustain able mobility solutions through a four pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, t e c h n o l o g y, i n f r a s t r u c t u re a n d w o r k f o rc e development NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only i n n o v a t i o n l a b o f i t s k i n d d e d i c a t e d t o advancing bus and coach technology and p ro v i d i n g w o r k f o rc e d e v e l o p m e n t S i n c e o p e n i n g i n l a t e 2 0 1 7 t h e V I C h a s h o s t e d more than 300 interactive events, welcoming 5,000 industry professionals for EV and infra structure training

Leveraging 450 years of combined expe rience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world With zero emission buses and coaches, infrastructure a n d t e c h n o l o g y, N F I m e e t s t o d a y ’s u r b a n demands for scalable smar t mobility solu tions Together, NFI is enabling more livable c i t i e s t h ro u g h c o n n e c t e d , c l e a n a n d s u s tainable transpor tation

With 7,500 team members in nine coun tries, NFI is a leading global bus manufac turer of mass mobility solutions under the b r a n d s N e w F l y e r ® ( h e a v y d u t y t r a n s i t buses), MCI® (motorcoaches), Alexander D e n n i s L i m i t e d ( s i n g l e a n d d o u b l e d e c k buses), Plaxton (motorcoaches), ARBOC® (low floor cutaway and medium duty buses) a n d N F I P a r t s ™ N F I c u r re n t l y o ff e r s t h e widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero emission electric (trolley, batter y and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid and clean diesel In total, NFI s u p p o r t s i t s i n s t a l l e d b a s e o f m o r e t h a n 1 0 5 , 0 0 0 b u s e s a n d c o a c h e s a ro u n d t h e world

New Flyer is North America’s heavy duty t r a n s i t b u s l e a d e r a n d o f f e r s t h e m o s t advanced product line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE® brands It also offers i n f r a s t r u c t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t t h r o u g h N F I Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedi cated to providing safe, sustainable and reli able charging and mobility solutions New F l y e r a c t i v e l y s u p p o r t s m o re t h a n 3 5 , 0 0 0 heavy duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI

Late October saw Cherokee County, Georgia put the first propane powered public transit buses in service in the state of Georgia The new proppage buses replace three older buses in the fleet that provide fixed route service for Cherokee Area Transportation Service CATS also provides Demand Responsive service

a n d O r i o n ) c u r re n t l y i n s e r v i c e , o f w h i c h 8,600 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are zero emis s i o n F u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e a t www newflyer com

Cherokee County Put First Propane-Powered Public Transit Buses in Geor gia in Ser vice

Cherokee County put the first propane powered public transit buses in the state of Georgia in service in late October

C h e ro k e e A re a Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n S e r v i c e (CATS) purchased three propane powered b u s e s f r o m C o a c h a n d E q u i p m e n t B u s S a l e s I n c i n F e b r u a r y t o r e p l a c e a g i n g b u s e s i n t h e fl e e t T h e c o s t f o r a l l t h r e e totaled $307,553 with 261,420 paid for with a Federal Transportaton Authority grant and $46,132 from Special Purpose Local Option S a l e s Ta x ( S P L O S T ) Tw o h a v e b e e n received, and the county is awaiting delivery of the third bus

The new vehicles will replace three aging b u s e s c u r r e n t l y i n t h e fl e e t t h a t p r o v i d e service for the Fixed Route Service by CATS The Fixed Route Service offers those in need o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a s s i s t a n c e a r e g u l a r l y scheduled route for a small fee CATS also p r o v i d e s a D e m a n d R e s p o n s e S e r v i c e where residents can schedule their rides for things like doctor’s appointments

“ W e a r e e x c i t e d t o b r i n g i n t h r e e n e w vehicles that use a cleaner fuel source and have expected lower maintennace costs,” said Community Services Agency Director B r y a n R e y n o l d s “ W i t h t h e p u rc h a s e , w e were able to secure increased federal trans p o r t a t i o n s u p p o r t a n d a F e d e r a l Tr a n s i t Authority fuel subsidy, saving our taxpayers money ”

In partnership with the Cherokee Cham ber of Commerce, the county unveiled two of the three new buses prior to the Board of C o m m i s s i o n e r s ’ w o r k s e s s i o n , i n v i t i n g representatives from Roush CleanTech and the Propane Education and Research Coun cil Roush CleanTech’s Gen 5 propane sys t e m w a s i n t e g r a t e d w i t h t h e F o rd 7 3 l i t e r e n g i n e I t i s m o re c o m p a c t , c l e a n e r a n d more efficient

“Roush CleanTech’s advanced propane a u t o g a s t e c h n o l o g y i s h e l p i n g s t a t e s l i k e Georgia tackle their air quality problems and budget challenges by operating economi cal, emissions reducing buses,” said Todd Mouw, executive vice president of sales for Roush CleanTech

Steve Whaley, director of autogas busi ness development for the Propane Educa tion & Research Council, talked about the

e c o n o m i c a n d e n v i ro n m e n t a l b e n e fi t s o f propane autogas

Propane autogas vehicles have the low est total cost of ownership due to reduced f u e l c o s t s a n d l o w e r m a i n t e n a n c e c o s t s , and their power is comparable to gasoline fueled vehicles According to a 2020 survey o f fl e e t e n d u s e r s , re s p o n d e n t s i d e n t i fi e d re d u c e d e m i s s i o n s a s o n e o f t h e p r i m a r y a d v a n t a g e s o f p ro p a n e a u t o g a s v e h i c l e s w i t h 8 7 p e rc e n t re p o r t i n g e q u a l o r b e t t e r performance compared to diesel and gaso line Additionally, 90 percent of orders for propane autogas vehicles in 2020 were for transit vehicles, delivery vehicles and school buses

“We’re proud to add Cherokee County to the growing list of paratransit fleets across this country that are operating with propane auotgas,” Whaley said “Cherokee County is prioritizing providing a safe, clean rider for their community while lowering their oper a t i n g c o s t s I t ’s a w i n f o r e n v i r o n m e n t a l s u s t a i n a b i l i t y a n d a w i n f o r t h e i r fi n a n c i a l sustainability ”

Thomas Built Buses Commends EPA’s Commitment to Clean School Bus Program

T h o m a s B u i l t B u s e s ( T B B ) , a l e a d i n g manufacturer of school buses in North Amer ica, commends the U S Environmental Pro tection Agency (EPA) and the Biden Harris administration on their continued suppor t of the EPA Clean School Bus Program, in a

ceremony recently in Seattle, Washington V i c e P r e s i d e n t K a m a l a H a r r i s a n d E PA Administrator Michael Regan began award ing recipient school districts with funds from t h e p r o g r a m t o p r o c u r e z e r o a n d l o w emission school buses

“We appreciate and applaud the EPA’s effor ts on the Clean School Bus Program,” said Kevin Bangston, president and CEO of TBB “Their continued suppor t allows us to accelerate electrification effor ts across t h e n a t i o n , g e t t i n g m o n e y q u i c k l y t o h e l p transition school buses to electric or zero emission, providing immediate environmen tal benefits and better, cleaner rides for our kids ”

Last month, the EPA announced it would nearly double the funding awarded for zero a n d l o w e m i s s i o n s c h o o l b u s e s , f ro m t h e previously committed $500 million to $965 million, following increased demand from school district in all 50 states, in addition to Washington D C , Puer to Rico, the U S Vir gin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and federally recognized Tribes The 2022 Clean School Bus Program is part of the infrastruc ture Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which provides a total of $5 billion over five years f o r c l e a n s c h o o l b u s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n T h e rebate program prioritizes low income, rural and Tribal communities

“The EPA’s effor ts on the Clean School B u s P ro g r a m a re t o b e a p p l a u d e d , ” s a i d Sean Waters, vice president of compliance

and regulatory affairs for Daimler Truck North A m e r i c a E PA’s e f f o r t s w i l l h e l p p r o v i d e i m m e d i a t e e n v i r o n m e n t a l b e n e fi t s a n d cleaner rides for our kids, while also helping to accelerate the transition of school buses to electric or zero emission ”

Two Proterra powered Safe T Liner® C2 Jouley® batter y electric school buses from T h o m a s B u i l t B u s e s w e r e p r e s e n t a t t h e event, one on display and one in the Harris motorcade

In offering the services of its Electric Bus Authority, TBB continues to help school dis tricts make the switch to electric

Busworld Southeast Asia Successful

The second edition of Busworld South e a s t A s i a , o r g a n i z e d b y B u s w o r l d a n d i t s par tner, GEM Indonesia, was held for three days, from October 5 7, 2022 in the Jakarta Inter national Expo in Indonesia

W i t h t h e p re s e n c e o f t h e f o u r b i g g e s t b o d y b u i l d e r s i n I n d o n e s i a g o o d f o r 9 0 percent of the Indonesian market and two i m p o r t e d C h i n e s e b r a n d s , t h e e x h i b i t i o n had a large and diversified offering of buses and coaches Together with an interesting c o n f e re n c e p ro g r a m , t h e s h o w a t t r a c t e d m o re t h a n 4 , 0 0 0 v i s i t o r s c o m i n g f ro m 4 2 countries

Due to the Indonesian government plans to electrify the bus fleet, manufacturers have seen the light: Six out of eight buses in the show were batter y electric driven

From the coach perspective, the inter national press was astounded by the high quality and luxury standards of the vehicles Especilaly the high comfort of the seats was impressive Since the coaches in the booths were all sold, one can be sure that they are the real standard in Indonesia

Vi n c e n t D e w a e l e , g e n e r a l m a n a g e r o f Busworld International, confirmed the future potential of this business event: After a sec ond successful edition,we believe that Bus w o r l d S o u t h e a s t A s i a h a s a s i g n i fi c a n t potential to grow We will use all of our chan nels to inform the international Busworld net work of the qualitative Indonesian products a n d w e w i l l b r i n g m o r e i n t e r n a t i o n a l exhibitors and visiotrs in 2024 ”

New Armada launched its newest coach, Skylander R22, at the show The view of what is in front of the bus was shown on a screen at the back of the bus, so any driver behind the coach is able to anticipate the traffic sit uation in front of the bus Especially in traffic areas with many scooters, this safety feature s u r e l y i m p r o v e s r o a d s a f e t y T h e y a l s o brought the Citouro bus

Thomas Built Buses recently commended EPA’s commitment to the Clean School Bus Program At a recent ceremony in Seattle, Washington, Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael Regan began awarding recipient school districts with funds from the Clean School Bus Program Thomas Built Buses provided two battery electric school buses for the Seattle event including one used in the motorcade

Laksana had a coach premier with their SR3 XHD Prime, with an extra high deck and enormous luggage compartment They also presented their electric bus Cityliner and a medium coach, Tourista

Tentrem’s eye catcher was the new elec tric bus, Velocity W5, completely produced w i t h I n d o n e s i a n p a r t s , e v e n t h e c h a s s i s Usually bus body builders only build on for e i g n c h a s s i s i n I n d o n e s i a T h e i r s e c o n d vehicle on show was their sleeper coach, Avante H9 Priority

N e w c o m e r A d i P u t ro ’s m o s t i m p o r t a n t n o v e l t y w a s t h e i r J e t b u s Tr a n s i t , t h e fi r s t monocoque low floor bus in Indonesia They revealed that the company is working on an electric version and will bring it to the next Busworld in 2024 All the (not less than) six coaches in their booth were top quality, with different seating arrangements of 2+2, 2+1 and even 1+1+1 in combination with sleeper seats on the lower deck

Golden Dragon presented two electric buses in their booth: the six meter All Star and a 12 meter City bus version

Zhongtong Buses, distributed in Indone sia by PT Mobilindo, showcased two electric buses, a small six meter bus and a 12 meter bus

Alexander Dennis Announces Order for 200 Double-Deck Buses

NFI Group Inc (NFI or the company), a leading independent bus and coach man u f a c t u r e r a n d a l e a d e r i n e l e c t r i c m a s s mobility solutions, their subsidiary Alexander D e n n i s L i m i t e d ( A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s ) o n N o v e m b e r 1 0 a n n o u n c e d t h a t i s h a s r e c e i v e d a n o r d e r f o r 2 0 0 l o w e m i s s i o n Enviro400 double deck buses from Stage coach This represents the UK bus industry’s largest single order by number of vehicles since 2019

Stagecoach’s 200 new buses will be built in Britain and will have Alexander Dennis’s S m a r t P a c k e f fi c i e n c y t e c h n o l o g y, g i v i n g them low emission bus status and helping Stagecoach to cut emissions in the commu nities it serves All are expected to be deliv ered in 2023 and to be allocated to depots a c ro s s E n g l a n d , r a n g i n g f ro m To rq u a y i n t h e S o u t h w e s t t o N e w c a s t l e u p o n Ty n e i n the Nor theast The investment means that Stagecoach will remove older buses from its fleet, benefitting local air quality

“We are proud of the continued invest m e n t w e a r e m a k i n g t o o u r fl e e t w i t h t h e largest single order for new buses in the UK f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , ” s a i d S a m G re e r, e n g i neering director, Stagecoach “This really shows our commitment to the future pros perity of our communities and to our people

who can all benefit from cleaner transpor t a n d a g r o w i n g b u s s e c t o r “ T h e s e n e w d o u b l e d e c k b u s e s w i l l c o m p l e m e n t t h e investment we are already making with our electric buses to modernize our fleet in some of Britain’s major towns and cities, enabling reduced pollution and meaning customers can benefit from more comfor table, quieter and newer vehicles on their ever yday jour n e y s W e l o o k f o r w a r d t o w o r k i n g w i t h Alexander Dennis to get our new buses into service star ting early next year ”

“We are delighted to continue to support S t a g e c o a c h i n m a k i n g b u s e s a c ro s s t h e U S cleaner and greener,” said Paul Davies, president and managing director, Alexander Dennis “Our low emission Enviro400 is a tried and tested product that combines effi ciency with high passenger capacity Robust a n d e a s y t o m a i n t a i n , t h e 2 0 0 n e w b u s e s will integrate seamlessly into Stagecoach’s fleet “After the challenges both operators and manufacturers in the UK bus industr y have faced in the last years, it is a heartening step on the road to recover y to see signifi c a n t v o l u m e s o f v e h i c l e s b e i n g o r d e r e d again by the country’s largest bus operator, Stagecoach,” he added

NFI is a leader in low and zero emission mobility, with vehicles operating in 13 coun tries, moving millions of people ever y day N F I o f f e r s t h e w i d e s t r a n g e o f v e h i c l e s including clean diesel, compressed natural g a s , d i e s e l e l e c t r i c h y b r i d s a n d z e r o emission battery and fuel cell electric buses and coaches

Euro Bus Expo Brings the Bus and Coach Industr y Together After Three Years

Visitors tur ned out in the thousands for Euro Bus Expo, the bus and coach industry’s largest gathering in more than three years, N o v e m b e r 1 3 a s h o w t h a t v i s i t o r s a n d exhibitors are calling the “most successful show” they have attended

Held at NEC Bir mingham, England, the e v e n t b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r b u s a n d c o a c h o p e r a t o r s , t r a n s p o r t p l a n n e r s , l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s , s t a k e h o l d e r s a n d d e c i s i o n m a k e r s f r o m a c r o s s t h e i n d u s t r y M o r e than 200 exhibitors showcased their inno v a t i o n s , s o l u t i o n s , s e r v i c e s a n d i n s i g h t s , i n c l u d i n g m o r e t h a n 8 0 o f t h e l a t e s t v e h i c l e s

H e l e n C o n w a y, e v e n t d i r e c t o r, s a i d : “ W e a r e d e l i g h t e d w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n a l t u r n o u t I t w a s t h e c h a n c e t o r e c o n n e c t w e a l l n e e d e d a n d f a n t a s t i c t o s e e t h e i n d u s t r y o u t i n f o rc e a g a i n T h e s h o w w a s a r e a l c e l e b r a t i o n o f t h e p r o g r e s s m a d e through what has been one of its toughest p e r i o d s i n re c e n t m e m o r y I t re a l l y s h o w c a s e d t h e v e r y b e s t o f t h e i n d u s t r y We ’ re o v e r w h e l m e d w i t h t h e f e e d b a c k w e h a v e re c e i v e d I t ’s c l e a r f ro m t h e s h e e r v o l u m e o f b u s i n e s s d o n e a t t h e e v e n t t h a t t h e i n d u s t r y i s w e l l a l o n g i t s p a t h t o re c o v e r y We ’ re s o p l e a s e d t o b e a p a r t o f t h a t ”

Visitors were the first to hear from Eng l a n d ’s n e w m i n i s t e r f o r b u s a n d c o a c h , R i c h a r d H o l d e n M P, w h o a d d r e s s e d t h e i n d u s t r y f o r t h e fi r s t t i m e , f o l l o w i n g h i s

Alexander Dennis recently announced that Stagecoach has ordered 200 low emission Enviro400 dou ble deck buses. This represents the largest single bus order by number of vehicles in the UK since 2019 The buses will be built in Britain and will be assigned to depots across England

a p p o i n t m e n t a s U n d e r S e c re t a r y o f S t a t e f o r Tr a n s p o r t o n O c t o b e r 2 8 H i s a d d re s s highlighted work completed so far and what is still to be done

The Masterclass Theatre was a hive of a c t i v i t y t h ro u g h o u t t h e s h o w, w i t h v i s i t o r s enjoying presentations and roundtable dis c u s s i o n s f r o m a n i m p r e s s i v e l i n e u p o f industr y exper ts

Graham Vidler, CEO of trade association and show partner, the Confederation of Pas senger Transpor t (CPT), opened the show H e w e l c o m e d t h e i n d u s t r y b a c k a f t e r a pandemic induced event hiatus and looked ahead to the future

nby

S a y s A l e x H o r n b y : “ O n e o f t h e m o s t p o s i t i v e t h i n g s a b o u t o u r s e c t o r i s o u r s h a re d w i l l i n g n e s s t o b e o p e n a b o u t o u r e x p e r i e n c e s E u ro B u s E x p o e n a b l e d u s to all come together and remind ourselves of the collective power of our industr y and o u r a g i l i t y t o g r a s p t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t l i e a h e a d T h i s w a s p e r h a p s n o n e m o r e s o i n t h e M a s t e r c l a s s T h e a t r e w h e r e w e were able to remind ourselves of the chal l e n g e s a n d s o l u t i o n s w e c a n a l l s h a re ”

Hydrogen

Expo Teams across Alexander Dennis came t o g e t h e r i n B i r m i n g h a m , U K , f o r t h e E u ro Bus Expo where they unveiled Alexande r Dennis’ next generation zero emission bus (AEB) lineup, including the Enviro400FCEV hydrogen fuel cell double decker, the first of a new generation of zero emission buses fully designed and built by Alexander Dennis a n d b a c k e d u p w i t h A D 2 4 w h o l e v e h i c l e a f t e r m a r k e t s u p p o r t ; a s w e l l a s t h e Enviro400EV double deck bus and the new m i d s i z e m i d i b u s t h e E n v i ro 1 0 0 E V, w h i c h each feature next generation electric driv e l i n e a n d t h e n e w f u t u re p ro o f A l e x a n d e r Dennis batter y system

“ A l e x a n d e r D e n i s i s t a k i n g t h e n e x t step in leading the ZEvolution with our next g e n e r a t i o n o f z e r o e m i s s i o n b u s e s f u l l y d e s i g n e d a n d b u i l t i n h o u s e , w h i l e c o n t i n u i n g o u r v e r y s u c c e s s f u l p a r t n e r s h i p with BYD which has been leading the mar k e t f o r t h e l a s t s i x y e a r s a n d w i l l c o n t i n u e t o o ff e r e x c e l l e n t p ro d u c t s t h a t m e e t f u r ther operational needs,” said Paul Davies, president and managing director, Alexan d e r D e n n i s

“First, the Enviro400FCEV which adds a hydrogen fuel cell bus that is ready to meet

the requirements of any bus operator, transport a u t h o r i t y o r c i t y N e x t t h e c r o w d s h i f t i n g Enviro400DV and the Enviro100EV, which intro duces a big bus feel to the small bus market specifically designed for the requirements of bus operation in the UK and Ireland, giving operators, transport authorities and their cus tomers the best bus for the zero emission age ”

The team also announced promotions in the Alexander Dennis commercial team to

better serve customer needs, including Mat L a w re n c e a s fl e e t s a l e s d i re c t o r ; C h a r l i e M i l l e r a s re t a i l s a l e s d i re c t o r a n d D e b b i e McCreath as group marketing director All will work under the direction of Group Com mercial Director Martin West, who joined the business earlier in 2022

“Our team had a great week reconnect ing with many of our customers, suppliers and industry partners in person at Euro Bus

Alex Hor

from Transdev Blazefield, Richard Grey from Greys of Ely and Scott Rattle from Passenger Plus took to the stage in a panel session on “Tackling the Driver Shor tage ”

Alexander Dennis Unveils

Bus at the 2022 Euro Bus

Euro Bus took place on November 1 3 in Birmingham, England This proved to be the largest gathering in more than three years with more than 200 exhibitors Shown here is the booth of Alexander Dennis and Plaxton

Alexander Dennis unveiled their new hydrogen fuel cell bus at the Euro Bus Expo in early November This new double deck model is known as the Enviro400FCEV Also shown at this event was the battery electric Enviro 100EV with its next generation electric drive

Expo,” continued Davies “We were pleased t o s h o w c a s e a n d p r e v i e w o u r n e w z e r o emission products and advanced services that will enhance the customer experience for our partners around the world Thank you to the entire Euro Bus team for a fantastic event ”

Irizar e-Mobility Presents the Irizar ie Tram at Euro Bus Expo

Those attending the Euro Bus Expo 2022 had the oppor tunity to exclusively visit the fi r s t r i g h t h a n d d r i v e I r i z a r i e t r a m , purchased by Go Ahead London as par t of a n o r d e r f o r 2 0 b u s e s w i t h c h a r g i n g infrastructure

At stand number A10 Irizar was showing four latest generation vehicles: the new Irizar i6S Efficient, an Irizar i8, an Irizar i4 and the Irizar ietram electric bus This will be the first t i m e I r i z a r w a s s h o w i n g t o t h e U K m a r k e t those vehicles focused on efficiency, making the brand a leader in the sustainable mobility sector

T h e I r i z a r i 6 S E f f i c i e n t h a s b e e n re c e n t l y a w a rd e d S u s t a i n a b l e B u s o f t h e Ye a r 2 0 2 3 i n t h e c o a c h c a t e g o r y a n d t h e British market has already had the oppor t u n i t y t o d i s c o v e r t h i s n e w v e h i c l e v i a a r o a d s h o w h e l d t h r o u g h o u t t h e s u m m e r All the operators expressed their satisfac t i o n w i t h t h e i m p ro v e m e n t s t h a t t h e p ro d u c t i n c o r p o r a t e s , e s p e c i a l l y w i t h t h e re d u c t i o n i n t h e v e h i c l e ’s f u e l c o n s u m p t i o n T h e i 6 S E f f i c i e n t o n d i s p l a y w i l l b e registered as a demonstration coach after t h e E x p o t o b e t r a i l e d b y o p e r a t o r s

The Irizar ie tram presented on the fair was one of the 20 buses that Irizar e mobility will supply to Go Ahead London, together with

the charging infrastructure to electrify Route 358 in South London, the first ultra fast oppor tunity charging route in the capital

In addition, Irizar also had on the stand the first light weight Irizar i4 with 71 seats and PSVAR compliance; and the first mir rorless Irizar i8, 14 meters long, with a seat ing capacity of 50 seats and delivered ready for conversion to Premiership football duties with Ellisons Travel of St Helens

T h e I r i z a r i 8 re m a i n s a c o m b i n a t i o n o f design, technology and sustainability and

it provides exceptional comfort for the driver, g u i d e a n d p a s s e n g e r s W i t h t h e m o s t a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g y o n t h e m a r k e t , t h e Irizar i8 is chosen, since its launch, by sport ing giants and coach legends

After two difficult pandemic years, Irizar came to the show in Bir mingham, England, with the clear goal of tackling the new chal lenges of the future of mobility and with the invariable goal of responding to the chal lenges of efficiency and sustainability that these times require of us

VDL Reusing Bus Batteries

I n t e n s i v e l y u s e d b a t t e r i e s , t a k e n f ro m VDL Bus & Coach electric buses, get a sec ond life in “Project Anubis ” This initiative of e n e r g y c o m p a n y R W E a n d V D L B u s & Coach revolves around the sustainable and c i rc u l a r u s e o f r a w m a t e r i a l s , i n t h i s c a s e bus batteries, in a central storage system in Moerdijk, Netherlands

The transpor t sector will change rapidly from highly fossil fuel dependent to electric in the coming years Assuming that all buses and increasing numbers of cars and lorries in the Netherlands will run on electricity after 2030, more than 150,000 tons of batteries w i l l b e c o m e a v a i l a b l e f o r re c y c l i n g e v e r y year These are currently classified as waste and mostly taken to recycling plants abroad

“In project Anubis, we are initially using batteries taken from 43 electric VDL buses operated by Transdev in Eindhoven since 2016,” explains Paul van Vuuren, CEO of VDL Bus & Coach “These vehicles are currently

Irizar e Mobility presented its Irizar ie Tram at the Euro Bus Expo Additional buses on display included the new Irizar 86 Efficient, an Irizar i8 coach and an Irizar i4. The ie Tram shown was one of 20 that will operate for Go Ahead London

VDL is giving batteries from electric buses a second life Batteries taken from 43 electric VDL buses that operated by Transdev in Eindhoven, Netherlands, are being replaced by new and larger battery packs The used batteries still have enough capacity to be used in stationary applications in Europe

getting new and larger battery packs, but the used batteries still have enough capacity to be used in stationary applications In Europe, we are one of the forerunners in the field of electric public transport Providing a sustain able circular solution for our batteries is part of our strategy However, its application still requires a lot of new knowledge and devel opment Together with RWI, we will therefore collect a lot of data in ‘Project Anubis’ so that we can contribute even more to making our society even more sustainable ”

Bart Kraayvanger, manager ZE and facil ity suppor t Trandev Netherlands: “In 2016 together with VDL, we took the first big steps toward zero emission bus transpor t in the Netherlands in Eindhoven A major feat of p i o n e e r i n g , f ro m w h i c h w e h a v e l e a r n e d many impor tant lessons Now we are once a g a i n i n v o l v e d i n t h e s e p ro g re s s i v e a n d l a r g e s c a l e d e v e l o p m e n t s i n t h e re u s e o f bus batteries ”

T h e 4 3 b a t t e r i e s f ro m t h e V D L e l e c t r i c buses, with a total storage capacity of 7 5 megawatts, will be coupled into one battery at the RWE power plant in Moerdijk RWE is also working on battery projects in Germany, U n i t e d K i n g d o m a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s RWE’s ambition is to grow capacity to three gigawatts in the coming years

RWE is at the forefront of developing pro jects that contribute to a successful energy transition Besides balancing the supply and demand of (renewable) energy, battery sys tems are also ideally suited for stabilizing the energy network, due to their fast response time “These are important conditions for mak ing our energy supply more sustainable,” says Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation W i t h p r o j e c t A n u b i s , R W E a n d V D L a r e d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h a t t e c h n i c a l c h a l l e n g e s related to the construction and operation of plants like this can be overcome And with this project, we are actively contributing to a re d u c t i o n o f C O 2 b e c a u s e a f t e r a n i n i t i a l phase in the VDL buses the batteries will have an extended life at RWE After that, they will undergo high quality recycling ”

The aim of project Anubis is to demon strate and validate an innovative stationar y energy storage system based on bus bat teries This will enable the large scale rollout of such projects, thus contributing to the cir c u l a r e c o n o m y i n t h e N e t h e r l a n d s I n t h e coming years, many batteries are expected to retur n from electric vehicles Van Vuuren s t a t e d : “ I n E u ro p e , m o re t h a n 1 , 1 0 0 V D L electric buses operate in various cities and regions We therefore expect to lear n a lot with project Anubis so that we can start mak i n g a n i m p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o a f u t u r e where second hand bus batteries are used a s e n e r g y s t o r a g e s y s t e m s b e f o re b e i n g recycled ”

Irizar Electric Tram Buses to Run in London

Irizar e mobility and Go Ahead London have signed a contract to supply 20 buses and related charging infrastructure to elec t r i f y R o u t e 3 5 8 i n S o u t h L o n d o n , t h e fi r s t ultra fast oppor tunity charging route in the capital

Go Ahead, London’s largest bus opera tor, has once again placed its trust in Irizar’s e mobility solutions and signed a contract for the purchase of 20 electric buses and supporting charging infrastructure Two 450 kW ultra fast chargers for the route terminals a n d 1 0 0 k W d e p o t c h a r g e r s c a p a b l e o f charging two buses simultaneously at 50kW for the bus garage will be supplied by Jema Energy (a subsidiar y company of the Irizar Group)

T h e m o d e l c h o s e n , d u e t o i t s v i s u a l l y appealing, modern design, is the 12 meter I r i z a r i e t r a m , t h e f i r s t t o b e m a n u f a c t u re d w i t h r i g h t h a n d d r i v e a n d t h e f i r s t t o b e l a u n c h e d i n t h e U K I t s z e r o e m i s s i o n s , l o w n o i s e a n d v i b r a t i o n l e v e l s , e n h a n c e d s a f e t y f e a t u re s a n d e a s y a c c e s s , m a k e i t p a r t i c u l a r l y s u i t a b l e f o r u s e i n a c i t y l i k e L o n d o n

The buses will be powered by state of t h e a r t b a t t e r i e s m a n u f a c t u r e d b y t h e Irizar Group and will be charged between trips using two fast charging inver ted pan tograph systems to be installed at Cr ystal Palace and Orpington Bus Stations, allow i n g t h e b u s e s t o b e c h a r g e d i n l e s s t h a n five minutes and enabling them to per for m t h e re q u i re d s e r v i c e e ff o r t l e s s l y A f t e r f i n i s h i n g t h e ro u t e , t h e b u s e s w i l l re c e i v e a

shor t top up using the depot based charg e r s

The Irizar ie tram, with its stylish tram like design, stands out from other buses by com b i n i n g h i g h c a p a c i t y, e a s y a c c e s s a n d plenty of passenger space inside with the versatility of a city bus The bus’s passenger compar tment is bright, comfor table, spa cious, pleasant and safe

I t s i n n o v a t i v e f e a t u re s a n d t h e l e v e l o f passive safety for passengers and pedes trians are the key factors that led the oper ator to choose this vehicle, along with the fact that the Irizar ie tram’s front end design m e e t s Tr a n s p o r t f o r L o n d o n ’s 2 0 2 4 B u s S a f e t y S t a n d a r d s i n t e r m s o f f r o n t e n d pedestrian protection

Irizar’s zero emission e mobility buses, scheduled for deliver y from late 2022, will run along Route 358 between Crystal Palace and Orpington

“We are delighted that Go Ahead, Lon don’s largest bus operator, has chosen our technology; this is a clear testament to the confidence placed in our products and proof o f t h e i r q u a l i t y a n d r e l i a b i l i t y L o n d o n i s investing heavily in sustainable public trans por t solutions and we are honored for Irizar e m o b i l i t y t o p l a y a p a r t i n t h i s g o a l O u r technological race continues, and this oper a t i o n w i l l s e e o u r c o m p a n y l a u n c h i n g t h e fi r s t s u p e r f a s t c h a r g i n g ro u t e i n L o n d o n , complying with the high standards set by Tr a n s p o r t f o r L o n d o n , ” s t a t e d I ñ i g o E t x e b e r r i a , m a n a g i n g d i r e c t o r o f I r i z a r e mobility

This new contract is once again evidence o f I r i z a r G ro u p t e c h n o l o g i c a l , i n n o v a t i v e

London will soon see battery electric tram buses on its streets Irizar is providing 20 ie Tram buses and related charging infrastructure to Go Ahead London The buses will be used to electrify Route 358 in South London

strength, reaffirming its intention to position itself as leader in urban mobility and shows the company’s fir m commitment to improv ing sustainability and environmental stan dards in cities

Marcopolo Provides Coaches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

M a r c o p o l o p r o v i d e d s i x c o a c h e s t o Q a t a r t h a t w i l l c i r c u l a t e d u r i n g t h e 2 0 2 2 W o r l d C u p , b e t w e e n t h e m o n t h s o f November and December The units of the Paradiso G8 1200 and Audace 1050 mod e l s w e r e p r o d u c e d i n f a c t o r i e s i n B r a z i l a n d C h i n a a n d d e l i v e re d t o l o c a l o p e r a t o r s C u r r e n t l y, t h e c o m p a n y e x p o r t s t o 1 2 0 c o u n t r i e s I n t h e t h i rd q u a r t e r o f t h i s y e a r, i t s e n t 1 , 3 2 1 b u s e s t o t h e f o r e i g n m a r k e t , t h e v o l u m e re p re s e n t e d a 9 6 p e r cent growth compared to the same period i n 2 0 2 1

“This business demonstrates the exper tise and global per for mance of Marcopolo I n o r d e r t o b e t t e r s e r v e c u s t o m e r s a n d m a k e t h e b u s i n e s s m o r e e f fi c i e n t , w e o p t e d f o r m o d e l s w i t h d i ff e re n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a n d m a n u f a c t u re d i n t w o c o u n t r i e s , in Brazil and China,” said Ângelo Oselame, M a rc o p o l o ’s c o m m e rc i a l c o o rd i n a t o r f o r t h e F o re i g n M a r k e t

The two Paradiso G8 1200 road bus units were produced at the Ana Rech plant The chassis of the vehicles have different con fi g u r a t i o n s , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s p e c i fi c re q u e s t s o f e a c h o p e r a t o r A c c o rd i n g t o O s e l a m e , o n e o f t h e m o d e l s o n l y h a s s i x sleeper seats, a meeting room lounge with

a TV and sofa, full kitchen and will be avail able to the organizer during the period of the spor ting event

T h e o t h e r M a rc o p o l o b u s e s a re o f t h e Audace 1050 model The vehicles were pro duced at the MAC unit (Marcopolo China) and delivered to a private operator who will t r a n s p o r t f a n s i n v i t e d b y o n e o f t h e m a i n s p o n s o r s o f t h e e v e n t i n l o c a l t r a n s f e r s , b e t w e e n t h e a i r p o r t , h o t e l a n d s t a d i u m s where the games will be held

M a rc o p o l o h a s a g re a t t r a d i t i o n i n p ro viding buses to transpor t celebrations and f a n s d u r i n g s o c c e r t o u r n a m e n t s h e l d b y F I FA T h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t i c i p a t i o n s w e r e i n t h e c u p s h e l d i n S o u t h A f r i c a i n 2010 and in Brazil in 2014, when the man u f a c t u r e r w a s t h e m a i n s u p p l i e r o f v e h i c l e s , i n c l u d i n g m o d e l s f o r u r b a n p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t i n t h e h o s t c i t i e s B e t w e e n 2 0 1 0 a n d 2 0 1 4 , t h e c o m p a n y s o l d m o r e t h a n 1 , 0 0 0 b u s e s

M a r c o p o l o ’s a n n u a l s a l e s v o l u m e i n Q a t a r i s b e t w e e n 2 0 a n d 3 0 v e h i c l e s I n 2 0 2 2 , w i t h t h e r e s u m p t i o n o f i n p e r s o n a c t i v i t i e s a n d t h e re a l i z a t i o n o f o n e o f t h e biggest spor ting events in the world in the countr y, the Brazilian company registered sales growth in the region, with 46 vehicles s o l d I n a d d i t i o n t o t o u r i s m , t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f c o m p a n i e s o p e r a t i n g i n t h e energy sector reflects the increase in sales o f b u s e s e x c l u s i v e f o r c h a r t e r i n g T h i s y e a r, t h e r e w e r e 4 0 u n i t s d e d i c a t e d t o e n e r g y c o m p a n i e s t h a t s e e k v e h i c l e s t o t r a n s p o r t t h e i r p ro f e s s i o n a l s q

Marcopolo provided six coaches for the 2022 World Cup in November and December Included are two Paradiso G8 1200 road bus units and four Audace 1050 model coaches One of the Paradiso units has a meeting room lounge with TV and sofa

Cyr Bus Line Celebrates 110 Years

During the summer of 1975, as a newly m i n t e d b u s p a r t s s a l e s m a n , t h e a p o g e e o f m y s a l e s s w i n g t h ro u g h New England was Cyr Bus Line, just north o f B a n g o r, i n O l d To w n M a i n e A s l u c k would have it, Joe Cyr, then owner and pres i d e n t o f t h e c o m p a n y, w a s a v a i l a b l e a n d showed me around the facility Technically, the official name of the company is “John T Cyr and Sons.” John T was Joe’s grandfather. T h e f i r s t t h i n g h e w a n t e d m e t o s e e w a s a p r i s t i n e 1 9 5 9 G e n e r a l M o t o r s P D 4 1 0 4 motorcoach

B a c k i n t h e d a y m a n y c o m p a n i e s r a n “experienced” equipment, but two things about this coach hinted at how unique Cyr w a s . F i r s t , i t l o o k e d l i k e i t h a d j u s t c o m e o ff t h e a s s e m b l y l i n e a t r i b u t e t o c a r i n g m a i n t e n a n c e i n a p a r t o f t h e w o r l d t h a t i s t o u g h o n e q u i p m e n t E v e n m o re s i g n i f i c a n t w a s t h e f a c t t h a t , t h o u g h t h e l o t w a s f u l l o f n e w e r b u s e s , J o e c h o s e t o s h o w h i s o l d e s t f i r s t

For those unfortunates unfamiliar with Maine, once you get north of Augusta the

scenery is beautiful, but the population thins out Cyr serves a large area, but there is not a ton of people As a result, there is not a lot o f c o m p e t i t i o n . O v e r t h e y e a r s , C y r h a s treated customers as if they had many trans portation choices, even when they did not a formula that has been successful for more than 110 years

T h e c o m p a n y w a s f o u n d e d i n 1 9 1 2 b y 53 year old John T Cyr and his oldest son J o s e p h ( J o s e p h i s c u r r e n t d a y J o e C y r ’ s u n c l e a n d n a m e s a k e ) a s a f re i g h t a n d l i v e r y b u s i n e s s i n t h e F re n c h I s l a n d s e c t i o n o f O l d To w n . T h e f l e d g l i n g c o m p a n y s u f f e re d a n e a r l y s e t b a c k w h e n t h e i r n e w l y a c q u i r e d h o r s e d i e d u n e x p e c t e d l y i n i t s stall. Apparently horses do not come with a w a r r a n t y

During those early years, a major part of Cyr ’s business was transporting lumber and raw materials to the Old Town Canoe Com pany and moving completed canoes to the rail station for shipment One hundred ten years later, both companies are thriving, and n o w n e x t d o o r n e i g h b o r s C y r ’ s c u r re n t ,

modern facility is between Old town Canoe and a large bakery

By 1922 it was clear that the new century belonged to the internal combustion engine, and Cyr bought their first motor vehicle, a S t u d e b a k e r, o p e r a t e d a s a “ p u b l i c c a r ” i n t a x i s e r v i c e J o s e p h , w i t h t h e h e l p o f h i s brothers Harvey and Albert, had developed i n t o a k e y p l a y e r, a n d b y 1 9 3 0 J o h n h a d re t i re d T h e c o m p a n y w a s n o w o p e r a t i n g t h r e e g a s o l i n e p o w e r e d a u t o m o b i l e s t o transport school children in addition to 32 h o r s e s u s e d f o r l i v e r y a n d h a u l i n g freight,out of their building on Old Town’s “French Island ”

S t u d e n t t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w a s a n i c h e market for Cyr, but in 1930 it was reported t h a t “ t h e p a s s e n g e r a u t o m o b i l e f o r m e r l y used was too small to carry them comfort a b l y F o r t h i s re a s o n a r r a n g e m e n t s w e re m a d e w i t h J o s e p h C y r t o s e c u r e a c o m b i n a t i o n t r u c k a n d b u s b o d y l a r g e e n o u g h t o m e e t t h e n e e d ” C y

b u s b u s i n e s s .

r w a s i n t h e

Cyr Bus Line, one of the oldest and most respected bus operations in the United States, celebrates 110 years of operation in 2022. Founded in 1912 by John T Cyr, this family owned company is headquartered in Old Town and operates both school buses and coaches Shown here is a Volvo 9700 carrying attractive external graphics promoting Old Town.

by Dave Millhouser

Photos courtesy of Cyr Bus Line

Sadly, in 1934 the company lost both of its founders, when John (74, retired and in failing health) passed away in May, and then i n A u g u s t J o s e p h d i e d s u d d e n l y a t 4 9 , thrusting younger brothers Albert, Arthur and Harvey into leadership of the growing company During the 1930s in addition to trucking, Cyr was running scheduled bus service to local towns, operating taxis and limousines (and a hearse), as well as provid

i n g s c h o o l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n T h e y r a n “ s p e c i a l t y t r i p s ” l i k e e x c u r s i o n s t o H a n c o c k P o i n t , M a i n e t o d i g c l a m s , a n d c h a r t e re d their buses to groups It would be difficult to imagine anything “wheeled” the Cyrs did not do

This was accomplished by a diverse and colorful fleet of passenger vehicles including (but not limited to) Yellow Coaches, Fords,

Fitzjohns and Studebakers Most were pur chased used, but in 1941 they picked up a n e w 2 0 p a s s e n g e r C h e v r o l e t p o w e r e d Fitzjohn

When WWII erupted, it became almost i m p o s s i b l e t o a c q u i re n e w e r e q u i p m e n t , C y r ’ s f l a i r f o r m a i n t e n a n c e a n d c re a t i v i t y served them well as they extended the use ful life of their existing fleet. The war effort

The Cyr diversified fleet of eight buses was housed in this building on French Island The garage and the entire fleet of eight buses was destroyed in a fire in the early 1950s.

After the fire, the company struggled to obtain buses to restore school service A bus dealer in nearby Bangor helped They were successful and only a single day of school was lost.

One of the more popular activities during the 1930s was the Cyr bus trips to Hancock Point, Maine to dig clams. Some of the people in this group brought along bags to carry their catch back home Cyr Bus Line also chartered buses to groups and operated school bus service

clearly altered the mix of business, but cre a t e d o n e u n i q u e n e w s e r v i c e t r a n s p o r t i n g G e r m a n p r i s o n e r s o f w a r t o a n d , a t w a r s e n d , f r o m P O W c a m p s t h a t w e r e established in the remote wilderness areas o f A ro o s t o o k , P e n o b s c o t a n d P i s c a t a q u i s c o u n t i e s

The trips to the camps were likely grim, but those from the camps at war ’s end were more cheerful, as happy young German sol diers headed home to their families Perhaps this was similar to modern school bus runs, where the kids are grumpy on their way to school, versus happy when heading home, but on a grander scale.

I n t h e e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s C y r ’ s b u i l d i n g o n French Island, along with its entire fleet of eight buses, was destroyed by a fire Scram bling, they managed to get enough equip m e n t f ro m B e a n a n d C o n q u e s t , a B a n g o r d e a l e r, t o q u i c k l y r e s t o r e s c h o o l s e r v i c e M i r a c u l o u s l y ( e x c e p t p e r h a p s f r o m t h e viewpoint of the school kids), only a single day of school was lost

Two other milestones were passed in the early 1950s one major and the other unher alded at the time Harvey Cyr had, by 1951, b o u g h t o u t h i s f a m i l y m e m b e r s a n d w a s now sole owner. His son Joe was (starting as a 10 year old) began working part time for his dad Named after his Uncle Joseph, c o f o u n d e r o f J o h n T. C y r a n d S o n s , J o e worked at the company during his school years and while attending college, until 1962 when he joined the company full time Ini tially a mechanic, Joe gradually transitioned to management responsibilities. When Har v e y d i e d i n 1 9 6 7 , h e b o u g h t t h e c o m p a n y from his mother and became president of an operation that had grown to 10 buses and 15 employees

A f t e r a r o u g h s t a r t ( a f i r e t o o k o u t a n o t h e r g a r a g e a n d a b u s ) C y r b e g a n a steady climb. In order to capitalize on their s t re n g t h i n re l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e p e o p l e i n t h e a re a , J o e e a s e d o u t o f t h e t r u c k i n g b u s i n e s s a n d c o n c e n t r a t e d o n s c h o o l a n d m o t o r c o a c h t r a n s p o r t a t i o n B y 1 9 8 0 t h e c o m p a n y h a d g ro w n f ro m 1 0 b u s e s t o 4 0 B e t w e e n e x p a n s i o n a n d t h e c i t y ’ s d e s i re t o re d e v e l o p t h e F re n c h I s l a n d n e i g h b o r h o o d , a f t e r 6 8 y e a r s , J o h n T C y r a n d S o n s moved to a new, larger, facility on Gilman F a l l s Av e n u e i n O l d To w n

In 1984, the Bangor and Aroostook Rail road Highway Division dropped its passen ger service, and Cyr picked up their route from Bangor to Caribou Though now par tially subsidized, this is less of a profit center than an expression of Cyr ’s long held com mitment to balancing good business with serving their community.

One bus industry observer noted that the M a i n e t o u r i s t i n d u s t r y h a d b e n e f i t e d immensely from the company’s reputation

f o r h e l p i n g o t h e r c o m p a n i e s . “ I t b e c a m e pretty well known among coach operators that if you had bus problems in Maine, Cyr w a s a b l e a n d w i l l i n g t o h e l p ” O p e r a t i n g charter and tour buses in the rugged Maine c o u n t r y s i d e i n t h e y e a r s f o l l o w i n g W W I I could be a risky business Knowing that help w a s a v a i l a b l e m a d e o p e r a t o r s a n x i o u s t o add Maine to their itineraries. It would be difficult to over estimate how much Cyr ’s g e n e ro s i t y o f s p i r i t b o o s t e d t h e b u s t o u r industry in the region The opposite was true too Any time a Cyr bus encountered diffi culties, their reputation made local operators anxious to help

Starting in the mid 1990s Cyr expanded dramatically, adding 95 school buses, and beginning service in four additional counties and a number of new districts including the schools in Pittsfield, Farmingdale, Hampden a n d G a rd i n e r. T h e y m a n a g e d a l l t h i s i n a market with seasonally tough weather and a population less dense than many parts of the country. Fast forward, and under Joe and his wife Sue’s, management, the company has grown to a multifaceted transportation operation with a fleet of 20 modern motor coaches and 225 school buses The largest in Maine, Cyr is one of the top carriers in New England

In spite of its 110 year history, Cyr Bus Line (technically John T Cyr and Son) has only had four generations in top management Sue and Joe Cyr are second and third from the left Their son Michael and daughter Becky Cyr Whitmore have been running the company in recent years. In the front row are the grandkids who could be the next generation in the business

The original Kässbohrer Setra office was located in Gray, Maine, not far from the Cyr operation in Old Town. Cyr Bus Line started putting Setras in their fleet at an early date and have operated a substantial fleet at times This Setra received a special paint scheme for the company’s 100th anniver sary in 2012.

In the current era of specialization, very few companies attempt as diverse an oper a t i o n a s C y r, w h o p ro v i d e s s c h o o l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , s c h e d u l e d m o t o rc o a c h s e r v i c e , and charter buses. In 1990 they added to that mix by purchasing a local tour company, and now Cyr Northstar Tours offers travel pack a g e s t h ro u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y. T h e s e a re a refined version of the 1930s “specialty trips,” b u t r a t h e r t h a n d i g g i n g c l a m s , t h e i r c u s tomers enjoy attractions all over the U S

Cyr is unique in another way. One hun d re d t e n y e a r s o l d , i n a n e r a w h e re m a n y f a m i l y b u s i n e s s ’ s s t u m b l e o n t h e s e c o n d o r t h i rd g e n e r a t i o n , t h i s c o m p a n y i s n o w o w n e d a n d o p e r a t e d b y a f o u r t h g e n e r a tion and continuing to thrive Joe and Sue’s s o n M i c h a e l , a n d d a u g h t e r B e c k y C y r Whitmore, had been working in Cyr man a g e m e n t f o r a l o n g t i m e a n d J o e d e c i d e d i t w a s t i m e t o t u r n o v e r l e a d e r s h i p J o e p o i n t e d o u t i t w a s t i m e t o re l a x a n d t h a t , a c t u a l l y, “ M i k e a n d B e c k y h a v e b e e n ru n n i n g t h e c o m p a n y f o r a c o u p l e o f y e a r s a n d d o i n g a v e r y g o o d j o b “

Doing the math, over 110 years, Cyr has really only had four changes in top manage ment That unusual stability seems to stem from the balance of sticking to core values that have served well as they transitioned from horses all the way to modern battery powered school buses, coupled with a flex i b i l i t y t h a t a l l o w s t h e m t o s p o t a n d s e r v e emerging needs and trends Their ability to i d e n t i f y o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o s e r v e h a s b e e n sharpened over the years by the Cyr ’s deep involvement in the community

The company, and members of the Cyr family, have received too many awards to cite here, recognizing an extraordinary com

b i n a t i o n o f b u s i n e s s a c u m e n , c o m m u n i t y involvement and charity

I f y o u a r e t r a v e l i n g o n t h e E a s t e r n

Seaboard and spot a modern bus with spec t a c u

run modern luxury motorcoaches, hundreds o f s c h o o l b u s e s i n c l u d i n g a n e w b a t t e r y powered bus, and they still have that 1959 GM F o r a b i t m o re i n s i g h t a n d a f u n v i d e o view https://johntcyrandsons com/about us/. q

The new fire risks associated with EVs and HEVs

With a growing coalition of countries pledging to reach climate change targets of net zero emissions, the world is seeing a massive transition to renew able fuels As a result, the automotive industry is changing to meet growing demand for elec tric and hybrid public transport vehicles Jonas Bergström, business manager at Dafo Vehicle F i re P ro t e c t i o n ’ s b u s a n d c o a c h d i v i s i o n , assesses current and new vehicle fire risks as the automotive industry moves towards elec trification, and explains how vehicle operators can minimize these risks

Recent Developments Europe

The United Nations Economic Commis sion (UNECE) introduced Regulation 107 to

impose stronger bus and coach safety regu l a t i o n s U n d e r t h e s e r e g u l a t i o n s , e n g i n e vehicles are legally required to have an auto mated fire suppression system in the engine compartment However, UNECE Regulation 107 does not discuss the fire hazards brought about by lithium ion batteries used in elec tric vehicles (EVs) or the electric component of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs).

Currently, it is not a legal requirement for v e h i c l e s w i t h o u t i n t e r n a l c o m b u s t i o n engines (such as EVs) to be equipped with a u t o m a t e d f i re s u p p re s s i o n s y s t e m s . T h e drawback of this is that, in the event of a fire, t h e m a n u a l e x t i n g u i s h i n g f u n c t i o n a n d e x t e r n a l s y s t e m m a y n e e d t o o p e r a t e

together, which can escalate the spread of fire and increase downtime

The latest draft of UNECE Regulation 100 (Construction and Safety of Electric Power trains) was issued in 2020 and recommends a n e a r l y w a r n i n g s i g n a l i n c a s e o f b a t t e r y failure in rechargeable electrical energy stor age systems (REESS), especially where there i s r i s k o f t h e r m a l r u n a w a y T h e r m a l r u n away is where a battery cell defect caused by overcharging, overheating, overvoltage or physical damage leads to rapid temper ature increases, and higher risks of potential explosions, fire and toxic gas emissions

I n o rd e r t o re c o g n i z e p o t e n t i a l b a t t e r y f a i l u r e a t t h e e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e s t a g e a n d

do we minimize them?

by Jonas Bergström, business manager at Dafo Vehicle Fire Protection’s bus and coach division

reduce the risk of a fire, in line with Regula tion 100, fire suppression systems could be used as an additional safety device to dis c h a r g e a c o o l i n g a g e n t t o m i n i m i z e h a z ardous risks. In Annex 8E, UNECE Regula t i o n 1 0 0 r e c o m m e n d s f i r e t e s t i n g R E E S S from an external fire source

Recent Developments in the United States

T h e U S m a r k e t i s v e r y d i f f e r e n t t o Europe, with various types of public vehi cles, including over the road coaches, school buses and transit buses

Over The Road Coaches

These coaches cross state lines and they are under the jurisdiction of the Department o f Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n C u r r e n t l y, t h e r e i s n o re q u i re m e n t f o r o v e r t h e ro a d c o a c h e s t o have anything beyond a portable fire extin guisher Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) make the decision to install detec tion and suppression systems

A f t e r H u r r i c a n e K a t r i n a s p a r k e d a nationwide catastrophe, insurance premi ums rapidly increased OEMs attempted to n e g o t i a t e i n s u r a n c e d i s c o u n t s i f c o a c h e s were fitted with a fire suppression system; however, insurance companies would not agree to discount deals Ultimately, liability rested with the coaches for losses following a f i re . C o a c h e s a re p r i v a t e l y f u n d e d , a n d OEMs are not regulated by a public author ity in relation to fire safety in coaches

School Buses

There are about .5 million school buses with only a few major manufacturers Chil dren run practice drills on evacuation and

s c h o o l b u s e s a r e e q u i p p e d w i t h b i g e x i t doors The positioning of the engine is crit ical to detecting fire risk. Bus drivers would be able to spot smoke if the engine is posi tioned at the front, but if the engine is at the re a r o f t h e b u s , t h e y w o u l d n o t b e a b l e t o spot risks as quickly

C u r re n t l y, t h e re i s n o re q u i re m e n t f o r school buses to be fitted with a fire suppres s i o n s y s t e m . T h e o n l y re q u i re m e n t i n L o s Angeles County, however, is if school buses use alternative fuel, such as propane or liq

uefied petroleum gas, they need to be fitted with gas sensors

Transit Buses

The majority of funding for transit buses c o m e s f ro m t h e g o v e r n m e n t . E a c h t r a n s i t agency is responsible for their own remit, w h e re t h e y d e c i d e w h a t f i re p ro t e c t i o n t o use and what systems to install

A r o u n d 1 0 y e a r s a g o , a r a i l i n c i d e n t occurred in Washington, D C After an inves tigation, the government found issues with overall safety and gave the transit agency o n e y e a r t o i m p ro v e i t s s a f e t y p ro t o c o l s H o w e v e r, t h e s a f e t y p r o t o c o l s w e r e n o t improved within the year As a result, now, safety officers are separated from manage m e n t , a n d t h e y a re s o l e l y re s p o n s i b l e f o r ensuring health and safety on transit buses Currently, many transit authorities, includ ing Washington Metropolitan Area Transit A u t h o r i t y, a r e s u p p o r t i n g t h e i n d u s t r y through finding new solutions to improve fire risk management.

T h e b u s a n d c o a c h i n d u s t r y i s l o o k i n g to move rapidly to develop and implement f i r e r i s k m a n a g e m e n t , d e t e c t i o n a n d s u p p re s s i o n s y s t e m s f o r e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s . T h e i n d u s t r y i s e v o l v i n g i n l i n e w i t h t h e g r o w i n g w o r l d w i d e m o v e m e n t t o u s e g re e n e r f u e l s a n d re d u c e g re e n h o u s e g a s e m i s s i o n s

New Fire Risks and How to Spot Them

e l f o r t h e i n d u s t r y i s l e a r n i n

Joey Peoples, CEO of Dafo US, and Jay Taylor, regional manager at Dafo’s Transit and Motorcoach area, believe the direction o f t r a v

g f ro m mistakes and making improvements for the

This is the first BYD electric coach delivered in the Paris area. Electric coaches share many of the same fire safety concerns as electric transit buses Substantial work and effort is going into finding way to make them safer. BYD.

Shown here is a Thomas Built Saf T Liner C2 Jouley electric school bus. It was photographed west b o u n d o n Wa c k e r D r i v e i n C h i c a g o n e a r S t a t e S t r e e t w i t h t h e C h i c a g o R i v e r a d j a c e n t a n d t h e Wrigley Building obvious in the background There apparently are no special fire regulations for electric school buses. THOMAS/DAIMLER

future With any new technology, fires are inevitable and there should be more focus on origin and prevention, rather than delib erating who was to blame

As the industry adapts to make full use o f g re e n e r f u e l s , J o e y P e o p l e s c o m m e n t s : “ A l l d e t e c t i o n a n d s u p p r e s s i o n s y s t e m s n e e d t o c o m m u n i c a t e a n d w o r k t o g e t h e r t o d e t e r m i n e r i s k We n e e d t o u n d e r s t a n d our own systems and understand how one c o m m u n i c a t e s t o s e n d w a r n i n g s i g n a l s t o a l e r t t h e o t h e r t o re l e a s e a g e n t ”

Li ion batteries, commonly used to fuel E V s , a r e a t r i s k o f t h e r m a l r u n a w a y. T h e most effective way to address these types of fires is by spot cooling, with early fire cooling systems localizing and mitigating thermal runaway risk

T h e re a re n e w a n d s p e c i f i c c h a l l e n g e s t o overcome and new risk assessments to carry out with the introduction of EVs and HEVs in public transport

T h e l o c a t i o n i s t h e m a i n d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n v e h i c l e s b e t w e e n I C E s ( i n t e r n a l c o m b u s t i o n e n g i n e s ) a n d E V s o r H E V s T h e m a j o r i t y o f f i r e s o u r c e s i n v e h i c l e s w i t h I C E s a r e f o u n d i n t h e e n g i n e c o m partment area. However, the potential fire sources can be located in different areas in E V s a n d H E V s , i n w h i c h c a s e , m o re p ro tection zones should be put in place. Addi t ion ally, du e t o t h e sen sit ivit y of elect rical c o m p o n e n t s a n d t h e t y p e s o f f i r e t h a t c o u l d s p r e a d i n d i f f e r e n t a r e a s o f t h e s e vehicles, specific extinguishing agents may n e e d t o b e u s e d .

You might note that the engine compartment of this Solaris Urbano 12 does not have an engine b e c a u s e i t i s a n e l e c t r i c b u s . T h e e x p e r t s w i l l t e l l y o u t h a t f i r e r i s k s a r e s u b s t a n t i a l l y d i ff e r e n t between diesel buses and electric buses While the engine compartment is usually the top fire hazard on a diesel bus, it is generally the battery that causes the most concern on electric buses.

Risk Management Assessment

The Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE)

p u b l i s h e d a f i re r i s k m a n a g e m e n t a s s e s s ment, which can be used as guidance and includes the following steps:

1 Hazard identification

2. Risk estimation

3. Risk evaluation

4 Risk reduction

F a i l u r e m o d e a n d e f f e c t i v e a n a l y s i s (FMEA) entails identifying hazards and then quantifying risks, so that they can be ranked according to their priority

A f t e r t h e r i s k s h a v e b e e n q u a n t i f i e d , t h e y c a n b e l i s t e d i n o r d e r o f p r i o r i t y t o p ro v i d e a h o l i s t i c v i e w o f t h e r i s k m a p A r i s k m a p i s o l a t e s r i s k s t h a t a re d e e m e d t o be acceptable from those which need to be a d d re s s e d

Finally, an action plan for the identified fire risks can be developed with appropriate risk reduction measures, including:

1) Risk elimination or minimization by design

2 ) A c t i v e a n d p a s s i v e f i r e p r o t e c t i o n systems

3) Improved cleaning and maintenance procedures

4 ) I m p r o v e d q u a l i t y a n d t r a i n i n g procedures

A s s o o n a s h a z a rd s a re i d e n t i f i e d , p r i o r i t i e s n a t u r a l l y e m e rg e a s t o w h i c h r i s k s n e e d t o b e m i t i g a t e d f i r s t . C o n s e q u e n t l y, the actions that follow this ensure that the automotive industry including its many a n d v a r i e d u s e r s i s m a d e s a f e r

To f i n d o u t m o r e a b o u t c h o o s i n g a u n i q u e f i r e p r o t e c t i o n s o l u t i o n f o r y o u r e l e c t r i c b u s o r c o a c h , v i s i t D a f o Ve h i c l e F i re P ro t e c t i o n . q

BYD recently showed off a new design of 12 meter (39 foot) electric buses at the recent IAA show in Hanover, Germany in September of 2022. They also announced their safer Blade Battery. BYD has electric buses running in numerous countries and cities BYD

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Celebrating 50 Years Thrasher Brothers Keeps Growing, Building New Markets

by Pat Plodzeen Photos courtesy of Thrasher Brothers

Th r a s h e r B r o t h e r s Tr a i l w a y s , w h i c h turned 50 in 2021, enters its next half century with optimism and loads of work. Alan Thrasher, president and second g e n e r a t i o n t o l e a d t h e B i r m i n g h a m , Alabama based company, has managed the day to day operations and owned the busi ness along with his sister Alyce since 2007 Like his father Jim Thrasher, the co founder of the company who died in 2019, Alan has a genuine passion for the bus business, the Tr a i l w a y s b r a n d a n d a k n a c k f o r s p o t t i n g sales opportunities

“I was practically born on an Eagle bus,” says Alan, “I’ve been around the entertain m e n t a n d b u s b u s i n e s s m y e n t i re l i f e . I ’ m proud to be following in my dad’s footsteps and am dedicated to helping Thrasher Broth ers and the industry flourish.”

An Entertaining Start

The Thrasher Brothers, Jim, Buddy and J o e , p e r f o r m e d o n t h e Wa l l y F o w l e r G o s p e l S i n g a t t h e G r a n d O l e O p r y w h e n t h e y w e re c h i l d re n i n 1 9 4 8 a n d w o n Te d M a c k ' s T h e O r i g i n a l A m a t e u r H o u r f i v e y e a r s l a t e r T h e f a m i l y p r o d u c e d a T V s h o w c a l l e d A m e r i c a S i n g s , w h i c h a i re d o n 1 0 0 s t a t i o n s a r o u n d t h e n a t i o n f r o m 1 9 6 7 t o 1 9 7 6 a n d m a d e s e v e r a l h i t re c o rd s i n c l u d i n g “ S t i l l t h e O n e , ” a c o u n t r y a n d p o p m u s i c s t a n d a rd .

To keep up with life on the road, brothers Jim and Joe co founded the Thrasher Broth ers motorcoach company in Birmingham, becoming pioneers in entertainment coaches in 1969

The brothers’ first encounter with Trail ways began that same year when Jim was

in Dallas for a taping of America Sings and walked into the regional Trailways office He talked the organization into becoming a national sponsor of the show.

“Trailways ran ads for years and we had a Trailways miniature bus replica as a prop on the stage,” recalls Alan “My granddad, w h o w a s k n o w n a s P o p T h r a s h e r, w o u l d d r i v e t h e b a n d ’ s E a g l e b u s , p u l l i n g o n l y into Trailways members’ shops for service H e a l s o w o n a Tr a i l w a y s D r i v e r S a f e t y Award ” Trailways even hired The Thrasher B ro t h e r s Q u a r t e t t o p e r f o r m a t i t s a n n u a l meeting in 1972

The band retired in 1986, and Jim, who is in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, became the sole owner of the bus company He was influential in the industry as a co founder o f t h e A l a b a m a M o t o r c o a c h A s s o c i a t i o n

Four new Thrasher Setra coaches for use on a contract are lined up at the Mercedes Benz plant in Georgia Thrasher Brothers was contracted to provide transportation service for the Daimler division’s Brand Immersion Experience, a program that will bring some 26,000 Mercedes employees to the plant in Vance, Alabama and other Birmingham area locations Mercedes Benz located its first U S manufacturing plant in the area west of Birmingham in the early 1990s

T h r a s h e r B ro t h e r s o ff i c i a l l y b e c a m e a Tr a i l w a y s m e m b e r i n 2 0 0 2 , w i t h J i m a n d Alan Thrasher both contributing their talents to Trailways for many years Alan served on the Trailways Board from 2013 to 2019, and now serves as vice chair of UMA’s board

Like his dad, Alan also had a musician’s life on the road supporting touring bands before returning full time in 1997 to focus s o l e l y o n b u i l d i n g t h e b u s b u s i n e s s Wi t h t h e g r o w t h o f t h e c h a r t e r c o m p a n y, t h e Thrashers left the entertainment side of the bus business in 2013

“Many doors have opened for us because o f o u r re p u t a t i o n f o r q u a l i t y c o a c h e s a n d c a r i n g f o r c u s t o m e r s , ” s a y s A l a n “ B i g m o v e s a re e a s y f o r u s , a n d w e ’ v e a l w a y s worked on the premise of risk and reward ”

Alan points to his company’s efforts to arrange Trailways members’ participation in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver as a big undertaking that paid off “The move was o n e o f t h e s i n g l e b i g g e s t re v e n u e e a r n i n g events for Trailways members,” he says

Since 2015, Thrasher Brothers has been the exclusive transportation provider for Daim ler ’s Brand Immersion Experience at its Mer c e d e s B e n z p l a n t i n Va n c e , A l a b a m a . Thrasher currently runs five Setras, made by D a i m l e r, t o c a r r y p a r t i c i p a n t s a r r i v i n g i n Birmingham from all over the country to tour the only Daimler owned manufacturing facil ity in the U.S. where they build SUVs, C class automobiles and now the electric cars “We’ve just extended the contract by three years for the EQ Experience,” says Alan.

T h r a s h e r i s l o o k i n g a t D a i m l e r ’ s n e w To u r r i d e r c o a c h t o f e a t u re o n t h e s e r v i c e . “ We w i l l b e a m o n g t h e f i r s t t o e x p e r i e n c e the new Mercedes model,” says Alan Tour rider was introduced to the industry at UMA Expo 2022

T h r a s h e r B r o t h e r s k e e p s a m o d e r n , w e l l m a i n t a i n e d f l e e t o f 2 0 c o a c h e s i n i t s y a rd a n d s h o p n e a r t h e h e a r t o f B i r m i n g h a m “ We h a v e t h e r i g h t n u m b e r o f c o a c h e s re q u i re d f o r B i r m i n g h a m , ” s a y s A l a n , w h o k n o w s h e c a n c o u n t o n

o t h e r 3 o p e r a t o r s i n A l a b a m a a n d i n t h e Tr a i l w a y s s y s t e m f o r h e l p w h e n e x t r a b u s e s a r e r e q u i r e d T h r a s h e r i s a l w a y s re a d y t o re c i p ro c a t e “ I d o e n j o y h e l p i n g o t h e r o p e r a t o r s o u t w h e n t h e y ’ r e i n a c o a c h d o w n s i t u a t i o n o r t e c h n i c a l j a m ”

It’s happening in Birmingham

T h e c o m p a n y ’ s c h a r t e r b u s i n e s s i s b o o m i n g a s w e l l . T h r a s h e r h a s w r a p p e d up a three month, eight coach assignment f o r t h e r e v i v e d U n i t e d S t a t e s F o o t b a l l L e a g u e ( U S F L ) , t r a n s p o r t i n g t h e l e a g u e ' s

(AMA) He served as its first board president for three years

This Van Hool coach has graphics to show the Trasher Brothers affiliation with Trailways. The company became a Trailways member in 2002 and both Jim and Alan Thrasher were active in the orga nization for many years Alan Thrasher served on the Trailways Board from 2013 to 2019

Trasher Brothers turned 50 in 2021 The company originated with an entertainment group and then became active in entertainer coaches in 1969 Based in Birmingham, the company also worked with other Trailways members and local Alabama operators.

T h r a s h e r B r o t h e r s a t t r a c t e d a t t e n t i o n a t t h e r e c e n t Wo r l d g a m e s 2 0 2 2 i n B i r m ingham by operating a M e r c e d e s B e n z To u r r i d e r P r e m i u m c o a c h . I t w a s u s e d t o transport selected top athletes to the various c o m p e t i t i o n s i t e s around Birmingham The company is look ing at the new Daim l e r c o a c h t h a t w a s i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e industry at UMA Expo 2022.

e i g h t t e a m s t o p r a c t i c e s a ro u n d t h e c i t y ’ s s t a d i u m s T h e i n a u g u r a l s e a s o n o f g a m e s w e re p l a y e d A p r i l t h ro u g h J u n e i n B i r m ingham’s new Protective Stadium and the r e c e n t l y u p g r a d e d L e g i o n F i e l d I n b e t w e e n , t h e c o m p a n y h a n d l e d c h a r t e r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n m o v e s f o r G a r t h B r o o k s ’ J u n e 4 c o n c e r t a t t h e n e w s t a d i u m , w h i c h b r o k e a n a t t e n d a n c e r e c o r d w i t h 5 2 , 0 0 0 t i c k e t s s o l d

Next were the World Games, an 11 day i n t e r n a t i o n a l m u l t i s p o r t e v e n t w h i c h t o o k p l a c e i n B i r m i n g h a m J u l y 7 1 7 , 2 0 2 2 . A crowd of 100,000 watched 3,600 elite ath l e t e s f ro m m o re t h a n 1 0 0 c o u n t r i e s c o m p e t e f o r g o l d i n m o re t h a n 3 0 n e x t g e n e r a t i o n s p o r t s i n c l u d i n g w a t e r s k i i n g , dancing and billiards. As current president of the state motorcoach association (AMA), Al a n ma de su re o t h e r Al a b a ma Tr a i l w a y s

members and the state’s smaller operators w e r e c o n t a c t e d t o h e l p f u l f i l l t h e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n re q u i re m e n t s .

“ N o w i s o u r t i m e , ” s a i d A l a n “ A s a n industry we can accomplish more when we work together ”

G e t t i n g p a s s e n g e r s t o t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n s with care and class

D r i v e r a n d p a s s e n g e r s a f e t y a r e o f u t m o s t i m p o r t a n c e t o A l a n , w h o w o u l d like the industry to come together on how t o s e r v e o v e r n i g h t t r i p s r e q u i r i n g r e l i e f d r i v e r s “ T h e s e t y p e s o f t r i p s a d d t o t h e b u rd e n o f d r i v e r s h o r t a g e s , a n d a ff e c t t h e s a f e t y o f t h e g ro u p , ” h e s a y s “ I ’ d l i k e t o s e e g ro u p s i n c l u d e o v e r n i g h t h o t e l s t a y s for longer trips rather than rolling through the night I see it as an extra safety measure a n d a w i n w i n f o r e v e r y o n e b e c a u s e t r a v e l e r s a l s o a r r i v e a t t h e i r d e s t i n a t i o n s w e l l re s t e d ”

Industry accolades

Alan’s business know how and service oriented nature has won multiple awards for the company Trailways presented Alan w i t h a l e a d e r s h i p , v a l o r a n d t e a m s p i r i t a w a r d f o r h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e 2 0 1 0 Olympics effort

Metro Magazine also recognized Thrasher Brothers as an Innovative Operator in 2016 for its inventive long term Mercedes Benz contract, modern fleet and the emphasis the firm places on safety

Alan credits operators and the Trailways o rg a n i z a t i o n f o r k e e p i n g t h e i n d u s t r y i n business during COVID 19 “I am particu l a r l y g r a t e f u l t o t h e h e r o i c e f f o r t s o f o u r i n d u s t r y ’ s s t a t e a n d n a t i o n a l a s s o c i a t i o n s and carriers throughout our country to make the government aware of our plight during the pandemic. We are still in business today because of all of you ”

Politicians and Pollution

by Larry Plachno

With

This article got started when we discov ered that there might be another push to reduce pollution from bus and truck engines. We were under the impression that with modern exhaust treatment and partic ulate filters, the exhaust from a clean diesel engine is cleaner than the air in your living room At this point you would think that the p o l i t i c i a n s s h o u l d t u r n t h e i r a t t e n t i o n t o greater sources of pollution such as the Chi nese coal mine fires, using bunker oil for fuel in ocean going ships or even cow flatulence.

Discussion brought up the point that a c e n t u r y a g o , A m e r i c a h a d n o n p o l l u t i n g c i t y a n d r u r a l p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n b u t most of that is gone now What is interesting is that back then it was the government offi c i a l s t h a t w a n t e d t o e l i m i n a t e t h e c l e a n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s y s t e m s a n d re p l a c e t h e m with vehicles using fossil fuels Although, I would have to admit that America’s love o f t h e a u t o m o b i l e w a s b e h i n d t h e i r d e c i sions Today’s movement to electric buses is actually the second time that our trans p o r t a t i o n s y s t e m s m o v e d t o w a r d s c l e a n electric power

S i n c e m a n y re a d e r s d o n o t re m e m b e r b a c k t o t h e e a r l y 1 9 0 0 s , I c a n r e l a t e h o w t h i s h a p p e n e d W h a t h e l p s e x p l a i n m u c h o f t h i s i s t h a t t h e a u t o m o b i l e d e v e l o p e d slower than the streetcar The streetcar was s i m p l e r a n d re q u i re d l e s s i n n o v a t i o n a n d fewer parts. However, once the automobile b e c a m e v i a b l e a n d r e a s o n a b l y p r i c e d , A m e r i c a n s p u s h e d g o v e r n m e n t i n t h a t d i re c t i o n .

I n 1 9 0 3 , H e n r y F o r d w a s l o o k i n g f o r $100,000 to establish the Ford Motor Com pany but he only could get $28,000 in cash Five years later, in 1908, W. C. Durant, the founder of General Motors, told an invest ment banker that in the future 500,000 auto mobiles would be built annually. The banker h a d D u r a n t s h o w n o u t T h i s m a y s e e m s t r a n g e t o d a y b u t i n t h o s e y e a r s c i t y a n d ru r a l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w a s e x p a n d i n g w i t h electric streetcars and interurban electric rail ways. Automobiles were considered a rich man’s toy and had little practical value You might bear in mind that automobiles were not only primitive, but there were no roads to drive them on

L o c a l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n m o s t b i g c i t i e s started with horsecars simply because that was state of the art at that time While they s e r v e d t h e p u r p o s e , t h e y h a d n u m e r o u s shortcomings Operating speeds were gen erally less than six miles per hour and the operating range was limited. Horses were expensive and usually only worked four or five hours a day When retired from service after four or five years the value of the horses was low Not only did the horses eat as much as 30 pounds of hay and grain daily but they also required the use of veterinarians, black smiths and hostlers to keep them fit

N o r t h A m e r i c a w a s h i t i n 1 8 7 2 w i t h a n epidemic of an equine respiratory disease that came to be called the Great Epizootic. Thousands of horses died in cities and the o p e r a t o r s b e g a n l o o k i n g f o r a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e h o r s e c a r M u n i c i p a l o ff i c i a l s a p p a r ently had their first taste of trying to elim i n a t e p o l l u t i o n s i n c e h o r s e c a r o p e r a t i o n was one of the most offensive of any trans p o r t a t i o n s e r v i c e H o r s e s c o u l d d a i l y deposit more than 10 pounds of fecal mate

today’s movement to going green, it may be difficult to realize that a century ago most of our local city transit and some of our rural transportation was provided with clean electric power In many cases, it was our elected officials who moved away from electric transportation This modern PCC streetcar and a diesel bus were parked side by side when photographed in Philadelphia. ROBERT REDDEN

Photos from NBT Archives unless otherwise credited

rial on the street and periodically drenched t h e p a v e m e n t w i t h u r i n e

The search was on for a replacement and hopefully an improvement over the horse cars Some people tried to imitate the rail roads and use a small steam engine, often called “steam dummies.” They did not work well on city streets because they frightened h o r s e s , p e d e s t r i a n s w e re d i s p l e a s e d w i t h the exhaust and small steam engines were not very economical Hence, they tended to be restricted to suburban lines that did not run on streets

T h e r e w e r e n u m e r o u s o t h e r a l t e r n a t i v e s , b u t t h e y a l l h a d t h e i r s h o r t c o m i n g s T h e u s e o f c o m p r e s s e d a i r a n d i n t e r n a l c o m b u s t i o n e n g i n e s w a s t r i e d b u t n e v e r re a c h e d t h e p o i n t o f p r a c t i c a l c o m m e rc i a l o p e r a t i o n S o d a m o t o r s a n d “ f i r e l e s s ” steam needed recharging Battery powered c a r s w e re t r i e d b u t w e re o n l y m o d e r a t e l y successful They were slow and the batter ies needed to be replaced often A method t o re c h a rg e t h e b a t t e r i e s q u i c k l y w a s n o t a v a i l a b l e a t t h i s d a t e S o m e w e re u s e d o n crosstown lines in Manhattan but were oth e r w i s e n o t p o p u l a r

The next step in passenger transportation c a m e f ro m A n d re w S H a l l i d i e w h o u s e d cable cars to climb the hills of San Francisco in 1873 This was not necessarily a fresh idea since most of the patents already existed for cable car operation and Hallidie’s father had b e e n i n v o l v e d w i t h w i re ro p e s i n c e 1 8 2 8 During the next several years, the cable car b e c a m e t h e o b v i o u s r e p l a c e m e n t f o r t h e horsecar The cost of building the track was much higher than for horsecars because of the need for an underground cable and pre cise slot at street level However, the cable cars did not require horses, were capable of ru n n i n g g re a t e r d i s t a n c e s a n d s o m e w e re a b l e t o t r a v e l f a s t e r t h a n h o r s e c a r s . C i t y fathers were pleased because there was no “pollution” on the streets

Eventually, 59 cable lines were built as w e l l a s t w o r a p i d t r a n s i t l i n e s a n d s o m e other operations In spite of its lack of hills, Chicago had the largest system in the coun try with 710 grip cars and annual ridership that reached 237 million passengers Virtu ally every major city in the northern United States ran cable cars. The two major excep tions were Boston and Detroit While cable c a r s m i g h t h a v e f a c e d f e w e r p ro b l e m s i n southern states because of the lack of snow and ice, none were built although Atlanta had the population to support a cable line. If you are interested in more information on cable cars I recommend a book by George W. Hilton titled The Cable Car in America.

It was at this time that the electric street c a r w a s b e i n g d e v e l o p e d E l e c t r i c m o t o r s h a d e x i s t e d a t l e a s t s i n c e t h e 1 8 3 0 s T h e re w e re e x a m p l e s o f s m a l l t r a i n s b e i n g o p e r a t e d e l e c t r i c a l l y o v e r t h e y e a r s a t s h o w s a n d s p e c i a l e x h i b i t s M o re o v e r, t h e t e c h n o l o g y f o r t h e c a r s p re v i o u s l y e x i s t e d a s horsecars and cable cars What was needed w a s a m e a n s t o m o u n t a w o r k a b l e m o t o r, collect electic power and control the speed o f t h e c a r

Early attempts to mount an electric motor on the end platform of a horsecar were less t h a n s u c c e s s f u l . T h e w e i g h t o f t h e m o t o r t e n d e d t o c a u s e t h e p l a t f o r m t o s a g a n d make a power connection to the axles diffi cult. Putting the motor directly on the axles a l s o f a i l e d b e c a u s e t h e j o l t s a n d j a r s f ro m operation tended to damage the motors. The answer finally came from Frank J Sprague, a young naval officer He mounted the motor b e t w e e n t h e a x l e a n d a s p r i n g w i t h t h e motor meshing with a cogwheel on the axle This allowed the motor to move with the jars a n d j o l t s o f o p e r a t i o n w h i l e s t i l l b e i n g engaged to the axle

Another major problem in the develop m e n t o f s t re e t c a r s w a s c u r re n t c o l l e c t i o n There were attempts to use one rail for neg ative power and the other for positive or use an exposed third rail for power like rapid transit lines. Both failed because of the high risk of exposure to pedestrians and horses

Most local city transportation originated with horsecars because they were state of the art. This one was open to the weather, but closed cars were used in winter or inclement weather Our guess is that this horsecare operated on Vermont Avenue in San Francisco.

For several years, cable cars were the ideal replacement for horsecars. It is noteworthy that they originated in San Francisco and still operate there This photo was taken at the turntable at the end of the Powell and Hyde Street line located at Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghiradelli Square.

to electrical shocks Hence, early streetcar o p e r a t i o n s t e n d e d t o u s e d u a l o v e r h e a d wires (one positive, one negative) A small four wheeled cart rode on these wires to pick up electric current and was connected to the streetcar by a flexible cable

T h e c a r t w a s c a l l e d a “ t r o l l e r ” w h i c h quickly changed to “trolley ” Hence, the word trolley does not indicate car design but rather a car powered by overhead electric wires This system proved to be less than workable since the cart often fell off the wires (hence the phrase “you’re off your trolley”) and had to be exchanged when cars passed The most typical answer in the United States was a sin gle overhead wire with power collected by a trolley pole that extended from the top of the car to the wire The tracks served as the elec trical ground In Europe, most of the streetcars tended to use pantagraphs for current collec tion rather than trolley poles

P o w e r c o n t ro l w a s i n i t i a l l y a p ro b l e m since using an “on” and “off” system was not very workable. What eventually devel oped was a “controller,” a box with a handle o n t o p m o u n t e d o n t h e f ro n t p l a t f o r m f o r use by the motorman. In simple terms, the controller handle could be moved through several “points” where resistance was suc cessively reduced to increase speed. At the t o p s p e e d , t h e e l e c t r i c i t y w o u l d g o t o t h e motors directly, without resistance.

W h i l e t h e re w e re n u m e ro u s a t t e m p t s to build streetcar lines, they tended to have p r o b l e m s o r w e r e n o t v e r y r e l i a b l e T h e t ru e b i r t h o f t h e m o d e r n s t re e t c a r c a m e i n 1888 when the Richmond Union Passenger R a i l w a y i n Vi r g i n i a o p e n e d i t s n e w l i n e developed by Frank Sprague. It was imme diately successful and other cities wanted the same thing Within three years, at least 2 0 0 s t r e e t c a r s y s t e m s w e r e b u i l t o r o rd e re d A b o u t 5 0 p e rc e n t w e re b u i l t b y S p r a g u e a n d a b o u t 9 0 p e rc e n t w e re b a s e d o n h i s p a t e n t s . I t i s n o t e w o r t h y t h a t u n t i l S p r a g u e ’ s s y s t e m w a s p r o v e n i n 1 8 8 8 ,

n o n e o f t h e c a b l e c a r s y s t e m s h a d b e e n c o n v e r t e d t o s t re e t c a r s .

The rest, as they say, is history I know of no major city in the United States that did not have streetcar service In addition, there are numerous smaller communities that had streetcar service in spite of limited popula tion At least initially, everyone seemed to be happy with electric streetcar service the company owners, passengers and city gov ernment However, it might be suggested that when the first streetcars went into oper ation, there may have been some wagons on the streets but they were pretty much devoid of automobiles

I t i s w o r t h m e n t i o n i n g t h a t t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e s t re e t c a r l e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f

i n t e ru r b a n e l e c t r i c r a i l w a y s U s i n g e s s e n tially the same technology as the streetcars, these lines connected cities and rural com m u n i t i e s T h e y t e n d e d t o u s e l a r g e r a n d f a s t e r c a r s a n d m a n y t r i e d t o m a i n t a i n h o u r l y h e a d w a y s Tr a v e l i n g s a l e s m e n could now make several calls a day to rural communities, and farm families could now t r a v e l t o t h e b i g c i t y f o r s h o p p i n g a n d r e t u r n t h e s a m e d a y. I n a d d i t i o n , c i t y w h o l e s a l e r s c o u l d s h i p m e r c h a n d i s e t o ru r a l t o w n s t h e s a m e d a y i f t h e o rd e r w a s re c e i v e d i n t h e m o r n i n g .

Most of the interurban railways operated over city streets in larger towns and cities While this would create problems in later years, it was helpful in the early days. Since the tracks were already there for the interur

Conventional streetcars were not only powered by clean electric power but also provided transportation service in both large and small cities for decades. Johnstown, Pennsylvania retained streetcar service until a late date and then operated trolley buses The date was February 7, 1960 when this car was photographed at Roxbury Loop in Johnstown.

New Orleans continues to operate some 80 year old conventional streetcars on its St Charles line This photo shows a car turning into Canal Street in order to loop back to St Charles.

Most cities that operated streetcars at later dates used the more modern PCC car This one was photographed at Castle Shannon in Pittsburgh on a line that continued out a long distance.

ban cars, many of the companies ran a local streetcar line in smaller communities that would not have warranted one because of a lack of population

I n t e ru r b a n r a i l w a y s w e re p a r t i c u l a r l y popular in the Midwest There was a con tinuous link of them from either Oneonta or Little Falls, New York all the way to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, northwest of Sheboygan The typical trip on an interurban was rela tively short since the steam railroads were more practical for longer trips However, in 1 9 1 0 a g ro u p o f b u s i n e s s m e n f ro m U t i c a , New York rented an electric interurban car to visit Midwest cities and ran it 2,000 miles in two weeks as far as Louisville and Detroit There is a book titled The Longest Interurban Charter covering this unique trip.

Hence, a century ago, much of our city transportation and some of our rural trans p o r t a t i o n w a s p ro v i d e d b y c l e a n e l e c t r i c power. There was even some new technol ogy in following years In the 1930s, the Pres ident’s Conference Committee developed what came to be known as the modern PCC streetcar Most cities that continued to oper ate streetcars gravitated to this newer design Two interurbans, the Illinois Terminal and Pacific Electric, used PCC cars for suburban routes. In addition, several cities converted from streetcars to trolley buses that contin ued to use electric power but could pull to the curb to pick up passengers.

We might want to briefly look at the reg ular or “steam” railroads in the United States at this time While they carried virtually all o f t h e l o n g d i s t a n c e p a s s e n g e r s , v e r y f e w routes were electric By way of contrast, in

much of the higher populated areas of West e r n E u ro p e t h e m a j o r p a s s e n g e r r a i l l i n e s were electrified. Presumably, the higher pop ulation density and more frequent service made electrification practical However, elec trified major railroads in the United States have been rare The most obvious is the for mer Pennsylvania Railroad line from Wash ington, D C north to New York City and the former New York, New Haven & Hartford electrification from New York City towards Boston Today these have been incorporated

into what is known as the Northeast corri dor, the most heavily travelled rail lines in the United States.

Beyond that, electric conventional rail roads are found only in limited areas. Long Island, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago have electric suburban commuter service S o m e m a j o r r a i l ro a d s l i k e t h e M i l w a u k e e Road, Great Northern and Norfolk & West ern had electrified sections because of heavy g r a d e s , b u t a l l t h r e e a r e n o w g o n e B o t h D e t r o i t a n d C l e v e l a n d h a d l o c a l e l e c t r i c o p e r a t i o n a t o n e t i m e , b u t t h e y a re g o n e . There were also a few industrial lines, such as the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific, but most of these are also gone Today’s modern clean diesel motorcoaches are much cleaner than the steam locomotives of this era.

As mentioned earlier, automobile devel opment came later than streetcar develop ment There were two major problems that stood in the way of bringing automobiles to p r a c t i c a l i t y. T h e f i r s t w a s t e c h n o l o g y a n d components Early automobiles were prim itive and were difficult to operate and main t a i n E a r l y a u t o m o b i l e s h a d t o b e s t a r t e d with a crank since electric starters had not been developed. In addition, driving early automobiles at night was questionable since early headlights were not very bright It took y e a r s f o r a l l o f t h e s e c o m p o n e n t p a r t s t o develop

The second major problem was the lack of paved roads Today, people simply assume that roads always existed. This is far from true When many of the interurban railways w e re b u i l t i n t h e f i r st de ca de o f t h e 1 9 0 0 s, most

paved roads were located in cities and many of them were paved with bricks Rural

Early interurban cars were built of wood, but most could run at fairly high speeds. They brought mobility to rural areas by letting salesmen cover several towns in one day and by making it possible for rural residents to go to the city to shop yet return the same day This particular car operated in Iowa.

In the early years of the 1900s, the steam railroads provided most long distance travel The river and lake boats were on the way out while commercial aviation was still some time in the future. Today, this form of transportation is preserved by tourist railroads

roads and streets in small towns were usually unimproved which is a nice way of saying t h e y w e re d i r t . I n d r y w e a t h e r, t h e y w e re dusty and in wet weather they were muddy Pickwick Stages, the largest bus company in the early days, had a scouting bus to help plan b u s r o u t e s o n t h e m o s t f a v o r a b l e r o a d s Tr a n s c o n t i n e n t a l b u s s e r v i c e d i d n o t s t a r t until 1928, and even then much of the route was over unpaved roads

Hence, in the early days, automobile own ership was not only limited to the rich but was also not very practical Prior to mass pro d u c t i o n a n d F o rd ’ s M o d e l T, a u t o m o b i l e s were expensive. Only the rich could afford them If you owned one, there were not many places you could go on dirt roads Do you remember images of early automobile drivers with goggles and a scarf to deal with the dust? As a result, the streetcars and interurban rail ways served a very practical purpose

To give you some idea of how bad it was, let me mention that soon after World War I, the American military decided to cross the United States in a convoy to determine the need for good roads They left Washington, D C o n J u l y 7 , 1 9 1 9 a n d h e a d e d We s t Included were 81 vehicles and nearly 300 men This became known as the First Transconti n e n t a l M o t o r Tr a i n . T h e i r p a t h t o o k t h e m through 3,250 miles of dirt, mud, rock and sand Paved roads outside of cities were rare Much of their journey took them along what came to be called the Lincoln Highway They s p e n t n i g h t s c a m p i n g a l o n g t h e w a y a n d drove during the day It was not until Septem b e r 3 , n e a r l y t h re e m o n t h s l a t e r, t h a t t h e y finally reached Oakland. This gives you some idea of the struggle to drive across the United States not much more than a century ago

An interesting side note is that one of the military people assigned to the First Conti nental Motor Train was a young army officer named Dwight David Eisenhower He just missed the war in Europe and signed on for this epic trip at the last minute It obviously m a d e h i m c o n s c i o u s o f t h e l a c k o f g o o d ro a d s D e c a d e s l a t e r, w h i l e d e a l i n g w i t h World War II in Europe, he got a chance to s e e t h e G e r m a n a u t o b a h n s . A f t e r b e i n g elected president, Eisenhower launched the interstate highway system If you are inter

e s t e d , t h e s t o r y o f t h e F i r s t C o n t i n e n t a l Motor Train is told in a book by Pete Davis titled American Road

What transpired is that as automobiles e n t e r e d m a s s p r o d u c t i o n a n d w e r e l e s s expensive, people began buying them Free dom became more important than the lack o f p o l l u t i o n A s a r e s u l t , o u r p o l i t i c i a n s b e g a n m o v i n g a w a y f r o m c l e a n e l e c t r i c p o w e r a n d t o w a rd s e n c o u r a g i n g i n t e r n a l combustion transportation with its pollu t i o n . M u c h o f t h i s m o v e m e n t f ro m c l e a n e l e c t r i c p o w e r t o i n t e r n a l c o m b u s t i o n engines was prompted by America’s new love for the motor vehicle that caused the politicians to make the decisions they did However, the fact is that it was government action that eliminated much of the clean elec tric transportation of a century ago

As roads were built, the number of pas s e n g e r s r i d i n g s t re e t c a r s a n d i n t e ru r b a n s declined. The first to go were the small town streetcars and smaller lines in the city as rid ership declined. Then the weaker interurban l i n e s a n d t h e s m a l l e r c i t y s y s t e m s f o l d e d There are many smaller communities that had good streetcar service or an interurban s t a t i o n a c e n t u r y a g o b u t h a v e n o p u b l i c transportation today

In some states, the regulatory authorities helped retain electric transportation. When jitneys appeared in the cities to steal passen gers from the streetcars, the authorities often s t e p p e d i n t o e l i m i n a t e t h i s c o m p e t i t i o n . S o m e s t a t e s , n o t a b l y P e n n s y l v a n i a , O h i o ,

Indiana and for a while Illinois, tended to protect the electric interurban railways from highway competition where they could In

Mass production of the Ford Model T allowed more people to buy and own cars. This created a need for more highways and paved roads One result of America’s love for the motorcar was the reduction in electric public transportation. PAUL BRENNAN.

In many cities the streetcars were replaced by electric trolley buses that were still non polluting but could pull to the curb to pick up and drop off passengers. Unfortunately, many of them were also replaced like the streetcars This photo taken in Vancouver, British Columbia, shows the older Brill on the left and the newer New Flyer on the right TRAMS

some cases, they even gave the interurban l i n e s a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o i m p r o v e s e r v i c e before authorizing competition In other sit uations, they favored highway service con trolled by the interurbans because it could be coordinated with their electric rail service Michigan, on the other hand, tended to favor highway competition (possibly influenced b y t h e a u t o b u i l d e r s ) w h i c h i s w h y t h e i r interurban lines quit at an earlier date.

In many places, the electric railways were looked at as being “in the way” of modern h i g h w a y v e h i c l e s A f e w i n t e ru r b a n l i n e s were eliminated because of highway expan sion Others fell victim to the problem of run n i n g o n c i t y s t r e e t s w h e r e c i t y f a t h e r s wanted them out of the way of automobiles or unable to reach downtown because the

O n e o f t h e m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g d e v e l o p ments was the Public Utility Holding Com p a n y A c t o f 1 9 3 5 I t re q u i re d t h a t p o w e r c o m p a n i e s s e l l t h e i r e l e c t r i c r a i l w a y a ff i l iates In many cases, the power companies were in fact subsidizing clean electric pub l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w i t h t h e i r e l e c t r i c s a l e s T h i s re s u l t e d i n s t re e t c a r a n d i n t e r u r b a n l i n e s l o s i n g t h i s s u p p o r t , g o i n g t o n e w owners and often abandoned It is interest i n g t h a t i n 1 9 3 5 , i t w a s w ro n g f o r p o w e r c o m p a n i e s t o s u p p o r t c l e a n e l e c t r i c t r a n s portation while today government funding supports transportation with internal com b u s t i o n e n g i n e s

In many cases, the streetcars and trolley buses survived through private ownership but not the following municipal ownership

With very few exceptions, municipal owner ship was followed by the elimination of street cars and trolley buses Chicago at one point was highly non polluting with propane buses as well as electric streetcars and trolley buses, but they were eliminated in favor of internal combustion vehicles. Chicago also had two electric railways providing commuter service that it allowed to abandon It is also notewor thy that the last of the great Pacific Electric sys tem in Los Angeles was abandoned by a gov ernment agency Pacific Electric sold out to Metropolitan Coach Lines in 1953 In turn, they sold out in 1958 to Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority who abandoned the last of the electric rail lines

There have been suggestions of a conspir acy by vehicle builders, oil companies and t i re c o m p a n i e s t o e l i m i n a t e e l e c t r i c t r a n s portation and replace it with rubber tired vehicles The best analysis of this is probably a book by Eli Bail titled From Railway to Free way that covers the demise of the 1,000 mile Pacific Electric system around Los Angeles in an area now complaining about smog and pollution Bail dismisses the conspiracy the ory but points to the fact that Pacific Elec tric’s owner, Southern Pacific, was interested i n f r e i g h t s e r v i c e a n d n o t p a s s e n g e r s I n a d d i t i o n , G e n e r a l M o t o r s n o t o n l y h a d a well engineered and reliable product to sell but offered financing

W h i l e t h e P u b l i c U t i l i t i e s C o m m i s s i o n and Southern Pacific battled over the elec tric rail lines, Pacific Electric waited in vain for a commitment to a local transportation policy on the local and state levels. It never c a m e T h i s s a m e s c e n a r i o w a s re p e a t e d i n d i ff e re n t c i t i e s , i n d i ff e re n t s t a t e s a n d a t d i ff e re n t t i m e s . W h a t w a s n e e d e d w a s f o r t h e p o l i t i c i a n s t o r e a l i z e t h e i m p o r t a n c e a n d s i g n i f i c a n c e o f c l e a n t r a n s p o r t a t i o n power. It is only

local trolley line quit An example of street running remains in Michigan City, Indiana and this line also carries freight cars

in recent years that this is s i n k i n g i n q

Pacific Electric at one time provided electrified passenger service on 1,000 miles of track in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, this service fell victim to the lack of a compre hensive transportation plan Shown here, a three car train of 900 series cars is photographed on an overpass at La Cienga while hurrying towards Vence.

This 52S2P Twin Coach operated in Chicago where propane and trolley buses reduced pollution for many years The location is Wrigley Field (Cubs Park) at Addison and Clark on Chicago’s north side.

Later interurban cars were made of steel These cars operated on a line from Chicago to Milwaukee at high speeds and also provided commuter service to numerous locations in the northern suburbs.

The Race to the Bottom

by

My buddy and I rolled backwards off the Cape Ann Diver, into the water and began a race to the bottom.

T h e N i n a T w a s a 7 0 f o o t E a s t e r n r i g trawler that had sunk at the dock when her a n c i e n t h u l l g r e w w e a r y We h a d s p e n t h o u r s u n d e r w a t e r s t a p l i n g s t r i p s o f w o o d o v e r s h e e t s o f p l a s t i c t o m a k e h e r w a t e r t i g h t ( d o n o t t r y t h i s o n a s t e e l h u l l , a n d d o n o t b o r r o w y o u r n e i g h b o r ’ s s t a p l e g u n ) . At low tide she was pumped dry, strapped to a barge and towed out of the harbor into 1 0 0 f e e t o f w a t e r.

A fire boat hosed her full, and she disap p e a re d b e l o w t h e s u r f a c e . M y f r i e n d a n d I each wanted the coveted title of “first to dive the wreck of the Nina T,” and descended into the ugly mud cloud that a vessel makes when she strikes bottom It was spooky; so murky we still do not know who won.

A s t h e f i r s t s t i r r i n g s o f a r e v i v i n g b u s m a r k e t a p p e a r, t h e r e i s a d a n g e r o f t h e i n d u s t r y e n g a g i n g i n a s i m i l a r r a c e t o t h e

b o t t o m Tru s t m e , i t i s d a r k a n d d a n g e ro u s d o w n t h e r e R u m o r s c i r c u l a t e o f c a r r i e r s b i d d i n g $ 1 . 5 0 p e r m i l e o n m i l i t a r y m o v e s , and the temptation to take work at absurdly l o w p r i c e s i s h u g e

Please understand that, while I see your pain, I can not feel it That is weasel talk for “easy for me to say.” It has been decades since I was involved in “operating” buses The des p e r a t i o n t o g e t d r i v e r s w o r k i n g a n d m o v e coaches is understandable, but if we go too far we are damaging opportunities in a post Darwin market.

We can not (and should not) discuss “fix ing” prices, but this is advocating a thought process

At least two bad things happen in a bus rate race to the bottom First, we set pricing benchmarks. Customers will expect similar p r i c i n g w h e n b u s i n e s s s t a r t s t o c o m e b a c k better, and will not be particularly receptive t o e x c u s e s . I n t h e b a c k o f t h e i r m i n d s t h e y u n d e r s t a n d l o s s l e a d e r s d u r i n g d e s p e r a t e

times, but it is the front of their minds that negotiates

H a n g o n g o n n a s w e r v e h e r e T h i s i s where real, long term relationships pay off If you have made the effort over the years to treat clients like partners, not paychecks, they will be more willing to identify and reward quality Back to the main drag

S e c o n d , m a n y o p e r a t o r s h a v e b e e n involved with rallies in an effort to raise the a w a re n e s s ( a n d i m a g e ) o f t h e m o t o rc o a c h i n d u s t r y. We b e l i e v e , c o r re c t l y, t h a t w e a re n o t a c c o rd e d t h e re s p e c t w e h a v e e a r n e d We chafe at the perception that we are trans p o r t a t i o n ' s l o w e s t c o m m o n d e n o m i n a t o r, a n d h a v e , o f l a t e , s p e n t a t o n o f e n e rg y t r y i n g t o l e t p o l i t i c i a n s a n d t h e p u b l i c s e e u s i n a b e t t e r l i g h t

Competition based on pricing alone con firms the old view of our worth

Lots of operators were already on a slip pery fiscal slope, and went over an unfore

Several people in the industry are concerned that the reduced sales caused by the pandemic will prompt bus operators to lower prices in order to increase business. This not only makes it difficult to increase prices in the future but also cheapens the image of the industry. Shown here are several coaches gathering in the Chicago area prior to heading to Washington D C for the Rally for Awareness PAT PLODZEEN

Dave Millhouser

s e e a b l e c l i ff t h a t w a s n o t a n y o n e ’ s f a u l t H o p e f u l l y t h e y a r e p o i s e d , b r u i s e d a n d battered, at the bottom, ready to start claw i n g t h e i r w a y b a c k " T h o s e w h o d o n o t l e a r n h i st o r y a re do o me d t o re p e a t i t , " i s a p h r a s e l i k e l y c o i n e d b y P h i l o s o p h e r George Santayana (I was surprised to find t h a t h e i s n o t t h e M e x i c a n g e n e r a l w h o attacked the Alamo) That is fancy talk for “ w h e n y o u a re i n a h o l e s t o p d i g g i n g ”

We a r e g o i n g t o b e a s m a l l e r i n d u s t r y (painful, but true) If we now market based o n a n A n n i e G e t Yo u r G u n p a r a p h r a s e , “Anything you can do, I can do cheaper,” we will only confirm the public’s perception. Yo u k n o w t h e u g l y o n e w e a re t r y i n g t o change

S i n c e n o o n e i n o u r i n d u s t r y h a s e v e r experienced this before, I am at a loss There is not anyone to steal ideas from

I n t e r n e t / s o c i a l m e d i a p re s e n c e i s a b i t like weighing 270 pounds If you are going t o p l a y d e f e n s i v e t a c k l e i n t h e N F L , y o u h a v e t o w e i g h 2 7 0 . I t i s a g i v e n . J u s t a s e v e r y t a c k l e i s a b i g b o y, v i r t u a l l y e v e r y operator has a digital footprint If you want t o k e e p p l a y i n g , y o u n e e d t o f i n d a d d i t i o n a l , s u b s t a n t i a l w a y s t o d i s t i n g u i s h y o u r s e l f f ro m t h e o t h e r f a t g u y s .

Moving on with the football metaphor

. . . b e a r i n m i n d w h e n t a k i n g a d v i c e f ro m c o n s u l t a n t s o r c l u e l e s s c o l u m n i s t s ( l i k e

The origin of “race to the bottom” comes from scuba diving. With scuba diving, a race to the bottom may be a harmless challenge However in the bus industry pricing, it could easily harm the bus industry and give it a bad name.

m e ) i s t h a t w e a re p l a y i n g “ f a n t a s y f o o t ball” while you are on the muddy field get ting clobbered. We mean well, might even g e t a f e w t h i n g s r i g h t , b u t y o u a re a t r i s k

Best guess is that the folks who will do best are the ones who work at building rela

tionships, and earn the right to tell customers that they are worth a bit more

Resist as much as you can the urge to win the race to the bottom q

Many of the experts suggest that there are ways to fill your buses with passengers without resorting to ridiculously low prices One good suggestion is to provide great service and create strong relationships with your customers If your customers and passengers are pleased, they will tell others about your service. MCI

Sur vival and Pr osperity

by Ned Einstein

Making Public Transportation Work Part 2: Park and Ride Lots

Particularly regarding fixed route transit and paratransit, the abandonment of design i n g a s y s t e m h a s c o s t t h e s e m o d e s d e a r l y This is largely because software emerged in the early 1990s to configure routes, establish schedules select stops and dispatch and we stopped bothering

Lessons from La La Land

A s a l l N AT I O N A L B U S T R A D E R re a d e r s k n o w, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n v o l v e s m o re t h a n j u s t t h e v e h i c l e s T h e r e m u s t b e r o a d s , bridges, tunnels, rest stops and parking lots f o r s t a r t e r s . T h i s i s o n l y i f t h e “ s y s t e m ” c o m p r i s e s p e r s o n a l v e h i c l e s , t r u c k s a n d t a x i s F o r s h a re d r i d e v e h i c l e s , e s p e c i a l l y large ones (buses and motorcoaches), much more is needed for a “system” to exist, much less operate effectively and efficiently These other elements became increasingly impor tant as our roadways became clogged with automobiles.

In response the Interstate Defense High way Act of 1956, and the urban sprawl that increased as other highways were expanded to supplement this network, traffic began to explode and transit use declined Transit was only rescued by the creation of UMTA (with c a p i t a l a s s i s t a n c e ) a n d U S D O T ( t h ro u g h which UMTA added operating assistance) in the 1960s

T h i s re c o g n i t i o n o f t h e n e e d f o r t r a n s portation alternatives led, in the 1970s, to an e x p l o s i o n o f i d e a s a b o u t t h e c o m p o n e n t s needed to make a true system work Install ment #1 of this series described alternative work schedules as a means of spreading out t h e “ p e a k n a t u re ” o f t r a f fi c s t i l l c o n c e n trated in AM and PM rush hours Another element of the system much talked about, and which began to spread quickly, was the use of park and ride lots effectively “col lector points” to which groups of motorists could drive and park and transfer to buses to reach the cities where their employment lay

O n e o f t h e r u d i m e n t a r y p r i n c i p l e s o f transportation system design is that a system m u s t re fl e c t , a n d t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f , e a c h city’s “urban form.” Regarding this princi ple, a thin rectangle with a tight grid of long, medium speed avenues (“collectors” in traf fic engineering jargon) intersected by hun dreds of slower speed cross streets (“locals” i n t r a f fi c e n g i n e e r i n g j a rg o n ) , w i t h a h i g h density of passengers, is much easier to serve with buses than is a large, medium density area with often curvilinear streets weaving all over the place Particularly with a subway system now 119 years old, Manhattan was an ideal form into which integrated passen g e r r a i l ( m o s t l y u n d e rg ro u n d ) a n d b u s e s could interface To this day even with four far less dense “boroughs” bogging down the statistics New York City’s transit sys tem covers a higher percentage of its costs (35 percent) from passenger fares than any other city in the country

At the other extreme are clusters of cities a n d m e t ro p o l i t a n a re a s l i k e L o s A n g e l e s County whose major transit system covers only nine percent of its costs from passenger f a r e s . T h i s w a s n o a c c i d e n t . I n t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s , f o r m e r L o s A n g e l e s m a y o r To m Bradley felt that he could not successfully ru n f or g ov e r n or i f h i s ci t y di d n ot h a v e a passenger rail system. Cost and convenience b e d a m n e d , a n d a b s u r d l y c o u n t e r t o t h e city’s and county’s urban form, he initiated the design and construction of L A County’s first “subway” system (much of which ran above ground)

v i c e . A s a re s o l u t i o n , t h e p re s i d i n g c o u r t ordered the defendant to purchase an addi tional 3,200 buses one of the most aston ishing class action rulings of all time

This ruling did not fix the problem More a n d m o r e w a s t e f u l s u b w a y l i n e s w e r e added To lower the major system’s outra geous costs, roughly 30 “municipal” systems e x p a n d e d o r w e re c re a t e d T h e s e r a n g e d from tight, obsessively designed suburban systems (e g , The Carson Circuit Transit Sys tem, which I helped design) to multicity sys tems (like Long Beach Transit, Big Blue Bus [Santa Monica], San Gabriel Transit and Los Angeles’ DASH system spreading north s o u t h , e a s t a n d w e s t a l o n g s i d e L A C M TA ro u t e s ) T h e re s u l t i s a n i n e f fi c i e n t , c o s t l y mess where, as noted, only nine percent of o p e r a t i n g c o s t s a re c o v e re d b y p a s s e n g e r fares. System elements like park and ride lots are sparse perhaps a hundred or so, when, frankly, several thousand are needed

New York City is not exactly park and r i d e h e a v e n I t s 4 , 7 5 3 s q u a r e m i l e s , p l u s dense surrounding suburbs, does not need the magnitude of park and ride lots as does L o s A n g e l e s C o u n t y a l m o s t e x a c t l y 1 0 t i m e s t h e s i z e R e g a rd l e s s , t h e s e e x t re m e examples illustrate the need for an extensive n u m b e r o f s y s t e m e l e m e n t s o b s c e n e l y underutilized, and which as a result, com pound the poor match of a system’s design ( o r n o n d e s i g n ) t o a s e r v i c e a re a ’ s u r b a n form Our nation’s public transportation sys tems are failing largely because all or most cities have failed in both respects

Mode Split

The first three lines of this wasteful skele ton plunged the county $7 billion in debt To provide the “local match” to federal grants, the 4,753 square mile county scavenged its bus system, removing thousands of from its v a s t s t re e t n e t w o r k I n re s p o n s e , i n 1 9 9 9 , 2 5 , 0 0 0 f o r m e r b u s r i d e r s f o r m e d a u n i o n , and filed a class action lawsuit (Bus Riders Union v Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority) to restore bus ser

Because one bus can carry as many pas sengers as 40 cars, it is no surprise that every sane city in the country should have done all it could to create a coherent bus or bus a n d r a i l s y s t e m . N o e x p e n s e s h o u l d h a v e been spared to design them coherently and imbue them with every supporting element n e e d e d A m a j o r c h a l l e n g e i s t h a t a m a j o r e l e m e n t o f s u c h a s y s t e m t h o u s a n d s o f park and ride lots have become more and more costly, and more so as they approach city boundaries

As suggested above, the goal of having the right number of park and ride lots, and locating them in the right spots is to min imize the number of miles motorists would h a v e t o t r a v e l i n t h e i r p e r s o n a l v e h i c l e s (most of the time, by themselves) and max

Help the Pacific Bus Museum Acquir e a Silverside

The Pacific Bus Museum, www pacbus org is an all volunteer, non profit, 501(c)3 organi zation that is dedicated to preser ving the his t o r y o f b u s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n T h e m u s e u m , located in Fremont, Califor nia, was recently notified of a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a restored and operable bus that was par t of Gre yhound Lines’ Histor ic Bus fleet

The new owners of Greyhound have made a decision to liquidate the company’s Historic B u s F l e e t i n t h e c o m i n g m o n t h s T h e s e a r e museum quality buses that were restored back to their original condition by Greyhound start ing in the 1980s. The Pacific Bus Museum has s u b m i t t e d a b i d f o r G r e y h o u n d ’s G e n e r a l Motors, model PD 4151 “Silverside” #1947 and t h e m u s e u m h a s b e e n n o t i fi e d t h a t o u r b i d was accepted This bus would be a significant a d d i t i o n t o t h e mu s e u m ’s b u s fl e e t a n d t h i s par ticular “Silver side”, which has ties to the San Francisco Bay Area, was one of the last 20 “Silver sides” still operated b y Gre yhound at the end of 1971 This bus should need little to n o re s t o ra t i ve wo rk u n l i ke a nu m b e r o f t h e museum’s previously acquired buses.

Your help is needed for donations towards this bus purchase that can become part of the l e g a c y o f t h e P B M T h e m u s e u m h a s e s t a b lished a program that allows people to have naming r ights to the all the seats on the bus If you donate at a certain level, you can choose a seat, and a metal plaque with your name will b e a f fi x e d t o t h e s e a t fo re ve r Yo u c a n e ve n m a k e i t a m e m o r i a l t o a f a m i l y m e m b e r o r fr iend Here’s how it works, there are 5 levels of giving and the highest donation received for e a ch le ve l is a llowe d fir st pick of th e 41 passenger seats and also the driver’s seat The sooner you donate the better your chances to ge t a s e a t yo u d e s i re . We we l c o m e n o n s e a t donations in any amount

Levels:

1 “ D r i ve r ’s s e a t ” A m i n i m u m d o n a t i o n o f $10,000 00, for a plaque on the dashboard

2 . “ H e y d r i v e r ” A m i n i m u m d o n a t i o n o f $5,000 00, for seats in fir st rows

3 “Are we there Yet” A minimum donation of $1,000 00, for seats back a few rows

4 “It’s cold in here” A minimum donation of $750 00, for seats a few rows from the back

5 “Always room in the back of the bus” A min imum donation of $500 00, for the remaining rear seats

Your donations for the “Silver side” can be your chance to preser ve something tangible for the present and for future visitor s to have some histor y of those who made it all possi ble

YE S! I want to help the Pacific Bus Museum acquire Greyhound’s “Silverside” #1947. I am enclosing a donation for this acquisition. Donor’s Name: Address: City: State/Zip: Email: Phone: p $10,000 p $5,000 p $1,000 p $750 p $500 p Other For a Seat Level donation ($500 or more) check this box p Total amount enclosed: $

(Please make checks/money or ders payable to Pacific Bus Museum)

To donate online go to: www.pacbus.org then click on the Donate Now link In the “Enter Bus # here” box enter Silverside 1947 For infor mation regarding seat availability ($500 or more) email the museum at info@pacbus org

Please mail your check/money order together with this for m to: Pacific Bus Museum, 1947 Silverside, P.O. Box 601105, Sacramento, CA 95860 1105

Donations should be r eceived by December 31, 2022

The Pacific Bus Museum is a Califor nia non profit organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the tax code

imize the number of passengers who travel t h e r e s t o f t h e w a y o n a v e h i c l e t h a t c a n a c c o m m o d a t e 4 0 t o 6 0 o f t h e m ( o r 5 7 i n today’s 45 foot long motorcoaches, with the same amenities as they enjoyed in their per sonal vehicles, but not needing to keep their eyes peeled at almost every moment, to con s t a n t l y g l a n c e a t t h re e m i r ro r s , o r t o e v e n remain awake much less in cushy, padded reclining seats with footrests)

In transportation jargon, the transfer from one mode to another is referred to as “mode split ” The goal of mode split is to transport the most passengers in the fewest number of vehicles and vehicle miles Transferring a large percentage of motorists to buses (and, where available, passenger rail) is the most efficient and effective way to accomplish this goal and the numerous benefits that come with it. Those benefits include:

• Lower costs (less fuel and maintenance per passenger)

• Cleaner air (and less global melting and burning that accompanies it)

• Less fuel/better energy efficiency

• L e s s t r a f fi c ( a n d l e s s p ro d u c t i v i t y l o s s associated with it)

• Less stress and fatigue for motorists, and improved safety

Waste and Opportunity

W h i l e s e v e r a l a d d i t i o n a l e l e m e n t s o f a complete transportation system will be sum marized in future installments of this series, park and ride lots are critical components of any efficient system that fulfills the fun d a m e n t a l g o a l s o f a n y a n d e v e r y p u b l i c transportation system

promises of technology, in real life the true characteristics of public transportation are waste, indifference and squandered oppor t u n i t y

D e s p i t e a p o p u l a t i o n g ro w i n g p o o re r and poorer, and the cost of vehicles, main tenance and fuel continuing to rise, transit r i d e r s h i p a c t u a l l y d e c l i n e d b y ro u g h l y 1 0 p e rc e n t n a t i o n w i d e d u r i n g t h e t w o y e a r s before COVID temporarily disrupted most of it It would be naïve to blame all or most of this on a mode split from buses to trans p o r t a t i o n n e t w o r k c o m p a n y ( T N C ) v e h i c l e s ( l i k e U b e r a n d Ly f t ) o r t a x i s E v e n s o , w h a t e v e r p e rc e n t a g e o f t h i s d e c l i n e c a m e from a mode split to TNCs or taxis, or back to personal vehicles, this split represented the transfer of passengers from large vehi cles to smaller ones Frankly, we are going backwards. We have only our own incom petence, political indifference and corrup t i o n t o b l a m e f o r i t

A s a t r a n s p o r t a t i o n p ro f e s s i o n a l w h o h a s b e e n a b u s a n d c o a c h a d v o c a t e f o r t h e p a s t 4 5 y e a r s , a s w e c o l l a p s e f u r t h e r f ro m o u r d i s i n t e r e s t a n d a p a t h y, a n o l d s o n g s e e ms mo re a n d mo re a p p l i c a b l e a n d f a i r : “ D o n ’ t B l a m e M e ” A s i t r a r e l y d o e s , b l a m e p l a c i n g a c c o m p l i s h e s n o t h i n g We h a v e l a rg e l y s q u a n d e re d o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t s o f p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n N o i m p r o v e m e n t s i n t e c h n o l o g y e l e c t r i c v e h i c l e s , d r i v e r l e s s v e h i c l e s , l i g h t r a i l s e r v i c e w i l l e v e r m a k e u p f o r t h i s O n l y w h e n e v e r y v e h i c l e o n t h e ro a d w a y i s d r i v e r l e s s w i l l t r a f fi c d e c l i n e ( o n f re e ways) since the distance between vehicles a t v a r i o u s “ s e r v i c e l e v e l s ” w i l l b e a b l e t o s a f e t y d e c re a s e . O t h e r w i s e , u n l e s s s o m e o n e i n v e n t s a n a p p t h a t c a n r e b u i l d o r re p a i r o n e ’ s p l u m b i n g , l i g h t i n g , h e a t i n g a n d a i r c o n d i t i o n i n g d e v i c e s ( a n d e v e r y h o m e o w n e r o r re n t e r o w n s a n d c a n o p e r a t e a 3 D p r i n t e r ) , w o r k i n g re m o t e l y w i l l only shave a slice of traffic from our midst

“ S p i l t m i l k ” i s a c o n v e n i e n t c l i c h é employed to rationalize the cost of failure S p i l t m i l k i s s t i l l s p i l t m i l k We h a v e o t h e r tools still at our disposal As we fall further and further behind in employing them, the one that holds the most potential for reduc i n g t r a f fi c i s a l t e r n a t i v e w o r k s c h e d u l e s For that reason, I began this series of install m e n t s w i t h a s h o r t o v e r v i e w o f t h a t t e c h n o l o g y a n d i t s p o t e n t i a l I t w o u l d b e c o m e highly problematic if and when we run out o f o t h e r t o o l s D e s i g n a t i n g l a n d f o r p a r k and ride lots is a powerful tool to help tran s i t s y s t e m s i n c re a s e r i d e r s h i p a n d m a k e a d e n t i n t r a f fi c O t h e r w i s e , w e w i l l s o o n n e e d t e l e p o r t a t i o n t o a v o i d g r i n d i n g t o a n e a r c o m p l e t e h a l t .

The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of National Bus Trader, Inc. or its staff and management q

Ned Einstein is the president of Transporta tion Alternatives (www transalt com [1]), a p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w i t n e s s fi r m . Einstein (einstein@transit com) specializes in catastrophic motorcoach accidents

Naturally, our failure to design an opti mum system at a time when land for park and ride lots was more available and more a f f o r d a b l e i s i n c r e a s i n g l y i r r e v e r s i b l e Only 49,500 miles of the original Interstate Defense Highway was ever completed. Yet e v e n 4 0 o r s o y e a r s a g o , t r a n s p o r t a t i o n professionals calculated that it would cost as much to complete the last single percent of this system as it cost to build the first 99 p e rc e n t o f i t S i m i l a r l y, t h e p a r k a n d r i d e l o t s t h a t w e re a v a i l a b l e a n d a ff o rd a b l e 5 0 y e a r s a g o a r e n o w l a r g e l y u n a f f o r d a b l e As the magnitude of waste in public trans p o r t a t i o n c o n t i n u e s t o g r o w, a n d a s t h e p u b l i c c o n t i n u e s t o b e d e c e i v e d b y t h e

Nor do we seem capable of reducing the number of hours we work as Germany suc c e s s f u l l y d i d s e v e r a l y e a r s a g o , w h e n i t s workweek was cut to 32 hours (Spread out evenly, this would reduce Germany’s com mute related traffic by 20 percent )

W i t h o u t r e d u c i n g w o r k h o u r s o r employing alternative work schedules, we must try to optimize the remaining oppor tunities to employ every element of a pub lic transportation system we can includ ing the creation of park and ride lots, and to reconfigure routes and schedules to take a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m We m u s t d o o u r b e s t to not squander the remaining opportuni ties to maximize the use of those elements o f a p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s y s t e m t h a t re m a i n a t o u r d i s p o s a l

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S i m i l a r l y, t h e p a r k a n d r i d e l o t s t h a t w e re a v a i la b l e a n d a f f o r d a b l e 5 0 years ago are now largely unaffordable

“ T h e C u r i o u s C o a c h o w n e r ” i s a q u e s t i o n a n d a n s w e r c o l u m n t h a t p ro v i d e s s i m p l e a n s w e r s t o s i m p l e q u e s t i o n s t h a t a re t o o shor t to warrant a full ar ticle or inclusion in one of our regular columns We will accept re a s o n a b l y s i m p l e t e c h n i c a l o r h i s t o r i c a l questions on commercial coaches or con ver ted coach shells by letter, fax, e mail or phone If our staff is unable to answer them, w e w i l l c a l l u p o n o u r p a n e l o f e x p e r t s Names and addresses should be submitted w i t h y o u r q u e s t i o n s , b u t w e w i l l w i t h h o l d n a m e s f r o m p u b l i c a t i o n o n r e q u e s t W e reserve the right to modify questions to make them more useful to our readers

Q Why are people in the United King d o m t a l k i n g a b o u t e l i m i n a t i n g p u b l i c transportation?

Transit Operator

A This is really par t of the ongoing battle between the group that supports autos and roads with the group that supports clean air and public transportation The background is a little involved, and there are some new twists to it

To begin with, much of Europe is suffering from an energy crisis because of the war in U k r a i n e T h i s i s i n c re a s i n g e n e r g y p r i c e s and causing inflation

You need to know that in the UK, the railroad infrastructure is owned by the gover nment but private companies actually operate the trains Lately, the railroad unions have been striking for higher wages because of infla tion However, rail ridership is down since the pandemic As a result, the rail operating companies are reluctant to give raises with out corresponding concessions on modern izing procedures to reflect the new reality and reduced ridership

S e v e r a l s o u rc e s h a v e s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e railroad unions are not helping themselves b y s t r i k i n g S i n c e t h e p r i m a r y p ro b l e m i s reduced rail ridership, the strikes are only driving more people away from riding the railroads

M e a n w h i l e , t h e u n i o n s h a v e a p p ro a c h e d the gover nment asking it to get involved to get them raises So far, the government has offered some comments but has not really gotten involved Years ago, the government did run the railroads but the cost of salaries

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and pensions prompted them to privatize o p e r a t i o n s A m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , t h e y a re also looking for ways to help their National Health Service that is under funded

The for mer UK gover nment under Liz Truss was allocating money for roadway improve ments The result is that the two opposing s i d e s a r e t r y i n g t o m a k e t h e i r c o n c e r n s known

Clean air campaigners and pro public trans portation group are objecting to “car addic tion” and spending on roadways They note that there are 3 1 million more private cars registered in Britain than 10 years ago, with most of the increase in cities outside of Lon don

Meanwhile the pro auto and road group has several arguments of their own They ques t i o n i n c re a s e d s p e n d i n g o n t h e r a i l ro a d s and ask at what point does running the rail roads become too expensive to continue?

A n o t h e r a r g u m e n t i s a s k i n g w h e t h e r w e really need public transportation They sug g e s t t h a t i n 2 0 y e a r s e v e r y o n e w i l l h a v e access to an autonomous car powered by electricity Unlike the trains, the autonomous electric car provides more convenient door to door service Not mentioned is the fact that buses are in between these because they can provide more customized service than the railroads

Since the new UK government is squeezed for money, it will be interesting to see what direction or directions they take This could provide solutions or suggestions for other countries

Q W h y h a s t h e r e b e e n a b a c k l a s h against the major automakers building autonomous cars without mirrors, brake pedals and steering wheels?

Reader in New York

A The story behind this is that both General Motors and Ford petitioned for exemptions to federal regulations to allow them to build 2,500 autonomous vehicles annually without mirrors, brake pedals and steering wheels The automakers said that the cars would not be sold to consumers but would be used for ride sharing and deliver y services

Among those objecting is the National Asso c i a t i o n o f C i t y Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n O f fi c i a l s ( N A C T O ) w h o q u e s t i o n t h e s a f e t y o f t h e

v e h i c l e s T h e y a s k t h a t t h e p e t i t i o n s b e denied until the automakers can prove that the autonomous cars are at least as safe as v e h i c l e s d r i v e n b y r e a s o n a b l y p r u d e n t , licensed drivers

This conflict has brought out two interesting i t e m s o f i n f o r m a t i o n T h e fi r s t i s t h a t u n t i l June of 2021, the National Highway Traffic S a f e t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n d i d n o t r e q u i r e automakers to report when one of their tech nical systems was involved in an accident even though almost all new cars sold today have at least one such feature

When the numbers came in, the regulators discovered that these advanced automation systems were involved in far more crashes than expected This past June, Automakers reported 392 crashes in the past 11 months that included six fatalities and serious injuries in five more NACTO suggests that the vehi cles are not as smar t as some people think and they can be a danger to other vehicles and pedestrians

The second interesting item brought out is that NHTSA does not have appropriate reg ulations for autonomous vehicles Current regulations assume that the vehicle and the driver are two different things However, with a u t o n o m o u s v e h i c l e s , t h e y a re t h e s a m e NACTO has a document titled “Blueprint for A u t o n o m o u s U r b a n i s m ” t h a t i s n o w i n i t s second edition It sets out standards in this area that could be adopted into federal or other laws

Several Readers

A There are a couple of reasons for this One is that several companies headquar t e re d i n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s s e l l i n t h e U n i t e d States This would include Van Hool, Irizar, Temsa, Daimler, BYD and ZF Another point is that a lot of what goes on in Europe even tually finds its way to this side of the Atlantic Noteworthy in this regard is the trend to bat ter y electric buses and the newer trend to h y d ro g e n f u e l c e l l b u s e s I n a d d i t i o n , t h e European bus builders are very good about investing in marketing and getting infor ma tion out to improve their sales

A n s w e r s n o t c r e d i t e d t o o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s are provided by Larry Plachno q

Q. Why do you include news and photos from several European bus builders and operating companies?

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