NBT November 2023 Digital Magazine

National Bus Trader The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada Volume XLVI, No. 12

November, 2023

Serving the bus industry since 1977.

Visit us at www.busmag.com.

• Peter Pan Bus Lines Celebrates 90 Years – Part II • Tom McGaughey Appointed Bus Museum Director • Is Microtransit the Answer?

• Evacuating Buses After 9-11

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National Bus Trader The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada STAFF Editor & Publisher Larry Plachno

Business Manager Nancy Ann Plachno Typesetting/Page Layout Sherry Mekeel

Production/Design/Web Jake Ron Plaras

CONTRIBUTORS Safety and Liability Ned Einstein Dave Millhouser

N ATIONAL B US T RADER (ISSN 0194-939X) is published monthly

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Affiliations and Memberships: American Bus Association, The Bus History Association, Family Motor Coach Association, International Bus Collectors, North American Trackless Trolley Association, Motor Bus Society, Omnibus Society of America, Tourist Railway Association, United Motorcoach Association.

N ATIONAL B US T RADER is THE Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada.

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Volume XLVI

National Bus Trader 9698 W. Judson Road Polo, Illinois 61064-9015 Phone: (815) 946-2341 Web site: www.busmag.com

Number 12

November, 2023

Features Peter Pan Bus Lines Celebrates 90 Years – Part II (by Larry Plachno) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 This completes the Peter Pan Bus Lines history that started last month. In addition to talking about the fleet and routes, we also cover Peter Pan’s transition into their fourth generation of family management.

Tom McCaughey Appointed as Museum Director (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Tom McCaughey was recently appointed as the bus group’s member on the AACAM Board of Directors.

McCaughey has experience as both a commercial bus operator and in providing buses for movie work.

Is Microtransit the Answer? (by Larry Plachno) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Another in our series of looking at various transit problems and concerns, this looks at the ongoing trend of passengers seeking a one-seat ride from origin to destination and asks Is Microtransit the Answer?

Evacuating Buses After 9-11 (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 This month Millhouser relates his interesting experience in driving buses out of New York City after the 9-11 tragedy stopped public transportation and left many of the buses stranded at the Port Authority and elsewhere.

Cover Photo

Departments

A Peter Pan Bus Lines MCI J4500 poses in front of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in Springfield in 1933, Peter Pan celebrates 90 years as a family-owned scheduled route operator. See the article starting on page 20 for more information.

PETER PAN BUS LINES.

Equipment News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Survival and Prosperity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Curious Coachowner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Advertiser’s Index appears on page 48

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 3

Equipment News MCI Completes Milestone Delivery to Peoria Charter Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI) and North America’s motorcoach leader backed by reliable in-field technical expertise, 24/7 roadside assistance and parts support, recently announced the delivery of two 2024 MCI J4500 coaches to Peoria Charter. This delivery marks a milestone of 60 MCI motorcoach deliveries to Peoria Charter over the course of the two companies’ long-standing relationship.

“We have had more MCI models in our fleet than any other,” said Bill Winkler, the third generation of the Winkler family to lead Peoria Charter since its founding in 1941.

“We are thankful to be able to purchase new coaches again. We are back running strong.”

As of June 2023, Peoria Charter, the largest privately-owned charter bus company headquartered in Illinois, achieved a 96 percent gain in revenue while returning to pre-COVID-19, 2019 earnings, explained Winkler.

“MCI and Peoria Charter have a longstanding relationship that spans several decades,” said Brent Maitland, vice presi-

dent of Private Sector Sales and Marketing, MCI. “We are proud to have consistently been a part of their history and reputation for service and safety throughout the Midwest.”

“We are especially grateful for the opportunity to continue our partnership into the future. Bill and his team push us to be better, and we are proud to deliver this latest cleandiesel motorcoach, one of the safest and most efficient modes of transportation,” continued Maitland. “Peoria Charter’s decision to continue working with MCI today demonstrates their trust in our reliability driven products, service and support, and further strengthens our partnership to serve Peoria Charters for decades to come.”

Peoria Charter’s newest MCI J4500, displayed at the recent International Motorcoach Group (IMG) meeting in Green Bay, Wisconsin, features 56-passenger seating, a 180-degree color backup camera and a Cummins clean-diesel engine.

At the beginning of 2023, Peoria Charter was honored by industry peers at the United Motorcoach Association (UMA) EXPO 2023 with an environmental award sponsored by MCI. The award recognized the transportation provider for its fuel conservation policies,

MCI recently delivered two new 2024 J4500 coaches to Peoria Charter. The new coaches feature 56passenger seating, a 180-degree color backup camera and a Cummins clean diesel engine. Based in Peoria, Illinois, Peoria Charter is the largest privately-owned bus company headquartered in Illinois and has purchased 60 coaches from MCI.

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a proprietary software system that plans routes to minimize trip miles and biodiesel fuel usage that keeps its fleet running clean with near-zero emissions.

Serving private and public universities, sports teams and daily routes 365 days a year – along with shuttles to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport – Peoria Charter operates from three locations in Illinois, including a new office in Chicago, and transports 500,000 passengers each year.

MCI is North America’s public and private market motorcoach leader. Products include the luxury J Series (an industry best-seller for more than a decade), the workhorse D Series and the brand new zero-emission luxury and commuter coaches: the battery-electric J4500 CHARGE™, D45 CRT CHARGE™ and D45 CRT LE CHARGE. MCI also provides maintenance, repair, 24-hour roadside assistance, parts and technician training through the industry’s only Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) accredited and award-winning MCI Academy.

Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With zeroemission buses and coaches, infrastructure and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean and sustainable transportation.

With 7,700 team members in 10 countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brand New Flyer ® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI® (motorcoaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single- and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motorcoaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses) and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid and clean diesel. In total NFI supports its installed base of more than 100,000 buses and coaches around the world.

ZF Unveils Next Generation Low-Floor Axle for City Buses ZF showcased its new AxTrax 2 LowFloor (LF) electric axle for city buses for the first time publicly in North America at the 2023 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Expo in Orlando, Florida. The new axle represents ZF’s latest e-Mobility

Equipment News solution to support the commercial vehicle industry’s transformation towards a more sustainable future. The series production of AxTrax 2 LF is set to commence in 2025.

“Adding AxTrax 2 LF to our comprehensive range of electric powertrains is a powerful expansion of our game-changing scalable and modular e-Drive kit,” said Christian Feldhaus, vice president of Commercial Vehicle Driveline Systems, America’s ZF Group. “In addition to extending our bus technology portfolio, AxTrax 2 LF represents the latest step in ZF’s support for commercial vehicle manufacturers towards the transition to zero emission technologies. Whether it is components or complete turnkey systems, ZF has a wide range of solutions to help electrify manufacturers’ vehicle platforms worldwide.”

ZF’s all-new AxTrax 2 LF is an axle-based, modular and integrated system, featuring a compact design to help maximize the available space for batteries and enhance manufacturer’s design flexibility for the passenger compartment. It is designed and manufactured inhouse, and benefits from ZF’s extensive e-powertrain expertise. As part of ZF’s modular platform approach, the technology improves system performance and efficiency, and is designed for demanding bus applications. Having a similar installation space as its predecessor, AxTrax AVE, the new axle is fully compatible with ZF’s air suspension and wheel-end solutions. On the software side, AxTrax 2 LF also benefits from ZF’s extensive experience in producing advanced functions such as axle condition monitoring and cyber security.

Highly efficient and powerful, AxTrax 2 LF is available in two variants. These offer continuous power outputs of 260 kw and 360 kW and peak torque of 16,740 lb-ft and 27,500 lb-ft respectively. With the more powerful variant it is possible to power articulated buses up to 64,000 pounds with one driven axles as a 6x2 configuration. Both models feature two integrated electric Permanent Magnet Synchronous (PMS) motors as well as two separate 800V silicon carbide (SiC) inverters.

Compared to its predecessor, AxTrax 2 LF offers up to 10 percent energy savings, and is well suited for the frequent stop-start nature and relatively low average speeds of city bus journeys. Its new oil cooling system adapts the oil flow rate to help maximize efficiency, optimizing operating temperature and lubrication.

In order to help plan for safe and reliable passenger transport, ZF offers two tailormade tools: the cloud-based condition monitoring system, connect@rail and the digital fleet management system, Bus Connect.

With connect@rail, ZF offers comprehensive

ZF showcased its new AxTrax 2 LF low-floor electric axles at Busworld in Brussels. This updated version of ZF’s popular electric axles provides electric motors on the axles to power electric buses.

Series production will start in 2025.

condition monitoring for rail vehicles and its infrastructure. The system supports rail operators in early maintenance planning and the predictive maintenance of trains and tracks.

In this way, connect@rail reduces unscheduled interruptions during operation.

ZF Bus Connect, developed for city buses and coaches, can help users monitor every aspect of the vehicle in real time, including a live view of vehicle locations.

This encompasses current energy or fuel consumption, the battery charge status, the condition of the vehicle parts, brake wear and other system messages. With this product, ZF helps enable public and private bus operators to improve the efficiency and performance of their fleets.

Austin Gets 26 New Flyer Bues NFI Group (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on September 18 announced that the Capital Metro Transportation Authority (CapMetro) has executed an option for 26 zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ 40-foot transit buses via the existing five-year contract with NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America Inc. (New Flyer). Originally announced in November 2021, the contract includes up to 126 40-foot and up to 15 60-foot battery-electric buses.

NFI added a firm order for the 26 40-foot electric vehicles (EVs) to its backlog in the second quarter of 2023.

CapMetro is Austin, Texas’ public transportation provider, with more than 20 million

annual boardings through bus, paratransit and commuter rail services.

“Our partnership with CapMetro spans over 25 years, and during this time, New Flyer has delivered more than 300 buses.

NFI commends CapMetro on its commitment to environmental sustainability, a critical step on the path to a zero-emission future,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach NFI. “The Xcelsior CHARGE NG is our latest EV – capable of avoiding up to 135 tons of greenhouse gas per year from tailpipe emissions – and will deliver innovative and sustainable mobility in the greater Austin region. Built on the proven Xcelsior platform, these EVs feature consistent vehicle design with all propulsion systems in CapMetro’s fleet, resulting in consistent training, parts and service support on these vehicle systems.”

These 26 next generation EVs will drive a fully zero-emission fleet for CapMetro’s Rapid project. This includes introducing four new bus lines to enhance commuting options and passenger satisfaction in Austin.

The Rapid is part of CapMetro’s Project Connect, which aims to expand and improve public transportaton for the central Texas region by reimaging its transit program and reducing carbon emissions through fleet electrification.

These 26 buses, together with the buses originally ordered in 2021, are Xcelsior CHARGE NG buses, which incorporate three distinct technologies: high-energy batteries, advanced protective battery

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 5

Equipment News packaging for easy install and simple serviceability and a lightweight electric traction drive system with up to 90 percent energy recovery. For more information visit newflyer.com/ng.

NFI is a leader in zero-emisssion mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 140 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zeroemission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 120 million EV service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

New Flyer is North America’s heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE® brands. It also offers infrastructure development through NFI Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe, sustainable and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New Flyer actively supports more than 35,000

With so many things going on in the industry, Gillig sent out a statement on where they stand. They emphasized that Gillig has supported its customers as well as its suppliers. It also mentioned 133 years of industry experience.

heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI and Orion) currently in service, of which 8,600 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are zero-emission. Further information is available at www.newflyer.com.

Gillig Statement The following came from William Fay Jr., Gillig vice president of sales.

CapMetro in Austin, Texas has purchased 26 New Flyer transit buses. These CHARGE NG™ model buses are 40-feet long and have battery-electric power. They will be used on the new CapMetro Rapid project that includes four new bus lines.

“Considering recent industry news, we at Gillig thought it would be helpful to provide some insight into Gillig’s state of health.

Throughout the last few years, our entire industry has faced an unprecedented climate of change and turbulence. From transit authorities to national bus manufacturers, we have all had to weather history-making highs and lows since the beginning of COVID-19. While the industry has received record federal support and funding, our industry has also faced extreme challenges with a crippled supply chain, skyrocketing inflation and workforce shortages.

“As a privately-held company, we do not provide financial information, but have a long-standing reputation for proper planning and judicious use of our cash flow. Gillig has consistently proven over the past several decades to have the ability to perform and deliver on our promises; not only to our valued customers, but also to our employees, supplier partners and owners. For many of us that are well seasoned within the transit industry, we know this is not an easy accomplishment, nor should it be overlooked.

6 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

“Our supplier partners play a vital role in Gillig’s ability to deliver the highest-quality projects to our customers. We have always prioritized paying our suppliers consistently and on time, a practice that has helped support our industry’s critical supply chain, establish long-lasting vendor relationships and aided in our access to essential resources despite the global supply chain challenges. The recent news of U.S. transit bus OEM’s financial struggles resulting in

Equipment News bankruptcy, financial restructuring and an exit from the U.S. market brings additional uncertainty and further strain to our supplier partners. Despite these well-publicized challenges, we want to assure you that Gillig is healthy and continues to invest in our people and our products, and, as always, remains committed to supporting our suppliers with timely remuneration.

“At Gillig, our success is best shown through the success and flourishing of our

partners: our customers, suppliers and employees. Now, more than ever, investing in a partner you can confidently trust is crucial. Our 133 years of industry experience shows that Gillig has adaptable resilience. It is because of valued employees, prudent planning, our valued partnerships and our refusal to compromise on the quality, safety or reliability of our products. We will continue to be fiscally responsible, stable and scale wisely as we fulfill our promise to deliver innovative

October 8 marked National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day. NFI pointed out that hydrogen technology drives the new mobility era with safe, smart and sustainable mobility across North America. Hydrogen is easy to obtain while providing a clean energy source.

transit solutions to keep your communities connected.

“Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. We will continue navigating the challenges ahead as we build a better, brighter, more sustainable future – together.”

National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day October 8 marked the annual National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day, providing the opportunity to celebrate hydrogen and its role in the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable future.

NFI has been innovating hydrogen technology for decades and now drives the new mobility era with safe, smart and sustainable mobility across North America.

Hydrogen is clean, abundant and can be reformed into hydrogen from natural gas (methane) or created from renewable sources such as wind or solar energy through electrolysis. The hydrogen-powered Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ can avoid up to 175 tons of greenhouse gases per year from tailpipe emissions compared to a diesel bus.

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 7

Equipment News ABC Companies Highlights Charging Infrastructure Challenges As the United States continues its ambitious journey towards reducing emissions and combating climate change, the motorcoach industry stands out as a beacon of hope. These modern vehicles not only remove emissions equivalent up to 81 cars per trip, but also contribute to reducing road congestion. However, while motorcoaches have historically been at the forefront of emission reduction efforts, they now face a significant obstacle: inadequate public charging infrastructure.

In recent years, some motorcoach operators have taken a giant leap towards zero emissions, adopting cutting-edge electric vehicles. These electric motorcoaches represent some of the largest electric vehicles on the road today, surpassing many other commercial industries in the release of zeroemission vehicles.

Leading the charge in this transition is ABC Companies, the largest motorcoach dealer and distributor in the United States.

ABC has embraced electric mobility by transitioning nearly 20 percent of its total sales to the 100 percent electric Van Hool CX45E 45-foot touring motorcoach and the Van Hool TXX25E, a 45-foot double-deck motorcoach.

These vehicles, capable of silently, efficiently and reliably transporting up to 75 passengers, have successfully delivered on the promise of zero emissions in local and regional applications for hundreds of thousands of miles.

However, the success of these electric motorcoaches, capable of traveling more

than 250 miles between charges, is strongly linked to customers purchasing the electric vehicles and investing in dedicated charging facilities. During the recent “Charge On America” tour organized by ABC Companies, a Van Hool TDX25E covered more than 2,900 miles while traveling from California to Florida using publicly available charging networks.

The tour shed light on a significant challenge that ABC Companies consistently faces when moving electric buses across the country – the public charging infrastructure does not cater to the needs of medium- or heavy-duty vehicles. This limitation restricts the growth of zero-emission vehicles, relegating them to depot-based charging.

“As we witness the remarkable transition of the motorcoach industry integration of electric vehicles, we must ensure that our charging infrastructure keeps pace,” said Roman Cornell, CEO of ABC Companies.

“The success of zero-emission motorcoaches is inextricably linked to the availability of suitable charging facilities. We urge stakeholders and policymakers at the state and national level to consider the needs of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles in the design and appropriation of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. By doing so, we can accelerate the adoption of sustainable transportation solutions and make a lasting impact on emissions reduction and road congestion.”

To illustrate the extent of this issue, ABC Companies has released a two-minute video summarizing 13 days of charging experi-

ABC Companies recently completed a coast-to-coast electric coach tour. The tour covered 2,900 miles, took 13 days and stopped to recharge batteries along the way. Problems included buses being unwelcome at public chargers and inoperable charging stations.

ences during the “Charge On America” tour.

The findings are eye-opening and emphasize the critical need for an inclusive approach to public charging infrastructure that considers the unique requirements of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

ABC Companies is sharing this video with the broader public to raise awareness and educate stakeholders about the challenges faced by the motorcoach industry due to inadequate charging infrastructure.

The company urges policymakers, regulators and industry leaders to include the development of robust public charging networks that can accommodate medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, allowing electric motorcoaches to grow beyond depot charging applications.

NFI Announces Battery Pack Supply Agreement NFI Group Inc. (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on October 4 announced a partnership with American Battery Solutions (ABS) for the supply of custom battery packs to power NFI’s battery-electric transit buses and coaches in North America that will increase capacity and add resiliency to NFI’s North American battery supply.

“Demand for battery-electric buses is accelerating, and we are leading the evolution to zero-emission public transportation.

Our partnership with ABS will provide NFI with the capacity, flexibility and resiliency we need as we ramp up production at our facilities across North America,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “ABS has made significant investments in their pack assembly and battery technology, providing us with industry leading solutions. We look forward to working together with ABS to advance battery technology for public transportation.”

ABS designs and manufactures modular battery solutions for transportation, industrial and commercial markets primarily in North America and Europe. The team at ABS includes some of the most recognized battery systems experts in the industry, possessing decades of experience in designing, developing and manufacturing high-volume advanced battery systems.

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NFI entered into a five-year agreement with ABS in 2021 and, following two years of extensive development and testing, NFI is now launching ABS batteries into bus production for customer deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2024. ABS will act as a second battery supplier to NFI, and will support NFI’s significant battery-electric production ramp-up planned for 2024 and 2025.

Cumberland Valley Drone Photography Stefan Aleo, Drone Pilot 860-326-6736 or stefan.aleo@gmail.com FAA Part 107 licensed & insured Marketing, Real Estate, Property Surveys

Equipment News The packages designed for NFI utilize NMC cells sourced from one of the world’s leading battery cell manufacturers, with cell volume secured through a multi-year supply agreement. ABS’s scalable custom designed pack solution fits inside NFI’s existing battery enclosure design, providing an alternate source of supply for NFI’s batteryelectric bus contracts and creating opportunity for technology enhancements. Design and engineering for these new battery packs has been led from ABS’ Michigan Innovation Center in Lake Orion, with pack production at ABS’ Springboro, Ohio manufacturing facility.

“We are excited and proud to partner with NFI, a company at the forefront of electricpowered public transportation. This contract reflects NFI’s well-laced confidence in ABS’ ability to meet technical and performance requirements at a healthy volume with the right cost position,” said Subhash Dhar, ABS founder, chairman and CEO. “We have invested over $200 million in our state-ofthe-art automated pack assembly line and facility, with the capacity to deliver the product NFI needs so that it can continue to lead the electrification of public transportation in North America.”

ZF Aftermarket Introduces ZF Bus Connect in North America ZF Aftermarket introduced its advanced digital solution, ZF Bus Connect, in North America at the 2023 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Expo in Orlando, Florida. The new digital product provides a cloud-based tool for bus fleets, service providers and OEMs to increase

NFI recently announced a battery pack supply agreement with American Battery Solutions. ABS will supply custom battery packs to power NFI’s battery electric transit buses and coaches in North America.

ABS designs and manufactures modular battery solutions for transportation, industries and commercial markets.

safety and efficiency, improve uptime and decrease total cost of ownership (TCO) by turning remote vehicle data into actionable insights.

A robust digital solution for bus fleets, service providers and OEMs, ZF Bus Connect consists of three elements: a small, onboard unit in the vehicle, the cloud and a web-based portal or mobile app. Users can

ZF introduced its new advanced digital solution, ZF Bus Connect, at the recent APTA show in Orlando.

Bus Connect is a cloud-based tool for bus fleets, service providers and OEMs to increase safety and efficiency, improve uptime and decrease total cost of ownership. The cloud-based system operates with an on-board unit in the vehicle and a Web-based portal or mobile app.

configure this all-in-one solution as a package, or use their own compatible on-board unit connect to the cloud and access the information via the ZF Bus Connect portal or app.

ZF Health Check, a module within ZF Bus Connect, enables aftermarket providers to identify and address maintenance needs for ZF transmissions, reducing the risk of unexpected breakdowns and minimizing downtime.

“With ZF Bus Connect we are empowering fleets, service providers and OEMs to leverage vehicle data to improve operations, lower their costs and serve customers better,” said Anuj Gupta, head of digital for ZF Aftermarket in North America. “It’s a powerful digital tool that helps users bring greater value to their customers while moving toward a more sustainable model of operations.”

ZF Bus Connect is compatible with city buses and coaches with both electric and combustion engines, or hybrid systems in a mixed fleet. Operators can use it to check every aspect of a vehicle in operation, including its location in real-time, current energy or fuel consumption, battery charge, brake wear and status of vehicles’ parts and systems.

Fleets As an advanced fleet management tool, ZF Bus Connect addresses three important aspects of operation:

10 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Equipment News – Safety: Geofencing and monitoring of driver behavior to detect risks, thereby preventing accidents and protecting against unauthorized operation.

– Efficiency: Live data evaluation of individual vehicles allows fleet operators to optimize driving and route plans, reducing mileage as well as stops and starts, which improves fuel consumption.

– Uptime: Predictive remote detection of damage or wear and tear, as well as diagnosis and secure over-the-air updates to reduce unplanned downtime. Improved vehicle maintenance also contributes to safer operation.

Together these aspects can have a significant impact on reducing TCO.

Service providers With easy-to-install onboard units, ZF Bus Connect equips service providers with early warnings and insights into potential issues and maintenance requirements. This gives maintenance shops the information they need to serve their customers proactively, creating opportunities for stronger customer centricity and captivity.

OEMs For original equipment and manufacturers, ZF Bus Connect addresses the need to deploy new, advanced technology and to offer customers a dedicated connectivity platform. Continuous high-frequency or event-based data logging and storage can provide transparency and rich insights to

The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) recently announced that it had opened the 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebate Program. At least $500 million is offered by the program which is open through the end of January, 2024. Shown is a Thomas Juley electric school bus on Wacker Drive in Chicago adjacent to the Chicago River.

optimize performance and unlock new value.

companies in North America whose innovations advance the aftermarket.

ZF’s Bus Connect was recently named a finalist for the Technology Innovation Award from MEMA’s Business Technology

For more information about ZF Bus Connect, visit ZF Bus Connect - ZF.

Council, the aftermarket’s leading business technology forum. The award recognizes

Washington’s C-TRAN recently opened its new Vine on Mill Plain route. The 10-mile route will be served by eight New Flyer Xcelsior® 60-foot clean diesel buses. An opening ceremony was attended by representatives from New Flyer, C-TRAN, the City of Vancouver and the Federal Transit Administration.

Washington’s C-TRAN Opens Route With New Flyer Buses New Flyer joined the C-TRAN’s ribboncutting ceremony of the grand opening for The Vine on Mill Plain, the agency’s new 10mile route supported by eight New Flyer Xcelsior® 60-foot, clean-diesel buses.

Regional Sales Manager Derek White, New Flyer and MCI, joined the ceremony led by Chief Executive Officer Shawn M. Donaghy of C-TRAN; featuring guest speakers, including City of Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle and C-TRAN’s Board of Directors; and Federal Transit Administrator Nuria Fernandez.

EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it has opened the 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebate Program – the third funding opportunity released under the CSB Program. The 2023 rebate program offers at least $500 million in rebate funding with the potential to modify this figure based on the application pool and other factors.

Funding for the CSB Program is made available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 11

Equipment News Law, which provides $5 billion to subsidize the replacement of existing school buses with clean or zero-emission buses that will improve air quality onboard the vehicles, in bus loading areas and throughout the communities in which they operate.

“This latest round of funding for EPA’s Clean School Bus Program builds on the momentum of last year’s rebate program – which funded close to 2,500 school bus replacements – to ensure that every student across the nation has access to a safe, clean, zero-emission ride. School buses are the nation’s largest source of public transportation, and young people will be able to breathe easier as a direct result of this $500 million in funding,” said Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office).

EPA is also working closely with the Joint Office to provide school districts with support as they plan for and implement electric school buses into their fleets. CSB Rebate Program applicants and participants can receive technical assistance from the Joint Office through one-on-one meetings, public webinars and coordination on resource materials.

Eligible applicants can apply to receive funding for the purchase of up to 25 zeroemission and/or clean school buses, along with zero-emission charging infrastructure and eligible workforce development costs.

Selectees may be eligible for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits applicable to their bus and infrastructure purchases.

For example, the Clean Vehicle tax credits for qualifying school buses are worth up to $40,000.

EPA is prioritizing applications that will replace buses serving high-need local education agencies, rural areas, Tribal school districts funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and public school districts receiving basic support payments for students living on Tribal land. In addition, EPA is committed to ensuring the CSB Program delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative that at least 40 percent of the benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.

Applications for the program are due by 4 p.m. Eastern Time on January 31, 2024.

NFI Announces Significant Order for Houston’s METRO NFI Group Inc. (NFI), a leading independent bus and motorcoach manufacturer and a leader in zero-emission electric mobility solutions, on October 5 announced that NFI subsidiary New Flyer of America (New Flyer), has been awarded a new two-year contract from Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) for 160 Xcelsior™ 40foot clean-diesel transit buses with options to purchase up to 50 additional buses. With this large order, NFI will add up to 210 buses to its backlog in the third quarter of 2023 for firm and option orders.

METRO is one of the largest transit agencies in the United States, and delivers more than 115 million annual passenger rides, providing transportation services to the City of Houston, most of Harris County and 14 smaller, surrounding cities known as multicities. In 2020, METRO was named the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Outstanding Public Transporta-

Houston METRO has recently awarded a contract with New Flyer that includes 160 Xcelsior® 40foot clean-diesel transit buses with an option to purchase 50 more. METRO provides more than 115 million annual passenger rides serving Houston, most of Harris County and 14 smaller surrounding cities. Since 1991, NFI has delivered more than 1,765 vehicles to METRO.

tion System of the Year, which marked their second award in five years.

“Since 1991, NFI has delivered over 1,765 vehicles to METRO, including New Flyer buses and MCI motorcoaches, providing Houston communities with efficient, safe and reliable transportation. Building on over 30 years of partnership, NFI continues to support METRO with our advanced mobility solutions,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “Our Xcelsior buses will positively impact Harris County and surrounding communities through their best-in-class features including accessibility, and an effective emissions control system that will provide Houston communities with cleaner, quieter and more efficient transportation.”

The new high-performance buses will replace end-of-life vehicles in METRO’s fleet and provide an enhanced passenger experience.

The Xcelsior buses conform to the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for heavy-duty highway vehicles. New Flyer’s technology combines ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, advanced engines and effective emissions controls, resulting in a highly efficient bus with reduced emissions. For more information visit newflyer.com/xcelsior-diesel.

Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through its mobility solution ecosystem, which includes buses and coaches; infrastructure; parts and service; technology; workforce development and training; and vehicle financing. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

Alexander Dennis Appoints New Build Partner for North America NFI Group Inc. (NFI or the company), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, subsidiary Alexander Dennis Limited (Alexander Dennis) announced that it has appointed Big Rig Manufacturing as contract manufacturing partner to meet resurging interest in the Enviro500 double-decker in North America.

12 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Big Rig Manufacturing is a subsidiary of Big Rig Collision Group, a leading provider

Equipment News of truck, bus and motorcoach accident repairs in Canada and the United States.

Starting next year, it will assemble cleandiesel Enviro500 double-deck buses and the zero-emission Enviro500EV CHARGE to Alexander Dennis designs, specifications and processes at a new facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The new arrangement replicates the highly successful, low-capital intensity partnerships Alexander Dennis has in the AsiaPacific region with contract manufacturers in China and New Zealand. With NFI’s North American bus and coach production facilities responding to the group’s record backlog and order book, cooperation with Big Rig Manufacturing allows Alexander Dennis to meet North American demand for its double-deck range with Buy Americacompliant arrangements.

Alexander Dennis engineering and production staff will be located permanently onsite at the brand new facility in Las Vegas, supporting chassis production, major subassembly and full production of the bus body.

Stephen Walsh, vice president and general manager of Alexander Dennis in North America, said: “We’re excited about this new opportunity with Big Rig Manufacturing which provides an elegant and efficient solution to restarting double-deck production in North America. I’m pleased that we have been able to team up with a familiar partner for many of our current double-deck customers who have previously selected Big

VDL recently won another order for 50 electric buses for KVG in Kiel, Germany. Included are 30 electric Citea LF-181 buses and 20 Citea LF-122 buses. KVG (Kieler Verkehehrsgesellchaft) operates 38 lines in and around Kiel, Germany with a staff of 762 committee employees.

Rig Collision Group to complete comprehensive mid-life overhauls on their buses.

Their intimate knowledge of our bus construction and design processes will help Big Rig Manufacturing to ensure a smooth production of the Enviro500.

“The Enviro500’s combination of high seating capacity on a compact road footprint is proven by its ongoing popularity and an active fleet of more than 1,000 Alexander Dennis double-deckers across the conti-

Alexander Dennis has named Big Rig Manufacturing as their Enviro500 build partner for North America.

The double-deck Enviro500 offers high seating capacity with a relatively small road footprint and has been popular in commuter service. Production will take place at a new facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

nent. Many of our long-standing customers have older vehicles coming up for replacement and this production agreement allows us to support their fleet investment.”

Kenton Schultz, president of Big Rig Manufacturing, said: “We are very proud to be working with such a historic and prominent leader in transit bus innovation as NFI Group and Alexander Dennis. Big Rig Manufacturing will provide a depth of experience and expertise to streamline this manufacturing process and lean on our longestablished knowledge in the heavy-duty and large vehicle repair markets. Our long running partnerships with transit and public transportation service providers throughout Canada and the U.S. in refurbishments, overhauls and collision repair via Big Rig Collision Group further strengthen this partnership and will fuel long-term growth.

“This next step in evolution is particularly exciting, as it will allow Big Rig Manufacturing to bring cutting edge safety features and newly pioneered zero-emission technologies to life, supporting Alexander Dennis in fulfilling their surging customer demand.”

VDL Bus & Coach Wins Another Order for KVG KVG Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH and VDL Bus & Coach have reached an agreement for yet another order of 50 new generation Citeas with an option for 10 additional units. The vehicles, based entirely on an electric powertrain, will be delivered in 2024 and 2025. With this order, KVG will exceed 100 units of the VDL Bus & Coach brand in its fleet.

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 13

Equipment News VDL Bus & Coach is to supply 30 electric articulated new generation Citea LF-181 buses and 20 electric new generation Citea LF-122 buses. The vehicles will be equipped with battery packs with a capacity of 522 kWh (LF-181) and 429 kWh (LF-122) respectively.

Furthermore, the new generation Citeas for KVG feature a mirror replacement system, which includes cameras instead of mirrors and will also be equipped with a pantograph.

Thomas Mau, head of operations and technology/authorized officer at KFG Kiel: “We are pleased to take another step in the transformation of our bus fleet with our partner VDL. Once we have taken delivery of the 50 new city buses, more than half of our fleet will consist of battery-powered electric buses and VDL vehicles. These vehicles demonstrate a high technical standard and meet our requirements to the greatest extent possible. Collaboration, both during implementation of this new system and subsequently in the area of after-sales, has been first class in every way and highly cooperative.” Richard van den Dungen, CCO at VDL Bus & Coach, states: “We are very proud that KVG has again chosen VDL Bus & Coach for yet another order of electric city buses. It is a great recognition when a highly respected customer like KVG once again trusts you to deliver the goods. Following our previous deliveries of Citeas SLF and SLFA Electric in 2020, 2021 and 2022, KVG will now get to experience the new generation Citea, which is also ideally matched to their operational requirements with its efficient energy consumption and optimal driving characteristics.”

KVG Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH and VDL Bus & Coach signed the official contract for the new electric buses in the presence of Kiel’s mayor on September 13.

From July next year until 2025, 50 new electric buses will be delivered to Kiel.

Irizar at Busworld Following their strategy of technological innovation and development, the Irizar Group presented their multi-technology range of buses and coaches, that included the new hydrogen Irizar i6S and a strong commitment to the sustainable mobility of the future, at the Busworld International Fair.

Irizar showed four of its buses at Busworld in Brussels. Turning heads was the new i6S Efficient coach shown here that operates on hydrogen and is similar to the coach Irizar offers in the United States.

Also on display was the Irizar i8 coach, an i6S Efficient with diesel power and an ie tram electric transit bus.

electric vehicle and the new hydrogen Irizar i6S Efficient. All the vehicles on display feature important innovations compared to current models in terms of technology, sustainability and fuel costs. The new hydrogen-powered vehicle was presented, in addition to a range of new generation vehicles with integral Irizar chassis that are lighter, more comfortable and have a reduction in consumption of up to five percent.

They also have the most stringent safety and cybersecurity systems on the market, an improved cockpit with a redesigned dashboard, weight reductions and improvements in consumption and emissions. Irizar wanted to be a key actor in the sustainable mobility of the future. To achieve that, they are focusing all their efforts on decarbonization, electrifying cities and reducing the consumption and emissions of their vehicles. They are sure that the future will be multi-technological, and are ready for it.

At Busworld the Irizar Group showed their high capacity for innovation and technology by presenting their new Efficient range of sustainable vehicles and plethora of new technological advances that will be key to the future of mobility and decarbonization.

They are making the exclusive debut of the first prototype of the Irizar Hydrogen i6S Efficient, the first zero-emissions H2 coach in Europe. It is a pioneering project and a show of Irizar’s firm commitment to offering a complete range of zero-emissions vehicles for both long and short range. It is also a milestone along the path of decarbonizing the complete range of vehicles.

At their 1710 m2 stand, number 602 in Hall 6, Irizar e-mobility showed the four latest generation Irizar vehicles: an Irizar i8, an Irizar i6S Efficient, an electric Irizar ie tram

This first hydrogen vehicle has been developed exclusively by Irizar, in conjunction with other leading companies and technology centers. It is currently in a testing

14 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

phase with a different typology. The accumulation of experience with and knowledge of this technology will be key to shaping the future hydrogen range.

The Irizar Hydrogen i6S Efficient has a range of up to 1,000 km and minimal charging times of around 20 minutes. Consequently, the way their clients operate will not be changed, and they can continue their existing routes and schedules. In addition, it can run in 100 percent electric mode for short times, if required.

The future range of hydrogen vehicles, which currently includes the Irizar i6S Efficient and Irizar i4 models, will have substantial improvements over the first version presented at Busworld, some of the most important of which are a larger baggage compartment, greater passenger capacity, a longer range and lower weight. The efficiency and high durability of the vehicle’s main components can also be highlighted.

The batteries will stay with the vehicle for its entire useful life. The fuel cell will need maintenance, without replacing components, after around 30,000 hours of operation, depending on the kinds of routes and use.

With this new coach launch, Irizar is back at the technological forefront, on the path to the sustainable mobility of the future, intelligent, connected, zero-emissions and multitechnology mobility.

Since it was launched in May of last year, the Irizar i6S Efficient has become the most

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Equipment News efficient coach in Irizar’s history, with up to a 13 percent reduction in consumption and emissions, a weight reduction of up to 950 kg and an improvement in the aerodynamic coefficient of 30 percent.

A new generation of Efficient vehicles is presented with an additional consumption reduction of up to five percent, an improvement in weight optimization and that, furthermore, comes with all the new GSR and cybersecurity regulations. It is an improved range that has a new cockpit with a new steering wheel, updated keys and a new version of the dashboard with an updated design and the option to select night driving mode. In addition, the digital camera system available for this range provides better visibility under any weather conditions.

In addition to the hydrogen version, the Irizar i6S Efficient is currently available with diesel, biodiesel, natural gas and biofuel technology.

The fatigue trials and durability tests done at Idiada, one of the most prestigious applied research institutions in the world, guaranteed their efficiency, reliability and quality.

As of today, a total of around 700 Irizar i6S Efficient units are on the road around the world in the most demanding operating conditions, with notable results in reliability and consumption.

The Irizar i6S Efficient has an especially significant presence in countries like Spain, France and Italy. The important value added by the consumption reduction and innova-

tive design of the new Irizar i6S Efficient are key in Irizar’s geographical expansion in regions like Scandinavia, Germany and the Baltic countries.

The Irizar i8, the brand’s flagship, is still a leader in comfort, design and innovation.

The new generation of this model in Europe already has some of the updates of the Efficient range, like the digital camera system, for example.

Today, of all the Irizar i8 vehicles on the road around the world, Mexico stands out.

The Irizar i8 is the leading vehicle for longdistance VIP services in that country. That is why the new Irizar i8 Efficient will have its worldwide launch in the framework of Expo Foro, which will be held in Mexico City at the end of February.

The new version will include all the improvements of the Efficient range and achieve a significant reduction in consumption and emissions to make the Irizar i8 an even more sustainable vehicle. This improved version will be launched later in various European markets.

At Irizar e-mobility, cities have been electrified for more than 10 years, implementing complete personalized projects. Being leaders in the Spanish market, they have a clear commitment to keep reinforcing their presence abroad. An electric Irizar ie tram unit is being presented for the first time this year in Mexico. They are present in 11 European countries. At the beginning of 2024, there will be more than 1,000 vehicles on the road in Europe.

Diversified Communications has announced a change in bus trade shows in the UK. Starting in 2024, there will be a single biennial bus trade show in the UK that will be located at the NEC in Birmingham.

The next event is scheduled for November 12-14, 2024.

With the portfolio of orders nearly full for 2024, and with the first orders for 2025 coming in, work is already being done on the new generation of electric vehicles that will start to be delivered at the end of next year.

The new generation of buses has safety improvements that meet the new GSR2 ADAS regulations, which include cybersecurity for the vehicle. It also has a renewed generation of batteries with lower consumption and a longer range that improves the energy available at BOL and EOL by 30 percent. It adapts to the needs of the market by expanding the line of batteries. The new drive system, with a lighter and more compact design, reduces weight by up to 26 percent and also includes a new digital HMI that allows maximum personalization.

Sustainability, as a fundamental pillar of the strategy for the future, drives and commits the entire group to contribute to the construction of a better and more sustainable world. Irizar’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond the sphere of mobility.

For the first time, they are representing a range of products that have gained a second life through recycling waste material.

Their products, including backpacks, wallets, laptop cases and a lot more, are made by hand in collaboration with various brands and associations within this project, which focuses on inclusive and responsible production.

Diversified Communications Announces Its UK Trade Events Following significant change to the industry landscape over the last few years, organizer Diversified Communications has been reflecting on the most conducive model for its coach and bus trade events.

It recently announced that Euro Bus Expo will be the single UK-based industry flagship exhibition, taking place every other year at the NEC, Birmingham. The routeone Awards, which usually co-locate, are set to continue each year.

A comprehensive market review has driven the decision to change the frequency of the major industry gatherings.

Says Group Director Helen Conway: “As part our evaluation of the market, we hosted an advisory group to collaborate with some of our key event stakeholders. It was a valuable exercise, that gave great insight into how the market changes we’ve seen over the last few years are likely to develop.

16 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

“While there is without question a strong demand and enthusiasm for exhibitions, we have determined that a biennial frequency would be best suited to the market’s needs,

Equipment News and in keeping with the pattern for new vehicle releases.

“Changing to a two-year frequency and taking Coach & Bus UK out of the calendar will place more importance on attending Euro Bus Expo, attracting more exhibitors and all the latest vehicle and product launches. Ultimately, it will showcase the full extent of the industry.”

She adds: “We feel very positive about this change because we know we are delivering what the industry wants, and we can stage a brilliant exhibition every two years.

We’ll continue to closely collaborate with suppliers and operators to ensure that Euro Bus Expo best meets their needs.”

Plans for the 2024 event, which takes place from November 12-14 at the NEC Birmingham, are well underway. The organizer reports firm demand for exhibition space from vehicle manufacturers and product suppliers. With this and future growth plans in mind, the show will be moving into new halls (17-19) to allow for expansion into periphery halls as required.

Says Conway: “We’re excited about plans for the 2024 event. We’re collaborating with an operator advisory panel to develop a seminar program that delivers real value, and we’ll be introducing new ways to connect buyers with sellers.”

Commenting on the changes, Graham Vidler, CEO of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, says: “In this ever-changing environment for operators and suppliers, it is positive news that Euro Bus Expo will become the UK’s standalone showpiece exhibition from 2024.

“The move will give exhibitors and stakeholders the certainty needed to make this industry-leading event the very best showcase for the sector.”

Operators and municipals are urged to save the date for Euro Bus Expo – next year’s best opportunity to come together, learn, strategize and discover what is new and next in the sector. Suppliers are encouraged to contact the organizing team to discuss their exhibiting and sponsorship requirements.

The organizer confirms that the routeone Awards, which have historically coincided with the yearly trade shows in Birmingham, will continue to run annually.

Says Conway: “It’s important that the awards continue to take place each year to acknowledge the excellent work happening in operator businesses, that never stand still.

It’s also a great opportunity to come together

Rampini from Italy introduced their new Hydron model at Busworld in Brussels. The Hydron is powered by hydrogen using Rampini’s Hy4Drive system. The hydrogen-powered midibus has a range of from 250 to 500 kilometers (155 to 310 miles).

as an industry and be inspired by one another’s progress.”

The awards, which recognize the achievements of coach, bus and minibus operators, are now in their 17th year. The presentation evening typically attracts 800 industry professionals to network and celebrate achievements.

Conway continues: “The number of entries and ticket sales received for this year’s event is a testament to the high esteem the awards are held in. I’m really looking forward to getting together in November. It’s shaping up to be another sellout event, and a night to remember.”

Says Graham: “It’s excellent to see that the routeone Awards will continue to be held annually, and we look forward to celebrating the very best of the coach and bus sector as we have done since the ceremony’s inception.”

Rampini Hydron: World Premier at Busworld Brussels The medium-sized bus builder Rampini spa in Passignano sul Trasimeno (Italy) participates for the first time in its history in Busworld Europe in Brussels and shows its full portfolio of zero-emission buses in a compact size. The highlight was the presentation of the new Hydrogen Range Extender Midibus Hydron, that goes into production in 2024. Also the electric version of the eightmeter Midibus Eltron was featured with a new design called “Stile Energetico,” made by the prestigious Italian design Studio Ver-

nacchia. Last but not least the smallest family member with six meters length joins the show: The Sixtron for up to 28 passengers – also fully electric.

Founded in 1945, the company, which has today a great industrial tradition, started off with the maintenance and development of common and special vehicles.

During the time other fields of expertise like industrial machinery and process competences extended the portfolio of the company, which has grown quickly in turnover and size. Today, high-tech equipment like iron rollers for the famous “Pistenbullis” preparing skiing areas in the Alps are produced from Rampini as well as diverse equipment like energy stations and other hi-tech special equipment for the defense sector. The industrial portfolio is therefore very diversified.

Rampini has been committed to the theme of decarbonization of municipal transport and waste disposal as well as the electrification of commercial vehicles since the early 2000s.

Since then, a round 200 electric buses have left the factory halls in Passignano and have been delivered to six European countries – Germany, France, Austria, Spain and Greece in addition to Italy. In May 2023, the company won part of the large Consip tender, one of the company’s biggest sales successes to date. Since 2022, the next generation of the family has joined the management: Caterina Rampini as CEO and vice president, and Andrea Rampini as CEO and R&D manager.

This also marks the beginning of a new era National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 17

Equipment News for the company, which employs around 100 people.

ports the heating for the drivers’ or even the passengers’ area.

Sometimes it appears in the bus and coach industry, that there is a salient question of “Battery versus Hydrogen” as a means of energy-storage and provision. In fact it is not the question to say A or B, but sometimes both. Rampini is therefore the first manufacturer to offer a compact midibus with a wellsized battery and a hydrogen range extender to combine the best of both worlds. Basically, every hydrogen bus is an electric bus – the defining question is just, how big are battery and fuel cell and their relevance for the traction system. This is also the reason why the models Eltron and Hydron are not completely different models, but rather “two sides of the green Zero Emission Coin,” with most parts and concepts shared among each other: body concept, Stile Energetico-Design, driveline, interior design, etc. The advantage for the customer: no complex spare parts handling, when both models should be in the fleet. Out of conceptual reasons, the Hydron is offered only in a two-door-version unlike the Eltron, which is also available with three doors.

Alexander Dennis Confirms Plaxton Coach Building Program for 2024 Alexander Dennis, a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, on September 7 confirmed that it will build a substantial number of Plaxton coaches in 2024.

The concept is easy: the somewhat smaller-sized battery pack (175 kWh net instead of 270 kWh) is supported by a compact 30 kW fuel cell by the Canadian manufacturer Loop Energy. Due to the innovative eFlow™ architecture of the company, the fuel cells offer a 16 percent lower consumption of precious hydrogen while at the same time boasting up to 90 percent higher peak power and 10 times better current density uniformity with the same stack size. The superfluous heat of the fuel cell as well as the traction is harvested efficiently and sup-

Stock outputs will focus on Plaxton Leopard coaches with side-mounted wheelchair lifts and destination equipment to meet PSV Accessibility Regulations. Built on the fuelefficient Volvo B8R chassis, a choice of I-Shift and automatic transmissions will be offered. All stock will have the upgraded interiors introduced this year with up to 72 next-generation Brusa seats.

Other Plaxton coach models will be built to order subject to demand, continuing the manufacturer’s long-established practice. The manufacturer’s Scarborough facility benefits form a flexible set up that allows lines to be switched between bus and coach production.

General Manager New and Used Coach Sales at Alexander Dennis Simon Wood said: “We’re delighted to confirm the availability of Plaxton coaches next year. We can also announce that we have already taken significant orders for 2024 delivery both for the Plaxton Leopard, which is particulary well-suited to school and contract services and hires, and our versatile Plaxton Panther.

“We expect to deliver around 60 units into the market in 2023 thanks to returning demand, in particular for the market-leading Plaxton Leopard, as operators continue to

upgrade their fleets to Euro VI and PSVAR. Following this, we have placed an order with Volvo for B8R chassis for 2024.”

Retail and Coach Sales Director at Volvo Bus Josef Fisslow said: “Volvo Bus are very pleased and excited to continue their longstanding partnership with Plaxton. The B8R chassis has proven to be a very reliable and cost-effective coach platform that, when combined with Volvo’s excellent service network and product support, delivers the highest levels of both productivity and customer satisfaction.”

Marcopolo Participates in Busworld 2023 Marcopolo, the main developer of mobility solutions in Brazil and positioned among the largest in the world, strengthens its presence in the international market with participation in Busworld Europe, one of the most important events in the bus industry on the planet. Held between October 7-12 in Brussels, Belgium, the event brought together manufacturers, suppliers, transport and service operators.

In a 500 m2 booth, the brand which also operates in much of the global market, exhibited two major projects: the Marcopolo G8, the company’s new generation of road vehicles, and a model powered by a hydrogen cell. The strategy is to highlight the company’s advances in the mobility segment and present competitive advantages, such as the union of recognized Brazilian design with global technology and the high standard of quality and sophistication of the products, a result of the expertise acquired in operations such as South Africa, Argentina, Australia, China, Colombia and Mexico, in addition to Brazil.

Alexander Dennis has announced that it will continue to build the popular Plaxton coach bodies in 2024.

Included is the popular Plaxton Leopard coach as well as other models that may be ordered.

The Plaxton bodies wlil be mounted on Volvo B8R chassis.

18 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Equipment News

Marcopolo exhibited two major models at Busworld in Brussels.

This included the G8 model for long distance as well as a model powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Displayed was a hydrogen fuelcell bus based on the Audace 1050 model and built on an Allenbus fuel cell chassis.

“Being present at Busworld Europe is fundamental, because we can present the most advanced mobility solutions for passenger transport, while at the same time strengthen the relationship with our customers and partners around the world who traditionally visit the fair,” says André Armaganijan, CEO of Marcopolo.

In addition to the marketing expertise acquired over 74 years of operation – more than 60 years with a presence in the international market, operating in more than 100 countries – Marcopolo continuously invests in innovation, technology, optimization of manufacturing and engineering management in all its plants. With this, the company became much more flexible and efficient, able to develop and produce road and urban bus models for any demand.

To reinforce concepts such as the high standard of quality and sophistication, in addition to the commitment to the future of mobility, the company presented for the first time in Europe a double-decker Marcopolo Geraçã 8 road model, one of the sales successes in 2022, in Brazil and abroad, with more than 1,000 units sold in the two years following the launch.

Another highlight is the hydrogen cellpowered vehicle, developed form the body of the Audace 1050 model bus, produced at the China unit. Sinosynergy provides the core part of fuel cell technology, including the membranes and fuel cell

drive. Allenbus is responsible for the vehicle’s fuel cell chassis.

“The demand for sustainable and renewable fuel vehicles is already a reality in the biggest markets of the world. We conducted hydrogen cell vehicle development projects in different countries around the world, with a solution developed in Brazil, in addition to models produced with partners in Asia and Australia, in addition to supplying more than 700 hybrid and electric models, with chassis made by our partners, which are in operation in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Australia, China, Chile and Argentina,” said Armaganijan. q

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The strategy is reinforced by the company’s numbers, which in the first half of 2023, recorded a consolidated net revenue of 3 billion Reals, an increase of 43.3 percent compared to 2H22. Of this total 378.4 million Reals came from exports from Brazil and 770.3 million Reals from the company’s international operations. [The Exchange rate is one U.S. dollar equals five Reals.] In addition, in the first six months of 2023, 1,105 units were invoiced abroad, an increase of 16.1 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, materializing the brand’s global strength.

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National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 19

T

his continues the Peter Pan story from the earlier Part 1 and includes events and activities through to 2023.

The Peter Pan Fleet

Peter Pan Bus Lines has operated a wide range of equipment over its 90-year history.

The original fleet of 1933 consisted of two 1930 Buicks, one 1929 Packard and one 1929 Pierce Arrow, all seven-passenger limousines. Chevrolets that were stretched by Fitzjohn to seat 11 passengers were soon added to expand the fleet. They operated more economically that the original fleet. As the number of passengers increased, the company switched to buying smaller Beck buses until about 1940.

While the War years brought an increasing number of passengers, the number of new buses available was reduced because of War limitations. As a result, Peter Pan Bus Lines expanded their fleet wherever they could find buses. Buses added to the fleet at this time included three gas-powered Yellow Coaches, a pair of Fitzjohns, three Becks, two Aerocoaches and a ubiquitous Ford Transit that presumably only saw local service.

The company’s first diesel-powered bus was a GM PDA3702 acquired in 1944.

Records indicated that the company had grown to operate approximately 13 vehicles at this time.

This resulted in a rather diverse fleet in the mid-1940s and earned Peter Pan Bus Lines the sobriquet “Pots and Pans” from detractors, particularly Trailways and Greyhound drivers. When normalcy returned in the post-war years and buses became available again, Peter Pan began moving to a more standardized fleet. With very few exceptions, the company purchased GM coaches almost exclusively for the next 25 years. In common with most major bus operators, the Peter Pan fleet included the PD4103, PD4104 and PD4106 models.

At about the mid-century mark in 1950, Peter Pan Bus Lines began outfitting its buses with whitewall tires, a rather unusual procedure for bus operators. As a result, Peter Pan became known as the company “with the whitewall tire fleet.” In 1958, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Two Flxible Starliners were purchased in 1958 and became the only Flxibles purchased new by the company. By that time the fleet had grown to 27 coaches.

Peter Pan continued to rely on GM coaches for several more years. Typically, the company placed orders once each year for at least three to five coaches. The first of the PD4107 coaches arrived in 1966. Peter Pan moved up to 40-foot coaches when the PD4903 became available in 1968. From there, the company embraced the PD4905 and P8M4905A models until 1973.

20 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

In looking for an introductory photo for today’s Peter Pan Bus Lines, we felt that this MCI J4500 in front of Springfield’s Union Station was appropriate. Although the company has expanded and diversified in many areas, it is still best known as a scheduled route operator. It also remains a family enterprise with a fourth generation now moving into management.

Peter Pan Bus Lines Celebrates 90 Years – Part II

by Larry Plachno

Photos from Peter Pan or National Bus Trader unless otherwise noted

MCI coaches began showing up in the United States in serious numbers in the mid1960s. They first appeared in Greyhound’s fleet but soon were seen in the fleets of other operators. MCI introduced their MC-7 model in 1968 and numerous operators purchased the MC-7 to move up to the 40-foot length. Watching these developments, Peter Pan made a similar decision as many other bus operators and began to look at switching from GM to MCI coaches.

In 1974, Peter Pan purchased its first MCI coaches, a pair of the new MC-8 model coaches. The staff at Peter Pan was pleased with them and additional MCIs were soon added to the fleet. Today Peter Pan continues to be an MCI customer and they dominate the Peter Pan fleet. Peter Pan has also been the first customer for new MCI models on occasion.

In 1977, Peter Pan introduced its first billboard bus, which had some of its exterior covered with special lettering and graphics.

This first billboard bus was a 1975 MC-8 that advertised Canadian tourism destinations.

Subsequent billboard buses took advantage of improved graphics and promoted various areas, celebrated a company anniversary or highlighted the Peter Pan storybook characters. Many were both colorful and eye-catching.

In 1978, Peter Pan put the first wheelchair-assisted coach in service. This was a 1975 MC-8 that was equipped with a wheelchair lift by the Peter Pan staff. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1983. By that time the fleet had grown to 65 coaches.

In recent years, Peter Pan has continued to buy regular orders of MCI coaches. In

In 1974, Peter Pan Bus Lines switched to MCI coaches. Their first purchased was a pair of MCI MC-8 coaches. The company has remained a loyal MCI customer ever since.

some cases, Peter Pan was the first company to order a new model. After the MC-8 model, Peter Pan purchased the MC-9, 96A3, 102A3 and 102B3 models. In 1993, Peter Pan became one of the first operators to purchase the new 45-foot 102DL3 model. Purchases of the 102DL3 model continued for the next eight years when it made up the majority of the Peter Pan fleet.

The Peter Pan fleet sometimes included more than buses. A 49-seat sightseeing riverboat appropriately named Tinker Belle was launched in 1997. It offered cruises on the Connecticut River from Springfield’s Riverfront Park. What may have been the most unusual vehicles in the fleet came in 1998

Peter Pan Bus Lines remained a loyal customer of General Motors buses for decades until 1973.

The “deck” or “Buffalo” model was the last of the GM coaches to enter the Peter Pan fleet. Here, in a posed publicity photo, the late Pater L. Picknelly gets a new GM coach from Santa Claus.

when Peter Pan introduced its Pirate Ship land and water tours. Passengers rode in British Stalwart amphibious vehicles.

Looking for a combination of MCI reliability and modern design, Peter Pan was very interested in the new J4500 model. In 2001, Peter Pan Bus Lines took delivery of the first new MCI J4500 models off the assembly line and then continued to purchase more of this same model on a regular basis. When MCI introduced the newly improved J4500 for 2013, Peter Pan Bus Lines again was the first company in line to take delivery of these coaches. 2013 marked a new milestone for Peter Pan with the purchase of 42 new buses in one year. The company continued to favor the MCI J4500 model that represents the bulk of its fleet.

The company purchased 25 new buses last year.

Recent Developments

Recent years have seen Peter Pan expanding service on Cape Cod and the South Shore area west of Cape Cod in response to a need for service in the area and reduced operations by other carriers. In 2015, Peter Pan expanded its presence on Cape Cod by instituting service between Boston, Logan Airport and Hyannis, Massachusetts. In 2019, Peter Pan further expanded its Cape Cod service to include Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, and now serves all major towns on Cape Cod.

In September of 2017 Peter Pan announced that it was ending its partnership with Greyhound. “What people want in a bus company is really very simple,” suggested Peter Picknelly, chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines and third generation leader of the company. “They want a clean bus, a professional driver and on-time National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 21

friendly service. Seems easy but it's really difficult to execute all the time. I happen to think that Peter Pan executes it better than most.”

According to Picknelly, one of the reasons that Peter Pan Bus Lines wanted to separate from Greyhound was that it was getting harder to execute on those consumer needs.

“Greyhound is a big, foreign-owned company with a very large service footprint,” explained Picknelly. “We are committed to the Northeast corridor – those are the routes and customers we know well. It got to a point where our values and business approach no longer matched.”

Other improvements at this same time included an investment of $13 million in new buses and a move to paperless tickets. “We're going to have paperless tickets on all of our routes,” explains Picknelly. “Buy your ticket on your mobile device a couple minutes before-hand, go right up to the bus, show the driver and you're on your way. People want value for their money.”

In 2017, Peter Pan began a move from the former Springfield Bus Terminal at 1776 Main Street, which opened in April of 1969, to the nearby recently renovated historic Springfield Union Station. The station had been unused for many years since Amtrak had moved to a nearby smaller station. In addition to Peter Pan and Greyhound buses, Union Station serves the local PVTA transit buses, the Loop Downtown bus, Amtrak and the CT Rail Hartford line.

Peter Pan’s offices followed the buses and took one floor at Union Station. Included are executive offices, marketing, legal, training, payroll and the information center. There are 70 Peter Pan employees at the new headquarters, but total Peter Pan staff at all locations amounts to about 1,000. To celebrate this move as well as Peter Pan’s 85th anniversary, the City of Springfield has named the entrance to Union Station Peter Pan Way. The company was operating more than 1,000 daily departures to more than 100 destinations in the Northeast and MidAtlantic states.

The last scheduled buses left the old terminal in September of 2017. In December, Peter Pan sold the old terminal to Way Finders, a local housing agency, which had recently sold their office building down the street. Way Finders planned to construct a new building on the site for its new offices.

Peter Pan expanded their presence in New York City in 2018 by opening its first ticket counter at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Included in the expansion was office space and additional bus gates. The Port Authority Bus Terminal on an average weekday serves more than 8,000 buses and 225,000 people and about 65 million people annually.

22 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

In 2017, Peter Pan Bus Lines began a move to a different bus terminal in Springfield. Since April of 1969 the company had operated from its own terminal at 1776 Main Street that also included offices and maintenance facilities. Now, the company would join a multi-modal facility at the Springfield Union Station that was shared with trains and other buses.

Five new J4500 MCI coaches were delivered to Peter Pan during the 2018 Thanksgiving Holiday. Over the years, Peter Pan has depended on MCI and the J4500 model for much of its fleet needs. When the J4500 was first introduced in 2001, Peter Pan was the initial buyer and placed an order for the first 12 coaches off the assembly line. Additional orders for the J4500 have followed annually except during the pandemic. At this time Peter Pan had 250 MCI coaches in its fleet with 78 being the J4500 model.

Special features on these new coaches include wheelchair lifts, Peter Pan seating

by Kiel with made-to-order fabric by Lantel.

Each of the 56 seats has 110-volt outlets. Peter Pan added MCI’s optional Bendix Fusion, the next generation Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) featuring a collision mitigation camera radar system with stationary vehicle braking, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition. In addition, Peter Pan opted to install a six-camera security system on these coaches.

Peter Pan Bus Lines was MCI’s first customer for its new J4500 in 2001. In following years, Peter Pan was first in line placing an order when the J4500 was updated and improved. Today, the MCI J4500 model represents a major part of the Peter Pan fleet.

In 2019, Peter Pan celebrated an 80-year partnership with the Firestone Tire Company. It was in 1939 that Peter Pan Bus Lines reached an agreement with the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company to try using their tires for one year. That began an 80-year partnership with Firestone and its parent company, Bridgestone America’s, Inc.

“When my grandfather Peter C. Picknelly sealed this important partnership with Harvey Firestone in 1939, they could only imagine how many miles these two companies would travel together,” said Peter A. Picknelly, chairman and CEO of Peter Pan. “We were the first bus company in the United States to enter into a lease agreement with Firestone and we’re the longest bus company partnership Firestone has ever had.

Now 80 years later, we are still proud to share the road with a longtime leader in the tire industry. Together over the 80 years, Peter Pan and Firestone have carried passengers over 600 million miles on Firestone tires. That’s 2,514 trips to the Moon and 24,094 times around the Earth. Safety is Peter Pan’s number one priority and Firestone Tires have delivered that promise with precision and consistency.”

Surviving the Pandemic

Like other transportation companies, Peter Pan was faced with the COVID pandemic. Unlike some other companies, Peter Pan received praise from several sources for keeping routes going and safe. In addition to investing extra effort and expense to keep buses clean for passengers and drivers, Peter Pan also established new procedures to improve the welfare of those on board. Service resumed on June 5, 2020. The company implemented contact-free boarding by being

This photo shows the transition in Peter Pan vehicles over the years. Included is the Buick sedan, the GM PD2903, a PD4103 and two newer MCI coaches. Downtown Springfield is in the background.

able to check boarding passes from a passenger providing their name. Peter Pan buses have fresh air continually circulating.

Bus cleaning and disinfecting was updated to use CDC/EPA-approved chemicals. In addition, Peter Pan buses were sealed with a state-of-the-art product that kills all germs, bacteria and viruses on contact.

A special program at Peter Pan during the pandemic was Stuff the Bus to “Feed the Fight.” Peter Pan Bus Lines partnered with the Bean Restaurant Group to show support for Springfield area responders and front line health care heroes. Each day, the company delivered lunch in western Massachusetts for first responders and front line workers while supporting the local western Massachusetts restaurants.

June 25, 2020 saw Peter Pan once again expanding service into areas that were underserved. This time new stops were added at the Plymouth, Massachusetts;

Rockland, Massachusetts as well as 13 new towns in Cape Cod. Passengers were able to connect to any Peter Pan destination including Boston; South Station; Logan Airport; Cape Cod; Hartford, Connecticut; New York City; Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Providence, Rhode Island; Washington, D.C. as well as 100 communities throughout the Northeast.

Mid-July found Peter Pan expanding Cape Cod service for the summer season.

While other bus companies stopped all Cape Cod service for more than a year during the pandemic, Peter Pan was the only bus company that kept on rolling. Peter Pan offered safe, sanitized transportation within CDC guidelines when other buses just stopped.

Peter Pan has added 21 more schedules to service the entire Cape Cod region. Connections can be made in Hyannis, Provincetown, Woods Hole and Bourne. Travelers can connect in Hyannis to go to Boston’s South Station and Logan Airport.

This 2017 map shows Peter Pan routes as of that date. Starting with the SpringfieldBoston route, Peter Pan subsequently added more routes through purchase and expansion.

More routes were added during the pandemic era.

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 23

The company pointed out many features riding Peter Pan buses. Peter Pan provided express service for less throughout the Northeast. Contact-free boarding was offered with online and mobile APP ticket purchases. Buses offered convenient free Wi-Fi, charging stations onboard as well as guaranteed seating. The Peter Pan bus fleet has GPS systems and is equipped with advanced engines and are the most fuel-efficient large vehicles on the road. Peter Pan was the first bus company to install safety belts and introduce a fire suppression system in its fleet. All Peter Pan buses feature a stateof-the-art onboard multi-camera security system and a unique Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) that features a collision mitigation camera radar system with stationary vehicle braking, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition and more.

One of the more notable changes in recent years has been the introduction of the fourth generation of the Picknelly family at Peter Pan. Peter A. and Melissa Picknelly’s children joined the company in 2020. Lauryn Picknelly-DuBois became the controller while Peter B. Picknelly IV served as the director of safety and security. More members of the fourth generation would join the company in the following years.

Safety Awards

Driver safety has become a major achievement at Peter Pan. Many Peter Pan drivers have achieved one-, two-, threeand four-million miles without an accident. The company is very proud to have

A Peter Pan coach poses at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. Over the years, Peter Pan has supported its hometown in many ways beyond bus operations. These have included the Monarch Place building, restaurants and several other enterprises.

the only drivers in the United States to have achieved 48 years/four million miles of accident-free driving. In round numbers, one million miles equals at least 12 years of accident free driving. Much of this was obvious at Peter Pan’s Super Team Achievement & Recognition (STAR) Awards and Safety banquet held on February 28, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

It marked the 90th anniversary of Peter Pan Bus Lines and honored company staff who have gone the extra miles.

Peter Pan has won several safety awards over the years. In this 2018 photo, Driver Ricky Johnson poses after having reached a million accident-free miles. More recently, other Peter Pan drivers have received awards for as many as four million accident-free miles.

Everette Anderson, who had driven for Peter Pan Bus Lines for 53 years since May of 1970, was the second motorcoach operator inducted into the National Safety Hall of Fame for driving four million miles without any accidents. The first inductee was Peter Pan motorcoach operator Ed Hope who reached four million accident-free miles in 2017. “It’s an amazing accomplishment, and I cannot say enough about the dedication and professionalism that Everette Anderson has had behind the wheel,” said Picknelly.

“There have only been two drivers in history to achieve four million miles without an accident and both have worked for Peter Pan. This really demonstrates our commitment to safety, and we are very pleased to honor these distinguished drivers.”

Motorcoach operators honored at the S.T.A.R. awards on February 28, 2023 in Worcester, Massachusetts included Thomas Reckner for three million miles; Phillandor Knight, Dave Kollisch, Wayne Soloman and Anthony Wilson for two million miles; plus Paul Boie, Syed Bukhari, Edward Caouette, Frederick Perry and Horace Wright for one million miles.

Early 2023 saw Peter Pan again expanding service into areas that needed transportation. Beginning April 18, 2023 Peter Pan Bus Lines rolled into Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton, bringing commuters to Boston South Station and Logan Airport.

24 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

This new service gave travelers a sigh of relief because these routes were no longer operated by Anetile Connie. Peter Pan Bus Lines further expanded service to passengers and commuters by offering Logan Airport as a new destination. This new service

will require a Peter Pan Bus Lines ticket, which can be purchased at www.peterpanbus.com, on the Peter Pan Bus mobile app or at the Peter Pan ticket counter at South Station in Boston.

“Thank you to Peter Pan Bus Lines for stepping up to provide bus service to Boston for the residents of New Bedford and the entire South Coast. From the moment we heard about the possibility of the end of service, the community mobilized, and we in the South Coast legislative delegation started a series of conversations on the local and state-level with MassDOT about a viable path forward. With the addition of an airport shuttle, Peter Pan is bringing added value to this new service,” said State Representative Tony Cabral, D-New Bedford.

“Thank you to Peter Pan Bus Lines for stepping in and helping our community. We appreciate the expansion of service to the Greater Fall River area. This will be very helpful to the commuters who had to drive to a surrounding town for their transportation needs. It will also be a significant benefit to now have service to Logan Airport,” said State Representative Patricia A. Haddad, D5th Bristol.

Peter Pan purchased an additional 25 MCI J4500 coaches in 2023. The first 10 were delivered in January and prompted an order for 15 more. This year is significant for both companies since both date their history back to 1933 and have supported each other for a half a century. "We are true-blue MCI," said Peter A. Picknelly, CEO and third-generation owner of Peter Pan, one of the industry's most prominent family-owned motorcoach companies. "We started with the MC-8 in 1974, and since the 1980s, our fleet has been exclusively MCI." Peter Pan was among the first operators to buy the popular DL model (MCI D4505) when it was introduced in 1993. When MCI launched the all-new J4500 in 2001, Peter Pan was the first operator to place a 12-coach order. Peter Pan has counted on MCI's reliability since placing an annual order for new vehicles, with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic period in 2020 and 2021.

April of 2023 saw the fourth generation at Peter Pan Bus Lines make arrangements to acquire more clean diesel MCI J4500 coaches. From left: Allen Keith, Brent Maitland and Patricia Ziska from MCI join Peter A. Picknelly, Peter B. Picknelly IV and Melissa Picknelly of Peter Pan Bus Lines as they sign an order for more MCI coaches.

western Massachusetts awards presentation since 2019. Peter Pan Bus Lines was the winner of the 2023 Western Massachusetts Award for Marketplace Excellence.

The Fourth Generation

One of the more interesting developments at Peter Pan has been bringing in the fourth generation of the family. Peter A. Picknelly and his wife Melissa have three of their four children – the fourth genera-

tion – actively involved in operations. With Lauryn Picknelly Dubois as controller, son Peter B. Picknelly IV in safety and security, and Alyssa Picknelly in customer and employee relations have elected to join the company after working for the firm as young adults during the summer and while on college breaks. Joe Picknally, a cousin and son of Tom Picknally, who served as vice president of maintenance for decades until his passing in 2021, is senior director of maintenance. “We ele-

Over the years, Peter Pan Bus Lines has received numerous awards from local civic organizations.

Here, Emily Potter (center) from Peter Pan Bus Lines accepts an award from the Better Business Bureau of Central New England. The awards celebrate businesses in western Massachusetts that embody corporate responsibility and always do what is right for their customers.

Peter Pan’s exquisitely decaled J4500 coaches help Peter Pan marketing efforts by serving as billboards rolling along the most non-stop express daily trips in the Northeast serving Boston, Cape Cod, Hartford, New York City, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Philadelphia, Providence and other locations.

Peter Pan Bus Lines was proud to win an award from the Better Business Bureau of Central New England. According to the Better Business Bureau, the awards celebrate businesses in western Massachusetts that embody corporate responsibility and always what is right for their customers. This June 21 event in Worcester was the first in-person

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 25

vated a talented group and now have the next generation in place steering the ship and ready to take on more responsibility with more tenure,” Picknelly said.

Each generation has brought their own special talents to Peter Pan. Peter A. and his wife, Melissa, who served as executive director of Peter Pan Tours, were guided by the

One of the more noteworthy developments as Peter Pan Bus Lines celebrates 90 years is the introduction of the fourth family generation into the business. From left: Peter B. Picknelly, Peter’s son and Peter Pan Bus Lines director of safety; Melissa Picknelly, Peter’s wife and vice president; Peter A. Pcknelly, chairman and CEO and Lauryn Picknelly Dubois, Peter’s daughter and Peter Pan Bus Lines controller.

late Peter L. Picknelly. They ushered in greater expansion. Embracing an era of digital technology, they have grown ridership by offering a high frequency of service and economical pricing policy, and using social media and a new app to attract a wider and younger audience. Nearly 85 percent of all ticketing and charters sales are now transacted online.

Like most bus companies, Peter Pan has been looking for good bus drivers. Peter Pan drivers have several benefits and incentives.

This includes a guarantee of a 40-hour work week, paid training, paid time off and paid holidays, a uniform allowance, health and dental insurance, a 401K plan and life insurance. New applicants that already have a CDL license and passenger endorsement are offered a sign on bonus of as much as $5,000.

Applicants without a CDL can receive training at some of the Peter Pan terminal locations.

When asked about the future of Peter Pan Bus Lines, Peter A. Picknelly, the chairman and CEO of the company, had this to say, “We are very optimistic about our company’s future . . . in order to be successful in this business you need to have passion – Melissa and I are thrilled our kids have the same passion for Peter Pan as we do and as my father and grandfather obviously had.

With the next generation of leadership already in place, Peter Pan’s future has never been more bright.” q

26 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Tom McCaughey Appointed as Museum Director

family took a Conway’s Bus Line tour to the Worlds Fair in New York. The fair was great, but the bus part seems to have been the grabber.

After high school McCaughey bought a Greyhound Ameripass that offered unlimited travel all over the U.S. and pretty much wore that jewel out. He loved the country and the bus travel. He was hooked.

After dabbling at several jobs and promising himself he would not go into the family trash hauling business, he did. They needed help, and at 25 he joined them. Over several decades McCaughey and his two brothers became quite successful.

Fast forward to 1999, The McCaughey family sold the waste management business to a major consolidator. After filling a number of roles with the company that bought the family business, McCaughey decided that corporate life was not for him; he wanted to go from a good job to one that he really enjoyed.

While on a sales call at a small local charter bus operator he sold them a dumpster and asked about driving buses part time.

Within days he was behind the wheel and enjoying it. McCaughey now had the opportunity to indulge his love of buses full time, and he ended up purchasing Dicostanzo Bus Line in 2001. This was the same company he had driven for.

When the deal closed on July 1, 2001, the Dicostanzo fleet he purchased consisted of three “veteran” buses, a small garage and presumably the dumpster he had sold them.

The “veterans” were old enough to vote in 50 states.

by Dave Millhouser Photos coursey of Tom McCaughey and the Bus Museum The Museum of Bus Transportation recently announced that Tom McCaughey has been elected as the bus group’s member on the AACAM Board of Directors. McCaughey has an amazing background that started with coming from a transportation family, being successful as a commercial bus operator and being active with historical buses. For many years McCaughey provided historical buses to the movie industry.

T

he Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum is proud to announce that Tom McCaughey has been elected as the bus group’s member on the AACAM Board of Directors.

Museum member, volunteer and donor McCaughey came by his interest in buses early.

28 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

McCaughey’s boyhood home in Pawtucket, Rhode Island was in the path of the new Interstate 95. The house had a long, cherished history in his family, so they did the only logical thing and moved it to a parcel of land near the Boston Post Road.

Trucks passing and turning off the highway interested young McCaughey, but the buses fascinated him. In 1964 his

For those of you too young to remember, 2001 was not an ideal year to buy a motorcoach company. The 9-11 attacks devastated the charter industry. After struggling through the 9-11 mess, McCaughey gradually built both quality and quantity. By 2022 he was operating 18 coaches, rebranded in 2005 as “Flagship,” had become one of New England’s premier charter carriers and developed a reputation for helping other operators.

Several years after McCaughey bought Dicostanzo, and renamed it Flagship, I asked him how operating a bus company differed from his previous life in trash hauling. With a bit of a glint in his eye he said, “They are not too different.” The glint was because we both knew he was not denigrating his customers, but pointing out that in each case clients depended on reliable service provided by a fleet of complex vehicles and skilled drivers.

Flagship’s success did not go unnoticed, and McCaughey was elected president of the New England Bus Association, to the

American Bus Association Board of Directors and named to the Executive Board of National Trailways Bus System along with other honors.

Less visible, but perhaps more significantly, when legislators and regulators needed someone behind the scenes to educate them on the bus industry’s benefits and needs, he was a respected voice. This became critical during the covid crises.

Flagship had joined the National Trailways Bus System. About that time, longtime Eagle bus enthusiast Larry Yohe contacted McCaughey about an almost mythical, pristine, 05 Eagle in Colorado. The Eagle is an iconic symbol of Trailways, and he could not resist it.

He recalls, “I flew out with my brother Bernie and long-time busman, Bill Donley, to buy the bus. We checked the tires, belts, fluids etc. and drove it home from Denver.

That was quite the ride, but the bus was great.”

Word of the 05 Eagle somehow reached folks in the movie industry, and McCaughey got a call that proved fortuitous. A project needed a vintage bus, and the Eagle was a fit. “My first movie job was a film called Labor Day. My co-stars were Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin,” he points out with that same glint.

Like many businesses, movie production has a web of relationships. Word quickly got out that if you were shooting in the Northeast, and needed a bus, McCaughey was the go-to guy.

While operating a successful bus company, McCaughey also provided historical buses for various film and video productions. In some of the productions the buses made an appearance and were in the background to help set the scene. In others, like this, the buses became a major part of the activity.

In 2006, Double A Transportation in Connecticut was sold to a large school bus operator. Owner Tony Autorino had acquired and restored seven antique coaches which were often parked in front to their Rocky Hill facility. Visible from the highway, motorists sometimes slowed and looked at the buses.

A few years later Double A’s Manager Jonathan Birdsey contacted McCaughey ask-

McCaughey often served as bus driver on the movie sets. His wardrobe contained several uniforms for bus drivers. Being there also helped insure that someone knowledgeable was in the driver’s seat.

ing if he had interest in acquiring the antiques.

The new school bus operators had no affinity for antique coaches, and Birdsey feared they would just deteriorate. McCaughey got in touch with my good friend, the late Peter Wilson. “He took four and I took three. By then, I had done a few projects and became pretty well known in the picture car business, and received calls for buses.”

With the acquisition of the Double A buses McCaughey’s fleet of antiques had grown to five, all of which were operable.

They appeared in both movies and series including Black Mass, Three Women, The Holdovers, Only Murders in the Building, and Julia. In some productions they were in prominent roles, photographed inside and out, while in others “populated a scene” providing historically accurate backdrop. In many cases McCaughey appeared in uniform as the bus driver.

“I probably did a dozen movies and several TV series, most with multiple appearances, maybe 20 plus in total. I worked in Rhode Island, Massachusets, New York and Baltimore on various projects. It was all a lot of fun. People passing by the sets loved the old buses; they could not help smiling. They were a window into a bygone era.” In a bit of irony, some of the antiques are younger than the fleet McCaughey started with in 2001.

McCaughey has a close relationship with Randy Wilcox, the Museum of Bus Transportation fleet manager, and when he got calls for movie buses that he could not supply, he began contacting Wilcox for help. The museum had been doing some movie work,

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 29

Several months ago, McCaughey not only donated his movie buses to the bus museum but paid to have them transported. Here is the “Old Look” transit on its way to the museum.

but was not as “connected” as McCaughey, so this provided an enormous boost. Not only did the revenue help preserve history, but these movie appearances showcased the bus industry’s story.

In 2022 DATTCO, a large, diverse New England bus operator, offered to buy Flagship, and McCaughey decided the time was right to “retire.” He retained ownership of the antique fleet, and thought that donating them to the Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum was a good way to give them a permanent home where preserved and available to the public.

By early 2023 he had the five buses transported to Hershey. They were all at

This photo shows the “New Look” General Motors bus arriving at the museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. These buses will now be available for movie work through the museum.

the museum in time for the Spring Fling in June. In addition to the Eagle, they included a 1964 GM “Fishbowl” Suburban, two GM “Old Looks” from the 1950s and a 45-foot 1998 MCI 102DL3. Several are different than anything in the museum’s current fleet, while a few are similar to existing buses. This offers the opportunity to replace unrestored historic vehicles with similar ones in much better condition.

Perhaps even more valuable, as a museum member and volunteer, McCaughey brings with him his energy, expertise and connections in the “Picture Car” business and the motorcoach industry.

Things seem to have come full circle. As a boy McCaughey loved buses, had the opportunity to operate them at the highest level and now is ensuring their history is available to the kids who represent the future of the industry.

The museum is excited about having someone witH McCaughey’s achievements and skills leading efforts to preserve the history of the bus industry – an ideal combination of experience and energy. The next issue of Reflections, which is included as part of museum membership, will have an article on McCaughey’s journey in the bus industry (sorry, just cannot help the puns). q

Two of the movie buses are shown at work. In addition to serving as a director, McCaughey will help the museum increase income by using its buses for movie work. This type of activity has been growing at the museum in recent years.

30 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

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his is another in our ongoing series of articles dealing with various problems with mass transit and possible solutions. Previous articles have included “Is Transit in Trouble?” in the September, 2022 NATIONAL BUS TRADER that provided an overview of transit ridership declines over the decades. “Looking for a One-Seat Ride” in the October, 2022 issue covered the ongoing trend of passengers seeking a one-seat ride from origin to destination. More recently, “The Trend to Free Transit” in the March, 2023 issue looked at declining farebox revenues and the corresponding movement to free transit.

With this installment we will again review some of the declining ridership trends and look at microtransit as a possible solution since it offers a one-seat ride.

Different Goals While there may be several reasons why ridership is declining on fixed-route transit, there is one observation that is rarely mentioned. It is that the goals of the transit planner and the goals of the passengers may be substantially different.

Transit planners and many if not most politicians consider the purpose of mass transit to be getting passengers into buses, streetcars and trains. The obvious reasons are that larger vehicles are more economical and tend to provide less pollution per passenger. Hence, both are considered attractive and conventional goals.

In comparison and contrast, the simple goal of the passenger is to get from a point of origin to a destination. While some of us with an interest in transportation may actually ride buses, streetcars and trains for enjoyment, the average passenger simply wants to get there – either quickly or economically or both. This is the reason why there has been a century-long movement away from big vehicles and to a oneseat ride originally with private automobiles and more recently with Uber, Lyft and taxis.

Income and Ridership There are several reasons why some people do not use fixed route transit. Obvious examples include working at home and transit routes that do not go where the passenger wants to go. In the United States there appears to be an ongoing impression that public transit is only for the poor people.

There is an obvious explanation for this.

People who earn more tend to feel that their time is more valuable and do not want to waste it riding public transit. Hence, people who earn less will spend time rather than money while people who earn more will spend money rather than time. This explains why the more affluent people have left fixed route transit and gone to a one-seat ride with a private automobile, taxi, Uber or Lyft.

32 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Is Microtransit the Answer?

by Larry Plachno This is one of a series of articles looking into transit ridership concerns and possible solutions.

Shown here is a Solaris Urbino 12 electric bus operating in Germany. Europeans are more likely to embrace public transit than Americans. SOLARIS.

What makes all of this very interesting is that this same situation is less prevalent in Europe. In much of Europe it is not at all unusual for management and professional people to ride public transportation. People wearing suits will ride a bicycle to the train station and then board the train to go to work. Obviously, the Europeans have less of a concern about riding public transportation. Is it because of a different attitude or simply because there are more people in a smaller area?

Transportation Trends While we have covered some of these trends in previous articles, it might be a good idea to point out what the transit industry has been fighting over the past century. In 120 years there has been a major trend away from fixed route transit and to various types of a one-seat ride.

Streetcars became viable after Frank Sprague set up a workable streetcar system in Richmond, Virginia in 1888. Within three years, 200 new streetcar systems were

Transit people are watching the RIDE microtransit operation in Wilson, North Carolina. Here, the community gave up their fixed route transit service and replaced it with a fleet of microtransit vans. WILSON, NORTH CAROLINA.

ordered or built in other cities. By 1902, more than 80 percent of transit trips were on streetcars. The remainder included cable cars, horsecars, bicycles and walking. However, with the introduction of the Model T Ford and paved roads, in a span of about 20 years most Americans moved from depending on public transportation to depending on their private automobile. One source suggests that by 1930, about 98 percent of transit trips were by automobile.

Moving from streetcars to buses did not help. It is somewhat embarrassing to note that riders left buses faster than rail lines. Over the years, providing public transit has become more expensive. First the government provided capital improvements and now covers operating costs. Some cities want to eliminate fare collection because it costs more than what it brings in. Things have gotten so bad that at one time transit reached a point of getting a third of combined federal highway and transit funding but only providing 2.5 percent of person trips nationwide.

After Wilson, North Carolina went to microtransit vans, their ridership increased three times over the previous fixed route service. Half of the passengers use the service to maintain or get employment. WILSON, NORTH CAORLINA.

There are many reasons why people are leaving fixed route transit. Some have retired and others are working from home. However, it is increasingly obvious that the bulk of the people who left fixed route transit have gone to private automobiles, taxis, Uber and Lyft to get a one-seat ride. When the District of Columbia was talking about going to free transit, it was mentioned that fixed route transit failed to go where many people wanted to go. Hence, there is increasing interest in looking at microtransit as a alternative for some or all of fixed route transit.

Wilson, North Carolina Transit people have been watching Wilson, North Carolina and their new microtransit operation. Wilson is located in eastern North Carolina about 50 miles east of

Raleigh. With a population of less than 50,000 they had a fixed route transit system that was not doing well. Passengers complained about long wait times between buses and many said that the buses did not go where they needed to go. Unemployment was a problem while something like 30 percent of their population lacked a car and could not get to work.

Looking for alternatives and answers, Wilson decided to eliminate its fixed route transit system and go to an on-demand one powered by a smartphone app. They received federal and state funding in order to make the change. The switch was made in September of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and started with an initial fare of $1.50 per ride.

Riding on public transit systems has been declining for more than a century in the United States.

The statistics do show that people are more likely to leave bus operation than rail operations. Shown here is a light rail operation in New Jersey. NBT.

For some reason, transit ridership began to take another nosedive in 2014. The annual percentage of decline has been relatively small. The American Public Transportation Association suggests numbers of 1.4, 1.9 and 2.9 percent annually. However, the overall decline has been substantial in numbers. Just from 2014 to 2017 it looks like U.S. transit ridership declined by 650 million passengers. Sadly about 90 percent of this decline was in bus operations with less than 10 percent from rail transit.

Unfortunately, the pandemic caused another major decline in ridership. According to available figures, public agencies reported 10.7 billion unlinked passenger trips in 2014. In 2019, the number of unlinked passenger trips dropped to 9.9 billion. However, after the pandemic hit the number of unlinked passenger trips was down to only 4.7 million in 2020.

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 33

Wilson partnered with New York-based Via for software and named the new system RIDE. While the fare was later increased to $2.50, the new on-demand service has been very successful. Ridership on the RIDE ondemand vans has tripled the ridership on the previous fixed route transit system. More than 50 percent of the riders on the new system use the vans to maintain or get employment. This has not only helped Wilson’s unemployment problem but has also extended service to areas not previously served by the fixed route transit buses. At least part of the success is attributable to partnering with Via for the software and launch.

Via Founded in Manhattan’s upper east side, Via’s microtransit concept was hard to sell.

Since subways did not go to Manhattan’s upper east side, Via proposed an on-demand van system powered by an app. The original proposal was turned down by the local leaders. According to Via founder Daniel Ramot, “They said it was the dumbest idea they ever heard, that it was never going to work and that public transit was buses and trains.”

Eventually, more and more communities have started to embrace microtransit as an addition to or replacement for fixed route transit.

The first city to sign a contract was Austin, Texas. Several areas of Austin were adequately served by conventional fixed route transit. Other areas were considered transit deserts. What Via did was to establish on-demand service in the areas that needed it using a smartphone app.

An interesting and perhaps unusual application of the Via system is in use at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Since transit service was very limited at

This group of Jersey City microtransit vans are parked along the Hudson River. Those tall buildings across the river are located in Manhattan in New York City. Service started in March of 2020. JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

34 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

With a population of nearly 300,000, Jersey City, New Jersey has a microtransit operation in addition to fixed route transit. The booking engine limits trips to the areas where it is needed most. JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

night, the overnight cargo workers at FedEx were looking for a way to get home in the early morning hours. Via worked with Pace, the local transit agency, to provide an ondemand system to get workers home safely at these unusual hours.

Showing the versatility of the Via microtransit concept is the operation in Jersey City, New Jersey. With a population of nearly 300,000, Jersey City already has a good fixed route transit system in its central area. Its problem was a lack of good transportation in outlying areas. Hence, their new ondemand service was launched in March of

2020 with a fare of $2 at the start of the pandemic. What makes this service unusual is that the booking engine prevents trips that take place entirely with the central area and concentrates the on-demand service where it is needed most.

All of this brings up the thought that microtransit and on-demand service may be the solution to several fixed route transit problems. It not only provides a desired oneseat ride but also serves areas not served by fixed route transit. Numerous other communities are looking into bringing in similar operations. q

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 35

Evacuating Buses After 9-11

by Dave Millhouser

Beyond the personal tragedies of 9-11, the disaster also caused most public transportation to be shut down in New York City. A major problem was that the morning commuter coaches from New Jersey had arrived with their passengers but were effectively abandoned at different locations and had to be driven back to New Jersey. Taken on December 9, 1999, this photo shows a CoachUSA MCI 102DL3 on West 39th Street in New York City. J.C. REBIS JR.

S

eptember 11, 2001 was my 55th birthday.

Nevertheless I was in Blackwood, New Jersey at the MCI sales/service facility when it all started. I was there because a Brooklyn customer was to take delivery of six buses and drop off six trades. They never made it, because bridges and tunnels were quickly closed. We had a TV in the waiting room, and as word of an airplane striking the South Tower of the World Trade Center

36 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

spread through the facility, we all gathered to watch network news coverage. At first virtually everyone assumed it was an accident.

The second plane ended that.

When the North Tower fell, we all wondered what happened. It never occurred to us that it had imploded. A substantial amount of the talk on TV centered around the fact that

50,000 people worked in the area, and that the number of casualties might be massive.

Before the towers collapsed, the visual image of people jumping from the buildings to escape the flames was both horrifying – and riveting.

It was not immediately obvious what the falling objects were, but once it became clear that they were human beings, everyone (media

Many people watched the 9-11 tragedy unfold on television. The impact of the second plane made it obvious that this was not an accident. 12019 AT PIXABAY.

and watchers) was mortified. This still remains one of my most vivid memories, despite the fact that modern media exercises unusual good judgment by rarely showing it.

I spent the night in South Jersey, because there was no easy way to get past New York City to New England. My wife Susan was on call at Boston Children’s Hospital for the hundreds of casualties they expected (which never came). John Oakman, who was senior executive vice president at CoachUSA, then arguably the largest bus line in the U.S., had been my best friend for many years. He called to see if I could meet him in Hoboken, New Jersey, early 9/12, to help retrieve buses that drivers had been forced to leave in New York City.

CoachUSA needed to pull them out of Manhattan, in order to resume running commutes into the city from northern New Jersey. A huge percentage of New Yorkers commute by bus, and until service was restored, no one could get to work.

Some of the buses stranded in New York City after 9-11 were no longer drivable because of falling debris and a need to be dug out. DAVE MILLHOUSER.

smoke at least three times higher than the towers had stood.

Hoboken was a ghost town, and I drove right to the bus garage. Piggly Wiggly was parked inside, with John emerging from the door, wrapped in a towel, searching for a shower. In a different situation, it would have been humorous.

A group of CoachUSA people, mostly managers, several with little driving experience, volunteered to help, and our motley crew climbed into a van. They took us to the PATH rail terminal (a train that goes under

the Hudson from New Jersey to New York).

Bridges and tunnels were still closed, and there were few ways to get into the city. Service was free that day, and the trains were packed. It was eerily quiet, and no one gave us a second glance, despite the fact that several of us were wearing jumper cables around our necks (in case buses did not start).

Everyone on the train was nervous, because we were in a tunnel – under a river.

At that time no one knew who had destroyed the Trade Center or if there were more attacks coming. Under a river did NOT

The total devastation caused by 9-11 is difficult to imagine. This overhead photo looks down on ground zero after most of the dust had settled. Dust and debris were scattered over a considerable area and had covered parked vehicles including buses. MICHAEL FORAN CREATIVE COMMONS 2.0.

Oakman was at the Buscon show in Cleveland with no air service or rental cars available. He hitched a ride to Columbus, Ohio and commandeered “Piggly Wiggly.”

This was a converted MCI 102DL3 that CoachUSA owned that was parked there.

Firing it up he headed east, driving to CoachUSA’s Hoboken facility, across the Hudson from New York City. His plan was to use the bus not only for transportation, but lodging, assuming, correctly, that all the hotel rooms in the area would be occupied by stranded airline passengers.

I got up early September 12 and headed towards New York, not entirely sure that the police would let me into Hoboken. Driving north on the New Jersey Turnpike, I wondered what would be visible from the spot where the twin towers had been prominent on the skyline. There was a vertical pillar of

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 37

Some of the stranded buses were standard NJ Transit D4000 coaches that were typically used to bring commuters into and out of New York City from New Jersey. J.C. REBIS JR.

seem a safe place. We ended up making that trip four or five times.

On the Manhattan side, a driver picked us up in a van, and drove us south towards the World Trade Center. We picked up the first group of coaches within sight and sound of the rubble and smoke. A number of the buses were MCIs, purchased as part of the New Jersey Transit acquisition and had different controls than I was familiar with. The “ignition” switch was a round knob similar to the old GM 4106s and there was a moment of panic – fear that the convoy would leave without me (and I had no idea where I was).

While we were starting the buses, a tow truck went by dragging a crushed mail truck. It was flat, less than two feet high – no wheels, grinding along with sparks flying, steel on tarmac, up 11th Avenue right past the Jacob Javits Center.

At that time the only way off Manhattan was to drive all the way north to the George Washington Bridge (north end of Manhattan) cross the Hudson, then all the way back down the New Jersey Turnpike to Hoboken (which is near the Lincoln Tunnel – mid town).

The most vivid memory of this long trip was seeing stunned people sitting on steps and in parks. They stared at us because there was very little else moving. It seemed to take forever to reach the George Washington, but there was no traffic – a real blessing to the members of our gang who were not skilled drivers

The first posters with photos of missing people were just going up.

Each group of coaches we retrieved was farther from the World Trade Center site.

Once we had worked north to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in mid-town (by far the largest bus terminal in the United States, (200,000 people per day) we expected 15 buses to be there. Turned out we had more than that parked in the dark enclosed garage.

38 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Other stranded buses in New York City included those from the regular CoachUSA fleet such as this MCI 102DL3 photographed on State Street earlier in 2001. J.C. REBIS JR.

A young Port Authority Police Officer was guarding the place. Normally there would have been thousands of people there, but he told us the only other person around was his sergeant, who was inside the terminal.

While waiting for the sergeant to grant permission to move the buses, the officer told us that he had lost many friends on 9/11; he still did not know how many. Nice guy, very subdued. In a bit of irony, in the immediate aftermath of the worst terror attack on United States soil, our only credentials for taking the coaches were the jumper cables around our necks and dirty hands.

The sergeant told us he would be VERY happy if we got the buses out of there, because there was some fear that they might have explosives aboard. Did we mind if they checked each for bombs before we left? We thought that an EXCELLENT idea.

The last trip was again to the Port Authority. This time the police officer asked if we would like to take the Lincoln Tunnel (which turned a 20-mile trip into a threemile trip). He could get it opened just for us.

One of our guys was an executive with little driving experience, who said he was a bit nervous about driving in the narrow tunnel.

The cop looked at him and said that there were two lanes, we would have a police escort and no one else would be in the tube – things went fine.

After going all day without eating, that night we all had a very sober dinner in Hoboken.

At a time when everyone wished they could “do something,” we all felt grateful for the opportunity to have had something to do. q

Not all of the buses were leaving after 9-11. This CoachUSA MCI 102DL3 was called into Manhattan by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to transport rescue workers. It was photographed on 9/22/01 on West 33rd Street south of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center which was the staging area for rescue workers. J.C. REBIS JR.

Survival and Prosperity

by Ned Einstein Crime Does Not Always Pay

This is even true in public transportation, where it usually does. Just look at the nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) sector (see https://transalt.com/article/ nemt-brokers-motivecare-and-mtm-stealing-hundred-of-billions-from-our-healthcare-system/ and https://transalt.com/article/responses-to-declining-ridership-part-1contracting-independent-contractors-andbrokers/), where it has been suggested that two mega-brokers steal between $200 billion and $300 billion a year (my conservative estimate) from our healthcare system.

Peiffer Wolf’s class action lawsuit is different than most lawsuits.

The problems of Uber and Lyft are comparable but not as nuanced. Because Uber and Lyft are not “middlemen,” like brokers, the complexity of filing against them does not frighten away so many attorneys. Plus, the typical lazy lawyer too cheap and lazy to find and converse with an expert who understands demand-responsive operations (like NEMT service) does not face the same complexity in cases against TNCs. At the same time, attorneys facing Uber and Lyft still focus on driver error – not the institutional structure that creates the dangerous operating environment within which Uber and Lyft passengers travel. Peiffer Wolf’s class action lawsuit is different than most lawsuits in that way.

While I have been a visible and outspoken proponent of eliminating TNCs from the public transportation landscape since at least 2014 (they were barely visible before then), no individual or institution has been able or willing to stop them. They just grow and grow, steal and sell, and facilitate mayhem. Last year in New York City, newlyelected Mayor Eric Adams finally put a cap on the number of Ubers in the city, technically limiting them to 60,000 after former Mayor DeBlasio began letting them into the city in 2014 – without charging them the then-going-rate for taxi medallions (about $1.1 million), a sum what would have deprived the city coffers of close to $70 bil-

lion if most of them had paid for these medallions (few would have).

This free entry was enough to decimate the city’s taxi industry – currently including about 13,500 vehicles – about the same as there were when the 60,000 unneeded vehicles entered the city. All the taxi drivers and owners lost a fortune since the free entry of Uber and Lyft devalued medallions to a fraction of their former self, economically destroying the lives of tens of thousands of owners, drivers and their families in the process.

In recent years, the blight of “TNCs” (transportation network companies, like Uber and Lyft) has penetrated the school bus industry (ZUM provides this service in Los Angeles and San Francisco, for starters), the limousine industry (obviously), the motorcoach industry, the transit industry, the paratransit sector and even the disturbingly-corrupt non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) sector. The motorcoach industry will pay for its apathy as Uber and Lyft dive into the opportunities to replace short- and medium-distance airline trips that the motorcoach industry has shown virtually no interest in.

Some of these sectors were so duped that, as their ridership has been peeled away by Uber and Lyft, the people involved in certain competing sectors actually supported them.

In New York City, and others, one can purchase transit passes through one’s Uber app – a doorway to a mode split away from transit. (New York City contributed to this problem by closing most of the ticket kiosks in the subway; one cannot obtain most discount passes from the often-broken robots that masquerade as ticket booths). Increasingly, transit riders must purchase passes through their Uber app. (This may be a good thing for certain riders since one cannot purchase certain discounted passes – like those for elderly and disabled riders – from the robot machines.

Of course, many of these riders do not have the digital skills to purchase passes from an app. (At the bus level, at least, the drivers who hate and loathe these passengers must be thrilled by these constraints.)

Total Crime Very few corporate criminals are able to commit both strategic and tactical transgressions – for example regular institutional things as well as daily things at the operating level. Uber and Lyft effortlessly do both –

with complete impunity, largely because of the failure of plaintiff’s lawyers to hold them accountable:

At the institutional level, companies steal the personal information from their passengers’ social media accounts – and also steal this information from everyone in their passengers’ social media networks, i.e., the friends, relatives and strangers with whom their passengers communicate – information which they then sell to their colleagues in Silicon Valley and, more than likely, to companies all over the world. Further at the institutional level, these companies do not pay “medallion” fees or other steep fees like those with which their taxi counterparts are gouged in most U.S. cities.

At the operating level, in exchange to creaming off 20 percent of the fares immediately – effectively for doing nothing, including not providing the vehicles, fuel or maintenance associated with similar modes (i.e., taxis and limousines) – Uber and Lyft also provide no dispatchers, no management, no monitoring, little or no driver training, skeletal hiring (including no diametric fingerprinting), no video surveillance or anything else above the driver level other than marketing. In other words, at the management level, they provide little or nothing.

Further, Uber’s policy is to not report criminal activity to law enforcement authorities.

To boot, Uber charges passengers a $1/trip “safe ride fee” – which Uber does not even share with its drivers. l bus

It gets worse: Even when you think its still too dangerous to get back into the water, the sharks crawl up onto the sand and into your hotel room. With Lyft (for certain), and likely with Uber, it is not necessarily true that drivers must operate their own vehicles.

They sometimes operate rental cars from Hertz, Maven and possibly other national car-rental companies. The “rub” is that, when they do, if the driver provides 150 or more trips per week (in one lawsuit I did against both Uber and Lyft), Lyft pays the car rental fee (typically $200 for the vehicles “set aside” for Lyft rentals). The rental car company pays for insurance and performs maintenance on the vehicle. (This insurance lasts every moment you are driving the rental vehicle; when using a driver’s own vehicle, he or she uses his or her own crummy insurance when driving “off the platform” – e.g., like deadheading home

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 39

Survival and Prosperity after a typical period of unlimited hours of exhausting driving.)

If it is not obvious, 150 trips per week is an astonishing number of trips for a taxi or TNC. (Some U.S. bus lines provide less than one trip per hour). Think about this: You are a driver, you have been driving 70 or 80 hours a week, you have 90 minutes of your week left, you have only provided 148 trips, and you can barely keep your eyes open even while you are jittery from all the coffee and Red Bull. What are you going to do? Pull over and take a nap? Or pick up and transport another two passengers? Get serious.

Those last two passengers not only bring in a few more dollars, but save the driver $200/week and deliver him or her free maintenance and serious, full-time insurance.

Filing a nationallyconsolidated class action lawsuit against Uber for what it claims are more than 10,000 sexual assault victims.

Defenses Galore Advertised recently (October 11, 2023) in the San Francisco News Advisory (a newsletter), the firm of Peiffer, Wolf Carr, Kane, Conway & Wise (Peiffer Wolf) is filing a nationally-consolidated class action lawsuit against Uber for what it claims are more than 10,000 sexual assault victims.

While I would rarely even consider taking a case in support of Uber, I can imagine some of the rudimentary defenses its counsel will employ – beyond the litany of shenanigans that most judges accept which permit defendants to stonewall plaintiffs’ counsel and provide them virtually nothing of value from their “requests for production of documents” (known as “discovery”). Such defenses might include:

• Assumption of Risk. The act of advertising safety – at least in America – is akin to telling someone to “have a nice day.” Uber’s “Safety Fee” could represent almost anything, even while it is nothing but another scam to circumvent fare limitations placed on it by selective cities in or near which Uber operates. Further, most passengers are likely aware of the marketing-oriented focus of Uber, and the absence of any live Earthlings involved in management should have dawned on many. Most passengers are fully aware that they signed a lengthy waiver (which almost none ever read) when they supplemented their credit-card signings for 40 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

the ride by hitting “accept”). Lyft’s “contract” is 43 pages or several hundred cellphone screens long.

The driver who will wait for a would-be passenger to review this document before accepting a ride is the driver who keeps live alligators in the back seat to keep the passengers company. (Why would this bother drivers who, collectively, molest tens of thousands of passengers?) There is no evidence whatsoever of any dispatcher communications, interior video surveillance cameras or any remote effort to monitor anything that goes on inside an Uber vehicle during an Uber trip. The defendant’s attorneys are likely to argue that many or most Uber riders know these things. In exchange for whatever benefits they may feel they obtain from such a service, they are clearly “assuming a risk” whenever they travel on this mode. By comparison, travelers on other modes assume exponentially less risk – if they assume any.

• Just Asking for it. Dismissing the defendant in a molestation case only became challenging in the past few decades or so. Before then (even while it was disregarded, the testimony of Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas confirmation process was a disturbing constraint on the centuries of these whitewashes), the most potent defense was, “She was just asking for it.” For this not to be true, the victim would have to be morbidly-obese, physicallydisabled, dressed stupidly and smell bad. (In truth, things like this have not deterred the drivers in several passenger molestation cases I have done.) Otherwise, the alleged cornucopia of inducements ranged from short skirts and strong perfume to females passengers conversing with drivers whom they made the mistake of treating as equals. To some jurors, and most jurors in the not-quite-recent past, these women could only be “coming on” to the driver.

• Consolidation of Rape Cases. There are almost as many scenarios for rape as there are rapes. The perpetrators range from a child’s father to some stranger wearing nothing but shoes, socks and a raincoat. In one molestation case in which I served as an expert, the victim was a sympatheticallyugly, greatly-undersized, developmentallydisabled teenager wearing a helmet (i.e., the sign of someone periodically experiencing grand mal seizures). During the driver ’s deposition, my brilliant counsel asked him, ”What was it, in particular, about my client that appealed to your sexual appetite?”

Between the purely-innocent, friendly banter of an average-looking 20- or 30-something woman with an Uber driver and the scenario just cited lie almost an unlimited variety of molestation scenarios. Some are more juryfriendly than others (In the not-too-distant

periods in the South, the difference between a Black man accused of raping a White woman compared to a White man accused of raping a Black woman was ”black and white” [excuse the metaphor].) Until 1955, no White man in the South had ever been convicted of killing a Black individual. Statistics for raping one are similar. The point is that, statistically, until very recently, the conviction rate for rapists has been extremely low. That involved one-on-one lawsuits where most attention was focused on the interaction of two people – and mostly the behavior of the driver, not the management structure (or lack of it) surrounding him.

• Sparsity of Data. To my knowledge, the last full-blown study of molestation in the U.S. was performed in 2002, a study documenting 52,800 “non-family” abductions a year in the United States. That study identified 115 molestation scenarios. For purposes of the case in which I used this study (a crossing accident), in defending a former large private school bus contractor, I learned that one fourth of all nonfamily abductions happen “in or near the woods.” The decision to have five children jaywalk across a low-speed country road also took them away from the woods and in plain sight of a batch of homeowners residing on the opposite side of the street. (I helped the defendant walk out of that case.) Unlike boarding and alighting incidents and wheelchair tipovers – which encompass only a few different scenarios separated only by details – molestation scenarios are like snowflakes. Not likely to ever see it, I must laugh in advance about the studies plaintiff’s counsel intends to employ in this class action lawsuit. I would be surprised to learn of a single study of passenger molestation on comparative modes of public transportation.

How does one sue an app?

• Suing an App. Talking about catching greased snakes, how does one sue an app?

In today’s legal system, one cannot sue the Tar Baby, Tinkerbell or a particular fire hydrant. One can sue a roofer, the Walt Disney Company or a local municipality’s street maintenance department. In terms of escaping from consequences (or anything else), a good app would overwhelm Tinkerbell.

With Uber, all the app does is summon a vehicle. The app does not drive it. Does not fix it. Does not even wash it. It just summons it. Neither Uber nor its drivers do this. Their passengers do. (passengers whom, as noted, will be accused of “assuming the risk.”)

Survival and Prosperity Do I believe these defenses deserve genuine consideration by a jury? Of course not.

I also believe that many such defenses, and others like them, will be very effective, and often convincing.

The Message for Motorcoach Operators With a genuine loathing for TNCs, much less a nation full of them, I still think that the chances of a law firm cornering a defendant like Uber is far more challenging than succeeding in a case against most members of the transportation community – although I myself have a perfect record against Lyft. I hope I am wrong about the difficulty of this challenge.

The motorcoach industry cannot be too cavalier about such things.

At the same time, the motorcoach industry – about which I do not recall even an anecdote about sexual molestation – cannot be too cavalier about such things as some impunity from prosecution in a molestation case involving some public transportation mode. In the more than 20 molestation cases on which I served as an expert, only three proceeded to trial. I won two of them (one for a plaintiff; one for a defendant). I lost the third (in 1998) simply because of the judge. As an operator, if you are thinking that you can weasel out of a molestation case that occurs on one of your vehicles (even if the driver is not involved), I have three bridges to sell you for a dollar apiece (although they all need serious maintenance).

Just because a U.S. law firm may have trouble riding a bucking bronco smeared with Vaseline does not mean that you can let you guard down in both monitoring your provision of service, and exercising the highest standard and duty of care to deter any incarnation of assault or molestation incident from occurring on board any of your vehicles. As an expert, the place I first look is at a few specific sets of driver’s logs. The rest are only details – although they may be interesting details. The evidence is almost always firmly embedded in the drivers’ logs – at least when one is experienced in reviewing them. (I reviewed at least 200,000 of my own operation’s logs during the 10 years I directed the operations of a 70-vehicle paratransit system where most service involved an a.m. and a p.m. shift.)

Not to dwell on the obvious, this discussion must include the fact that, as common carriers, motorcoaches are held to the highest standard and duty of care. While I actually

As common carriers, motorcoaches are held to the highest standard and duty of care. (and successfully) defended two transportation companies in molestation cases, I helped squash all but one other on the plaintiff’s side. Uber and Lyft are elusive exceptions (although I managed to succeed against them – but not in any molestation cases). The rest of our modes are not.

Putting the Defendant at Risk Then there is this thing known as injunctive relief:

• In Beauchamp v. LACMTA (CA, 1999), my document outlining injunctive relief forced this leviathan transit district to actually pick up wheelchair users – a financial hardship for a county whose skeleton of a bus fleet was overflowing with standees (and likely overloading many vehicles’ suspension systems). Fifteen or so years earlier, the county placed itself $7 billion in debt for the first three of its growing labyrinth of sparsely-used, flagrantly-unjustified subway lines.

• In another California case I did, my injunctive relief brought $170,000 to the plaintiff, along with a page and a half of additional concessions likely costing the defendant millions. The wheelchair-using plaintiff merely bumped his head on the forehead of a seated passenger in front of him – not even in a collision. No driver on any of the system’s 20 routes had ever secured his wheelchair (or likely any other wheelchair). Our lawsuit changed this reckless indifference profoundly – at a considerable cost to the transit agency.

The court ordered the defendant to purchase 3,200 additional buses.

• In a far-more-famous case (BRU v LACMTA; CA, 1998) in which I was not involved, the court ordered the defendant to purchase 3,200 additional buses. This approach (injunctive relief) should be a key to the plaintiff’s strategy in the class action case against Uber.

The legal world also butts up against a post-modern institutional and industrial structure that can spin off in directions that

no state’s case law can remotely keep pace with. Among them is the simple fragmentation of production into the hands of countless suppliers. (A huge number already exist, for different reasons). Breaking up a service into so many small pods – contractors, subcontractors and brokers – will imbue any lawsuit with an avalanche of attorneys, delays and motions. Trying to hold the manufacturers of subcomponents that interrelate in an infinite number of ways will not even be like catching a snake. It will be like playing whack-a-mole without the whack.

Knowing Uber as I do, as much as I hate to give it ideas, I suspect a cottage industry will emerge that will allow individuals (or group s of individuals) to invest in (and to a degree, naturally, to profit from) the robots that Uber installs to replace its drivers (few of whom I expect to be investors). I can think of some variations that will, further, give the legal world fits: All type and manner of ownership, leasing, renting and relationship variations for non-Uber management and employes or 1099 workers (or whatever they will be when this article is released) thanks to another lawsuit initiated against Uber this past July, in California.

Speaking as an expert witness, – and I speak for most genuine experts in all fields – I feel that the density of genuine, hard-working and willing-to-spend attorneys available now are approaching extinction. If it takes armies of half-decent entry-level, support attorneys to mount a case against a highlydiversified, internationally-owned, exorbitantly-funded near-monopoly, where are these legions of attorneys going to come from? Particularly as almost every rarelylistening civil attorney has accomplished nothing to move the air currents surrounding Uber, the tasks of criminal attorneys, and those in between, like class action attorneys, may not be easily realized.

Years ago, I authored six installments in NATIONAL BUS TRADER about Uber and Lyft – mostly about the failures to stop them at virtually every level of the public transportation and political arenas (see https://transalt.com/article/bad-regulations-and-worse-responses-part-1-introduction/; https://transalt.com/article/badregulations-and-worse-responses-part-2-the -rise-fall-and-transformation-of-supershuttle/; https://transalt.com/article/ bad-regulations-and-worse-responses-part-3-invasion-of-the-tncs/; https://transalt. com/article/bad-regulations-and-worseresponses-part-4-judicial-heroism/; https://transalt.com/article/bad-regulations-and-worse-responses-part-5-executive-branch-responses/ https://transalt. com/article/bad-regulations-and-worseresponses-part-6-industry-and-associationNational Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 41

Survival and Prosperity responses/ and https://transalt.com/article/bad-regulations-and-worse-responsespart-7-conclusions/ ). Like most of my articles about the future, this one is continuing to unfold, continuing to come true.

In contrast, being forced to do certain things could bring a sector like the motorcoach industry to its knees. Worse still in transit: The prohibition of standees, for example (which would undoubtedly improve passenger safety) would greatly reduce transit’s already bottom-of-the-barrel farebox recovery ratio.

I do not see most taxpayers ponying over the additional funds for an armada of additional buses or subway cars, like they were forced to do in Los Angeles County as a result of the BRU case (see summary above).

All said, the soon-to-be-mainstream news about the class action lawsuit against Uber may prove fascinating. Even the finest attorney of a less-than-perfect law firm will not enjoy “chasing the app” (Uber cases may soon calcify into such expressions – just as the term ‘uber’ has become a verb). For the rest of us – motorcoaches, transit, school bus service, paratransit, special needs pupil transportation, shuttles and taxi (the last of which needs no lessons about Uber from this article) – we must be vigilant. We have a physical presence. The passengers travel in vehicles we own or lease. Our drivers are usually employees, not 1099 workers. Parkouts are rare. The performance of pre- and post-trip inspections is common, if not rigorously enforced. Our drivers are criticallyhired, often well-trained, usually healthy and occasionally-monitored. They are ours.

According to Uber, its drivers (using their own vehicles) really only have a physical relationship with an app that magically directs them to passenger pickup locations in return for 20 percent of the fares. In court, Uber will present itself as a vehicular yenta – a match-making service. (Taxicab brokers have often tried to employ this ruse.) Most other modes do not have such legal luxuries.

Our systems are not slick. We employ live Earthlings at the operating level, a traditional characteristic of every traditional public transportation defendant. As common carriers, the employees of these services are supposed to do things.

Lesions and Lessons And then there is the future.

While now a mere board member, when questioned about the company’s lack of control over its drivers, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanack told Vanity Fair (December 2014 issue) that, “Drivers are only a temporary nuisance.” The length of a Consent Decree – which, at best, may force a few safety requirements on Uber during its tolerance of that 42 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Drivers are only a temporary nuisance. decree – is usually about a decade long. The next class action lawsuit against Uber could be far more interesting – and possibly impossible to win. As a legal matter, what will a lawsuit consist of if the principle deponents are an app and a rainbow collation of robots assembled from subcomponents from hundreds of suppliers? Of course, by then, the robots will likely be programmed with the most perfect answers to any cross-examination question. As the operators of the vehicles, the discussion about the propriety of them testifying will be one fascinating debate.

As a consequence of the promises (and mostly heartbreaks) the future certainly holds, the currently-planned lawsuit may be our society’s last chance to eliminate Uber and its TNC cousin’s from the public transportation landscape – or at least wound them. They are far along their way in damaging this landscape. They are taking it over.

The plaintiff’s must first win the case on liability, and then the judge must grant the injunctive relief needed to break Uber’s business model. This injunctive relief will almost certainly involve demands to incorporate a serious range of live Earthlings into Uber’s operating structure (including the creation of a management structure from scratch) – effectively killing Uber’s business model, to which I doubt a company with virtually no knowledge of transportation can easily overcome. Michael Issac’s treatment of Uber – Super Pumped – contained only a few sentences about transportation in the entire 345page book– apart from the notion that response times are important.

Just as there are lessons to be learned from Uber and the countless failures to clean up its behavior (new lessons should be brought closer to the light by this lawsuit), there are special lessons to be learned by the motorcoach industry. These lessons sink deeply into marketing, liability and safety.

In truth, while the motorcoach industry is among the safest of modes (despite operating largely on either high-speed roadways or the tight street networks of their passengers’ destinations), it largely tries to distinguish itself, as its highest priority, by its customer service. However, invaluable lessons about customer safety can be learned from modes that provide none. Again, as former Uber CEO Travis Kalanack told Vanity Fair, “Drivers are only a temporary nuisance.”

Unless this lawsuit destroys Uber (and its fellow TNCs), by the time even a seeminglyeffective Consent Decree runs its course, Uber

will have found a way to reconfigure itself around its small handful of uber-selfish goals, and re-emerge more quickly than the legal world can catch up with it. Uber is public transportation’s version of Hamas. If you only wound it, even badly (as the class action lawsuit noted above may), it will only pop up a decade later in a different, and likely even more impugn, incarnation. Keep in mind that oligopolies like Uber can thrive for years without earning a dime in profits, and can sustain enormous losses during bad times. Even in the best of times, many oligopolies pay no taxes – the loopholes in the maximum 15 percent of revenue they must pay are gaping.

Of course the U.S. legal system is not the physical gridlock of Gaza. It is surely its equal in institutional, political and legal molasses, where the defendants, swollen with untaxed profits, will give no second thoughts to some reluctance to appeal (or try to appeal) a lower court ruling of any kind. One problem is that defendants like Uber – whose next incarnation (perhaps triggered by the current class action suit) may include highly-automated-vehicles (HAVs) – or more bluntly, vehicles driven by robots, will be even harder to hold accountable for anything related to safety. Since there is no accident history comparing the safety of human drivers to robots, much less an absence of the decades of case law that generally follow such radical changes, the evolution of Uber is likely to permanently remain ahead of efforts to stop it.

A few N ATIONAL BUS TRADER readers may recall the era (before President Reagan quickly changed it), where banks could only operate in a single state, and the debt-to-asset ratio was three-to-one (Reagan is not responsible for the radical, exponential – if not interplanetary – explosion of this notion). Before then, no comedian ever spoke of anything that was too big to fail. Uber did not grow up in that world. It grew up half a decade after the era in which Leyman Brothers and AIG, among others, demonstrated the costs of addressing this dilemma from both directions (i.e., limits on debts or untaxed assets). Years ago, around the time of Trump’s succession, Uber’s investors had amassed an untaxed war chest of $63 billion – including money from several foreign investors.

Frankly, no class action lawsuit is likely to make a long-term dent in Uber’s pocketbook. Instead, the suit will cost it pennies on the dollar – although those dollars will likely be spent making Uber a bit safer, sexually.

With these features, Uber will be even easier to market in the next incarnation, which will be even less safe for more clever and profitable reasons. The time to kill it is now. Most likely this will not happen. It may never again be safe to go back into the water.

Survival and Prosperity Regardless of the outcome of the Uber case, the lesson is that every public transportation mode should stuff its pockets with monitoring tools and approaches. In Puddin’head Wilson, Mark Twain noted that, “Only a fool is afraid to put all his marbles in one basket. A wise man puts all his marbles in one basket . . . and watches the basket.” Uber kept its collective eyes on nothing but profits, investments and tax avoidance schemes. It may now be paying for this narrow, safety-less focus. Other public transportation modes do not have such luxuries.

This is a bet I would love to lose. will ‘kill the beast’ without being shredded by layer upon layer of political, institutional and legal administrativa get in the way?” I am betting not. This is a bet I would love to lose.

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 q and management.

Ned Einstein is the president of Transportation Alternatives (www.transalt.com [1]), a public transportation witness firm.

Einstein (einstein@transit.com) specializes in catastrophic motorcoach accidents.

There is only one answer to Uber – just as there is really only one answer to Hamas: Eliminate them completely. At least until their next time around (much more quickly with Uber) I myself know how to make Uber ’s business model obsolete through injunctive relief. Whether Pieffer Wolf can is another matter.

Would it not be nice if one could craft our legal system, and formally “coordinate” it with the legislative branch, to create the seeds to rid ourselves of the selfproclaimed “disrupters” of everything they touch. To answer that question readers must ask themselves, “ Can this country make rudimentary adjustments that

National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 43

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Photos should be sent to N ATIONAL B US TRADER, 9698 West Judson Road, Polo, Illinois 61064. Please indicate if you would like your picture returned. Picture usage is dependent on the quality of the photo and space available.

The recent Busworld show in Brussels showed a major trend towards hydrogen fuel cell buses. Here are two that were particularly interesting.

At left: Rampini from Italy introduced their new Hydron midibus model at Busworld. Powered by hydrogen fuel cell, the Hydron will transport up to 48 passengers with a range of 400 or more kilometers or 250 miles. This model can operate in battery-electric mode, hydrogen fuel cell mode or both.

Below: Irizar in Europe now has a hydrogen fuel cell version of their i6 coach. It retains all coach features and has an operating range of about 1,000 kilometers which is more than 600 miles. This is starting to get into the range for many charters and tours.

44 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

ARE YOU IN TUNE WITH YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS? ABA’s Marketplace Gives You VIP Access: Appointments Exhibits | Education Networking

The Curious Coachowner Number 299 of a Series “The Curious Coachowner” is a question and answer column that provides simple answers to simple questions that are too short to warrant a full article or inclusion in one of our regular columns. We will accept reasonably simple technical or historical questions on coaches, buses or even converted coach shells by letter, fax, e-mail or phone. If our staff is unable to answer them, we will call upon our panel of experts.

Names and addresses should be submitted with your questions, but we will withhold names from publication on request. We reserve the right to modify questions to make them more useful to our readers.

Q. Have there been any developments with the Proterra bankruptcy?

–– Several Readers

A. Proterra has been a major player in building electric buses. On August 7, Proterra voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. The company indicated that they intend to operate in the ordinary course of business as it moves through the bankruptcy process.

Proterra has three primary lines of business.

The first and initial effort was building battery electric transit buses that started in 2010. They never previously built gas or diesel buses.

Since then they have expanded into two additional areas. The second is batteries and electric power systems that they sell to other bus manufacturers. The third is high power charging systems and software services.

There seems to be two different sides to the Proterra bankruptcy. The financial press is somewhat being kind to Proterra and suggesting that many of the problems were beyond the company’s control.

For example, it was noted that many if not most of its bus orders were small, specialized and prevented Proterra from running a long row of the same model down its assembly line. It was also pointed out that in most cases, there were many months between placing orders and delivery. Because of inflation and escalating costs, some buses cost more to build than their contract price.

It was also noted that there have been major problems with the automotive supply chain recently. In some cases, Proterra paid a 46 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

penalty for late delivery because of a lack of parts availability.

On the other side, there are an increasing number of transit operators finding fault with the Proterra buses. One of the more obvious is that SEPTA in Philadelphia purchased 25 electric buses from Proterra, but they removed them from service in 2020 because of problems including cracks in the frames.

They have been negotiating with Proterra to repair the buses, but things are now uncertain because of the bankruptcy filing.

Elsewhere there are reports of transit agencies parking their Proterra buses because of problems or a lack of parts. For example.

Wyoming’s Teton County and the town of Jackson purchased eight electric buses.

They were recently replaced by diesel buses because the electric buses have broken down and will no longer run.

Particularly interesting is the movement towards hydrogen fuel cell power that was obvious at the recent Busworld event in Brussels. There are several reasons why hydrogen fuel cell power may be better than battery-electric.

1. The “exhaust” from a hydrogen fuel cell bus is only water vapor, making it equally as clean as battery-electric power.

2. The hydrogen fuel cell buses do not need special batteries that require mining of materials, transportation of them and battery manufacturing that is usually considered a dirty industry.

3. Hydrogen fuel cell power is easier to source domestically because hydrogen is easy to obtain and there is less need for imported components for batteries.

4. Hydrogen fuel cell buses put less stress on the national electric grid, which is already in trouble.

5. Hydrogen may also be more suited for long distance trips. Irizar already has a hydrogen-powered coach capable of running 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles).

It was also noted that hydrogen buses could be refueled while the passengers were eating lunch.

have been struggling with problems since the pandemic. Ridership declined and a substantial number of bus routes have been eliminated. Increased subsidies offered to the industry during the pandemic are coming to an end, putting additional stress on maintaining existing service.

Buses in Britain outside of London were privatized and deregulated back in 1986.

However, new legislation gave powers to local mayors to introduce franchising. Several people have suggested that moving to franchising can prove to be difficult.

Greater Manchester took the lead in introducing franchising to allow it to set routes and fares. They recently inaugurated their new Bee Network and purchased some new buses from Alexander-Dennis. Initially, Manchester started with 50 routes and plans to include all bus routes by 2025. Liverpool is now following Manchester in moving to franchising. Other British cities are looking at this possibility.

Q. What is the story behind the national lawsuit against Uber?

–– Several Readers

A. Rachel Adams, an attorney at the Peiffer, Wolf, Carr, Kane, Conway & Wise law firm (Peiffer Wolf) in California, has been involved in representing cases in California on rape and sexual assault against Uber. Released figures name more than 1,000 cases in state courts and nearly 100 in federal court.

This has recently escalated into a nationwide case in federal court. News releases suggest that there are more than 10,000 cases involved in what is apparently called Multidistrict Litigation or “MDL.” The law firm suggests that this litigation will “Change American Rideshare Industry Forever.” However, some industry experts question what will happen. See the Ned Einstein column in this issue.

Q. Why are some British cities moving away from deregulation and to franchising?

–– New York Reader

Peiffer Wolf intends to show that these problems were caused by Uber’s lack of supervision including a lack of in-vehicle video surveillance, a lack of extensive driver background checks, a lack of fingerprinting drivers as well as a general lack of management and driver training.

A. Many if not most of the transit operations in England have been deregulated and are run by private companies. The operators

Answers not credited to other individuals are provided by Larry Plachno. q

A TIMELESS JOURNEY AWAITS! Explore Evansville, Indiana, and discover our rich World War II heritage, where the P-47 Thunderbolt and USS LST-325 were manufactured.

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National Bus Trader / November, 2023 • 47

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1 – BUSES WANTED Seeking 102D3 converted by Custom Coach. Prefer motor home interior with side aisle or semi-side aisle.

Please provide details by e-mail to safety@busmag.com or phone Larry at (815) 946-2341.

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American Bus Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Boys Town USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Bus Conversion Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Clinton, Iowa CVB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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Dupree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

FMCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Heartland Travel Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Irizar USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Midwest Bus Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Motor Coach Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

National Museum of Nuclear Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Prevost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

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Visit The Colony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 48 • National Bus Trader / November, 2023

Down The Road

Coming events of interest to readers of NATIONAL BUS TRADER. Submissions for the department should be directed to the editor. Unless otherwise indicated, events are not open to the general public.

January 13-16, 2024. ABA Marketplace. Nashville, Tennessee.

February 4-7, 2024. UMA Motorcoach Expo 2024. Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information view motorcoachexpo.com.

March 20-23, 2024. FMCA's 108th International Convention and RV Expo. Pima County Fairgrounds, Tucson, Arizona. Visit FMCA.com or phone (513) 474-3622 for more information.

March 25-26, 2024. Pennsylvania Bus Association Marketplace. Nittany Valley Sports Centre, State College, Pennsylvania.

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