National Bus Trader
The Magazine of Bus Equipment for the United States and Canada Volume XLV, No. 1
December, 2021
Serving the bus industry since 1977. Visit us at www.busmag.com.
• California Bus Association Meeting in Las Vegas • Capitol Trailways 1983 to Closing • DEF Maintenance on Idle Vehicles • Minority Misfortunes
Together for a safer and more sustainable future Irizar USA 100 Cassia Way Henderson NV, 89014 702 431 0707 www.irizarusa.com
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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 by National Bus Trader, Inc., 9698 W. Judson Road, Polo, Illinois 61064-9015. Subscriptions, $30 (in US funds) annually, Canada & International $35 (in US funds). Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid in Polo, Illinois 61064 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to National Bus Trader, 9698 W. Judson Road, Polo, Illinois 61064-9015. Change of Address: Please send old mailing label (or old address and computer number) as well as new address. Advertising: Classified ad rate is $30 for first 25 words, 25¢ for each additional word. Rate includes Internet access. Name, address, and phone number are not included in word count. Display advertising rates sent on request. Advertising deadline is the fifteenth day of the 2nd preceding month unless otherwise indicated. 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. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the written consent of the publisher. The name National Bus Trader, the logo incorporating the outline of the United States, and the pricing guide to used buses are trade marks of National Bus Trader, Inc.
Volume XLV
National Bus Trader 9698 W. Judson Road Polo, Illinois 61064-9015 Phone: (815) 946-2341 Web site: www.busmag.com
Number 1
December, 2021
Features California Bus Association Meeting in Las Vegas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 October 24-26, 2021 found the California Bus Association in Las Vegas for their annual meeting. Participation ran beyond expectation at the 47th annual event for the group.
Capitol Trailways 1983 to Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Put together by several bus historians, this tells the story of Capitol Trailways from 1983 to their closing. It was included in this issue for your holiday reading. The Capitol historical bus fleet was a nucleus for the bus museum in Hershey.
DEF Maintenance on Idle Vehicles (by Jeffrey Harmening) . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Jeffrey Harmening from the American Petroleum Institute provides useful information on dealing with DEF on vehicles that have been or will be idle and on dealing with DEF in the wintertime.
Minority Misfortunes (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Dave Millhouser points out that the burden of regulatory compliance tends to weigh more heavily on the smaller bus companies because of their size. This, in turn, tends to unfairly impact the minority operators more in spite of national commitments to equity.
Cover Photo
Departments
Because of the holidays, we are expanding this December issue with a historical section covering Capitol Trailways fom 1983 to its closing. This photo shows Capitol’s historical Flxible Clipper in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. The Flxible is now part of the historic colletion in the bus museum in Hershey. ROBERT REDDEN.
Equipment News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Bus of the Month – CCW ZEPS Electric Bus . . . . . . . . . 35
Safety and Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Book Review – A Spy on the Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Advertiser’s Index appears on page 48
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 3
Equipment News FlixMobility Acqures Greyhound to Expand U.S. Intercity Bus Service FlixMobility (the company), global mobility provider of the FlixBus and FlixTrain brands, announced on October 21 it has acquired Greyhound Lines, Inc. (Greyhound), the largest provider of long-distance bus transportation in the United States, from FirstGroup plc. This acquisition marks another important step in FlixMobility’s vision to provide easy-to-use, affordable and environmentally-friendly travel for consumers across the globe. The purchase brings together FlixBus’ innovative global technology and shared mobility expertise with Greyhound’s iconic nationwide presence and experience, creating a company that will be better able to service the needs of intercity bus travelers in the U.S. Intercity bus lines were a lifeline during the pandemic for communities and essential workers, and as economics reopen, they will be a tremendous driver for sustainable growth across the country. The FlixBus Global network serves more than 2,500 destinations in 36 countries outside the U.S. with 400,000 daily connections. Greyhound currently connects approximately 2,400 destinations across North America with nearly 16 million passengers each year. André Schwämmlein, founder and chief executive officer of FlixMobility, said, “Consumers across North America are increasingly seeking affordable, comfortable, smart and sustainable mobility solutions. A compelling offering will draw significantly more
travelers away from private cars to shared intercity bus mobility. Together, FlixBus and Greyhound will be better able to meet this increased demand. As our business continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we will replicate the success that we have already achieved in 36 countries outside the U.S. with our innovative and customer centric approach.” Buses as a sustainable and accessible alternative are now more important than ever. Fluctuations in the cost of gas, the recent escalation of car prices and climate change concerns have increased the interest of many consumers in finding alternatives to individual car usage. FlixMobility is operating at the forefront of this global mega-trend, and the acquisition of the iconic Greyhound business will help the company realize its vision to offer sustainable and affordable travel to everyone. Jochen Engert, founder and chief executive officer of FlixMobility, commented, “The continuous expansion of our services through partnerships and acquisitions has always been an integral part of our growth strategy to build our global presence. The acquisition of Greyhound is a major step forward in the U.S. The FlixBus and Greyhound teams share a common vision to make smart, affordable and sustainable mobility accessible to all.” David Martin, executive chairman, FirstGroup plc, said: “The sale of Greyhound to FlixMobility is part of our portfolio rationalization strategy to refocus First Group on its
On October 21, FlixMobility announced that it had acquired Greyhound Lines. Founded in 2013, FlixMobility operates the largest intercity scheduled route network in Europe. There they work with regional bus operators who actually run the buses and routes.
4 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
leading UK public transport businesses. The strength of Greyhound is its people, and I would like to thank them for their unwavering commitment to their customers and communities. As part of FlixMobility, I am confident that Greyhound will be well placed to continue to grow and develop their iconic services for many years to come.” First Group has reached agreement with Neptune Holding Inc. (the buyer), a corporation 100 percent controlled by FlixMobility, to sell Greyhound Lines Inc., the U.S. Greyhound operating business (including its vehicle fleet, trademarks and certain other assets and liabilities) for an enterprise value on a debt-free/cash-free basis of c.$46 million plus unconditional deferred consideration of $32 million with an interest rate of five percent per annum. FlixMobility was started in Germany in 2013 by Engert, Daniel Krauss and Schwämmlein to deliver a revolutionary means of travel that combined technological advances, e-commerce capabilities and sustainable transportation. Over the past eight years, the company has demonstrated significant success, with FlixBus growing to become Europe’s largest intercity bus network, helping more than 62 million people in 2019 reach their destinations. FlixBus USA launched in 2018 with destinations across the Southwest, including Los Angeles, California; Las Vegas, Nevada and Phoenix, Arizona. Since then, the company has expanded its operations to facilitate travel between additional cities in the Southwest, South, Northeast and Pacific Northwest. SC Coach’s New MCI Limo Coach SC Coach, the largest chauffered transportation provider in the Carolinas, is proud of their new MCI J4500 that brings the limousine ambiance to coach operations. The story behind this goes back to 2000 when Jeff Canady founded CLT Express Livery with a single sedan. They obviously did things right because today they operate more than 85 vehicles. In 2015 they acquired Busy Bee Coach and got into the coach business. The company was soon rebranded as SC Coach, and the existing coach fleet was traded in on their first MCI J4500 coaches. In 2020, the company began looking for a coach that could provide the same feel as a limousine. MCI brought over a demo unit that became number 1207 in
Equipment News the SC Coach fleet. They tested the coach with a six-month lease and then purchased it in October. It was the ninth J4500 in the SC Coach fleet and was soon followed by a 10th J4500. Maintenance Manager Jon Furtado says, “This new J4500 ties us back to our roots, truly bringing the limousine feel into the coach industry. With more than 70 sedans, SUVs, executive vans and mini-coaches on our limo side, you can feel the similarities as soon as you board the coach. From the leather seating to the mood lighting, to the exceptional ride quality, no other manufacturer can beat the luxurious feeling of an MCI.” Canady mentions, “The customer service we received through the process was exceptional and made the sale simple and easy during a rocky time in the industry. This J4500 truly sets the bar for ground transportation in our area, and I could not be prouder to brand it with our logo.” The regular driver assigned to the coach, Dustin Robinson, added his comments: “When they say Reliably Driven, they mean it. Almost every day I’m behind the wheel of this coach and I’ve yet to find a feature, or in better words, lack of a feature, that I dislike. To pick a favorite feature, I’d have to say the mood lighting. When a team or group boards the coach and they see their colors, it takes it from another bus ride to a feeling of its their own team coach. From the ride quality to the comfort aspect, I love being behind the wheel of an MCI.” Furtado adds his input from the maintenance standpoint, “This J4500 is the seventh
Founded as a limo company in 2000, SC Coach began looking for a coach that offered the same amenities and luxury ride as a limousine. MCI provided a J4500 coach with a special interior that was originally leased and then purchased. Maintenance Manager Jon Furtado mentions that you can feel the similarities to a limo with features such as leather seating, mood lighting and exceptional ride quality.
brand new coach we’ve purchased this year. Running the most monthly miles in our fleet and only seeing it in the shop for routine services, inspections and tires says a lot compared to other new coaches with various other issues after delivery. From reliability to parts availability, to some of the best tech support in the industry, MCI makes a great product and stands behind it every step of the way.” Gillig’s Next Generation Battery Bus Gillig LLC, a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in North America,
Finding that operating range was critical for their battery-electric bus customers. Gillig selected AKASOL for its next generation battery. The resulting 40-foot, battery-electric bus received the highest rating of any bus tested at Altoona. In addition to providing a low floor and stainless steel construction, the battery system has been specifically developed for long-distance traffic.
on November 5 announced the availability of a next-generation energy storage system for its battery-electric bus. The new storage system provides up to 686 kWh of available energy, the largest capacity in a North American transit bus. “We recognized how critical range was to our customers so we performed an extensive market search to identify a system that provides maximum range for those customers who need it, while also providing for modularity for those with shorter duty cycles,” said Ben Grunat, Gillig vice president of product planning and strategy. “The new battery delivers a 32 percent increase in onboard energy capacity and therefore a significantly longer range for our customers.” Gillig selected AKASOL, a leading manufacturer of high-performance battery systems, for its next-generation battery. With available configurations of 490 kWh, 588 kWh and 686 kWh, together with the largest selection of available charging options, Gillig can configure the bus to meet any agency’s requirements. Gillig is partnering with Cummins, who provides the bus’ highly efficient and reliable powertrain system to integrate and validate the new batteries with the bus ahead of the 2023 production start date. We are especially proud that Gillig decided to use our ultra-high-energy battery system AKASystem CYC for its batteryelectric bus in North America. The battery system is specifically developed for longNational Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 5
Equipment News distance traffic and enables variable battery capacities with up to 686 kWh,” said Holger Dilchert, head of sales on-highway at AKASOL. Built on the company’s proven low-floor platform, the battery-electric bus received the highest rating of any 40-foot, batteryelectric bus tested at Altoona and is renowned for its reliability and durability. Gillig’s use of the low-floor platform across its product lines helps ensure part commonality, ease of maintenance and a more seamless integration of electric buses into existing transit fleets. The platform, built on a stainless-steel, lightweight and corrosion-resistant chassis, provides for greater levels of safety, durability and quality. The bus also features integrated side-impact beams for added safety and quick-change side-skirt panels for ease of maintenance. “We’ve assembled the absolute best partners to advance the capabilities of our electric bus,” added Grunat. “The combination of the largest onboard capacity, a high performance and highly efficient powertrain, the industry’s most robust support network and the proven Gillig platform delivers the best overall value proposition to our customers.” Gillig’s battery-electric comes in 35- and 40-foot models, with the 35-foot bus carrying 31 seated passengers and a total of 62 passengers, while the 40-foot can transport 38 seated and 75 total passengers. New Flyer Completes More Than 50 Million Electric Service Miles NFI Group (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, recently announced that its electric vehicles (EVs) have collectively travelled more than 50 million zero-emission miles. Through this milestone, NFI EVs have presented nearly 140,000 imperial tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from entering the environment – the equivalent of removing almost 30,000 cars from the road for one year. Just six months ago, NFI announced it had reached the 40 million zero-emission milestone. This announcement comes as the world prepared for the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which brought leaders together in Glasgow, Scotland, to accelerate action toward the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In facing the increased and detrimental impact of global climate change over recent years, countries around the world have made landmark commitments to GHG 6 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
NFI Group recently announced that the electric vehicles built by its subsidiary companies have completed more than 50 million zero-emission miles. This includes electric vehicles from New Flyer, MCI, AlexanderDennis and ARBOC. This is proof that the trend towards zero-emission buses is increasing.
reductions, including those in NFI’s major markets.
coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development.
“As we lead up to COP26, we remain cognizant of the need to limit global warming, which demands significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. There has never been more urgency for the design and delivery of mobility solutions that are clean, safe, accessible, efficient and reliable,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFL
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 300 interactive events, welcoming 4,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.
“NFI exists to move people, and we do just that – moving millions of people around the world, each and every day,” continued Paul Soubry. “Today, we are leading the electrification of transit operations in multiple markets, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. In just six months, our electric vehicles have collectively completed over 10 million zero-emission miles, bringing our lifetime total to over 50 million electric service miles. This is a huge milestone for NFI and for the environment, and it is also proof that the transition to er-emission is accelerating.” NFI’s industry-leading EV offering includes the broadest range of vehicles: single- and double-deck, heavy-duty transit buses; motorcoaches and medium-duty buses. NFI has been manufacturing electric vehicles since 1969, and its current offering includes both battery-electric and fuel cellelectric buses and coaches. NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in five countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and the company’s vehicles have completed more than 50 million EV service miles. Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a fourpillar approach that includes buses and
Ebusco Brings in Experienced Managing Director for North America As part of the group’s international expansion strategy, Ebusco has hired Ted Dowling as managing director for North America. Ebusco will expand its sales and marketing of its Ebusco 3.0 and 2.2 zero-emission buses and will deploy maintenance and other services for these vehicles and intends to build plants to assemble the Ebusco 3.0 in North America. Dowling is a Canadian executive in the medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle space. He has spent his career working with teams, building companies servicing public transit throughout the world. Dowling has served on numerous boards of nonprofit organizations. He is currently on the Board of Electric Mobility Canada and is a member of the Government Relations committee. He previously worked within the automotive industry as vice president at various companies. Dowling is a frequent speaker at international conferences on the topics of mass deployment of electric fleets, heavy-duty vehicle electrification and the need for better, cost-effective infrastructure. He has international experience, spearheading the acquisition of technology from abroad and extensive involvement in setting up joint ventures in countries in Asia, Europe and Australia.
Equipment News Dowling said, “Ebusco is the world-class leader in innovation and design. Bringing Ebusco electric buses to Canada and the
United States will revolutionize the North American industry while helping us contribute to a better environment by enabling
Ebusco recently announced that Ted Dowling will be their new managing director in North America. Based in the Netherlands, Ebusco has been providing electric buses for use in several European countries. They expect to build one or more plants to assemble their Ebusco 3 model in North America.
safe, sustainable, emission-free and affordable transportation ecosystems.” Peter Bijvelds, CEO of Ebusco, said, “North America is a key region we target in our international roll out plan, as we expect the demand for zero-emissions buses to increase, supported by the American president’s proposed Plan for Climate Change and Environmental Justice and state initiatives, like the innovative Clean Transit regulation in California. Canada’s commitment to climate change will help communities invest in zero-emission transit options ensuring cleaner air and job creation. MCI Academy Gets Fifth ATMC Training Award NFI Group Inc. (NFI and the company), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on November 5 announced that its subsidiary Motor Coach Industries (MCI) has received an ASE Training Managers Council (ATMC) National Excellence in Training Award. The MCI Academy, an NFI center for training and workforce development, secured the 2021 first place Grand Award for its Motorcoach Technician Certificate Program with a score of 498 out of a possible 500.
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 7
Equipment News this marks the fifth consecutive time the MCI Academy has earned the award, and the only time a recipient has won five times. The MCI Academy is one of NFI’s awardwinning training centers, providing highquality training and workforce development in the motorcoach industry for all levels of technicians through online courses, classroom sessions, written tests and practical skills demonstration. “In 2020 alone, the MCI Academy saw 30,000 courses completed, driven by nearly 20,000 active users taking in 670 courses focused on the facilitation of reskilling and upskilling for the motorcoach industry,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFI. “It is clear the MCI Academy is meeting a critical industry need for advanced workforce development through the new mobility era. We are incredibly proud to not only provide classroom, online and on-the-job training, but to see the caliber of our programs recognized for the fifth year in a row.” MCI’s first submission to the national Excellence in Training Award occurred in 2017, where it was named a winner and has
been every year since. Each year, three awards are given for Excellence in Training, with one Grand Award given to first place. The MCI Academy’s Grand Awards include: • 2017: HVAC 101 (an HVAC Specialist Program) • 2018: ELECT 401 (an Electrical Specialist program) • 2019: Motorcoach Technician Apprenticeship Program • 2020: High Voltage Safety • 2021: Motorcoach Technician Certificate Program The MCI Academy’s Motorcoach Technician Certificate Program was recently leveraged by NFI in the development of subsidiary New Flyer’s Electrical Technician Training Program, which was announced in October 2021 and aims to provide employees with knowledge and skills to continue leading and supporting zero-emission adoption across North America. As an enabler of workforce development – one of four pillars in NFI’s mobility solutions offering – MCI Academy training equips motorcoach professionals with knowledge and skills to maintain, diagnose and repair systems on MCI coaches to maximize on-road time, passenger safety and
For the fifth consecutive year, the MCI Academy has received an ASE Training Manager’s Council National Excellence in Training Award. In 2020, the MCI Academy offered 670 courses that saw 20,000 active users complete 30,000 courses. The courses are geared to reskilling and upskilling in the motorcoach industry.
operator profitability, To learn more, visit mciacademy.com. The ASE Training Managers Council, founded in 1984, is a nonprofit organization designed to promote the advancement of training and professional development in the automotive service industry. To learn more visit atmc.org. NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in five countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and the company’s vehicles have completed more than 50 million EV service miles. Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a fourpillar 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 300 interactive events, welcoming 4,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training. ABC Companies Highlights Partnership with Vicinity ABC Companies, a leading provider of motorcoach, transit and specialty passenger transport equipment in the United States and Canada, highlights its recently announced distributor arrangement with Vicinity Motor Corp., a leading supplier of electric, CNG, gas and clean diesel buses. ABC is selling and supporting Vicinity™ heavy-duty, mid-size buses and the Vicinity Lightning™ EV with new and existing customers. With the addition of Vicinity’s product suite, ABC is positioned to more fully address shifting transit priorities, especially for smaller buses used for transit-ondemand shuttle services, advanced ADAcompliant models and expanded zeroemission and battery-electric options. As a distributor for Vicinity and other manufacturers, ABC will become a one-stop shop for transit agencies and operators, allowing them to purchase, find parts for and service their vehicles all with one trusted and established partner, saving them time and money.
8 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
At the APTA Expo, ABC and Vicinity Motor Corp.exhibited a range of heavy-duty, light-duty and special purpose vehicles to offer the ultimate in flexibility and functionality, paired with the personal service and
Equipment News responsiveness that is the hallmark of ABC. Among the Vicinity vehicles that were displayed are the Vicinity Classic 30-foot CNG, a scaled down model to allow for versatile uses and easy maneuverability in any community and the Vicinity Lightning 28-foot, low-floor EV, a smaller and more sustainably driven model. ABC will also feature Vicinity’s recently acquired Optimal EV light-duty, allelectric cutaway shuttle, perfect for driving in smaller inner city locations and for paratransit applications. Canadian-based Vicinity Motor Corp. has invested heavily in expanding its U.S. presence in light of the new relationship with ABC Companies. The company is in the process of building a new state-of-theart manufacturing facility in the state of
Washington. The first of these fully Buy America-compliant vehicles will roll off the line in early 2022 and are available for purchase now. “ABC entered the transit vehicle distributor market to offer the versatility, control and single-source convenience operators want and need,” said ABC Companies President and Chief Commercial Officer Roman Cornell. “Our relationship with Vicinity enhances our ability to sell truly differentiated models and options that solve pressing challenges and trending issues. We’ve entered the market in a big way, looking to make positive changes and add value, and we believe this product line measures up to that goal.”
The ChampaignUrbana Mass Transit District recently unveiled a hydrogen production station powered by a solar array with nearly 5,500 panels. Clean hydrogen produced will be used to power 60-foot hydrogen fuel cell buses for its transit system. MTD serves the University of Illinois at Urbana.
ABC companies recently highlighted their partnership with Vicinity Motor Corp. at the recent APTA Expo. Based in Canada, Vicinity will now be building buses in the state of Washington that will comply with Buy America provisions. Vicinity transit buses are designed for smaller capacity service and can be ordered with CNG or battery-electric power.
MTD Unveils Zero-Emission Fleet Technology The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) unveiled zero-emission fleet technology that is the first of its kind. At an October 14 event, Riding on Sunshine, project partners joined elected and appointed officials as MTD pulled back the curtain on a project that captures the most abundant element in the universe – hydrogen – alongside the most abundant energy resource on Earth – solar power. MTD celebrates a newly commissioned, on-site hydrogen production station that will be powered by a solar array that spans nearly 5,500 panels. The resulting clean hydrogen fuel powers 60-foot hydrogen fuel cell buses for its transit system, which emit only water vapor, as they serve the cities of Champaign, Urbana, Savoy and the thirdlargest Big 10 University – the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “MTD has always been forward thinking, and this project puts MTD right out on the cutting edge. We invite members of the public and the industries of transportation and energy to learn about our project and celebrate this advancement in climate resiliency,” says Karl Gnadt, MTD’s managing director/CEO. MTD proudly advances the work of renewable energy, zero-emission technology and sustainable transportation through this majority grant funded project that is defined by public and private partnerships. “The evolution to zero-emission mobility begins with forward-thinking transit agencies like MTD,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFI. “Since 1993, NFI has delivered nearly 200 buses to MTD and is pleased to now provide New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2 fuel cell-electric buses in support of MTD’s transition to zeroemission. We applaud MTD’s game changing deployment of hydrogen technology, that also incorporates solar power for a truly sustainable outcome.” The hydrogen fuel cell electric buses save more than 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel per bus each year, and one bus reduces greenhouse gases up to 135 tons annually. MTD’s truly zero emission fleet will operate alongside diesel electric hybrid buses, currently 97 percent of the 114-bus fleet, but will be 100 percent low or no emission in 2022.
10 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
Hydrogen fuel cell electric buses bring the power of zero emissions without the stagnancy of recharging. Hydrogen fueling takes no more time than conventional diesel fueling, which enables flexible route and service designs. Hydrogen is non-toxic and is 14
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Equipment News times lighter than air. With rooftop hydrogen fuel tank storage, an unplanned release rises safely in the air at 45 miles per hour, rather than pooling on the ground. MTD’s zero emission, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles present a reliable solution for a brighter, cleaner tomorrow. Continental ClearContact Commercial Duty Wiper Blades Continental, a leading global supplier of systems, components and tires to automobile, truck and agriculture/construction equipment manufacturers, and a trusted provider of OE-engineered aftermarket parts, has expanded its ClearContact precision windshield wiper blade program with a new line of heavy-duty wiper blades that are specifically designed and engineered for applications on commercial trucks, RVs, transit buses and motorcoaches. Continental ClearContact Commercial Duty Wiper Blades are designed for fast and easy installation and built for maximum durability and reliability in all weather conditions. They feature an exceptional aerodynamic design that is engineered to deliver better windshield wrap, a reinforced steel frame for strength and durability, and precision cut natural rubber blade for consistent, edgeto-edge wiping performance and exceptionally long-service life. With 43 wiper blade part numbers and lengths from 10-40 inches in the program, Continental’s new line delivers a wide range of vehicle applications on Class 1 through Class 8 trucks, buses, motorcoaches and Class A, B and C motor homes. Four different wiper blade designs are available, including flat, five bar, wide saddle and hook configurations. Custom bundles are available for fleets, bus and motorcoach operators and recreational vehicle dealers. According to Lori Bachman, Continental product manager fo the ClearContact Wiper
The new Continental ClearContact Commercial Duty Wiper Blades are built for buses and RVs. They are available in different lengths and with four different wiper blade designs. Custom bundles are available for bus and motorcoach operators.
Blade Program, “The Continental commercial-duty windshield wiper blade program is an excellent addition to our heavy-duty market portfolio, and easily complements our range of vehicle safety and driver comfort products for commercial vehicles and RVs. Our wiper blades are built tough with world-class construction to deliver precision performance and reliability in heavy-duty service.”
year of an existing six-year contract (originally announced in 2015) with NFI subsidiary Motor Coach Industries (MCI). The order was converted from NFI’s backlog. Earlier this year, NJ Transit also exercised and received delivery of additional options for 30 MCI D4500 commuter coaches and 25 clean-diesel, 60-foot, New Flyer Xcelsior® heavy-duty transit buses) 50 equivalent units or EUs).
NFI and MCI Receive 173-Bus Order from New Jersey Transit NFI Group Inc. (NFI or the company), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on October 25 announced that the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) has exercised options for 118 D4500 clean diesel commuter coaches, in its final
The orders propel NJ Transit’s fleet revitalization plan, replacing older, end-of-life vehicles and enhancing the passenger experience in the New Jersey community. NJ Transit is America’s third-largest public transit agency, connecting New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia and providing nearly 270 million passengers trips every year.
NFI and MCI recently received a 173-bus order from New Jersey Transit. Included are 118 D4500 commuter coaches from the final year of a six-year contract announced in 2015. New Jersey Transit will also get 30 more MCI D4500 coaches and 25 60-foot New Flyer Xcelsior articulated buses. 12 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
“NFI continues to deliver the most advanced technology and proven transit platforms available in North America,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFI. “With unmatched quality, industry-leading accessibility, lifetime service and support and reliability through the most demanding environments, our buses and coaches provide efficient transportation for cities that need mobility solutions at scale.” “Since 2003, New Flyer and MCI delivered more than 3,000 vehicles to NJ Transit, including 1,449 buses and 1,564 coaches,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach. “With these additional orders, we build on NFI’s proven product legacy and longstanding partnership with
Equipment News one of the biggest transit agencies in America. By revitalizing its fleet with MCI’s ADAcompliant D4500 coaches and New Flyer’s high-capacity Xcelsior buses, NJ Transit ensures the continued provision of safe, reliable and efficient mobility for the greater New Jersey community.” 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 late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 300 interactive events, welcoming 4,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training. U.S. DOT Promises National Safe Systems Approach After Historic Death Surge Matthew Daus from Windels Marx reports that the U.S. Department of Transportation is talking about radically changing federal roadway safety policy after new stats showed the largest six-month increase in roadway fatalities ever recorded by the agency. A shocking 18.4-percent more people died on U.S. roads in the first six months of 2021 compared to the same period last year – a death toll that represents roughly 20,160 lives lost and innumerable bereaved families, according to early estimates released recently by the U.S. DOT. The Department did not reveal how many vulnerable road users were killed in that surge, but if trends mirror the historic 22-percent spike in pedestrian fatalities between 2019 and 2020, advocates fear it may have been one of the deadliest years ever for people outside motor vehicles, too. New research that accompanied the estimates suggests that the surge was largely attributable to increased rates of speeding, which spiked on quarantine-emptied roads but remained endemic even as Americans returned to their driving commutes. Experts believe that the rise of remote work may have permanently shifted U.S. travel patterns, softening rush-hour gridlock but spreading faster-than-usual motorist traffic throughout the day. Thirteen Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses for Foothill Transit NFI Group Inc. (NFI or the company), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on November 8 announced that its subsidiary New Flyer
Shown is the signing ceremony for 13 additional hydrogen fuel cell buses for Foothill Transit in West Covina, California. This adds to an earlier order for 20 fuel cell-electric buses announced in October, giving Foothill Transit the largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses. The 40-foot New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE H2 buses using compressed hydrogen as an energy source and range extender require only six to 20 minutes to refuel.
of America Inc. (New Flyer) has received an additional contract from Foothill Transit for 13 zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cellelectric Xcelsior CHARGE H2™ 40-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This order is supported by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds. This addition to Foothill Transit’s initial order of 20 fuel cell-electric buses, announced in October, now establishes North America’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell electric buses. Foothill Transit is based in West Covina, California, operating one of the largest fleets of electric buses in America and providing fixed-route service in the San Gabriel and Pomona valleys. Foothill Transit is a leader in deploying zero-emission bus (ZEB) technology in the United States, and is focused on rebuilding pre-pandemic ridership of 12.5 million trips per year through ZEB mobility. “The zero-emission momentum, created by Foothill Transit, is undeniable, and we are proudly enabling the agency’s pursuit of sustainability through our long-range hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFI. “This is yet another example of the robust approach needed to deploy zeroemission mobility at scale and entrenches NFI’s leadership in EVs and infrastructure that make it happen. With more than 400 vehicles delivered or on order with Foothill Transit, we look forward to expanding the
carbon-free footprint in California as we create more livable communities together.” The Xcelsior CHARGE H2™ orders are in addition to two of NFI’s Alexander Dennis E500 battery-electric, double-deck buses recently delivered to Foothill Transit. “Our Xcelsior CHARGE H2 buses, developed by leveraging years of experience producing hydrogen fuel cell buses, are a game changer for North American operators,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach. “These buses – which can travel up to 350 miles on a single refueling – not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also deliver extended range, fast fill times and no reduction in performance from beginning to end of life.” “Foothill Transit’s goal of launching a fully zero-emissions fleet isn’t possible without the innovative efforts of bus manufacturers like New Flyer,” said Doran Barnes, chief executive officer, Foothill Transit. “Adding hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to our fleet strengthens our ability to bring reliable and sustainable transportation to Los Angeles County.” The Xcelsior CHARGE H2 is a batteryelectric vehicle using compressed hydrogen as an energy source and range extender, requiring only 6-20 minutes to refuel. Fuel cell-electric technology is fully zero-emission and an innovative way to obtain extendedrange operation similar to existing transit National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 13
Equipment News vehicles. Built on New Flyer’s proven Xcelsior® platform, the Xcelsior CHARGE H2 can save 85-135 tons of greenhouse gas per year from tailpipe emissions compared to a diesel bus. For more information visit newflyer.com/chargeh2. NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in five countries. NFI offers the widest range of zeroemission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and the company’s vehicles have completed more than 50 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 300 interactive events, welcoming 4,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training. First Irizar E-Mobility Electric Buses Unveiled in Bulgaria On October 20, the headquarters of the operator BurgasBus was the site of the public presentation of the zero-emissions buses and their charging infrastructure, that are put into operation in the city of Burgas, its first electromobility project. The event was attended by the esteemed mayor Burgas, Dimitar Nikolov; Alejandro Polanco, ambassador of Spain in Bulgaria; Roberto Ruiz, economic and trade counselor of ICEX and other representatives and authorities, in front of a large audience of expectant citizens. The two 12- and 18meter, recently-delivered electric vehicles that were displayed, sported the blue color and the features defined by the operator, which identify the city. It is worth remembering that for this first electromobility project of the city, the operator, BurgasBus, awarded 34 12-meter units and10 18-meter units, in addition to 44 interoperable ECI-100 charters from Jema Energy (an Irizar Group company). The zero-emission Irizar buses will join the fleet of BurgasBus operator and in addition to providing the environmental benefits of zero CO2 emissions and low noise levels, they stand out for their modern and attractive design, since the operator decided to incorporate some aesthetic features of the Irizar 14 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
A recent event in Burgas, Bulgaria marked the introduction of Irizar zero-emission, battery-electric buses. Included in the event were a 12-meter and an 18-meter electric bus from Irizar and their charging infrastructure for BurgasBus, the local transit operator. Burgas, the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, is moving to electrify its bus fleet.
ie tram, generating a distinctive vehicle that maximizes comfort, accessibility and safety. The interior design of the buses is distinguished because of its innovative equipment and a range of amenities and choices to enhance the passenger compartment space, providing a feeling of openness and brightness that ensure a great travel experience for both passengers and driver, such as the glazed side panels. Burgas is the fourth largest city in Bulgaria. The strong commitment they are making to electrify their fleet of buses will be a large step forward for the city and, it will connect destinations and visitors in a cleaner and more efficient way. “It is an honor for Irizar to be at this first electromobility project inauguration. A commitment to the energy transition and sustainability, and the reduction of CO2 emissions and low noise levels that has been led by the mayor’s office and the Burgas public transport company. We are very proud of the opportunity to be for the first time in Bulgaria with our own technology made in Europe and in this wonderful city of Burgas with this innovative and emblematic project. Burgas thus joins Paris, London, Schaffhausen, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and a long list of cities with Irizar group electromobility turnkey solutions,” states Imanol Rego, general director of Irizar e-mobility. ADL Shows Electric Double-Deck Bus at COP26 NFI Group Inc (NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on October 29 announced that its subsidiary
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), showcased one of its electric, zero-emission, double-deck buses at the 26th United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. The bus, a BYD ADL Enviro400EV doubledecker that has been kindly lent by bus operator National Express from its West Midlands feet, was located inside the securitycontrolled Blue Zone, where negotiations between world leaders took place. ADL was invited by the UK Government as organizers of COP26 to present its solutions for sustainable transport to negotiators and global leaders in the Blue Zone at COP26. ADL has a long tradition of innovation, having brought to market the widest range of clean buses including classleading, zero-emission technologies. More than 1,000 battery-electric buses built in Britain by ADL in partnership with BYD are already on the road or on order in the United Kingdom, and second-generation hydrogen buses will follow next year. ADL’s zero emission buses for the United Kingdom are built in Britain, securing skilled green jobs and apprenticeship opportunities in the manufacturer’s own facilities across the country, as well as in its extensive supply chain. Internationally, ADL operates a network of local assembly facilities and benefits from experience shared with sister companies within NFI. Paul Davies, ADL president and managing director, said: “Electric and hydrogen buses have critically important roles to play on the road to net zero. With our zeroemission buses operating not only across the UK but around the world, it is a great
ABA Can Help You Get Back to Business! “There are so many different aspects of ABA that I love… the Marketplace, where I build new business relationships and deepen existing relationships with clients, the year-round educational opportunities, the legislative arm that fights hard for the entire membership base and the sense of community like none other. My ABA membership has been a constant for over 12 years in my current position and years before that with previous companies.”
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Equipment News
Marcopolo from Brazil has joined with Volvo to provide 91 new buses to countries in Africa. Included were Marcopolo’s Paradiso 1200, Viaggio 1050 and Torino models. The buses were shipped in October and were expected to be delivered in November.
honor for Alexander Dennis to have been invited by the UK Government to present our zero-emission bus in the Blue Zone at COP26, reminding negotiators and world leaders that without investment in clean public transport, climate goals cannot be achieved.” “We are extremely grateful to our colleagues at National Express West Midlands for making one of their buses available for this prestigious event,” Davies continued. “We have had a longstanding partnership
with them, and we continue to work collaboratively to ensure that we can support their fleet strategies as they continue their own transition to zero emissions.” David Bradford, managing director of National Express West Midlands, said: “National Express West Midlands is proud to be the UK’s greenest transport company. We bought our last ever diesel bus in 2019, and by 2030, our entire 1,600 West Midlands fleet will be zero-emission. Our 29 ADL fully-electric, double-decker buses have been carrying
Alexander-Dennis recently showed its double-deck electric bus at the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. The bus was supplied by National Express West Midland from their fleet. It was offered as a solution to sustainable transport to the negotiators and global leaders in attendance.
happy customers around Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry for over a year now. They’ve already saved over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide going out into the atmosphere. It’s very exciting that one of those buses was ‘in the room’ at COP26 where the decisions are made that affect all of our futures.” Marcopolo Exports Coaches to African Countries Marcopolo reinforces its presence on the African continent and, in partnership with Volvo, supplies 91 new buses to Cameroon, Cote d’lvoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana. The vehicles of the Paradiso 1200, Viaggio 1050 and Torino models were shipped this October and delivery should take place in November. “Despite the pandemic, Marcopolo’s sales on the African continent were maintained and represent an important part of the company’s results. In addition to traditional customers, the company also gained new ones during this period,” highlights Gustavo Marramarco, Marcopolo’s commercial operations consultant responsible for serving the northern region of the African continent. Marcopolo has a very strong and positive image on the African continent. The company is recognized for the robustness, quality and low maintenance of its products as well as for its superior after-sales service and technical assistance.
16 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
In the first half of this year, Marcopolo exported 967 units from Brazilian factories, with the main destinations being African and South American countries, with an emphasis on the Chilean market. q
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National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 17
California Bus Association Meeting in Las Vegas
The California Bus Association met at the Westin Lake Resort in Las Vegas from October 24 to 26. Topics at this 47th annual event included recruiting drivers and building back business. Participation was very good since the number of attendees exceeded expectations by 25 percent. Here, Josh Pane of Pane Associates addresses the group on state legislative issues.
A
fter last year ’s pandemic shutdown, West Coast operators finally gathered in person at a busy California Bus Association (CBA) Annual Convention & Trade Show Oct. 24-26 at the Westin Lake Resort Las Vegas. Recruiting drivers and building back business were topics that also attracted operators from Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and beyond to the 47th annual event. However, even the latest innovations and up-to-theminute education sessions could not trump CBA’s main event —the first faceto-face contact between members, suppliers and industry colleagues after a nearly two-year absence.
“I was thrilled to see a lot of old friends,” said Curtis Riggs, president of VIA Trailways with offices in Merced and Fresno, California and Tempe, Arizona. “The sessions were very informative, but for me the most exciting part was reconnecting and seeing our vendors and sponsors join us in Nevada.” 18 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
Tom Miller, owner of Antelope Valley Express and Santa Clarita Express, remarked, “I was telling others it felt like we were not alone. Everyone had the same stories of what we went through and how we are now all facing the same driver shortage issues.”
“We initially planned for a modest 175 attendees and exceeded that number by 25 percent in same-day registrations and new member registration on site,” said Vicki Bowman, CBA’s executive director. “CBA’s annual convention has always had strong regional attendance, but this year, operators in surrounding states were particularly eager to see our program and supplier exhibits as everyone is getting their businesses up to speed.” The meeting’s keynote speaker was Donald Ross, VP Meeting Operations, Caesar's Entertainment, who explained how the Las Vegas casino giant managed the pandemic and is ramping operations up now.
Educational panel sessions covered everything from financial preparedness for regrowth to ongoing advocacy in the fight for greater government funding for the industry. American Bus Association’s Brandon Buchanan and DATTCO Motor Coach’s Pamela Martinez hosted roundtable panel discussions covering a wide range of topics including telematics, driver hiring and recruitment, insurance issues, California regulatory compliance and new bus safety laws.
Vickie Cole, CBA president and co-owner of American Stage Tours, Concord, California, said: “After 18 months of Zoom calls, it was great to be back meeting face-to-face. We put a lot of information out to our membership to communicate how the industry has changed during COVID and how CBA is fighting for national relief and for our members statewide.” Two years ago, the association also began a membership drive for operators in neighboring states.
“Many of our surrounding states are without a state or regional association,”
The staff from Royal Coach Tours of San Jose, California, attending the annual convention celebrate driver John Gilb’s Driver of the Year Award sponsored by Lancer Insurance. From left to right are: Greg Gallup, CEO; Steve Tesconi, director of maintenance; Micaela Ward, director of operations Las Vegas; Earl Reed, general manager; Sandy Allen, president; John Gilb, driver of the year; Dan Tomlinson, safety and loss control, Lancer Insurance and Dan Smith, vice president.
said Cole. “Carriers making trips to Disneyland or California’s state parks need to better understand state compliance and can benefit from our ongoing educational and safety programs.” CBA’s most recent legislative achievement was working with the California State Assembly to refund 2020 DMV registration fees, a valuable part of membership.
Recognizing excellence among its members, CBA honored Best Tours & Travel, Fresno, California as 2021 Operator of the Year. Steve Tesconi of Royal Coach Tours, San Jose, California received CBA’s Maintenance Technician of the Year award and John
Gilb, Royal Coach Tours, San Jose, California was named Driver of the Year.
CBA made sure members also had plenty of networking opportunities during the convention with evening events sponsored by ABC Companies, Irizar, Motor Coach Industries, Prevost, Temsa and Icomera.
The annual golf outing also brought many operators back together. Antelope Valley/Santa Clarita Express’ Miller thought this year ’s annual golf outing (sponsored by TIB Transportation Insurance Brokers and Republic Indemnity Insurance Company) was especially
worthwhile because he was paired with Eric Onnen of Santa Barbara Airbus. “We both run scheduled service into LAX and have sat across from each other in meetings, but this was the first time we got chance to become better acquainted. And it didn’t hurt we won second place.” The next two CBA in-person annual conventions are already scheduled – October 23-25 for the 2022 event at the Omni Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage, California and November 5-7 at Silver Legacy Resort Reno in 2023. CBA sponsored Legislative Day and Maintenance Programs also return in 2022. q
The Bus Industry Safety Council West met during the California Bus Association’s annual convention in Las Vegas. Here, Mike McDonal for regulatory compliance at Saucon Technologies leads the panel discussion titled “Safety Director 101.”
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 19
Capitol Trailways 1983 to Closing Photos courtesy of Walter Earl unless indicated
Over the years, Dick Maguire was able to put together a group of historical buses that came to be called the “Parade of Progress.” They were shown at bus events and participated in parades as publicity for Capitol Trailways. Eventually, they became the nucleus for the new bus museum in Hershey. Here, the “Parade of Progress” was photographed in front of the Harrisburg Amtrak/Bus station in March of 1986. ROBERT REDDEN.
T
he Maguire family first became involved in the transportation business in 1910 when John Maguire (the grandfather of Dick Maguire) began a livery service that later expanded into a jitney service. Capitol Bus Company operated their first revenue service on July 4, 1936, a charter to a nearby amusement park.
Joseph Maguire (father of Dick Maguire) and John Maguire (uncle of Dick Maguire) had purchased an 11-passenger Fitzjohn Chevrolet stretchout and used it to transport 20 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
passengers from Pottsville to Harrisburg on weekdays. It was used for charters when not in line run service.
Over the years Capitol continued to expand and also purchased several other small local bus companies. As a result, the company expanded its fleet. The October 1982 issue of NATIONAL BUS TRADER carried a well documented history of the expansion from 1936 to 1982 with many beautiful historical pictures of the fleet.
This article provides Capitol’s history from 1983 to 2009, as well as the years from 2009 to 2013 when Bieber Tourways operated Capitol as a separate division.
The Atlantic City casinos were in their heydays in the 1980s and 1990s and Capitol Trailways was a big player. Capitol operated many trips daily to several casinos (Playboy, Tropicana, Caesars, Trump Plaza, Park Place and Golden Nugget), from Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Lebanon and Reading and many other smaller towns and cities. Capitol had
The 1980s and 1990s saw a great deal of ridership to the Atlantic City casinos. This one was painted for the Playboy Hotel & Casino and later served in the Overland Coach fleet.
three buses (MC-9s #893, 894 and 895) painted in the Playboy paint scheme, with the bunny on the side. Bus 8102, also an MC-9, was painted with the Tropicana logo. They were all stunning buses. Capitol Trailways went from three-digit numbering to four-digit in 1981, going from 899 to 8100. In the mid-1990s, Capitol went to five-digit numbering starting all coaches with 18 (18161 etc.) to conform to the National Trailways numbering system.
1983 brought the addition of 10 new TMC MC-9s, 8116 through 8125 (manufactured in Roswell, New Mexico). This brought the fleet total to 77 coaches. These five-speed, stick shift coaches were well received by the drivers. 8116 was painted in the standard Trailways “hockey stick” paint scheme, but had Gray Line on the side instead of Trailways and on the nose plate. The blue Gray Line logo was affixed by the door. Capitol
Capitol bus 8102, an MCI MC-9, was painted with the Tropicana name and logo. It was regularly used on the popular Capitol Trailways service to the casinos in Atlantic City.
was the Gray Line franchise in the Harrisburg area, offering tours to Hershey, Gettysburg and the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Country. 8116 also did charter service when not on tours. A few years later, the Gray Line franchise was relinquished, and 8116 was relettered for Trailways and then repainted a few years later in the new Capitol Trailways paint scheme.
Dick Maguire also operated Capitol International Tours, which was located in an office at the Capital City Airport in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. They offered escorted tours nationwide and one-day escorted tours within the Mid-Atlantic region. Most tours either started at the airport or picked up there, as the airport had a big, free parking lot. The airport also served as a ticket agency for the Capitol line runs from Harrisburg to Baltimore, BWI and Washington, D.C., and north to Syracuse. In
This MC-9, built at the Roswell, New Mexico facility in 1983, became number 8116 in the Capitol fleet. While keeping with the standard red and white Trailways colors, it was lettered for Gray Line since Capitol had the Gray Line franchise in Harrisburg. It also ran in charter service when not busy with Gray Line tours.
later years the CIT office would move to another office building in downtown New Cumberland and then eventually to the Capitol Trailways office in Harrisburg. In time the CIT operation was phased out and in late 1991, Capitol City Airport was dropped as a ticket agency and pickup/drop-off point.
February 1984 saw Capitol expand service northward from Binghamton to Cortland and Syracuse, connecting with Empire Trailways to Rochester and Buffalo. In early 1986, Capitol began running “thru bus” pool service from Washington to Buffalo via Syracuse, partnering with Empire Trailways. 1984 also saw the opening of the beautiful new Trailways bus terminal in Washington, D.C., which was much easier to access than the previous terminal, and made it easier to get to the terminal from points north. The old and new DC terminals were located several blocks apart.
Late in 1984 Capitol stopped running through service from Pottsville and Reading to Atlantic City. Capitol passengers would then have to connect in Philadelphia to Trailways. Inc or New Jersey Transit buses to complete their line run journeys. All casino trips continued to go straight to the casinos in Atlantic City. For a few months in 1987 and early 1988, Capitol again tried through buses to Atlantic City, but this was short lived.
1984 also brought about a big change in Harrisburg when the Amtrak station was remodeled and redesigned. Before the change, there were five loading areas on the upper level of the terminal, serving Capitol Trailways; Trailways, Inc.; Fullington Trailways; Greyhound and Blue and White Bus Line. This area was always overcrowded, especially at holiday travel times. Capitol, Fullington and Trailways Inc. moved to the newly built bus station at the lower level of the Amtrak station, which had nine loading areas and metered parking nearby. This was National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 21
definitely a huge improvement in regards to the movement of buses.
At the same time, Greyhound opened a beautiful new bus station about a mile from the Amtrak station. This made transferring of passengers and baggage very inconvenient. A little over five years later Greyhound sold their new station and moved into the current station joining Capitol and Fullington. Amtrak continues to use the upper level of this transportation center. Capital Area Transit has many bus routes that stop right beside the Trailways/Greyhound/Amtrak station.
1985 was again a year that saw many changes in service. The pool service with Short Line from New York City via Binghamton and Elmira to points in western New York state was terminated, with Short Line going on to operate the entire route. Capitol Trailways had only operated the Binghamton–Elmira portion of this service.
1985 also saw the termination of the Greyhound/Capitol pool service from Harrisburg to Sunbury and Elmira. Capitol entered a new pool service with Empire Trailways in 1992 operating from Harrisburg via Sunbury and Williamsport to Elmira, with Empire continuing on to Rochester. Capitol would continue to operate this service for more than 15 years, before turning over the Harrisburg-Elmira operation to Susquehanna Trailways.
One more change happened in 1985. Service from Harrisburg to Washington via Gettysburg and Fredericksburg, Maryland was also ended. Capitol would add one more trip via York and Baltimore, to Washington, bringing the total to five trips daily, on the “main line.”
The big story of 1985 was the inauguration of Capitol Bus Company’s “Bus to the Big Apple” service. This new service was the idea of Gerald Smith, vice president of Capitol Bus Company. Capitol could not run this under the Capitol Trailways banner, since Trailways Inc. was also operating from Harrisburg to New York City, although using a completely different routing. When Greyhound took over Trailways, Inc. a few years later in 1987, Capitol would continue to use the Capitol Bus Company until mid1992 when they began using the Capitol Trailways name on the Harrisburg–New York City route.
The first service began with buses starting in York, Pennsylvania serving Lancaster, King of Prussia, Newark Airport and several smaller towns. There was also one bus from Reading via Pottstown and King of Prussia to New York City also serving the airport and smaller towns. The first agent in New York City was Short Line, and the buses loaded and unloaded on the third level. Ridership at first was light, but with some
22 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
Reprinted from a Capitol Trailways schedule folder dated January 8, 1992, this simple map shows the scheduled service provided by Capitol at that time. While the route structure changed somewhat over the years, Capitol continued to be based out of Harrisburg.
changes to the schedule, it became a huge success and was the best revenue producer right up to the time of the closing of the doors, in 2013.
The first changes were adding Harrisburg and dropping three small towns, Columbia, Morgantown and Bensalem, all in Pennsylvania. The Reading-New York City portion was also dropped, although passengers from Reading and Pottstown could connect at King of Prussia for travel to New York City. These changes reduced travel time about 30 minutes and made it much easier to dispatch and service the equipment. A few years later Newark Airport was dropped from the schedule, which saved another 30 minutes.
This new leaner schedule appealed to more and more people. Another major reason for the rise in passengers, was moving to the Adirondack Trailways agency on the main floor of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The buses would now arrive and depart from the lower level of the PABT, which made it much more convenient for passengers connecting to other carriers going to New England and upstate New York.
Nine new MCI-96A3s were purchased that year, with three of them, 8128, 8129 and 8130 being painted in a new, beautiful paint scheme. A big red apple complete with a green leaf up top, new many level striping, and the lettering “The Bus to the Big Apple” on the side was a real eye catcher. Bus 8111, an MC-9 was also painted in the new colors. The beautiful new buses also helped attract new customers. After the demise of Trailways, Inc., Capitol began using other Capitol Trailways livery buses on the New York City service, when needed.
By this time Capitol was beginning to repaint buses with a new livelier paint scheme, showing the full name, Capitol Trailways on both sides. Half of the bus had white with red lettering and the other half had red with white lettering. This was quite an upgrade and made the fleet look younger and more attractive.
In 1986 Capitol Bus Company celebrated its 50th anniversary. The buses had a 50-year anniversary emblem affixed to them near the door. Capitol also hosted the Bus Bash in 1986, at the Sheraton Hotel in Harrisburg. The Bus Bash was founded by Robert Redden in 1979. Buses came to the bash from several states as well as those from neighboring communities in Pennsylvania. Many non-bus owners were also in attendance from states as far away as Oklahoma and California. There was a welcoming reception and dinner and a bus memorabilia flea market, and the finale of the bash was a parade of buses through Harrisburg, with a police escort. It was quite impressive and a wonderful time was had by all. In 1987 Dick Maguire started a non-union bus company in York, Pennsylvania, 25 miles south of Harrisburg, named Overland Coach. The fleet consisted of three MC-9s, the former Playboy coaches from Capitol and a new MCI96A3, which in time would become 8138, in the Capitol fleet. The MC9s were painted in different colors and the 96A3 was painted in a red and white paint scheme with gray stripes. They all had an emblem by the front door which consisted of a stage coach surrounded by a compass. Maintenance for these coaches was done by Ryder Trucking in York.
Also owned by Dick Maguire, Overland Coach was a small company operating scheduled service to New York City as well as charters. This is an MCI 96A3 that operated as #409 in the Overland fleet and later joined Capitol as its number 8138.
When Martz Trailways went on strike in February 1987, Overland began operating line run service from Wilkes Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania to New York City. Personnel from the Harrisburg office of Capitol Trailways and the Harrisburg terminal were sent north to man these stations until the strike was over. Overland also operated charters from the York area, in competition with Capitol Trailways and other local companies. This venture did not last too long, closing in May 1988.
1987 saw the purchase of four more MCI96A3s. In 1988 Dick Maguire sold the bus company to three employees, Jot Bennett, Skip Becker and Joe Wrabel. Bennett was the former president of Lincoln Coach Lines in western Pennsylvania and had been employed by Capitol Trailways. Becker, a former state worker, was the manager of Capitol International Tours. Wrabel had been
Capitol Trailways hosted a 1986 Bus Bash event in Harrisburg at the Sheraton Hotel. Activities included a reception, a flea market and bus display as well as a dinner. The closing event was a parade of participating buses through Harrisburg. ROBERT REDDEN.
with Capitol Trailways for many years as the chief financial officer.
1990 saw the first Prevost coach join the fleet, #8141. It was a 40-foot LeMirage. Capitol would go on to purchase 10 more Prevosts, both LeMirages and H series coaches, in 40-, 41- and 45-foot lengths. Capitol never made any “large” purchases of new buses after 1985. In later years Capitol would add to the fleet with a mix of new and used coaches, both MCIs and Prevosts. Capitol did purchase six used Greyhound MCI 96A3s, two MCI MC-5Cs from Wolf Bus Line, and several D and DL3s from various companies. Four new Prevost LeMirages were added in 1997 and 1998, and served well for many years on the New York City service. New Prevost H series, 41-foot and 45-foot coaches were also added and did most of their service in charter work. The last purchase of new coaches came in 2002,
with the addition of three MCI G4500s – #18178, 18179 and 18180.
1991 brought about a large number of schedule changes. Capitol took over the former Greyhound route from Harrisburg to Hagerstown, Maryland, that Capitol operated for more than 15 years. For a period of time the route was operated as a thru bus from Reading to Hagerstown. The year also saw the beginning of “Thru Bus Service” from Washington to Toronto via Syracuse in cooperation with Empire Trailways and Gray Coach Lines. It was a real pleasure to see the white MCI buses with the GC on the side come through central Pennsylvania. In early 1992 Capitol started operating from Harrisburg to Elmira via Williamsport. This was part of a through bus service from Harrisburg to Rochester in conjunction with Empire Trailways. In the summer of 1992 the three companies started a new express service on that route with one daily trip from
In 1985, Capitol inaugurated new “Bus to the Big Apple” service to New York City. Because Trailways Inc. was already on the route, the early buses used on this route did not show the Trailways name but the color scheme was obvious. This is bus 8111, an MCI MC-9, that was repainted for the Bus to the Big Apple service.
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 23
Washington and Baltimore via York, Harrisburg, Williamsport, Rochester and Buffalo to Toronto.
It was a real crowd pleaser, with most trips being near capacity, as this route saved more than three and a half hours of travel time. The northbound and southbound trips met at the Hardee’s Restaurant in Williamsport, where the passengers were given a 30-minute rest stop, and the Capitol and Empire drivers switched buses. Unfortunately this service was not continued after the summer, and all trips went back through Syracuse.
In time, Empire Trailways became New York Trailways, who then pooled with Adirondack Trailways and Greyhound to offer service connecting through New York City rather than through Pennsylvania. Passengers were still able to take Capitol service to Syracuse to then change to Empire/New York Trailways buses to go to western New York state and Toronto.
In 1992, Capitol took over the former Greyhound service from Washington to Allentown, via York, Lancaster and Reading. This route had previously been served by Safeway Trailways and then Trailways, Inc. Unfortunately, it did not prove to be successful and the service was shortened to York to Allentown, connecting with Washington to Syracuse service at York. In 1993 this service was terminated.
1993 also saw the opening of the Peter Pan Trailways terminals in Baltimore and Washington, and Capitol joined their fellow Trailways company at the new stations. Although both were nice terminals, Capitol customers who were connecting at Washington to go south, found this station to be inconvenient. Passengers would have to cross the street and carry their own
Here is one of the group of coaches transferred from Rohrer Tour and Charter to Capitol. It was an MCI96A3 and carried fleet number 124. Adjacent is a Prevost LeMirage that carried number 18162 in the Capitol fleet. As with many of the other photos, this was taken behind the Capitol garage in Harrisburg.
24 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
baggage in order to be able to ride a Greyhound to Richmond and points south. Conversely, passengers returning north on Greyhound from the south were routed on Greyhound trips from Washington to points north. Capitol saw a large drop in passengers and revenue on the mainline route.
In 1994, Capitol moved from the Greyhound terminal, into the Peter Pan station in Philadelphia, which was just down the alley from the Greyhound station. The same year, Capitol and Peter Pan began a new through bus service from New York City to Pittsburgh, via Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The driver changes were made
at Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The Amtrak station in Pittsburgh was used as the Capitol terminal. Competition from Greyhound and Amtrak proved to be too strong, and this service was terminated after a few months.
Capitol began a new stop at Hershey Park, in 1997, on the Harrisburg – Reading division. In later years the Harrisburg– Reading division was negatively impacted by local transit companies operating in competition. Capital Area Transit began operating from Harrisburg to Hummelstown, Hershey and Hershey Park. Lebanon Transit operated from Lebanon to Palmyra, Hershey and to Harrisburg as well as to Myerstown.
Not every bus in the Capitol fleet was an MCI. Shown here behind the Harrisburg garage is a pair of Prevost H3-41 coaches that were numbered 18167 and 18168 in the fleet. After the acquisition of Rohrer Tour & Charter, these buses were sent to the Rohrer fleet in exchange for some MCI coaches.
BARTA (Reading) operated from Reading to Wernersville and Womelsdorf. Capital Area Transit also began operating to Shippensburg on the Hagerstown division. They all charged lower fares and had more frequent operating hours.
On July 3, 2001, Capitol purchased the Rohrer Tour and Charter operation from the Rohrer Company, who also had a school bus operation, Hershey shuttle operation and school bus sales division. The tour and charter operation was moved from Duncannon, Pennsylvania to the Harrisburg office and garage. After the purchase, there was a swap of four older Rohrer MCI 96A3s for six newer Capitol Prevost and MCI coaches. This was done to bolster the Rohrer charter division.
Capitol Trailways had developed a fine charter service and had operated a first-class service to anywhere in the 48 states and Canada. Capitol was certified by the Department of Defense to do military movements from the 1940s to the closing. Hundreds of military movements were done over the years, primarily from Harrisburg armories to such places as Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation (Pennsylvania), Harrisburg International Airport, Fort A. P. Hill (Virginia), Fort Dix (New Jersey), Fort Drum (New York) and Quantico Marine base in Virginia. Most of these movements were multiple bus moves. Capitol also did many large charters, sometimes using 15 or more coaches. Carlisle War College to New York City, Harrisburg to Dover (Del) Race Track, several Pennsylvania governors’ inaugurations and receptions in Harrisburg and Hershey, and the
This gives us a brief respite from the many red and white buses photographed behind the Harrisburg garage. CP8100 was an MC-9 with an early billboard exterior highlighting Pennsylvania. The photo was taken in April of 1982 with Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River in the background. ROBERT REDDEN.
Rite Aid Corp. annual company meeting shuttles were some of the biggest movements. High school athletic teams and bands were also a big part of the charter business, going to such destinations as Toronto and many cities in Florida. Capitol also took students from the Milton Hershey School, home and back to school on holiday breaks and summer vacations, using as many as 12 coaches to such destinations as Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Scranton, several points in western Penn-
The MCI G4500 model was built in Mexico and designed for scheduled service for Greyhound although it also was purchased by other companies. Capitol purchased three new G4500 coaches in 2002 numbered 18178, 18179 and 18180. Shown here is a 18179 at the usual garage location.
sylvania, Boston and other cities in New England. Eleven drivers and 10 buses participated in shuttling passengers at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Capitol, for more than 30 years, was also the exclusive carrier for the Hershey Bears, a hockey team in the American Hockey League. One driver and one dedicated bus were used to transport the team, to most of the league cities which included Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, Bridgeport, Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Portland (Maine) and several cities in Eastern Canada.
Capitol Trailways was very community service oriented. Several times over the 1990s and early 2000s, Capitol buses filled with volunteers, went to southern states in Operation Lend A Hand, to repair homes damaged by many hurricanes. Not only did the drivers keep the buses rolling, they also rolled up their sleeves and did cleanup work and helped construct new buildings. On September 11, 2001, two Capitol Trailways buses were dispatched to take Pennsylvania Task Force One (specially trained rescue workers from several fire departments) members to New York City to assist with the rescue and clean up at the World Trade Center. The buses and drivers were in New York City for two weeks. Capitol personnel can be very proud of the efforts of the people involved.
On June 22, 2009, Capitol was purchased by Bieber Tourways from Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Bieber Tourways was a 75-yearold bus company that had line runs from Reading, Pennsylvania to New York City and Philadelphia, and also was a well
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 25
Four of the impressive older coaches in the “Parade of Progress” group helped get the bus museum in Hershey started. Shown here is the PD4104 that was painted in Trailways livery. ROBERT REDDEN.
known charter operator throughout 48 states. The “Capitol operation” was operated as a separate unit in Harrisburg, with Bieber management on sight. Several of the older Bieber coaches were sent to Harrisburg to increase the fleet. Bieber bought two new MCI J4505 buses, painted them in Bieber colors, but lettered them Capitol. These were coaches 575 and 576. These coaches were used to inaugurate a new service from Harrisburg to New York City via Wescosville (Allentown), and Hellertown (Bethlehem), Pennsylvania via Interstate 78. Unfortunately, this service was only operated for a few months before being terminated, due to light ridership on the Harrisburg–Hellertown portion of the trips. The two coaches were returned to the Bieber fleet in Kutztown and relettered with the Bieber name replacing the Capitol name on the sides of the coaches.
Bieber Tourways from Kutztown, Pennsylvania acquired Capitol Trailways in June of 2009. Two new J4500 coaches were added to the Capitol fleet; they carried fleet numbers 575 and 576 and were painted in Bieber colors but lettered for Capitol. They were originally used to open a new route from Harrisburg to New York City via Allentown and Bethlehem.
26 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
One of the more interesting coaches that went to the museum collection was this Flxible Clipper lettered for Capitol Bus Company. Others included a Chevrolet stretch and a PD4106. ROBERT REDDEN.
For most of its existence, Capitol was a “connecting carrier.” Most trips would connect with another Capitol trip, or other connecting carriers’ (Trailways – Greyhound) trips to insure passengers could continue on to their destination with a minimum transfer time. Pottsville–Philadelphia trips connected with other Capitol service at Reading and King of Prussia, other carriers in Philadelphia and Capitol northbound trips at Pottsville. Harrisburg–Reading trips connected at both ends with other Capitol trips and with Greyhound and Trailways. Harrisburg–New York City trips connected in King of Prussia and York with other Capitol trips and at both ends with several other carriers. Main line service, Washington – Syracuse, in addition to connections at each terminus, also connected with other carriers in York,
Harrisburg, Pottsville, Hazleton, Wilkes Barre, Scranton and Binghamton. The new Bieber management, in time, broke many of the connections, over the objections of the Harrisburg traffic department. This lead to decreased ridership and loss of revenue. Soon after Bieber purchased Capitol, the Pottsville garage was sold. This meant all trips beginning and ending in Pottsville, had to have a coach deadheaded from/to Harrisburg, 55 miles each way.
Early March 2013, saw the final runs of the “Capitol operation” of Bieber. All remaining coaches were sent to Kutztown, and the Harrisburg office and garage were closed. This meant that more than 75 terrific, loyal Capitol employees were terminated. A few chose to go to Kutztown to work for Bieber as drivers and mechanics. A little more than five years later, Bieber
closed its doors and many more good people lost their jobs. Dick Maguire had six buses in his “Parade of Progress” fleet. The buses were a chevrolet stretch, Flxible clipper, GM 4104, GM 4106, Mci Mc-7 and Mci Mc8. in 1985, a Mci 96A3 replaced the Mc7, which was sold. Four of these buses were gifted to the Museum of bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania by Mrs. Maguire. As of january 1, 2020, the Museum of bus Transportation became a part of the Antique Automobile club of America Museum, also located in the same building in Hershey. Dick Maguire was one of the founders of the bus museum in 1995, and was the second president of that museum.
We would like to thank the following people for their contributions to this article: Linda and Phil Menges, janet and charles Wotring, Marcy and bill simpson, Doc rushing and Karen earl. Thank you all for all that
you did to make this article as factual as possible. Many important historical documents were lost during the 1972 flood and with the closing of the office. q
This photo probably comes close to depicting the company the way most bus historians remember it. Capitol 18166, an MCI 102DL3, was photographed on 39th Street near 9th Avenue in New York City. The date was December 31, 1999 and the coach may have brought some millenium celebration passengers to the Big Apple. j.c. rebis jr.
since 2015, former capitol and rohrer employees and relatives have met at Hoss’s steakhouse in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania for reunions. The bus museum has been able to bring buses to the reunion, including capitol #98, a GM 4104 and capitol #826, a GM 4106, to the delight of the former drivers, mechanics and office staff. A big thank you to the museum’s fleet committee, who have kept the buses running and looking so good. For any former capitol or rohrer employee, or any other bus person interested in coming to the next reunion, contact Walter earl at (717) 928-4992.
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 27
T
hink about changing diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) in vehicles that have been idle for a prolonged period. You should also protect DEF from extreme cold to keep Diesel-powered vehicles running smoothly.
With recent months being dominated by challenges caused by COVID-19, some dieselpowered vehicles have likely been out of service for a long period of time. This includes buses, motorcoaches, trucks and other fleet vehicles that have been idle for many months due to school closures, the cancelation of events and reduced road travel.
DEF Maintenance on Idle Vehicles by Jeffrey Harmening, American Petroleum Institute
As operators of various fleets manage the maintenance needs of vehicles that are out of service or those to be put back into service, there are many items that need to be considered. One of the easiest items to overlook is diesel exhaust fluid that is already in the vehicle. DEF has a limited life and may need to be changed before a vehicle goes back into service. The American Petroleum Institute (API) recommends that you determine when DEF was put in the vehicle. The storage life of DEF is about 12 months in optimal conditions. In the case when DEF has been stored in the vehicle past 12 months, it is recommended that it be drained and replaced. API also recommends changing the DEF if a vehicle sat unused in summer heat for a prolonged period of time or if the DEF may have been contaminated in any way. In addition, API suggests changing the engine oil if you believe moisture may have built up in the engine; plus check other critical fluids and vehicle components including the tires before going back out on the road. Also, remember to evaluate the DEF on shelves in the shop if it has been a long time since the last delivery. Order new DEF if necessary as you do not want to replace old DEF in your vehicle with product that is expired. DEF is not considered a hazardous material but should be disposed of in accordance with local regulations.
Managing DEF in Wintertime Made from a mixture of technically pure urea and purified water, DEF freezes at 11 degrees Fahrenheit and -11 degrees Celsius and needs to be properly maintained and dispensed to preserve its quality. Like water, DEF will expand up to seven percent when frozen and can damage the storage tank if it is full or nearly full when it freezes. Keeping a tank that you think may freeze less than full is a good idea.
If DEF freezes in the vehicle, do not put any additives in the tank to help it melt. DEF needs to remain pure for it to work correctly. The vehicle will start without a problem and the DEF tank has a heating element that can quickly thaw the DEF. Do not worry; on-spec DEF is specifically formulated to allow the 28 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
With many buses sitting idle, it is important to know that diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) has a limited storage life. Under optimal conditions, the storage life of DEF is about 12 months. It should be drained and replaced if it goes beyond this time, if it sat unused in the summer heat for a prolonged period, or if it has been contaminated in any way. AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE.
Good things to note in regard to DEF include: Buy the most recent DEF products and use the oldest products first. Check the label or find out about recommended storage temperatures. If DEF freezes, it should thaw out properly with a heating element in your bus tank. MCI.
fluid to thaw at the proper concentration to keep your vehicle operating smoothly.
In addition to cold, there are other things to consider when purchasing, storing and handling DEF. Drivers accustomed to purchasing DEF in containers should look at the expiration date on the bottle and be sure to use it before this date. If a date is not present, ask for the most recently delivered DEF products. Also, check the label for recommended storage temperatures and be sure to look for the
API certification mark on the bottle as well. Many diesel engine manufacturers recommend that drivers use API-licensed DEF.
Purchasing DEF for Shop Use API has found that the biggest misconception by fleet managers is the belief that if the urea concentration of their DEF is on spec, then the DEF meets the required quality. While it is true that the concentration is very important, there are many other important quality characteristics built into the ISO 22241 specification regarding DEF.
Those responsible for procuring DEF should confirm that their suppliers are providing DEF that meets the entire ISO quality standard. One way to do this is to ensure that their supplier is providing a Certificate of Analysis (or Quality) with every shipment
that addresses all of the quality characteristics that the specification requires. You can also check to see if the DEF they are buying is licensed through API’s real-time directory of licensees on the API Web site.
API Tips for Managing DEF in Shops For shops, the handling, storage and dispensing of DEF is very important so that offspec DEF does not reach the marketplace. Temperature during transport or at the point of storage or sale can harm the shelf life of DEF sold in containers. Make sure the stock is rotated to use the oldest product first. Proper storage temperature in a shop is also vital. Storing in temperatures above 86 degrees Fahrenheit will limit the shelf life of the DEF over time. Some additional things to consider in storing and handing DEF include the following:
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 29
• Bulk storage tanks should be dedicated for DEF. Do not switch products in the bulk tank without thoroughly rinsing the tank with distilled or de-ionized water or on-spec DEF. • A closed loop system for transferring DEF from a drum or bulk tank is recom-
mended so contaminants do not get into the DEF. This is particularly important in a shop or construction site that has dust or dirt in the air. • Use dedicated equipment for dispensing DEF. Do not use funnels, pitchers, hoses,
Use dedicated equipment or a closed loop system for dispensing DEF so as to avoid contamination. The author suggests being careful to obtain DEF that meets the entire ISO quality standard. One way to help insure quality is to buy from API licensees shown on the API Web site. AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE.
etc. that are used for other fluids when putting DEF in a tank. • Anything used for dispensing DEF should be cleaned with distilled or de-ionized water and followed by a DEF rinse. Do not use tap water for cleaning.
For shops and drivers, it is important to know what you are putting into your DEF tank. The quality of the DEF going into your vehicle is as important as the quality of the engine oils or fuels used in your vehicles. Use of API-licensed diesel exhaust fluid will ensure that it meets the high standards required by engine and vehicle manufacturers. q
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30 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
Minority Misfortunes by Dave Millhouser The burden of regulatory compliance as well as problems relating to the pandemic fall more heavily on smaller companies. Larger companies have a substantial advantage based on economies of scale. This means that minority-owned companies are being driven from the bus business in greater numbers. Shown here are some Temsa coaches at their facility in Orlando. TEMSA.
27833 – nearly 50 years later the part number for an improved wheel still rattles around my brain. The company I worked for sold pallet loads of them.
Circa 1974 a package of new regulations influencing motorcoach design went into effect and some of the results were, to say the least, unexpected. Intended to improve braking, handling and noise levels, instead we got steering axle wheel cracking, baked alternators, failed HVACs and air brakes that sometimes applied suddenly when CB mikes were keyed.
Good intentions can create unintended consequences that are worse than the problem they are addressing.
In order to meet new braking specs, Eagle went with larger tires, which then pounded the HVAC ducts that passed over them into submission. Our biggest competitor suffered even more. To keep the tag from bouncing when the more powerful brakes were applied, they cranked up the weight it carried. The drive wheels acted as a fulcrum – 32 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
extra weight went onto the steer axle – and front wheels began to crack.
Adding insult to injury, the air-cooled alternator that had worked fine for years began failing. Eliminating vents, to reduce noise reaching the street, raised the engine compartment’s ambient temperature just enough to give the alternators heat stroke. It was a great time to be a parts salesman.
According to several sources, there are less than half as many private sector motorcoach companies now than there were in 2019. The bulk of the casualties were small operators, and in most cases it was the pandemic that pushed them over the edge. That said, if they had been stronger financially at Covid’s outset, they might have survived. There are two points to be made here.
One is that the burden of compliance falls far more heavily on small companies than large. The big guys have a serious advantage when it comes to the economies of scale. As a result as the weight of regulations
increases, it is the little guys who are squeezed out. Fewer coaches on the road means more travelers are forced into less safe modes of transportation.
Second, and clearly unintended, is that minority-owned companies are being driven from the business in far larger proportions than their white competitors. For many historical reasons they started with a disadvantage and have been playing catch-up for decades. As a result, many lack the size and fiscal depth to hang on.
I am not into “political correctness,” but thoughtful folks are aware that in addition to the discredited historical laws and regulations that constituted de-jure racism, there is an element of de-facto racism that still needs to be addressed. Sometimes intentional, but often just insensitive or thoughtless, the playing field remains measurably tilted, at least in the motorcoach business.
The new administration seems committed to restoring regulations and adding new ones. It is ironic that the same folks who are com-
While some regulations are necessary, it might be a good idea to moderate them in such a fashion that they are fair to the smaller operators. Otherwise it will be increasingly difficult for smaller and minority operators to get into the bus business. This Setra was photographed in an historical part of Tampa, Florida. DAIMLER.
mitted to “equity” in so many aspects of life may unintentionally be damaging the groups they claim to help. The irony is magnified by the fact that many of the people being hurt most are minorities who worked hard to build businesses, to be productive and independent, in a disadvantaged environment.
Clearly a measure of regulation is both necessary, and helpful. Someone once said that “The perfect is the enemy of the good” (if I can not remember where I stole it – it ain’t plagiarism). Regulators’ impossible race to safety perfection may be doing more harm than good. One unintended consequence may leave
us with a much smaller, lilly-white, industry – a tragic outcome. A sort of de-facto Jim Crow.
“Less is more” might apply here. A bad bus is safer, and greener, than a good car. Instead of regulators (who often have no operating experience) piling on trivial rules in a quixotic pursuit of paperwork perfection, maybe a bit of grace is in order. This is not to advocate for any sort of preferential treatment for minority owned operators, but rather for a serious examination of the real (if unintended) consequences of the current regulatory environment. It clearly tilts the playing field towards the “big guys.”
John F. Kennedy famously said, “A rising tide lifts all boats . . .” Small operators, nearly all family-owned, would benefit from a more rational level of regulation, regardless of their race. So would the public.
We were lucky back in the mid-70s. To the best of my knowledge none of the hiccups killed anyone, but there were some close calls. About all I remember from the 1970s is 27833 and 2316669. q
Sometimes new products and equipment cause problems or do not work out well. At these times, it is great to be a parts salesman. This parts warehouse is located at Temsa in Orlando. TEMSA.
National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 33
Photographs
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Top: Alexander Dennis recently provided three three-axle Enviro200EV XLB for Auckland Transport in New Zealand. The all-electric buses are 12.6 meters (41 feet) long and incorporate BYD battery technology. Three axles are used to reduce axle loads that in turn reduces road use charges. Bottom: The 30-foot Temsa TS 30 stands between the smaller buses and larger coaches in offering the amenities of the big coaches for smaller groups. Based in Gill, Massachusetts, Travel Kuz provides transportation services in the Massachusetts and Vermont area with a wide range of vehicles from limousines to school buses and coaches. Their TS 30 coaches help fulfill their company motto: “We have a bus for that.”
34 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
Bus of the Month The Electric ZEPS Bus from Complete Coach Works
T
The ZEPS (Zero-Emission Propulsion System) bus from Complete Coach Works (CCW) is noteworthy in two major respects. First, it has been a pioneer in the movement to clean-energy, battery-electric buses; and second, it is a unique concept developed by CCW to keep costs down and ease entry into battery-electric bus operations.
ZEPS is a combination of two concepts that together create a unique vehicle. Primarily, it provides a non-pollutin,g batteryelectric bus that allows transit operators to move away from fossil fuels and clean up their fleets. Additionally, it uses a pre-owned and remanufactured transit bus to keep costs reasonable. This also has a side advantage in that the vehicle is highly compatible with existing fleets, thereby reducing maintenance personnel retraining and dramatically reducing the annual maintenance cost from their fossil fuel counterpart.
A key part of the ZEPS concept is that it begins with a carefully selected, previously operated, low-floor transit bus. This bus is brought into the CCW facility that is headquartered in Riverside, California. During the remanufacturing process, the chassis is stripped down to the frame. This includes removal of the vehicle's interior and exterior fixtures, along with all subsystems and major components, such as the engine and transmission.
Most of the major components are new or rebuilt since beltdriven and hydraulic systems are replaced with electrically-driven
components. Included are the HVAC system, air compressor and power steering hydraulic pump. CCW replaces the diesel engine with a new battery-powered electric drive that incorporates an electric motor, regenerative braking, an NMC lithium-ion battery pack and a management system for operations and recharging.
In addition, the windows are replaced with new flush mounting style and energy-efficient glass. New tires and wheels are provided that are suitable for electric operation, and the wheelchair ramp is rebuilt to new specifications. Other features to an all-electric remanufacture include lightweight flooring, driver and passenger seats, heating and cooling systems and all LED lighting. The result is a bus that provides all the features of a new bus and battery-electric drive at an affordable cost. It is less expensive to maintain than a diesel bus and technicians like the simplicity of operation.
CCW’s ZEPS bus has proven itself in numerous transit operations around the country. In addition to conventional transit applications, it has been used in shuttle service, commuter runs, college campuses and airports. CCW has retrofitted its ZEPS battery-electric system into various other vehicles including themed “trolley” shuttles. It continues to be a unique model and offers a combination of non-polluting, battery-electric power with low initial cost. q National Bus Trader / December, 2021 • 35
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Safety and Liability by Ned Einstein Transportation Network Companies Even Worse than Expected
The clever title Eyes Wide Shut was wasted on a allegedly-sexual movie released in 1999. While there are plenty of mainstream events widely opening our eyes these days, this film’s expression is an understatement for events that have occurred in the United States public transportation field in the last seven or so years. I am not so sure even a dead man’s switch would open many eyes in our field. I have been trying to do so. This installment is yet another alarm.
This installment is yet another alarm. I mourn the days when my NATIONAL BUS TRADER installments were either positive (like the year-long series titled “Making More Money”(see NATIONAL BUS TRADER January – December, 2012), the two-part series about bio-sensitive driver assignment (see https://transalt.com/article/bio-sensitive-driver-assignment-part-i/ and https://transalt.com/article/bio-sensitivedriver-assignment-part-ii/) or a series of safety-sensitive tips about driver assignment and “bus lag” (see https://transalt.com/ article/bus-lag-part-1-non-driving-off-dutyand-awake-the-whole-time-on-hos-requirements/, https://transalt.com/article/buslag-part-2-on-duty-driving-and-sound-aslee p - t h e - l i m i t s - o f - h o s - re q u i re m e n t s / , https://transalt.com/article/bus-lag-part3-the-invisible-log/, https://transalt.com/ article/bus-lag-part-4-the-invisible-logredux-logs-black-boxes-and-spoliation/ and https://transalt.com/article/bus-lag-part5-skipping-the-in-between/).
Most installments since were riddled with alarming warnings, like installments about the inevitability and consequences of driverless vehicles (Autonomous and Inevitable in NATIONAL BUS TRADER, October, 2016 through August 2017 and Drivers v. Robots, NATIONAL BUS TRADER, August, 2019 through April 2020), problems with Tight Schedules (NATIONAL BUS TRADER, February through July, 2019) and a year-long series about Safety Compromises (NATIONAL BUS TRADER, September, 2017 through November, 2018). 40 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
Sandwiched in between was a six-installment warning about havoc which transit network companies (i.e., mostly Uber and Lyft) were wreaking on the public transportation industry (see https://transalt.com/article/ bad-regulations-and-worse-responses-part1-introduction/, https://transalt.com/article/bad-regulations-and-better-responsespart-2-the-rise-fall-and-transformation-of-sup ershuttle/, https://transalt.com/article/badregulations-and-better-responses-part-3-invasion-of-the-tncs/, https://transalt.com/ article/bad-regulations-and-better-responses-pa rt-4-judicial-heroism/, https://transalt.com/ article/bad-regulations-and-wo rseresponses-part-5-executive-branchresponses/, https://transalt.com/ article/ bad-regulations-and-better-responses-part6-industry-and-association-responses/ and https:// transalt.com/article/bad-regulations-and-better-responses-part-7-conclusions/). As this article will explain, things have gotten worse since these failures. Now, almost every sector in the industry is being hurt.
Ridership and Impotence The “Bad Regulations” series noted above identified a litany of institutional and industry-wide failures to stop the incursion of TNCs from gutting the taxicab industry. Alongside the successful decimation of that sector, and the near-collapse of tour and charter service caused by the COVID-19 (and our failures to mitigate it), few noticed that fixed route transit ridership had declined by roughly 10 percent during the two years preceding COVID-19. I addressed this decline in another N ATIONAL B US TRADER article published in July, 2020 titled “Transit Support in the Era of COVID-19” (see https://transalt.com/article/transitsurvival-in-the-age-of-covid-19/). Professionals in the Bay Area attributed a lot of this decline to the emergence of TNCs – popular in this high-income subregion, and highly suspect as farebox revenue covered only 13 percent of the operating costs of San Francisco’s transit system, MUNI (see the troubling graphic in the April 9, 2020 issue of the NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/ 2020/04/09/upshot/transit-battered-bycoronavirus.html?action=click&module=To p%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage). The pre-COVID tanking of transit ridership began to cause concern. Kansas City was the first urban transit service to eliminate fares altogether, as the eight percent of its operating costs which farebox revenue
One wonders how long the general public will tolerate supporting free fixed-route transit service. covered cost roughly as much to collect than the revenue it brought in. Followed shortly by partial free-fare measures in Portland and Las Vegas, these trends should be of great concern. In an era dominated by a rigidity of conversation never before seen in the United States, where there is a minority of support for concerns like measures to decelerate climate change and a refusal to tax zillionaires, one wonders how long the general public will tolerate supporting free fixedroute transit service.
This concern is not confined to merely the transit sector. For starters, complementary paratransit service (operating at a fraction of the efficiency of fixed route transit) consumes an increasing percentage of almost every transit agency’s budget. (As the ADA limits paratransit fares to one-half of fixed route bus fares, when fixed route transit fares disappear, far-more-costly paratransit service will also vanish – although paratransit fares cover even less of its pertrip costs even now.) School bus community officials – whose services receive no federal subsidies, and where driver shortages have been rampant for four decades – are similarly fearful of its survival. The non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) sector steals and wastes hundreds of billions of dollars a year (see https://transalt.com/article/defending-contractors-part-3-thewhistleblowers-song/ in N ATIONAL B US TRADER, June, 2021). The fact that much of the motorcoach sector provides commuter express service to transit agencies, and this sector is beginning to provide other fixed route services to these agencies under contract should be a serious concern to this sector as well. Yet, as in recent years, nothing significant, if even noticeable, has been done to address these trends. Omens are beginning to emerge suggesting that things are getting worse and worse. Eyes Wide Shut While most public transportation professionals have long ago acknowledged – and tacitly accepted – the demise of the taxi
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Safety and Liability industry from the increasing dominance of Uber, Lyft and few stragglers (like Juno and Sidecar) that these two oligopolies have yet to squash or acquire, few have noticed the impact of TNCs on other modes. This apathy or ignorance was shaken recently by an article in Forbes magazine (September 30, 2021) titled, “That Uber or Lyft Trip May be Worse for the Planet Than Driving Yourself.”
This article began with the notion that these TNCs “charged into cities” with the promise that, “by reducing personal car trips, ride-hailing businesses could both ease traffic and bolster the use of public transit.” Used to unlimited lies as we have become over the past several years, such nonsense hardly seems worthy of notice, much less concern. In sharp contrast to the claims of TNCs, a study recently released by Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University noted that the replacement of personal car trips by TNCs increased the costs of each trip by roughly 35 cents. Much of this is because one’s use of his or her own vehicle does not involve any deadheading. (I suspect the price of parking one’s personal vehicle was overlooked in this study.) The study noted that even with their extraordinary fleet density or “coverage,” TNCs still spend about 40 percent of their mileage deadheading – a figure better than taxis in most service areas before TNCs came along to increase taxicab deadhead time and/or mileage to what I now estimate to be about 60 to 70 percent (from an information survey of scores of taxi drivers).
”The costs to society tripled when the shift was from public transportation to a ride-hailing vehicle.” For our industry, that finding was not the worst. Far more troubling was the study’s finding , “the costs to society tripled when the shift was from public transportation to a ride-hailing vehicle.” Expanding these findings to broader issues, the study’s author, Jeremy J. Michalek, found that even if ride-hailing vehicles deployed 100-percent zero emissions vehicles, the external costs of ride-hailing dropped by only 16 to 17 percent – an asterisk alongside the otherwise tripling of costs. The study added that even this fully-electrified fleet, “would not be enough to make up for the congestion and deaths created by the added TNC miles.” The study added that, while these detriments would be mildly mitigated if rides were pooled (which would negate the com42 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
parative benefits of mode-splitting from a personal vehicle to a TNC), these negative impacts would be yet another asterisk compared to the costs of passengers formerly traveling by fixed route transit.
Also failing to address these problems has been the mainstream media – a source of information which has increasingly been discredited in general. A recent NYTimes article about the demise of the city’s taxi industry (see https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/03/ny region/nyc-taxi-drivers-hungerstrike.html?referringSource=articleShare) cited months of protests by hoards of taxi drivers (including a 15-day hunger strike) and covered all types of mediocre remedies – like government (translation: “taxpayer”) subsidies to help drivers amortize the debts they incurred from the collapse in the value of taxi medallions (worth $1.1 million per vehicle in 2014, and a tiny fraction of this sum today), and $30,000 cash payments to drivers who cannot even make the payments on their reduced, subsidized loans.
The article largely blamed this carnage on a group of “industry leaders” (i.e., banks and other “lenders”) for inflating the price of medallions – although how this magic trick was accomplished was not described. Instead, the article noted that, “Industry leaders have long denied wrongdoing, blaming the crisis on ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft.”
Not surprisingly, this article failed to note that the now-estimated 60,000 Ubers operating in the city paid no medallion fees whatsoever. Similarly, it failed to cite the fact that the remaining taxi drivers are experiencing what I estimate to be roughly 70 percent deadhead time and mileage. In the city’s taxi industry heyday – despite grossly-incompetent regulation and management by the city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission – deadhead time and mileage was closer to 30 percent for those drivers who knew what they were doing (and who did not experience 50 percent deadhead by “playing the airports”).
Naturally, this article (like most others) failed to even footnote the devastation that TNCs wreaked on the city’s fixed route transit system. Understandably, it failed to cite the obvious, genuine remedy to these problems: Prohibiting the operation of this completely unmanaged mode within the city’s boundaries altogether. One suspects that, at this point, such a remedy would have deep political consequences for those elected officials supporting it. Readers could not be expected to read between the lines to note that the TNCs effectively transferred their medallion obligations to the taxpayers now forced to subsidize the industries that the
TNCs victimized – including the city’s multibillion dollar transit industry.
Research and Residue Academicians have interesting notions about what to spend taxpayers’ dollars on. The Forbes article mentioned some “interest” in measures to increase the pooling of rides, and to identify the true costs of travel, by mode, and charge each mode accordingly for them. The implementation of congestion pricing measures was among such measures – a strategy that has failed, politically, in almost every city in the country. The failure of such an approach to gain traction actually began in the mid-1970s, when not a single U.S. city would undertake a demonstration project to try this approach when offered $1 million to do so by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (the predecessor organization of the Federal Transit Administration).
Motorcoaches pay tolls at bridges and tunnels – when a single, fullyoccupied motorcoach displaces roughly 40 personal cars. If one needs a more salient example of the haplessness of U.S. transportation policy, one need only consider the fact that motorcoaches pay tolls at bridges and tunnels – when a single, fully-occupied motorcoach displaces roughly 40 personal cars. Expecting any meaningful solutions to this problem is hopelessly naive. This is largely because the sole answer to the problem – not merely the best – is to ban the TNCs altogether. As my previous series of articles for NATIONAL BUS TRADER cited above (“Bad Regulations and Worse Responses”) noted, we failed miserably and universally to effect that solution. Most harrowing about the Forbes articles is that our society has fully accepted, if not embraced, this intrusion, despite the costs that TNCs have exacted on our industry and our society at large. They have only badly crippled the taxicab, transit and motorcoach sectors. Wait until these modes approach collapse. The fragmentation of sectors within the U.S. public transportation industry is problematic in many ways. It was less problematic when each mode gradually refined its respective role in the system, and modes adapted to working with one another. This is true even while the transit industry’s hapless nonsense about “seamless transportation” was employed to squander vast sums
Safety and Liability of money on needless technology, and to hide behind that sector’s failures to capture and sustain ridership, among other failures. Now, other parties “thinking about it” are doing worse. Individually and collectively, they are doing nothing.
Dealing with COVID, Amtrak, declining transit ridership (without both downsides and opportunities for private contractors) legal assaults (see and https://transalt.com/article/defendingcontractors-part-6-contracting-fixed-routetransit/), the motorcoach industry is reeling. If no one noticed, sitting on the couch is not a solution. Those Uber commercials on TV sure are cute.
The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of NATIONAL BUS TRADER, Inc. or its staff and management. q Ned Einstein is the president of Transportation Alternatives (transalt.com [1]),66 a 66 public transportation 6 66 6 consulting/expert witness firm. Einstein (einstein@transalt.com) specializes in catastrophic motorcoach accidents.
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Book Review responsibility to pick the food stops for the new service.
A Spy on the Bus Memoir of a Company Rat
On several occasions, and in spite of pre-planning, she would run repeatedly into the same driver. In many cases, nothing happened but in others she had to explain why she was traveling. On a couple of occasions, the drivers figured out what she was doing and “turned her up.” This seemed to affect Wurst more than the company. She often did things to make herself less conspicuous.
by Margean Gladysz
Reviewed by Larry Plachno
While we mentioned this book in 2008 when it was published, it has come up again so we thought a brief review might be a good idea.
What makes this book particularly unusual and interesting is its somewhat unique topic. There are a few books covering the history of a particular bus company; in fact there are two major books on Greyhound. There are also books written by bus drivers telling of their tales and exploits. Jim Lehrer wrote a couple bus books. His We Were Dreamers should be required reading for anyone wishing to go into the bus business. In addition, there are several photo books covering various makes, models and types of buses. This is the only one I know covering that littleknown part of the bus industry – the people who did the inspections of drivers and facilities.
To some extent, this is the story of Margean Wurst who was raised on a farm in Michigan. When completing her education at age 18 in 1946, she went to work as an inspector for Greyhound in a group based out of Detroit. The text comes from her letters home to her family. In addition to explaining the work she was doing, she mentions the local weather, how the farms are doing, the scenery and other items of interest. To a large extent, it opens the door to a bus era of nearly 75 years ago that has long been forgotten.
The book covers a period of about three years when Wurst did this type of work. Starting in Detroit, she ended up riding both suburban buses and longer runs. She managed to get into several cities including Canada. From time to time she was given special assignments including the trolley coach operation in Flint, Michigan and the local buses in Evansville, Indiana. Later she worked for other companies and was based in Chicago. Eventually, Wurst managed to cover much of the United States 44 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
The job was both lonely and gave few opportunities for visits home. Once leaving Detroit, Margean would live out of a suitcase and spend her nights in hotels and YWCA facilities. She tells about her meals and what she would buy while traveling. For example, it was noted when she got her own small radio. On other occasions, her wardrobe became inappropriate when the weather got warmer or cooler.
including both the East and West coasts and south to Texas.
A normal trip would see her checking drivers for their driving ability, loitering, proper uniform, smoking while working and proper fare collection. While she enjoyed giving good reports, there were numerous drivers who were reprimanded or even lost their jobs because of her reports. Once she was no longer based in Detroit, Wurst began receiving special assignments. On several occasions she met with division managers in various cities and stayed several days working on local routes and problems. It appears that in spite of her young age, she became very respected and a leader in this particular field. On one occasion, a manager showed a professional inspection company that she could do a better job.
Eventually, she went beyond the drivers and included terminal and post house inspections. She did public relations and asked questions in Flint prior to a forthcoming franchise decision. She also helped set up special services and even was given the
To some extent, the book opens a window to an era now nearly 75 years in the past. She talks about Clippers and the Big Brills with their “co-pilot” seat. She mentions that numerous bus routes ran on unpaved highways and the buses had no restroom. Since this was immediately after World War II, ridership was still high. There is ongoing mention of second sections and followers. On some occasions, the buses she was on broke down. On others, connections were missed and she ended up waiting for the next bus in outof-the way places. After doing this work for three years and 138,000 miles, Wurst found herself in Evansville, Indiana on a blistering hot day in 1949. She decided to quit. Eventually, she became a librarian, got married and had two children. However, for those three years she gave us some insight into what the bus industry was like in those years.
A Spy on the Bus by Margean Gladysz was published by Arbutus Press in Traverse City, Michigan in 2008. Copies may still be available from various sources. q
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q Vol. XXXXI, No. 2 January, 2018 • Prevost Again Moves Ahead in Support, Service and Parts • New 2018 J4500 Highlights Busy Season for MCI • Common Rail Technology and the GHG17 Volvo Engine q Vol. XXXXI, No. 3 February, 2018 • Walking the Irizar Assembly Line in Ormaiztegi • Busworld 2017 in Belgium q Vol. XXXXI, No. 4 March, 2018 • UMA Motorcoach Expo 2018i • Van Hool to Build Buses in Eastern Tennessee • The New MCI D45 CRT LE q Vol. XXXXI, No. 5 April, 2018 • Charging Ahead with Electric Buses • Holiday Tours Puts Customers First • How Chicago’s “Party Bus” Ordinance is Affecting Bus Tourism q Vol. XXXXI, No. 6 May, 2018 • The CHTC HT45 amd HT35 Coaches • The Pacific Bus Museum – From Hobby to Formal Museum • Twenty Tips on Hiring Bus Drivers • Van Hool Builds Bus Factoryin Morristown, Tennessee q Vol. XXXXI, No. 7 June, 2018 • MCI Academy Wins Fans Across Industry • Where are the Buses Built? #1 • The Campaign Bus for the President of the Philippines • The Penn Highway Transit Company q Vol. XXXXI, No. 8 July, 2018 • Farber Continues Custom Coach Traditions • Prevost’s New Flat Floor Slide-Outs • Liberty Coach Busch Bus q Vol. XXXXI, No. 9 August, 2018 • ZF Components for Electric Buses • Museum of Bus Transportation Spring Fling Open House Success • “Friends” of the NJ Heritage Center Takes Eight Vintage Coaches to the 2018 MOBT Spring Fling q Vol. XXXXI, No. 10 September, 2018 • Van Hool’s CX35 – Small in Size, Big in Quality • Diecast Model Buses Impress in a Big Way • Master’s Transportation – Where to go to increase your fleet quickly or temporarily q Vol. XXXXI, No. 11 October, 2018 • ZF Technology Day in Friedrichshafen • MCI’s 2018 Reliability Rally • How Will Autonomous Cars Impact the Bus Industry? q Vol. XXXXI, No. 12 November, 2018 • Peter Pan Celebrates 85 Years on the Road • Clean Up Your Fleet with a Bitimec Wash-Bot q Vol. XXXXII, No. 1 December, 2018 • Prevost Unveils New Features and New Possibility on the Volvo 9700 at UMA Expo • MCI’s New J3500 – Small in Size, Big in Features • The e.GO Mover – Filling a Gap in Transportation with ZF Technology • Giving Buses a Second Life at Complete Coach Works q Vol. XXXXII, No. 2 January, 2019 • BusCon 2018 in Indianapolis • Panorama Tours Keeps Things in the Family • How Will Demand or Congestion Toll Pricing Impact Bus Operations? q Vol. XXXXII, No. 3 February, 2019 • Test Driving the New Electric MCI J4500e CHARGE • Stagecoach Group Sells Coach USA and Coach Canada • The Story of the Australian Scenicruiser q Vol. XXXXII, No. 4 March, 2019 • UMA 2019 Motorcoach Expo in Fort Lauderdale • Angel Tours Celebrates 20 Years • The Saga of #5496, a 1937 Yellow Coach Model 733 q Vol. XXXXII, No. 5 April, 2019 • Buses at the 2019 ABA Marketplace in Louisville • Are Pre-Owned Coach Sales Declining? • The Six Levels of Autonomous Vehicles q Vol. XXXXII, No. 6 May, 2019 • Temsa North America Inc. – Temsa’s Increased Support for the American Market • MCI Launches Motorcoach Technician Apprenticeship Program • 2019 Spring Fling Announced q Vol. XXXXII, No. 7 June, 2019 • Looking Beyond the Driver Shortage to Demography and the Global Economy • Are the Reasons for Coach Seat Belts Changing? • The Passengers Left Behind – Take the Accessible Information Test q Vol. XXXXII, No. 8 July, 2019 • Prevost Motorhome Expo • Featherlite Luxury Coaches • Emerald Luxury Coaches Unveils First H3-45 Conversions
• Ten Things to Consider When Choosing a Luxury RV q Vol. XXXXII, No. 9 August, 2019 • NFI Group Acquires Alexander Dennis • Getting the Glow – Take a look inside the “New Look” of Liberty • Book Review – Chicago Motor Coach q Vol. XXXXII, No. 10 September, 2019 • The 2019 Spring Fling in Hershey • Congestion Pricing May Affect Bus Operators • In the Beginning – The Bus Industry Prior to Regulation in 1935 q Vol. XXXXII, No. 11 October, 2019 • Proterra Launches Proterra Powered™ Vehicle Electrification Solutions for Commercial Fleets • Bendix Tech Tips: Avoiding the “Gotchas” • The “Shorty” Flxibles of Pikes Peak q Vol. XXXXII, No. 12 November, 2019 • 30 Years of Foxy Travel & FTI Coach • Fleet Graphics is an Art at ABC Companies • MCI debuts 2020 model line-up with a SNEAK PREVIEW of the battery-electric D45 CRTe LE CHARGE at Bay Area Reliability Symposium on October 1 q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 1 December, 2019 • Temsa’s Redesigned TS 30 • BusCon 2019 in Indianapolis • Hammond Transportation q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 2 January, 2020 • Anchor Transportation – 30 Years and Counting in a Growing Nashville • David Thomas Tours and Their Short Temsa Coaches • Museum of Bus Transportation to Merge with Antique Automobile Club of America Museum q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 3 February, 2020 • Busworld 2019 in Brussels, Part I • Heroes’ Honeymoon • Philadelphia to New York Every Half Hour q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 4 March, 2020 • Busworld 2019 in Brussels, Part II • The Changing Bus Industry q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 5 April, 2020 • ABA Marketplace 2020 in Omaha • Procedure and Liability After a Collision with an Automated Vehicle • Impaired Drivers q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 6 May, 2020 • Bringing Back the Bus Industry • Bus Industry Suggestions from Shriver Insurance • What Can Bus Companies Do To Reduce Insurance Costs During COVID-19? • UMA Motorcoach Expo 2020 in Nashville • Bus Preservation After the Merger q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 7 June, 2020 • Grants, Loans and Programs to Help Transportation Companies Survive COVID-19 Business Disruption • Time to Think Tours • Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 8 July, 2020 • What the IATR and Transportation Regulators are Doing to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic • A Tribute to Kirwan Elmers and Custom Coach Corporation • RiverLandings Motorcoach Resort, Where True Luxury Reaches New Heights q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 9 August, 2020 • The Evolving MCI Product Line • The Impact of COVID-19 on the Transportation Ecosystem • Marijuana and Drivers q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 10 September, 2020 • New Coach Review • Seven Simple Steps to Show Your Customers You Are Open for Business • Can Bus Operators Change to Survive? q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 11 October, 2020 • Getting People Back on the Buses • 10 Easy Ways to Update Your Web Site During COVID-19 • Didn’t See That Coming • The Eucharistic Congress in Chicago q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 12 November, 2020 • How Temsa Developed Their Programmable Electric Bus • Can Bus Companies Get to and Survive in the “New Normal?” • Talk’s Cheap – Let’s Play q Vol. XXXXIV, No. 1 December, 2020 • Keolis Moves People • Are Mergers the Answer? • A Lesson from the Sea – Time to Choose a Strategy • Now is Not the Time to Skip on Bus Maintenance • The Small Business Reorganization Act – A New Option in Bankruptcy
Classified Visit National Bus Trader’s Online Classified Ads at www.busmag.com Classified ad rate is $30 per issue for first 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word. Rate includes Internet access. Name, address, zip and phone number are not included in word count. The total number of words in a classified ad can not exceed 70. Rates apply on each ad individually – the rate for multiple insertions is the total of each ad figured individually. Free classified ads are acceptable ONLY when submitted on or with your free classified ad certificate. Display advertising rates on request. 1 – BUSES WANTED 1940s White Model 788 or 798 wanted. 12 cylinder engine mounted under floor midship. Would like a complete original bus, but like to hear about parts buses. Contact Howard Lane, Hardwick MA 01037 at (413) 477-8790 or I howard.lane@comcast.net. 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. 2 – COACHES FOR SALE 2002 MCI J4500. 55 seating. $45,000. Contact Gerald I Tice at (301) 895-5754. 6 – MOTOR HOMES FOR SALE 1993 Prevost XL Liberty conversion. Non-slides. 168,000 miles. All amenities. 20,000 miles on tires. Recent house batteries. New chassie batteries and auxillary compressor. $79,000. Located near central Massachusetts. Phone (802) 698-7074 (in Vermont). I
6 – MOTOR HOMES FOR SALE 1956 Flxible coach – old conversion. Phone (802) 948I 2886 in VT for details. MCI MC5A ’67 (shell). 8V-71, 4-speed. For sale to highest bidder. Call (928) 358-6415 or (505) 713-9242 in AZ. I ’67 Flxible. Converted, 6V-92, 10-spd./OD, diesel generator. Recent $10,000 rebuilt – rebushed. Don’t see well; can’t drive and enjoy. Best offer over $17,500. Needs TLC. Phone Chet at (269) 445-0641 in MI. I 10 – PARTS AND EQUIPMENT Detroit Diesel engines, parts. New and used. S53, S71, S60, S92. Also will rebuild or repair your engine. Leid Diesel Service, 2952 W Carson City Rd., Sheridan MI 48884. Phone (616) 754-5871. q 6V-92T Detroit Diesel engine. Fresh overhaul. In storage. Spent $4,700. Make offer. Phone (815) 262-0587 I in IL. 14 – NOTICES Visit our 40+ vintage bus collection most Saturday mornings at Lakewood NJ Bus Terminal. Join: Friends NJ Transport Heritage Center ($30 annually). See/learn: www.friendsnjthc.org. I 15 – MISCELLANEOUS For those who like podcast shows, I have one called “Busaholic Bus Nut” found on Anchor, Spotify, Google/Apple podcast and other podcast stations. If you can help with topics, contact Philip J. Hamel at (413) 786-3062 or (413) 218-5479 (cell). q
Advertiser’s Index American Bus Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Angel Trax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 ARBOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Bitimec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Complete Coach Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Dixie Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Dupree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 FMCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Irizar USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Marathon Brake Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Midwest Bus Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Motor Coach Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 PixelGraphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Rockhill Trolley Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Temsa Global . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Vicinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 White Pines Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 ZF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 48 • National Bus Trader / December, 2021
16 - MEMORABILIA & COLLECTIBLES Silver Eagle side emblems and trailing ribbon, $500 for pair (left & right). Golden Eagle emblem, $350 plus ship00 Contact 00 Mark 0 A.00Walsh,0 1342 Green Valley Rd., ping. Clever MO 65631. I
Step back in time! Ride the Rails on Real Antique Trolleys! www.rockhilltrolley.org
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 8-11, 2022. American Bus Association Marketplace. Baltimore, Maryland. February 23-27, 2022. UMA Motorcoach Expo 2022. Grapevine, Texas. For more information view motorcoachexpo.com.
March 21-22, 2022. Pennsylvania Bus Association Marketplace. Liberty Arena, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. For more information view pabus.org.
March 23-26, 2022. FMCA's 104th International Convention and RV Expo. Pima County Fairground, Tucson AZ 85747.
August 24-27, 2022. FMCA's 105th International Convention and RV Expo. Lincoln, Nebraska.
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