|
|
Post by neyojii on Jun 20, 2008 17:38:43 GMT -8
The NABI 45C-LFW had returned from the dead, as Metro is planning on buying 260 new 45 composite buses, glad to hear that there will be more on the road.
|
|
|
|
Post by neyojii on Oct 11, 2008 17:52:15 GMT -8
Here it was at the APTA expo in San Diego, pictures are Chaffeeyiu's   |
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Oct 11, 2008 18:27:53 GMT -8
I understand this is the first of an order of hybrid-electric buses, new for Metro. Many will be based in Venice, which lacks CNG fueling, to replace the rest of the old diesel fleet.
I'll be interested to feel their ride quality -- are they quieter than the existing diesel and CNG engines?
|
|
|
|
Post by wad on Oct 12, 2008 4:31:52 GMT -8
I'll be interested to feel their ride quality -- are they quieter than the existing diesel and CNG engines? These 45-footers are pretty quiet with the CNG engines. Definitely less noticeable than the Neoplans. Generally, with all low-floor buses, the ride is quite rocky on the low segment, since the floor is closer to the ground. |
|
|
|
Post by neyojii on Oct 12, 2008 10:28:37 GMT -8
Metro says it might replace its 1995 Neoplan Transliners, I wonder where they will go?
|
|
|
|
Post by neyojii on Oct 12, 2008 12:18:54 GMT -8
|
|
vnc
New Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by vnc on Oct 30, 2008 18:40:42 GMT -8
I would hate to see the Neoplan be retired. They have been great buses.
|
|
|
|
Post by ieko on Nov 7, 2008 3:02:11 GMT -8
I really have grown to like those Neoplans, no other bus sounds like they do and they certainly have been the work horse of the fleet. I suspect they would retire the RTS's before the Neoplans though?
What kind of hybrid would the new NABI's be? It seems strange that it would be a diesel-hybrid because from what I understood agencies are not allowed to buy new diesel busses?
|
|
|
|
Post by wad on Nov 9, 2008 5:46:08 GMT -8
What kind of hybrid would the new NABI's be? It seems strange that it would be a diesel-hybrid because from what I understood agencies are not allowed to buy new diesel busses? CNG-hybrid or gasoline-hybrid. L.A. County has a few dozen of the latter: Long Beach, Gardena and Montebello run them. |
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Nov 9, 2008 14:02:44 GMT -8
 Here are two views of the new hybrid #4201, taken on the Metro CAC tour Friday. It is 42 feet long, with 42 seats, styled after the artics, one of six received for Metro testing. Gasoline-electric, it uses a 350 hp Ford Triton V-10 engine, 200 kW generator, and ultracapacitors (but no batteries) on the roof for electricity storage. A single electric motor in the rear drives the wheels via a conventional driveshaft. Braking is regenerative. Stored electricity is mostly used for the initial 0-15 mph. Acceleration is similar to an electric trolley bus. Engine noise is low, but air conditioner fan noise is loud on its higher speed. I liked riding in it. Additional hybrid cost was over $200,000 per bus; I hope improved fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance, along with lower prices for larger orders, make these affordable in quantity.  |
|
|
|
Post by Justin Walker on Nov 9, 2008 14:25:49 GMT -8
That is weird to look at. After being conditioned from seeing Orange Line buses for 3 years, I have to do a double take when I see this "Orange Line bus" missing 18 feet and articulation. Woah!  |
|
|
|
Post by ieko on Nov 9, 2008 15:58:09 GMT -8
Any idea when those busses will be put into service and on what routes?
From what I understand gas-electric busses are slightly less fuel effecient than diesel powered busses.
|
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Nov 9, 2008 16:36:44 GMT -8
Any idea when those busses will be put into service and on what routes? From what I understand gas-electric busses are slightly less fuel effecient than diesel powered busses. I know little beyond the idea they'll be running them in different locations to see how they perform. I know the focus will be the Venice bus division, that lacks CNG fueling, to replace the old diesels. But there are also plans for CNG buses from Venice to refuel elsewhere during the day. Fuel efficiencies could come from replacing mechanical transmissions with electric drive; allowing the engine to run at more efficient speeds; and regeneration instead of braking. I'll be interested in what local testing documents. |
|
|
|
Post by jejozwik on Nov 9, 2008 17:58:20 GMT -8
thats not a real bus, someone just photoshopped the orange linner! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Nov 9, 2008 21:18:35 GMT -8
thats not a real bus, someone just photoshopped the orange linner! ;D Hey, here's a YouTube video of it driving away. (I wanted to record its noise level, but the beeping of a wheelchair ramp of another bus drowned it out.) |
|
|
|
Post by bluelineshawn on Nov 9, 2008 22:20:40 GMT -8
Thanks for the pics and video Darrell. Very cool looking bus.
|
|
|
|
Post by tonyw79sfv on Nov 9, 2008 22:20:57 GMT -8
That's a nice looking bus. I like the newer NABI designs used on this 42 footer and the experimental 65 footer on the Orange Line over the 1st gen (2005) BRT buses. I wonder if the 1st gen NABI's can be painted with the black tinted stripe like the newer buses (which has been done on the Silver Streak)? LA has been setting the trend with these buses when they went in operation with the Orange Line; the single large pane front windshield sets it apart from the two pane plain Jane transit buses.
I wished there would have been a better quality video of this; preferably recorded in HD for posterity. The 5.1 surround would have helped with the audio quality.
|
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Nov 9, 2008 23:45:23 GMT -8
I wonder if the 1st gen NABI's can be painted with the black tinted stripe like the newer buses (which has been done on the Silver Streak)? I wished there would have been a better quality video of this; preferably recorded in HD for posterity. The 5.1 surround would have helped with the audio quality. That's not paint -- those are the new bus's tinted windows (like the Silver Streak). LOL! (Although it looks a lot better in the original than after YouTube compressed it.) |
|
|
|
Post by jejozwik on Nov 10, 2008 18:41:04 GMT -8
LOL! (Although it looks a lot better in the original than after YouTube compressed it.) in youtube if you add "&fmt=18" to the end of the url and load the page it generally plays a far better quality movie not for them all though |
|
|
|
Post by jejozwik on Nov 13, 2008 23:35:04 GMT -8
 metro library on flickr has some great shots of the new hybrid bus |
|
|
|
Post by darrell on Nov 14, 2008 8:55:45 GMT -8
in youtube if you add "&fmt=18" to the end of the url and load the page it generally plays a far better quality movie Thanks! It did for this one: OriginalWith &fmt=18 |
|
Matt
New Member
Posts: 7
|
Post by Matt on Nov 22, 2008 0:03:54 GMT -8
Hi everybody. I was in Charleston, SC recently to visit family and I stumbled across this scene down at the docks while the longshoremen were unloading this auto freighter. Perhaps somebody on this board could shed some light on this activity. Some of the buses appeared to be painted in MTA livery colors. But what were they doing w/ these buses in Charleston?   I'm guessing they were temporarily unloaded dockside to make way for the passenger BMW and Volvos that were also disembarking that afternoon, only to be returned to the ship to make the voyage through the Panama Canal to the Port of Los Angeles. Thoughts? |
|
|
|
Post by Jason Saunders on Nov 22, 2008 9:17:05 GMT -8
The shells for North American Bus Industries (NABI) buses are built in Hungary. The final assembly and painting is done in Anniston Alabama. The gray is a primer coat. Given this, I would venture they are on their way from Hungary to Alabama for further outfitting and painting. I venture to say the "Compobus" painted in LACMTA livery is already painted because of it's fiberglass composition
Many "Buy America" programs specify that 60% of the bus must be built inside the United States so you are likely looking at 40% or less of the finished product.
The "California Poppy" bus is most likely destined for Los Angeles however the other buses could eventually find their way to any North American city.
Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. Often we as patrons don't know where the buses come from. They're just there.
|
|
vnc
New Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by vnc on Nov 22, 2008 12:32:38 GMT -8
I really like those 35 footers. To bad, the MTA hasn't yet ordered new 35 foot models. They sure can use them.
Wasn't the MTA suppose to be getting more of the Artics?
|
|
|
|
Post by jejozwik on Feb 10, 2009 16:45:22 GMT -8
i spotted one of the new local buses last night running down burbank blvd near the 5 freeway. did not look too long so im guessing it was the 35 footer. had a line designation on it, but i could not make it out
|
|
|
|
Post by ieko on Feb 10, 2009 23:58:17 GMT -8
I've seen both the 42ft and the 45ft on 33/333, and also in the Venice division within the last month. I hope to grab a ride on them soon  |
|
|
|
Post by bobdavis on Feb 11, 2009 12:39:26 GMT -8
That photo of newly-arrived buses on the dock reminded me of the scene in the "Blues Brothers" movie where the "Good Ol' Boys'" motorhome goes off the end of a pier. Some of the more gung-ho pro-electric-rail/anti-motorcoach fans would say, "That's a good start--now they can just keep going into Davy Jones' Locker." (for the record, I find buses, especially old ones, interesting, just not on the same level as electric railway cars and locomotives)
|
|
|
|
Post by tonyw79sfv on Feb 12, 2009 19:07:12 GMT -8
i spotted one of the new local buses last night running down burbank blvd near the 5 freeway. did not look too long so im guessing it was the 35 footer. had a line designation on it, but i could not make it out Not sure if it's the same 42 foot NABI hybrid, but I spotted one eastbound on Burbank Boulevard waiting for the light at Coldwater Canyon near Valley College around 5:30 this evening; I didn't make out the headsign, but it could be on line 154; although 156 also duplicates it near the college to Whitsett. |
|
|
|
Post by tonyw79sfv on Feb 14, 2009 13:26:33 GMT -8
Maybe Friday the 13th happened to be my lucky day, but I happened to catch the NABI 42ft (fleet# 4201) Local hybrid bus again, but this time on another line (it was on Local 154 the day before). As I was about to embark on my Red Line trip back to the Valley at Vermont/Sunset after 4:30pm, I saw the hybrid, stopping westbound in front of the Vermont/Sunset station with the headsign "2 UCLA" on Sunset Boulevard. I decided to forgo my quick trip back to the Valley via the Red/Orange Lines and try out the new hybrid, from Vermont/Sunset to Hilgard/Sunset (where I'd connect with the Metro Rapid 761 back to the Valley). First of all, the interior quality is pretty much like the 65ft NABI being experimented on the Orange Line, the tinted windows cuts out on the daylight coming in. Also, there are no pull strings to request a stop, instead, on each pole that holds up a seat in the aisle, there are stop buttons (like the buttons at the doorways of the Seimens and Breda light rail cars); the poles closest to the doors are yellow and pushing those stop buttons creates a hadicap stop tone, while the others create the regular stop requested tone. As for the ride quality, I'm very amazed at the acceleration; having no experience being on a trolleybus, I'm pretty sure the acceleration matches that of one. The bus pretty much matched traffic speed within 5 seconds (Sunset traffic westbound between Hollywood and Beverly Hills was not too heavy). The ride from Vermont/Sunset to Hilgard/Sunset took 1 hour and 3 minutes for the 9.5 mile trip, which includes heavy traffic a bit before Beverly Glen North due to police activity, and a "pit stop" at Fairfax because one of the Metro personnel on board wanted to buy a drink at the gas station convenience store leaving one rider to take the opportunity to snap some shots of the bus on the sidewalk and in the slow traffic lane. It would be nice to see these hybrids roam LA, but due to the fact they are gasoline powered and not CNG, there won't be a lot of them; I just hope they end up in areas where there are a lot of people as this bus is a head turner; which for the time being, has an easier time cutting into traffic with other drivers gawking at its beauty.
|
|
|
|
Post by tonyw79sfv on Feb 20, 2009 8:05:28 GMT -8
While I was on the Orange Line at Laurel Canyon station around 7:20am, I spotted another NABI 42foot hybrid, fleet number 4203, running eastbound on Chandler at Laurel Canyon as Metro Local 156.
|
|
