Last year it became clear that the government would issue a seatbelt mandate for new motorcoaches. This would not come as a complete surprise to the industry given recent high profile fatal accidents involving ejections, and especially the motorcoach-specific crash testing NHTSA has conducted on the effectiveness of passenger restraints.
For about a week I had been hearing a high-pitched whistling noise coming from an S-60 engine. I inspected it and drove it personally, but was still unable to locate the source. With a little more probing, I eventually diagnosed the disturbing noise as coming from the air intake system on the engine.
The emission standards that went into effect in 2007 have created further issues in an industry that has one of the lowest pollution emissions per passenger in the entire transportation industry. Nonetheless they are here to stay.
As 2010 approaches bus and motorcoach operators will read more and more about Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and the fluid that makes it work — diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). Contrary to the popular belief that DEF will be in short supply, Cummins, a manufacturer of diesel engines based in Columbus, IN, says this is not the case.
The easiest, fastest and least expensive measure bus and motorcoach operators can take to make a lasting impression is to keep the vehicles washed and shining. How clean is clean? A question both private and public operators are asking to promote a more positive public image and a more inviting option to upscale riders.
The extra care given to the exterior surfaces of transit buses has become a greater concern with the advent of sophisticated bus-wrap advertising, and with transit buses sporting a more polished upscale appearance. A bus wash system represents a significant capital investment from initial planning to installation.
Introduced at APTA Expo 2008, the Rotary Mach 4 is the company’s most recent iteration of its mobile column lift. Rotary sales manager Roger Perlstein says this product sets up fast and raises a vehicle 70 inches in 78 seconds. The company claims this is quicker than comparable lifts.
With a reputation for its design and production of fully automatic transmissions for a wide variety of vocational applications, Allison Transmission, Inc., Indianapolis, IN, is dedicated as well to helping its customers operate as efficiently as possible, particularly in a down economy.
On January 16 the ambient temperature in Chicago reached minus 24 F with the associated wind chill in excess of minus 40 F. On that day, the North Pole registered minus 8 F. The temperature was so extreme that no matter how anyone dressed, the average person could only stay outside for about 15 minutes.
The advent of hybrid propulsion has turned bus roofs into battery storage compartments — and created an entire new workplace for transit bus maintenance technicians. Sometimes nothing solves a high-tech problem better than a low-tech solution.
MTA New York City Transit has consigned its older transit buses as organ donors to prolong the lives of other buses. As MTA Bus currently takes delivery of the first of 850 Orion Vll Hybrid-Electric buses, a similar number of older Orion and RTS buses hit the dust.