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Orion VIII

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Can someone fill me in on the Neoplan AN460's getting repowered with Cummins ISL's? I thought that was a mistake on the wiki since they retired around 12-13 years old and the auctions all said Detroit Diesel Series 50 engines. However I saw a video of ex 4448 taking off in Southern CA and it had an ISL even though the auction stated the original powertrain was intact. Unless the new owners repowered that particular unit, can anyone fill me in? Thanks.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looks like Metro will have roughly half their local routes back up and running. The agency is going to play a major role in transportation needs and the continued recovery of the area. Continue to pray for Texas. This situation is far from over.

 https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/TXMETRO/bulletins/1b453c7

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On 9/4/2017 at 2:35 PM, septa105R5/seClip9 said:

Hope everyone is ok. The men and women of Houston Metro, fleet and service around Houston area. Hopefully everything is back to normal after Hurricane Harvey. 

Everything is almost back to normal.  They may have lost several buses - including two 4th Gen LFSAs (NovaBus fans should grab some tissues after seeing this) but they should still have enough buses to run services to routes that are restored as of this post.  Click here for the latest for what's active and what's not.

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2 hours ago, HoustonMETROFan said:

Everything is almost back to normal.  They may have lost several buses - including two 4th Gen LFSAs (NovaBus fans should grab some tissues after seeing this) but they should still have enough buses to run services to routes that are restored as of this post.  Click here for the latest for what's active and what's not.

Glad your ok, Hope you and your family fared better off then some people in your city

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  • 1 month later...

So this evening, I finally caught one of the new XD40s on the 153 at Wheeler Station.Bus #2403 out of the West Garage Facility.  They Look very nice on the outside,  but the only downside of the buses is the same METRO interior just like the Orion's and the NOVA Buses. But hopefully this is the beginning of new things to come!

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Good catch. A brand new type of bus... yet any New Flyer always looks at home in Houston.

Can't quite tell... is that a back window I see?

I know METRO's Novas have a back window and it's an option on the Xcelsior. Did METRO carry this customer-friendly feature through to the NFI order? Or is it just nighttime reflections and glare getting my hopes up?

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I'm not 100% sure, but it most likely seems like a rear window. I took a closer look and it seems that the back of the bus kinda "curves in" so its most likely that the New XD 40's  have a back window. It seems METRO is trying to keep that same "customer focus" with its oncoming fleet. But the buses that REALLY stand out to me are the new 60ft NOVA Articulated that are at the Fallbrook Facility.  I like how the plush seats and yellow hand bars stand out. I don't know how other people feel about them, but that's just me.

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8 hours ago, Devonne said:

I'm not 100% sure, but it most likely seems like a rear window. I took a closer look and it seems that the back of the bus kinda "curves in" so its most likely that the New XD 40's  have a back window. It seems METRO is trying to keep that same "customer focus" with its oncoming fleet. But the buses that REALLY stand out to me are the new 60ft NOVA Articulated that are at the Fallbrook Facility.  I like how the plush seats and yellow hand bars stand out. I don't know how other people feel about them, but that's just me.

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Ooh! Those seats will make everyone comfy while on long-distance routes (of which the 102 to IAH is). Reminds me of GO Transit's old seating fabric. Now if only METRO could add luggage racks for the benefit of travellers...

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22 hours ago, Devonne said:

So this evening, I finally caught one of the new XD40s on the 153 at Wheeler Station.Bus #2403 out of the West Garage Facility.  They Look very nice on the outside,  but the only downside of the buses is the same METRO interior just like the Orion's and the NOVA Buses. But hopefully this is the beginning of new things to come!

IMG_2906.JPG

They use allison?

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15 hours ago, Transit geek said:

Ooh! Those seats will make everyone comfy while on long-distance routes (of which the 102 to IAH is). Reminds me of GO Transit's old seating fabric. Now if only METRO could add luggage racks for the benefit of travellers...

I personally think METRO does NOT need to add luggage racks due to these buses needing to be available to operate other routes other than the 102 to/from IAH (if need be).  That route is labeled a local route so no special amenities are needed.

As for the interior, I see no big deal with it being the same as the other new local buses.  I'm not too concerned about that - just needing to be able to get from point A to point B.

For the XD40s METRO is getting:  The delivery is currently underway.  100 of those buses have been ordered and the fleet #s are 2400-2499.  Four out of the six garages will get their fair share of the XD40s with West Garage getting the first batch.

Like some other transit agencies getting similar XD40s (if they have wanted that option), ours will also have a rear window - just like all of the NovaBus models we have (3rd Gen LFSA and 4th Gen LFS/LFSA).

 

FYI, we're also getting 139 new MCI D4500CT clean diesel commuter coaches with one already assigned to a garage.  The order will come in groups and the first 45 will come in and be in revenue service soon.

Edited by HoustonMETROFan
added info
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16 minutes ago, HoustonMETROFan said:

For the XD40s METRO is getting:  The delivery is currently underway.  100 of those buses have been ordered and the fleet #s are 2400-2499.  Four out of the six garages will get their fair share of the XD40s with West Garage getting the first batch.

Great info. Thanks.

I like that METRO's fleet is fairly diverse. Probably still a few years before replacement of Orion VIIs begins -- so we can get accustomed to a fleet of Nova, New Flyer, NABI and Orion into the next decade. Not to mention the MCI commuter buses!

I've lost track of the original New Flyer D40LFs. The Xcelsiors... will they completely wipe out the rest of the "Old" Flyers?

Once the new deliveries are complete, it will be interesting to see how the fleet-to-BOF distribution shakes down. Like, something tells me the whole fleet of diesel NABIs will eventually find their way to Northwest. Any info or rumors in that regard... is appreciated!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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52 minutes ago, Border City Transit said:

Great info. Thanks.

I like that METRO's fleet is fairly diverse. Probably still a few years before replacement of Orion VIIs begins -- so we can get accustomed to a fleet of Nova, New Flyer, NABI and Orion into the next decade. Not to mention the MCI commuter buses!

I've lost track of the original New Flyer D40LFs. The Xcelsiors... will they completely wipe out the rest of the "Old" Flyers?

Once the new deliveries are complete, it will be interesting to see how the fleet-to-BOF distribution shakes down. Like, something tells me the whole fleet of diesel NABIs will eventually find their way to Northwest. Any info or rumors in that regard... is appreciated!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only D40LF buses METRO has left are of the 3200-3535 range (149 active, 5 retired/pending disposal, 7 used as training buses only).

As I said, only four of the six BOFs will get their fair share of the XD40 buses:

  • West will get 2400-2429 (30)
  • Hiram Clarke will get 2430-2456 (27)
  • Northwest will get 2457-2489 (33)
  • Kashmere will get 2490-2499 (10)

Don't know if they'll completely wipe out the remaining D40LFs but right now, only worry about the oldest buses that needs to go.  I don't believe in rumors so we'll just have to wait until I get any updates info in regards to other buses and where they'll end up due to all these new buses coming in.

For the new MCI D4500CTs, the first group of 45 coaches (delivery-wise) are starting to come in.  Once those 45 arrive,

  • Fallbrook will get 5255-5269 (15)
  • West will get 5270--5299 (30)
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1 hour ago, HoustonMETROFan said:

The only D40LF buses METRO has left are of the 3200-3535 range (149 active, 5 retired/pending disposal, 7 used as training buses only).

As I said, only four of the six BOFs will get their fair share of the XD40 buses:

  • West will get 2400-2429 (30)
  • Hiram Clarke will get 2430-2456 (27)
  • Northwest will get 2457-2489 (33)
  • Kashmere will get 2490-2499 (10)

Don't know if they'll completely wipe out the remaining D40LFs but right now, only worry about the oldest buses that needs to go.  I don't believe in rumors so we'll just have to wait until I get any updates info in regards to other buses and where they'll end up due to all these new buses coming in.

For the new MCI D4500CTs, the first group of 45 coaches (delivery-wise) are starting to come in.  Once those 45 arrive,

  • Fallbrook will get 5255-5269 (15)
  • West will get 5270--5299 (30)

Oh wow,  I didn't know that the XD40's were getting divided into the different garages, but I guess its pretty much fair game. I thought at first they were all going to go to West, but i think it's great that the XD40's will be seen on pretty much different routes. And its nice to see Fallbrook getting new MCI's. Those MCI  buses from fallbrook are sometimes a bit rough. On friday I rode 4970 on the 204 to Spring on Friday. Pretty much found myself shifting in my seat  the whole entire ride to Spring.

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As always, here's photos of one of the 100 XD40s METRO is getting.

Enjoy!

p.s.  Before anybody asks, these photos were obviously taken just after the bus was delivered (hence the license plate).  Also (just learned) that these photos were of the PILOT bus as the bike rack was changed to the Sportworks Apex 2 bike rack.

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37 minutes ago, HoustonMETROFan said:

As always, here's photos of one of the 100 XD40s METRO is getting.

Enjoy!

p.s.  Before anybody asks, these photos were obviously taken just after the bus was delivered (hence the license plate).  Also (just learned) that these photos were of the PILOT bus as the bike rack was changed to the Sportworks Apex 2 bike rack.

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Great Pics! Looking forward to riding one of them Soon!

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Wow -- great pics!

They look like an exact cross of a NABI and a Nova. Pretty striking.

Big ups to METRO for going with the back window! That is such a nice feature that's slowly making a comeback in various places...

Totally dig the all-yellow stanchions on the interior.

These look like great buses and I don't have much to complain about. But hey, the joy of transitfanning is in the nitpicks, so here goes:

Time to give rear route number displays another try? I know they had back luck with 'em on older units, but the Luminator hardware has matured -- and the back looks empty without a route number. It's also unusual for rear-mounted cameras to be so pronounced -- that thing sticks out like a sore thumb!

Side fleet number and "Metropolitan Transit Authority" label. I've always admired METRO's clean, consistent and organized placement of decals, etc. The side number and MTA text have traditionally been centered over the rear tire, but newer models don't really allow that. On the Xcelsiors, the number looks OK where it is -- but I'd move the MTA text further back and give up on the rear tire centering. It just looks jagged and sloppy. Center the MTA text over the fleet number... or maybe align it flush with the furthest-back edge of the fleet number.

On the topic of numbers... I wish they used the larger Helvetica block number boxes seen on Novas and some MCIs. They're so much easier to read -- not to mention more stylish. Also font-wise, 2401 looks like the odd man out with its mid-weight Helvetica fleet numbers. 2406 gets it right; I'm sure the other units will, too.

I'll take this moment to be actively thankful that METRO does not put exterior ads on its buses. The whole operation is 1,000% classier without ads.

Way to go, METRO -- these are worthy successors to the original New Flyers (even if I was hoping for more Novas!)

 

 

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On 10/14/2017 at 12:22 PM, Border City Transit said:

Wow -- great pics!

They look like an exact cross of a NABI and a Nova. Pretty striking.

Big ups to METRO for going with the back window! That is such a nice feature that's slowly making a comeback in various places...

Totally dig the all-yellow stanchions on the interior.

These look like great buses and I don't have much to complain about. But hey, the joy of transitfanning is in the nitpicks, so here goes:

Time to give rear route number displays another try? I know they had back luck with 'em on older units, but the Luminator hardware has matured -- and the back looks empty without a route number. It's also unusual for rear-mounted cameras to be so pronounced -- that thing sticks out like a sore thumb!

Side fleet number and "Metropolitan Transit Authority" label. I've always admired METRO's clean, consistent and organized placement of decals, etc. The side number and MTA text have traditionally been centered over the rear tire, but newer models don't really allow that. On the Xcelsiors, the number looks OK where it is -- but I'd move the MTA text further back and give up on the rear tire centering. It just looks jagged and sloppy. Center the MTA text over the fleet number... or maybe align it flush with the furthest-back edge of the fleet number.

On the topic of numbers... I wish they used the larger Helvetica block number boxes seen on Novas and some MCIs. They're so much easier to read -- not to mention more stylish. Also font-wise, 2401 looks like the odd man out with its mid-weight Helvetica fleet numbers. 2406 gets it right; I'm sure the other units will, too.

I'll take this moment to be actively thankful that METRO does not put exterior ads on its buses. The whole operation is 1,000% classier without ads.

Way to go, METRO -- these are worthy successors to the original New Flyers (even if I was hoping for more Novas!)

 

 

To each his own - meaning - I will, at this time, disagree with only the following:

  • Rear route number displays - on the basis of people who may be already at the stop like they're supposed to at the time they are supposed to be there.  Another reason for my dislike of rear route number displays is - unlike some other transit agencies - it only displays the route number.  Sure - they can try and have a rear route display that can show everything like some other agencies but why?  Makes no sense, IMO.  Oh and that practice of not having a rear route display has been going on since the Orions came in - starting with the 3657-3676 NG hybrids.
  • For this particular bus model, what you see in the photos are fine as is.  It's not important where it is and/or where they felt to put things or even how it looks on the bus - rather - it's important that it's there and it's readable to most - if not all.
  • Rear cameras are most highly important because anything can happen back there and if it does, it needs to be recorded accordingly.

You failed to make note that 2401 was a PILOT bus (still is) and changes were already made so it'll look like the rest of the production buses (i.e.:  2406).

On a much more brighter note, I will totally agree with you in that there's ZERO ads (unless the bus has to be wrapped) on the exterior of the bus.  Any ads are on the inside of the bus.

End result:  It's not about the looks that count.  Being able to perform well (these new buses) - that's what really counts.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Back to reality now.....

Even though photos are forthcoming from METRO, I've already seen - with my very own eyes - the newest MCIs that are coming.  The first group will be numbered 5255-5299.  The only thing different that I see from the new ones from what METRO already has is the return of the rear route # display.  Don't know why they did that but meh - it is what it is.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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