New Flyer Industries D40i

The New Flyer Industries D40i, dubbed the Invero, was a low floor transit bus. Introduced in 1999 with the intention of eventually phasing out New Flyer's traditional low floor bus, the first production units were sold in 2002 to St. Catharines Transit and were numbered 90-95. However sales of the Invero never truly gained momentum, with only OC Transpo operating a substantial fleet of the buses. The D40i was taken off the market in early 2007.

New Flyer D40i
New Flyer D40i
Years of manufacture 1999 to 2007
Length 40 feet
Width 102 inches
Power/Fuel Diesel
New Flyer D40i

The Invero was introduced with a number of innovations, some of which would become common in the industry. Instead of a traditional plywood subfloor that was secured by screws, the Invero used phenolic coated balsa wood that was secured with adhesive. The HVAC was mounted at the front of the bus to improve circulation and weight distribution. The Invero was also one of the earlier buses to use a multiplexed electrical system.

Passengers benefited from a larger glazed surface and lighting that was diffused in a manner to reduce glare on the windows and windshield. The interior layout allowed for a gain of five seats over New Flyer's traditional low floor. The driver's area featured improved ergonomics and simplified control layout. The 18 inch steering wheel had improved grips, and the foot pedals could be adjusted. The area was also designed to stay at a comfortable temperature at all times with direct air conditioning current and heating around the feet.

The Invero platform was never formally built in other lengths or with other drivetrains. Although Stewart & Stevenson integrated the GM-Allison parallel hybrid system into new Invero buses for the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority.

In 2006, a hydrogen fuel cell hybrid powered Invero was presented by Hydrogenics and the Province of Manitoba. Working with New Flyer, Hydrogenics converted a former demonstrator bus—fitting it with three HyPM 65 fuel cell modules. ISE Corporation supplied the hybrid system, which included 170 kW wheel-mounted electric motors from Siemens. Ultra-capacitors from Maxwell Technologies were used to store electricity.[1]

Specifications

Interior Views

Operators

Canada  

United States  

Demonstrator and engineering units

Below is a list of known demonstrator and engineering buses. The first three Invero demonstrators were originally assigned serials 20555-20557, but later re-assigned XP000001-XP000003. In 2001, another Invero prototype was built under serial 22614.

Fleet number Thumbnail Year VIN Engine Transmission Notes
2000 2FYD3LP00YP000004 Detroit Diesel Series 40 Allison B400R
  • Double stream rear door.
Jan. 2001 5FYD3LP171U022614 Cummins ISC Allison B400R
2002 2FYD3LL113P025422 Detroit Diesel Series 40 Allison B400R
  • 2003 model.
  • Double stream rear door.

References

New Flyer Invero Specs
Personal notes & sightings

New Flyer Industries
v·d·e
Current Models

Battery-Electric: 35ft: XE35 - 40ft: XE40 - 60ft: XE60
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): 35ft: XN35 - 40ft: XN40 - 60ft: XN60
Diesel: 35ft: XD35 - 40ft: XD40 - 60ft: XD60
Diesel-Electric Hybrid: 35ft: XDE35 - 40ft: XDE40 - 60ft: XDE60
Electric Trolleybus: 40ft: XT40 - 60ft: XT60
Hydrogen Fuel Cell: 40ft: XHE40 - 60ft: XHE60

Past Models

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): 30ft: C30LF - C30LFR - 35ft: C35LF - C35LFR - 40ft: C40 - C40LF - C40LFR
Diesel: 30ft: D30LF - MD30 - 35ft: D35 - D35LF - D35LFR - MD35 - 40ft: D40 - D40LF - D40LFA - D40LFR - D40S - D40i - 45ft: D45S - 60ft: D60 - D60LF - D60LFA - D60LFR
Diesel-Electric Hybrid: 30ft: DE30LFR - 35ft: DE35LF - DE35LFA - DE35LFR - 40ft: DE40LF - DE40LFA - DE40LFR - DE40i - 60ft: DE60LF - DE60LFA - DE60LFR
Electric Trolleybus: 40ft: E40LF - E40LFR - 60ft: E60 - E60LFR
Gasoline-Electric Hybrid: 35ft: GE35LFR - 40ft: GE40LF - GE40LFA - GE40LFR
Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid: 40ft: HE40LF
Hydrogen Fuel Cell: 40ft: F40LF/H40LF - H40LFR
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG): 30ft: L30LF - 35ft: L35LF - 40ft: L40 - L40LF - L40LFR

Platform Invero - Low Floor - MiDi - Xcelsior