Those of you who are not enamored of Orion's products may find this of interest. According to this article, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is canceling its $61 million order for 130 O7 hybrids. TTC claims it's current O7 hybrids are eating batteries and getting 30% less fuel mileage than promised.
http://www.masstransitmag.com/web/online/Top-Transit-News/TTC-Puts-Brakes-on-61M-Bus-Order/3$7246
Let me put it this way. The only reason I don't wish for Orion to go out of business is because I hate the thought of people losing their jobs.
I am not surprised. Hybrid vehicles are environmental disasters: they make a much higher carbon footprint in the manufacturing process than diesels or CNGs and create mountains of used batteries that are difficult to dispose of. In addition they do not decrease our dependency on foreign oil since they also use diesel fuel and they do not produce markedly better fuel economy. CNGs and ETBs are the way to go: the US has something like 30% or more of the worlds natural gas and an ever higher percentage of the worlds coal. Most electricity in this area is made by coal and nuclear energy rather than oil so hybrid vehicles are a short-term answer to the wrong question!
Quote from: mrpete on November 10, 2008, 05:54:05 PM
Those of you who are not enamored of Orion's products may find this of interest. According to this article, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is canceling its $61 million order for 130 O7 hybrids. TTC claims it's current O7 hybrids are eating batteries and getting 30% less fuel mileage than promised.
http://www.masstransitmag.com/web/online/Top-Transit-News/TTC-Puts-Brakes-on-61M-Bus-Order/3$7246
This is why they shouldn't follow what New York does. TTC should have invested into other hybrids (i.e New Flyer). I did hear about the problems from my Canadian folks. Also, since they nixed CNG a few years ago, they're pretty much in a pickle, but to do away with hybrids because the O7s didn't do well for them, doesn't mean they should lose hope in the technology. But then again, TTC is scared to advance anyway.
Hybrids are really an intermediate step on the path to fuel cell vehicles, but it seems like the industry just settled on them.
DASH got the "split" 2007 order (9 Orions and 4 Gilligs) because of the Orion strike - they wouldn't even bid on our smalltown order at first, so we had to go to Gillig...Orion finally came through on 9 of our units, but they were some of the first to roll out after the strike ended, so they were filled with "disgruntled employee" faults and didn't make their way on the streets until mid-08.
I think DaimlerChrysler was the death of that company.
Quote from: Tristan on November 12, 2008, 12:01:01 PM
Hybrids are really an intermediate step on the path to fuel cell vehicles, but it seems like the industry just settled on them.
DASH got the "split" 2007 order (9 Orions and 4 Gilligs) because of the Orion strike - they wouldn't even bid on our smalltown order at first, so we had to go to Gillig...Orion finally came through on 9 of our units, but they were some of the first to roll out after the strike ended, so they were filled with "disgruntled employee" faults and didn't make their way on the streets until mid-08.
I think DaimlerChrysler was the death of that company.
No wonder yall went Gillig. As for TTC, they seem to be trying to come into the 21st century (in which NYC is trying to as well). The smart card system for the Greater Toronto Area includes most of the major TAs but TTC is scared to adopt it sighting either feasability issues or costs. The ironic part, their radio system and voice announcement system was all done in house in which they had to get different components from different manufacturers just to have one thing that Siemens, Orbital, init, etc offers in a package.