Orion R. I. P.

[mrpete]

http://ttmg.org/blog/2012/04/daimler-buses-reconfigures-operations-in-north-america/


According to a Daimler-Benz press release on Trevor Logan's web site, Orion is kaput at the end of the year. No new orders are being taken and the current orders will be completed. Also D-B is about close a deal with MCI where D-B will invest in MCI and MCI will market and distribute D-B's Setra coaches. Very sad for Orion's employees in Ontario and New York.


Now we know why Orion's web site has been stalled. Unfortunately market forces are at work as transit procurement budgets have been slashed. Too many builders, not enough orders.

[Tritransit Area]

This really is very sad news, but then again the writing has been on the wall for some time. You can see this in the DC Area, where Orion was once a stronghold and although there have been some VIIs produced for WMATA, Fairfax, and Ride On, those systems seem to have gone elsewhere for the majority of new buses they are purchasing (even though WMATA is in the process of receiving an order of Orion VIIs).

I hate to get political, but things like this happen when there's no long term surface transportation bill, transportation budgets are slashed, and nobody knows what's going to happen in the next few months, much less years from now to invest in new vehicles.