East New York

Ditto.... But yeah, the shots are great!

NG stands for Next Generation. The buses are redesigned Orion VII's, which are low floors. I don't see MTA ordering any high floors again. LIB will take delivery of Orion VII NG CNG's next year. The Bronx and Brooklyn CNG depots may get some in 2010.

I wonder if this is the corner where the the Orion VII 1st gen. failed the road testing. Notice how the rear of the Orions appear to almost be touching the gound on that turn.

Go right ahead man! You do it better anyway. Thats whats up!

I know for a fact that 3800 is here according to a friend that works at Orion, and as far as the rest, that's the reason we are heading to SI this weekend. A B/O at Casleton said he has seen them, and he is a very reliable source, so I am inclined to believe him.

Nobody knows for sure, but we think they may be at Zerega.

So the buses are here! This Friday, Trevor Logan and Ray of TransitStuff along with myself will be going to get together Friday and get over to Staten Island to see these buses. Supposedly the 4300 MCI's will now be renumbered. Staten Island Division Casleton Depot 3800, 3801, 3805 Delivery plans: Casleton 3800-4025 to be complete by February Yukon 4026-4099 to follow

Ditto..... DETAILS MAN!!!

This was one of the 3 demo buses ran out of Baisley Park a few months ago.

As long as this demo bus passes the street inspection they could start coming in August or sooner. But if it doesn't...............

I would assume New York City Bus. Thats where the forst 4 batches are supposed to go.

That's what I'm thinking, but right now it's at Zerega to get registered. It came with only a blue stripe. No numbers, or MTA logos.

Okay, so I have a major update! Things may be getting better for the Orion. It seems that at this time they may have worked out the tech problems, as well as redesigned the rear of the bus so it won't bottom out so easy. They have worked the changes into 2 of the 3 buses that have already been manufactured. Production on further buses will resume on Monday. The demo is now ready for testing! Oh, and did I mention they delivered it to Zerega today??!! I don't want to get too excited yet, but I hope it's at the Roadeo.

What do you mean they have a few delivered??

lol

They could supply the buses on a short lease, but they would not be built to MTA specs.

Whatever features coming from the Citaro will be minor. I agree, and if nothing else the TA could place an emergency lease order for DE40's and DE60's. The DE40's could be here in 2 weeks and the 60's in 3 or 4.

So here's the update on the progress of the new buses. As previously posted the developement of the NG has been revised. Daimler wants to incorporate some of the Citaro's features into the OVII NG, and New Orion X Artic. They also want to revise the suspension of the NG to better handle NYC streets, especially areas in Staten Island, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. There also seems to be some other design flaws that need to be worked out. If all goes as planned, the OX Artic demo will be produced for testing in the third quarter of 2010. Developement of the Artic is also contributing to the delay of the NG.

Well, as you all know, the 3rd production bus has been completed, and yet again, it's has failed MTA's audit inspection. It's appears to be a technical problem that Orion has yet to get right. This is the worst possible time for for the MTA. This now means that the NG Hybrids will be delivered late, and this bus shortage will continue for the next few months. Buses number 4 and 5 were to roll off the assembly line on June 16. That will now be pushed back, and production of these buses will be haulted indefinitely untill the problem is resolved. Because the 3rd bus did not pass, and the delivery will be late, MTA has the legal right to recieve compensation from Daimler. The TA will be eligable to recieve a discount off this $350 million+ order. If the issue is not fixed by the end of June, the TA will recieve a discount, and a free bus. So hopefully Orion can get it together real soon! I would imagine whatever it is will be fixed by then. This is how the TA got 6905 for free.

Which buses are you talking about MTA Bus using? MCI's on local routes?

Thats the first pic i've seen of one. It definitely looks blackbacked.

Rumor has it First 30 go to Yukon, but the 1st Gen O7 didn't do too well in Staten Island. Yeah, lots of buses have been repainted more than once. For example, 6695 is back to being a blackback again. Progress update: The 3rd production Orion VII for MTA rolls off the assembly line on Monday. Looks as if the second bus off the line passed inspection, but still needs some work according to the MTA. This should be worked into the 3rd bus. These buses are black backed, and will be delivered that way. I will have a more detailed update Monday, when the next bus is complete. Looks like the first 120 could be delivered this year.

Good question about the driver training. And yes about 95% of the '99 O5's have already been repainted. About 50% of those are whitebacked.

Yeah, you're good to go. The O7NG is almost identical under the body to the 1st Gen O7.

So the #2 Orion NG bus is complete. We now have to wait and see if it passes tha TA's inspection (which im sure the TA already knows), or if we have to wait again. If this bus does not pass, there will be one more due off the assembly line on May 26. At this time the bus needs to be right, to ensure an on schedule delivery this summer.