The classifieds in this issue include two chief executive officer positions!
 

Daimler Buses North America announced that it has reached a milestone with its production of more than 3,000 Orion VII diesel-electric hybrid buses. More than 2,200 of the vehicles are already in service, with an additional 850 firm orders in backlog from regions including New York City, Seattle, Houston, Ottawa, and Puerto Rico.

MTA New York City Transit operates the largest number of the company’s hybrid vehicles, with more than 1,250 Orion VII buses now in service and 425 more to be delivered over the next nine months.

Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County already operates 56 of the diesel-electric hybrid vehicles, with another 40 due for delivery this year, and the authority recently placed an additional order for 80 buses for 2010 delivery.

Also, Puerto Rico is transitioning into hybrid buses for its existing fleet of conventional diesel Orion transit buses with an order of 40 Orion VII diesel-electric hybrid buses. These will be produced and delivered in 2010.

Orion began development and production of hybrid buses in the mid-1990s, with pilot vehicles first deployed by NYC Transit. Series production began in the early 2000s. Looking to the future, the company last year introduced lithium-ion energy storage technology for buses in volume production, which will reduce the weight of the overall bus.

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