Orion Bus Industries
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| Orion Bus Industries | |
|---|---|
| Type | Subsidiary of Daimler AG |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | 350 Hazelhurst Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5J 4T8 |
| Area served | Canada, United States |
| Key people | Dr. Andreas Strecker, President and CEO Patrick Scully, Chief Commercial Officer |
| Industry | Bus building |
| Products | Transit buses |
| Employees | 1,400 (US and Canada) |
| Website | www.orionbus.com |
| This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (October 2007) |
Orion Bus Industries (also known as Ontario Bus Industries) is a Mississauga, Ontario, Canada-based bus manufacturer established by the government of Ontario in 1975. Since 1990, except for two small orders from New Flyer and NovaBus, it has been the exclusive supplier of buses to the TTC.
In 1982, Orion opened a plant in Oriskany, New York under the name "Bus Industries of America"; founded by Donald Sheardown to manufacture buses for the United States market.
Orion Bus Industries was the first bus manufacturer to use compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel on the Orion I model in 1988 and it is also the first one to use on diesel hybrid electric on the Orion VI model, making them the leader of alternative fuels bus market.[citation needed]
Orion was acquired by DaimlerChrysler (now Daimler AG) in July 2000, and is now part of Daimler Trucks North America.
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Starting in 1989, the Orion V is the main product line for Orion. It offers many options to choose from the length and the width of the bus and also, it pioneered the compressed natural gas (CNG) alternative fuel system to meet the demands of clean air and environment friendly for the transit agency needs. Many transit agencies in North America are currently operating the Orion V, making it one of the most successful product in company's history.[citation needed]
Starting in 2001, the Orion VII is marketed as a low floor bus to the North America market. [1] Based on the Orion VI low floor design, the Orion VII has some of major enhancements to accommodate like a high floor bus model. All Orion VII models now offer hybrid electric diesel engines.[2]
Orion is currently releasing a fleet of Orion VII NG HEV (Next Generation Hybrid Electric Vehicle) for the TTC. The Orion VII NG HEV has a redesigned exterior, with lengths ranging from 32.5, 35, 40 feet, a width 102 inches, and can be powered by powered by Cummins ISB with BAE HybriDrive.[3]
Orion I (1979-1993) was a 96" wide coach targeted for use in small and mid-sized cities. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, US production was licensed to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC), a division of Greyhound and it was sold as the CityCrusier. By the mid-1980s the Orion I was manufactured solely by Orion Bus Industries and their US counterpart Bus Industries of America. Most Orion I's produced are diesel, however some were sold that ran off of compressed natural gas, and feature the CNG tanks mounted on the roof underneath a fiberglass shroud. This model was standard in a 96" width and was available in 30, 35, and 40 foot models. The Orion I was discontinued in 1993 when Orion manufacturered the 96" wide Orion V.
Orion II (1983-2003) was the first bus produced with low floor design. It was the forerunner of today's low floor models in North America.[citation needed]. This model is usually used for users with accessibility problems and cannot take regular transit. There are two models II-1 is the standard platform (21'11", 18 seats) and II-2 is a longer bus (25'11", 26 seats). All units are fueled with diesel.
Orion III (1985-1989) was an articulated variant of the the Ikarus Bus Ikarus 286 from Hungary (sold in US by Crown Coach Corporation as Crown Ikarus 286). Shell was built in Hungary and assembled by OBI in Canada. This model was sold in Canada only with the Toronto Transit Commission and OC Transpo as the only full-time operators.
Orion IV (1985-1989) is used by the Niagara Parks Commission People Mover system; it consists of a motor unit and a trailer. They are fueled with LPG.
Orion VI (1995-2004) was a low floor CNG bus and marked in Canada. The CNG fuel was stored on the roof.
- General Motors Diesel Division Buses
- Gillig Corporation
- Millennium Transit Services LLC
- Motor Coach Industries
- Neoplan USA
- New Flyer Industries
- North American Bus Industries
- NovaBus
- Prevost Car
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| Mercedes-Benz Cars | Maybach · Mercedes-Benz · Mercedes-AMG · Smart |
| Daimler Trucks | Detroit Diesel · Freightliner · Mercedes-Benz · Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus · Sterling Trucks · Western Star |
| Daimler Buses | Mercedes-Benz buses · Orion · Setra · Thomas Built Buses |
| Mercedes-Benz Vans | Mercedes-Benz |
| Holdings in | Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus (85%) · Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (50.1%) · McLaren Group (40%) · EADS (22.41%) · Chrysler LLC (19.9%) |
Categories: Articles lacking sources from October 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles to be expanded since October 2007 | All articles to be expanded | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since September 2007 | Bus manufacturers | Daimler AG | Motor vehicle manufacturers of Canada