CADmech recently traveled to San Diego to participate in the American Public Transit Association (APTA) Expo held on October 2nd thru the 5th 2008. The show is held every three years and is the industries premiere event. Every major bus manufacturer in North America was there to display their latest creations. As well, many equipment suppliers to these OEM’s were there in order to display their own contributions to this demanding industry.  

 

As you might expect, the theme was definitely “Green” and many of the newest hybrid vehicles were displayed, some for the first time. This included New Flyer’s release of its latest low floor bus, the Xcelsior.

 

 

Orion displayed several of their latest products including the 60 foot Daimler branded bus. Their 40-foot hybrid electric low floor bus was also on display and uses BAE’s hybrid electric technology. This is the same bus you can see on the streets of Toronto. 

              

 

The Proterra, an independent government funded project, was on display and consists of a fully carbon fibre body design driven by a fuel cell hybrid electric powertrain. Looks like carbon isn’t just for racecars anymore. That’s a lot of carbon! 

 

  

Other interesting firsts included a bus presented by BCI, which was designed and manufactured in China. Of course this bus won’t meet the stringent “buy America” content rules but does boast to have the highest safety testing results in the industry according to one BCI spokesperson.

   

 

Other major OEM’s included NABI, Nova Bus and Gillig. 

 

Keeping the chill in the air, many HVAC suppliers had their own products on display. We definitely witnessed the push for roof top mounted A/C units. The most common in this industry including Carrier and Thermo King were there but we were pleased to see the local favourite, MCC with their latest unit. Pegged to be one of the lowest profile units in its class, this roof top HVAC system has a unique fresh air intake path and a patent pending pressure relief design to ensure the pressure in the bus stay’s equalized. This means the fresh air can keep pumping without the risk of occupants becoming uncomfortable due to an increased pressure within the bus.

 

 

Another unique approach to changing the norms in the industry came thru a collaborative project including the City of Santa Monica and the Art Center College of Design with their project called the Bus of the Future. This was a unique approach to defining what a bus in the year 2050 should look like in the hopes of increasing rider-ship. For more information on the Bus of the Future and to see more of their ideas like Positive Emissions and exterior TiOx grills that break down ozone into oxygen, click here.

 

CADmech was very pleased with the information that was available at the show and proud to support our many clients that had products on display there. As in the automotive industry with vehicle introductions like GM’s Volt, we see the huge push towards greener technologies. Hopefully in three years time we will see a greater development in battery technology and witness as many fully electric vehicles on display at APTA Expo 2011 as compared to the hybrids we saw in 2008.

 

If anyone would like more information about APTA 2008, please do not hesitate to contact me. For a video overview of APTA 2008 see the short movie below.

 

- Jason MacFarlane