For more information about Valley Metro (Regional Public Transportation Authority) in Maricopa County, Arizona, see: Valley Metro.
Video Valley Metro bus fleet
Vehicle suppliers
Since 1998, the cities of Phoenix and Tempe along with the RPTA have purchased coaches from North American Bus Industries (NABI); since 2004, Valley Metro has returned to purchasing coaches from New Flyer due to the late delivery of the NABI 45C-LFWs and the most recent NABI 40-LFW order.
Valley Metro was the original launch customer for the NABI 45C-LFW Compobus for its BRT and commuter express lines in the city of Phoenix as well as Tempe (the Phoenix RAPID buses have a different paint scheme (silver and green) from all other Valley Metro buses); other models in wide use include the nationally popular 40-LFW and 35-LFW (both of which Valley Metro was also the launch customer). Older RTS coaches manufactured by Transportation Manufacturing Corporation and D40LFs manufactured by New Flyer that were built in 1994 and 1996 were mostly phased out in 2007.
From 2004 to 2008, most of Valley Metro's bus orders were composed of former options from other transit agencies from around the western United States; these options were either added to by Valley Metro or cancelled and taken up by Valley Metro. Although this limited Valley Metro's ability to order buses to its own specifications, it also allowed for quicker bus delivery, which has become essential due to Valley Metro's rapid expansion.
In April 2006, RPTA put the first New Flyer C40LFR restyled transit buses into service in America; these vehicles are being used on the routes it directly operates in Tempe, Mesa and the surrounding areas. In summer 2006, Valley Metro also was the first customer outside of California to purchase the NABI 60-BRT; these buses were attached to the large Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority order and were built with similar specifications. In January 2006, the RPTA leased 20 Nova Bus RTS suburban buses from Golden Gate Transit that are used on Mesa and Chandler express routes. In March 2007, Phoenix negotiated a short-term (six-month) lease of three RTS buses from Omnitrans to operate local routes that were served by Phoenix-purchased RTS buses and New Flyer D40LF buses that had been taken out of service earlier than expected.
For 2008 Valley Metro continued the purchase of New Flyer equipment with an order of 51 C40LFR CNG buses, and 10 New Flyer D62LFA buses (Valley Metro is the third agency to order this bus type and the first to order it with a straight diesel engine) for more East Valley "supergrid" expansion and express route expansion. Unlike most of the 2007 D40LFR buses, the 2008 C40LFR buses have a "transit" configuration with two more wheelchair positions, more inward-facing seating, and no headrests. Also in 2008, Valley Metro tested a Motor Coach Industries D4500CT bus as a candidate for replacing their leased Nova Bus RTS vehicles.
On October 29, 2008, Valley Metro's Phoenix division became the first transit agency in the United States to place a large-scale order for the ElDorado National Axess bus, as well as the first transit agency to order an LNG-powered model of the Axess. While there have been several orders for this bus by smaller transit agencies and airports (Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport being one of them), this is the first large-scale purchase of an ElDorado National 40-foot bus in history. However, the order was eventually cancelled due to the city of Phoenix unable to receive funding for the order due to the economy.
In 2009, Valley Metro rehabilitated a large percentage of its NABI 40-LFW fleet operated from the Phoenix and Tempe divisions. The rehabilitation process involved external changes such as new signs and a new paint-job consisting of the 2006 Valley Metro scheme, and internal changes such as new seat cushions, window repair/replacement. Buses 6157-6163 from the RPTA were also selected for rehabilitation, they were rehabilitated in 2010.
In extremely rare situations (such as when an express trip has extremely low ridership, when an express bus trip is overcrowded, or if a bus breaks down and there is no replacement nearby), First Transit-RPTA will use former paratransit vehicles in regular service.
In November 2003, Valley Metro ordered 50 Kinki Sharyo Light Rail Vehicles for its Metro Light Rail service.
In March 2012, the city of Phoenix issued an RFP for a five-year contract for new diesel and LNG buses, with 40 buses per year. Bids were due April 5. Four manufacturers proposed bids for the contract: New Flyer Industries, North American Bus Industries, Gillig, and ElDorado National, with only New Flyer Industries submitting a bid. However, the RFP was cancelled after the city of Phoenix hired a fuel consultant, determining that future purchases should consist of CNG buses instead of LNG. The city of Phoenix instead purchased 120 New Flyer C40LFR buses off the RPTA contract.
Meanwhile, the city of Tempe has replaced its ORBIT fleet with 35 new cutaway buses by Starcraft Bus in 2013. The City of Tempe also leased a 30-foot New Flyer Industries MiDi bus from July to December 2013 as a pilot project to introduce larger buses into the ORBIT fleet.
The RPTA's existing contract with New Flyer expired on July 1, 2013. New Flyer and Gillig have sent demo buses for the RPTA to test (a Montebello Bus Lines New Flyer XN40 and a Utah Transit Authority Gillig BRT CNG 40'). A third manufacturer, North American Bus Industries, elected not to send a demo, but a parts director. The RFP was issued in January 2014, and is a joint procurement between the RPTA and the city of Phoenix. The RFP was split into four sections: 30-foot, 40-foot standard, 60-foot standard, and 40/45/60-foot bus rapid transit. Bids have been submitted by New Flyer, Gillig, and ElDorado National. On September 30, 2014, award recommendations have been announced, with the 30-foot section being awarded to ElDorado National, the 40-foot standard section awarded to Gillig, and both the 60-foot standard and 40/45/60-foot bus rapid transit sections awarded to New Flyer.
Maps Valley Metro bus fleet
Fleet descriptions
Active
Note that this listing does not include GUS (Glendale Urban Shuttle) vehicles, nor any Dial-A-Ride vehicles (other than those repurposed for fixed route use).
On order
In addition, the City of Phoenix and Valley Metro RPTA have signed options with New Flyer for BRT-styled diesel and/or CNG buses either in 40-foot or 60-foot lengths. Should these options be exercised, however, they will only be ordered in a single length.
Retired
Note that this listing does not include GMC New Look, route 70-Luke Link, or GUS the Bus retired vehicles.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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