Plattsburgh's Nova Bus plant gets big NYC order


By DAN HEATH
Staff Writer

PLATTSBURGH — Nova Bus has received a large order for transit buses from the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City.

In a news release, the company announced the MTA has ordered 90 Nova LFS (Low Floor System) articulated buses for its New York City Transit system. The buses will be assembled at Nova Bus’s $25 million assembly plant in The Development Corp.’s Banker Road Industrial Park in the Town of Plattsburgh, with delivery scheduled for the first half of 2010.

The order follows a six-week in-revenue service run of one of the articulated buses on New York City Transit routes in the Bronx and Manhattan.

The company Web site states the articulated bus is 62-feet long, two sections connected by a flexible section that helps it make turns. It has seating for up to 62 people.

The stainless steel bus frames are made in St. Francois-du-Lac, Quebec, and shipped by truck to the Plattsburgh facility. They are covered in fiberglass and thermoplastic skins to help protect against damage from rocks and debris.

Other features include a particulate filter that reduces emissions and a front-door access ramp for mobility-impaired passengers. The wide mid and rear doors feature motion sensors that are triggered after the bus comes to a complete stop.

Assembly work is done at each of 17 work stations in the plant. The buses also undergo systems tests, as well as road and water tests in Plattsburgh.

The company has 172 employees in Plattsburgh. It is already building LFS transit buses for two transit authorities in British Columbia, where they will help transport visitors to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The MTA’s New York City Transit has a fleet of more than 4,500 buses that cover 249 routes in the five boroughs of New York City. It carries an estimated 2.3 million passengers on an average weekday.

Nova Bus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Volvo Bus Corporation, the second-largest motorcoach and transit bus manufacturing company in the world. The company has two plants in Canada and is hosting a grand-opening celebration at its newest plant, in Plattsburgh, at 11 a.m. today.


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