User:Mliu92/sandbox/Orion I

The Orion I was a line of rigid high-floor transit buses available in 30', 35', and 40' lengths manufactured by Ontario Bus & Truck (renamed to Ontario Bus Industries (OBI) in 1977) between 1976 and 1993 for the Canadian and United States mass transportation markets. The Orion I was the first bus offered by OBI and was available in transit (2-door) and coach/suburban (1-door) models. It was replaced by the rigid Orion V (introduced in 1989) and low-floor Orion VI (introduced in 1993).

A licensed version of the 30-foot model was produced by Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC) as the T&#8209;30 Citycruiser from 1979 to 1982.

Design
The bus was available in both transit (two-door) and suburban (single front door) configurations; in addition, OBI used the Orion I to produce an ambulance and a motorhome. It uses a welded monocoque steel tube frame clad with steel panels. Although a prototype was produced in 1976, serial production did not begin until 1978.

OBI marketed the Orion I to both the Canadian and United States transit markets. Canadian buses were assembled at the OBI plant in Mississauga, Ontario. For the US market, to meet 'Buy America' requirements for federally-subsidized transit vehicles, the Orion I was initially produced under license before OBI incorporated the wholly-owned subsidiary Bus Industries of America (BIA) in 1981 to assemble the Orion I in Oriskany, New York.

TMC marketed the T&#8209;30 Citycruiser as an ideal vehicle for smaller transit agencies; although it only seated approximately $2/3$ the passengers of a typical 40-foot transit bus (31 versus 47), it offered better fuel economy at 7.7 mpgUS, compared to 4.5 to 6 mpgUS, with a turning radius of 28 ft.

Models
Internally, OBI designated the bus model as 01.5xx, with xx denoting a combination of vehicle length and door configuration.

Citycruiser
TMC, a subsidiary of Greyhound Lines, began manufacturing buses in Roswell, New Mexico in 1975, producing approximately 450 per year to replace older suburban coaches for its parent company. Because Greyhound retired its coaches seasonally, production at TMC was inconsistent, and TMC acquired a license from OBI to produce the Citycruiser in 1979, ensuring that year-round work could be sustained. TMC unveiled its first Citycruiser on May 31, 1979, during dedication ceremonies for the new factory. The entire 1979 production had already been sold.

TMC sold its license back to OBI in 1981, and the last Citycruiser left Roswell in 1982. OBI subsequently incorporated its wholly-owned subsidiary Bus Industries of America, which began assembling Orion I buses for the United States transit market in Oriskany, New York; production of the Orion I in New York began in June 1982.

Deployment
The Orion I was OBI's initial transit bus. Customers included many small transit agencies.

By 1984, more than 1400 Orion I buses had been produced, including approximately 950 Citycruisers built under license by TMC. The Mississauga and Oriskany factories had a capacity of 3 and 10 Orion buses every two weeks, respectively.

Competition

 * Flxible New Look
 * Flyer D700
 * GM New Look bus
 * Rapid Transit Series