NABI CompoBus

Models The NABI CompoBus line uses a model number using the nominal length with a "C" suffix, denoting the composite body, along with the LFW low-floor designator. Each bus has a stamped nameplate with the model number in the format 4xC.nn, denoting the length (40C or 45C) and sequential order number, starting from nn=01. was shown at the International Public Transportation Expo on September 25, 2002 and at NABI's final assembly plant in Anniston, Alabama, on December 1, 2003. The 30-foot 30C-LF was only developed to a prototype stage featuring series hybrid propulsion, but never produced. While the 40C-LFW CompoBus resembles the contemporary first-generation NABI 40-LFW, the Metro 45C had a more distinctive design which the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) called "very appealing to the riding public." The 40-foot ATTB prototypes provided up to savings in curb weight compared to conventional transit buses, The Metro 45C weighed less than a conventional 40-foot metal-framed transit bus, but offered greater passenger capacity. Because of the CompoBus's corrosion resistance, the estimated service life was increased to 18 years (vice 12). Design Unlike traditional metal-bodied transit buses, which use a steel frame clad with metal skin panels, the structural members, skin, roof, and floor of the CompoBus are built from fiberglass composite laid over a balsa wood core. In total, the structure of the CompoBus uses 80–90 separate components, with just two (the upper and lower main tub sections) responsible for 80% of the entire bus. NABI licensed the composite molding process from TPI Composites in Warren, Rhode Island. The license agreement included access to the patented process, shell prototypes, and development of tooling to produce transit buses. Although TPI had been announced as the supplier for the composite bodies in 1998, a lawsuit between TPI and NABI was settled amicably in 2001. However, the realized weight savings for a 40-foot CompoBus were only because of customer requirements and commonality with existing parts; the more intensive labor process coupled with the rising value of the Euro meant that NABI was forced to raise the price, which became non-competitive with conventional metal-framed buses. The first set of CompoBuses were delivered from 2004 to 2006, and the Kaposvár factory was idled for lack of demand after that. the factory and its workforce was acquired by METYX Composites in November 2013. Alternative fuel In 2003, NABI announced it would deliver three 45C CompoBuses to two southern California agencies for conversion to alternative power. One bus would be sent to the SunLine Transit Agency, who had contracted ISE Research to install a hydrogen fuel cell. Two buses would be sent to the South Coast Air Quality Management District to be fitted with a CNG-powered hybrid electric powertrain. However, the bus that was eventually used by SunLine to demonstrate fuel cell power was a New Flyer HE40LF instead. ==Deployment==

The first CompoBus orders were placed in November 1999 by Big Blue Bus (40C-LFW) and Valley Metro (45C-LFW), the transit agencies serving Santa Monica, California, and Phoenix, Arizona, respectively. 100 CompoBus models had been delivered five years later, by November 2004. Nearly the entire production of 900 CompoBuses were sold to just two agencies: LACMTA (662) and Valley Metro (approximately 200). Metro 45C #8384 in J (Silver) Line service (2013) The majority of CompoBuses produced were the 45-foot 45C models; the primary advantage of the 45C was to offer the maximum capacity in a low-floor, two-axle transit bus while maintaining approximately the same weight (and drivetrain) as a conventional 40-foot bus. The 40C buses, which each cost , entered revenue service in February 2003. After the procurement of the 40-foot CompoBus pilot fleet, LACMTA began procurement of 100 additional 45-foot Metro 45C buses to expand service at a cost of each; the Metro 45C offered 20% greater passenger capacity compared to a 40-foot conventional transit bus. By 2005, with the 20 40C CompoBuses having driven an aggregate , 8 of the 40C buses had to be taken out of service to repair cracks in the front suspension; the 86 45C CompoBuses then in service had driven without any similar cracks, and the first accident involving a composite bus was repaired at a significantly lower cost than a conventional metal-framed bus. Given the successful experience with the CompoBuses in service, LACMTA placed an order for 260 more Metro 45C buses in 2008 to replace conventional metal-framed 40-foot buses and added 41 to the 45C order in 2009. although an additional 50 were purchased later at a significant discount. Valley Metro The Valley Metro 45C CompoBuses were used exclusively on that service's RAPID BRT routes. Reportedly, when NABI 40-LFW buses were substituted on that service, riders would file written complaints with the city. Ridership, as measured by cars parked in park-and-ride lots, rose from an average of 60 vehicles per day between July 2003 and January 2004, to 468 in February 2005, shortly after the 45C CompoBus was implemented on all RAPID routes. ==Notes==

• Gillig Low Floor • Neoplan AN440L • New Flyer Low Floor • Nova Bus LF Series • Orion VI ==References==