| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transit |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada |
| Products | Public Transit buses |
| Parent | Volvo Group |
| Website | Official site |
Nova Bus is a Canadian bus manufacturer in North America, owned by Volvo Buses, and headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada.
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The factory was originally a General Motors plant for building city transit buses intended for the Canadian market. In 1987 GM divested its entire bus holdings by selling them to Motor Coach Industries (MCI), itself formed from companies formerly owned by Greyhound Lines. The plant was used to produce the Classic model for sales in Canada, while GMC's Rapid Transit Series (RTS) product was moved to join MCI's own designs at Transportation Manufacturing Corporation in Roswell, New Mexico. MCI decided to divest its urban rapid transit models in 1993, and Nova Bus was created to take over the Classic and RTS models at the Saint-Eustache and Roswell plants.
The Classic and RTS were later dropped in order to concentrate on the Nova LFS, a low floor city bus, which was introduced in 1995. The last Classic model was produced in 1997. Sales of Nova LFS proved uncompetitive and Nova Bus closed their Roswell and Niskayuna, New York plants in 2002 to concentrate all efforts on the Canadian market. The Roswell plant was later taken over by a local consortium, Millennium Transit Services, who almost went bankrupt in 2008, only to emerge from it in 2011. However the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), with 483 LFS units in its active bus fleet, remains one of the larger Nova Bus operators.
On February 2, 2008, Nova Bus announced plans for the construction of a new assembly plant in Plattsburgh, New York, signifying the company's return to the U.S. bus market. The plant opened for business on June 15, 2009.[1] Its first US order under American production came from the New York City Transit Authority for ninety LFS Articulated buses (one of which is pictured to the right). In March 2010, Nova Bus received the first US-built order for its redesigned LFS from Honolulu, Hawaii's TheBus. The 24 buses arrived in December 2010 with plans to order more in the future.[2]
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| Production | 1995-present (standard) 2009-present (articulated) |
|---|---|
| Assembly | Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada Plattsburgh, New York, USA |
| Predecessor | RTS, Classic |
| Class | Transit bus |
| Engine | Cummins ISL (diesel) Cummins ISB (hybrid) |
| Transmission | Allison B400R, Voith D864.5, or ZF EcoLife |
| Wheelbase | 244 in (6.20 m) (standard) 244 in (6.20 m) and 253 in (6.43 m) (articulated) |
| Length | 40 ft (12.19 m) (standard) 62 ft (18.90 m) (artic) |
| Width | 102 in (2.59 m) |
| Height | 124 in (3.15 m) (diesel) 128 in (3.25 m) (hybrid) |
The current model from Nova Bus is the Low Floor Series (LFS), offered in three types: the LFS (rigid), LFS Artic (articulated), and the LFX (articulated for BRT applications). The rigid LFS entered mass production in 1995, and the LFS Artic and LFX models entered production in 2009. The rigid LFS is available in a single-door suburban configuration. Both the rigid and articulated versions of the LFS/LFX are available with a hybrid drivetrain using an Allison EP40 parallel hybrid system. These options debuted in 2007 with STO in Gatineau, Quebec (rigid model) and in 2011 with CT Transit (articulated model). In October 2011, Nova Bus introduced a LFS without rear windows, which transit agencies can purchase as a option.
The original powertrain layout mounted on the left at the rear was changed to a center-mounted powertrain with ventilation from the roof on all LFS models starting in 2009. Some demonstrators and test buses in 2008 already had this layout.
| Model | Length | Width | Photo | Years Produced | Notes |
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| Rapid Transit Series (RTS) |
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1995–2004 |
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| TC40102A/N | 12.19 m (40 ft) | 2.59 m (102 in) | 1995–1997 |
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| TC60102N | 18.29 m (60 ft) | 2.59 m (102 in) | 1993 | Based on original 1980s GMC TA60-102N, but with a full Classic body |
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