Orion International

"Orion III" redirects here. For the spaceplane from 2001: A Space Odyssey, see Orion III spaceplane.

Orion International

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Bus building
Founded	1975
Headquarters	350 Hazelhurst Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5J 4T8
Area served	Canada, United States
Key people	Andreas Strecker (CEO)
Products	Transit buses
Owner(s)	Daimler AG
Employees	1,400 (US and Canada)
Website	www.orionbus.com

Orion International, previously Orion Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, is a bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and established by the Government of Ontario in 1975. Privatized in 1993, Orion was acquired by Daimler Chrysler (now Daimler AG) in July 2000, and is now part of the group Daimler Buses North America.

Current product

Orion VII third generation

Manufacturer	Orion International
Production	2010-present
Assembly	Mississauga, Ontario Oriskany, New York
Predecessor	Orion VII Next Generation
Class	Transit bus
Layout	T-Drive or series hybrid
Engine	Cummins ISB, ISL, or ISL G
Transmission	Allison B400R, ZF 6AP1200B, or Voith D864.5
Wheelbase	190 in (4.83 m), 226 in (5.74 m), or 286 in (7.26 m)
Length	32.5 ft (9.91 m), 35 ft (10.67 m), or 40.5 ft (12.34 m)
Width	102 in (2.59 m)
Height	127 in (3.23 m) (diesel) 132 in (3.35 m) (diesel electric hybrid) 135 in (3.43 m) (CNG)

The current product from Orion International is the Orion VII third generation semi-low-floor bus. Introduced in 2007 as the Next Generation model to replace an earlier generation of the Orion VII produced from 2001–2007, and as the replacement for the Orion V after 2009,^[1][2] this model, produced as a 102 in (2.59 m)-wide bus, is available as a 40.5 ft (12.34 m), 35 ft (10.67 m), or 32.5 ft (9.91 m) bus. Fuel options include biodiesel, CNG, or diesel. There is also a diesel-electric hybrid, available with a lithium-ion battery. For non-CNG units, the air-conditioning is on the roof.^{[citation needed]} Starting in late 2010, framed windows became an option on Orion VII Next Generation and third generation buses; an example of such a bus is shown in the table below.

Previous products

Orion has manufactured a number of different models of buses over its 30+ year existence. A list of models is given below; each increasing number is the next generation model.

Discontinued products

Model	Length & Width	Picture	Produced	Fuel type
Orion I	31 ft (9.45 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 37 ft (11.28 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)		1977–1993	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion II	21.92 ft (6.68 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 25.92 ft (7.90 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)[citation needed]		1983–2003[citation needed]
Orion III (bodies made by Ikarus Bus to form the Ikarus 286 model)	60 ft (18.29 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		1984–1989	Diesel
Orion IV	Tractor: 37.5 ft (11.43 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m) Trailer: 35.5 ft (10.82 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m)[citation needed]		1985–1989[citation needed]	Liquefied petroleum gas
Orion V	32 ft (9.75 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		1989–2009	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion VI	40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		1995–2004	Diesel Compressed natural gas Diesel-electric
Orion VII (First Generation)	32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		2001–2007
Orion VII (Next Generation)	32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		2007–2011

Assembly plants

• Orion buses are initially assembled in the Mississauga plant and final assembly and testing is done in Oriskany, New York.^{[citation needed]}
• Mississauga - Chassis and body^{[citation needed]}
• Oriskany - Seating, engine, HVAC, Final assembly and Testing^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ CNY Business Journal (1996+): Orion Bus expects employment bump
2. ^ SFMTA: Hybrid Buses

External links

• Orion Bus official homepage
• Orion Buses
• Educated » Hybrid Sounds
• Crown Ikarus 286

Hybrid buses

• Hybrid buses.
• BAE HybriDrivePropulsion OverviewOrion VII Hybrid -Product InformationPDF (942 KB)