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High cost of artics
Page 13
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MAINTENANCE PROBLEMS with a fleet of new articulated buses were recounted by the assistant general superintendent of maintenance and equipment for the Southern California Rapid Transit District, George G. Carla, at a conference on public transport maintenance and purchasing held earlier this year in Washington DC.
Mr Calra told delegates at the conference, sponsored by the American journal, Mass Transit, that the artics, which are a joint effort by MAN in Germany and AM General in the States, have a few "unique characteristics".
Among the main problems is that the artics are "inconvenient" to tow, especially as when the engine is not running, neither is the power steering.
Routine maintenance and daily servicing of each vehicle is said to be taking twice as long, due to the bus size and spare parts. Spares, said Mr Carla, are costing 300 to 700 per cent more than parts for conventional American buses.