Hey Keywan, I think this is one of your best videos yet! I really enjoy the concept of you asking other bus operators from various agencies for their opinions on things affecting their daily lives out on the job. Very enjoyable and would love to see you explore this idea more. By the way my name is Malcolm and I said hi to you a couple months ago as you were taking over a 62 on 21st Ave, was very cool to run into you. keep up the good work!
Thanks!! I will definitely do more videos like this..it was fun! I do remember seeing you! It always catches me off guard when someone recognizes me..I’m normally very low key! I appreciate you saying hi!!
Gillig buses hadn't been in my area for about three years after the retirement of the last diesel Advantage buses. That changed in 2016 when one agency transferred ownership of part of a route to another agency which operates Gillig BRT CNG buses. They recently got the Low Floor Plus EV version and they're sweet rides!
Out here in Cincinnati we have Gillig diesels and New Flyer D40LF's + DE40LF's + DE40LFR's and D60LF for SORTA and TANK we have Gillig diesels including BRT and Hybrids. Cleveland also have Gillig BRT Plus CNG and Diesels.
I like driving Gillig buses. They seem to fit me just fine in the way they handle, the braking and smoothness of the ride. However, it wasn't always like that and I do have my complaints that I've manage to overlook over time. When I first came to this agency over 5 years ago, I had never driven a Gillig. One of my initial complaints about them, and also other drivers, was the braking system. It was difficult to make a smooth stop without the bus jerking as it switched over to a lower gear. The retarder was also jerky. It was so bad that the drivers sign a petition to have the braking system changed. The company luckily listen to us and had a better, smoother braking system installed. Ever since then the Gilligs have been my favorite buses to drive, despite the low steering wheel. (I'm 6'2).)
When comparably equipped, Gillig buses are usually the bargain option that accountants prefer over competitors like New Flyer. For the same amount of money, agencies can either buy a rather mediocre New Flyer or better spec Gillig. New Flyer doesn't really have a competing model to the cheapest Gillig configs (those with the jerky retarders, transmissions that grind on upshift from 1 to 2 on full acceleration, etc - there are transit agencies that still order those despite being universally hated by drivers and passengers alike).
I live in Ann Arbor, MI and I love riding our Gilligs and Novas. We also have Gilligs for the University of Michigan and some of them bus operators are college students. My favorite city is Grand Rapids because they have a lot of Gilligs. Lansing, MI the state capital have New Flyers and Novas. Detroit have New Flyers, Proterras and Gilligs. I love my public transportation in the state of Michigan.
All Gilligs in Duluth, Minnesota. We have massive hills, snow, ice, and sometimes -30. With our special ice tires, they don’t slip at all on the ice and stay warm. Very heavy duty!
I used to HATE Gillig buses! They used to have tons of suspension problems, and fuel leaks. I love New Flyers and the old GM/TMC/Novas. However, I have changed my mind a bit. Our new Gilligs at MARTA however are quite comfortable and fully loaded, with mirror turn signals and back up cameras. I also miss the Orion V and VII. Being in NYC for a decade before ATL, they definitely won me over. But again our new Gilligs aren’t that bad and our upcoming order will most likely be split between Gillig and New Flyer
Hey Keywan. I judged a book by its cover when I seen the Gillig. Majority of our fleet is New Flyer and let me tell you there’s a difference between the 2. As we got our new batch I was fortunate to drive and service a Gillig, these buses are really good.
all we have are Gillig buses my only complaint would be why is the windshield wiper switch way down on the dash & the power switch right next to me. it would make much more sense to have them swapped.
I’m new to Gilligs and transit buses, coming from the Motorcoach world. I really like the gilligs, wish the steering wheel was thicker. Lots of blind spots especially doorside with the sign board being a driver around 5’11”.
I like the Gilligs overall. I’m not a bus driver, and I haven’t ridden the bus in a while, but Gilligs are smooth, especially the old GILLIG Phantoms. Charlotte CATS has some 19 year old Phantoms from ‘03, and they still have the best suspension feel of any bus. Seriously, they’re 19, and still ride smooth af. I also like the GILLIG advantage, and the BRTs. However, the oldest First Gen Nova LFS are my favorite, just cuz they’re unique. From: Charlotte NC
I was excited to check out this particular video! Never rode or drove a Gillig, but heard good things about them (reliability, maintenance a bit easier than other bus makers). Ride quality and noise could make or break the rider experience, so on their future diesel buses I hope they put in lots of sound insulation around the engine bay, differential and wheel wells, and taller air springs to swallow all those bumps.
In Chicago we don't have Gillic but we do have Nova, New Flyer and recently we've obtained Portora and will be putting them to use soon. I personally prefer the Flyer we trained in it and the breaking is lighter than the jerky Nova. The Portora is smooth but the steering wheel doesn't come up high enough I'm 6 feet so I agree with you on that. I hate riding low tho
Up there in Houston, TX we have New Flyers and Novas 40 foot diesels and CNGs, our New Flyer XD60 is our bus rapid and we also have Orion VIIs and we have Nova Artics. Austin, TX we have Gilligs, New Flyers and Novas LFX 40 ft and 60 ft. San Antonio, TX have Nova LFS CNGs, New Flyers and Gillig LF CNGs
My first ride on a full sized school bus was when I was in preschool and that was on one of the four late 70's to 1980 gillig school buses. My school district had those up till the year 2005.
To be honest, Nova buses seems like the luxury or Cadillac or buses and that’s because we ( Chicago) only have flyers and Novas and now the Proterra electric buses, which in my opinion is a really smooth ride and seems like that of a motorcoach even thought it’s a city bus. Love the braking on the Proterra buses as well. Flyers are good to drive when your cruising or just like that real bus feel. Novas and Proterra buses get you down the street and you might fall asleep in them lol.
It’s actually the opposite. Novas cost around 250k while NFI cost around 400-500k and you can definitely feel the ride quality difference on both (especially on agencies like the TTC). The new NFI buses that were delivered this year are some of the best riding buses i’ve ever been on, and they have some cool features like custom door chimes as well
I like GILLIGs. If you want a workhorse, long lasting transit coach you go G over NFI or Nova. I guess the rep for being a "bus for small town agencies" is a notion because of GILLIG's 'less is more' approach
i can attest to this as my agency still runs alot of mid 2000s gilligs and anytime there is some type of cancelation its usually driver related and not a mechanical issue
@Benjamin Willis Because Indianapolis can't afford High Quality Buses like NF or Nova, at least they did ran Used ones as 2nd Hand Coaches (NF D40LF from COTA, Big Blue Bus and San Diego and Ex-COTA Nova LFs), Louisville never experienced with NF or Nova.
@Benjamin Willis Indianapolis and Louisville can't afford high quality buses like New Flyers and Novas so that's why they stick with Gilligs because it's cheaper and reasonable to deal with.
@@terrencewalker1982 Yep. Gilligs are usually the budget pick, at the expense of satisfaction. A Gillig will usually be cheaper than a comparably equipped NFI.
My hometown in Houston have New Flyers, Novas, NABIs and Orion's. Austin have Gilligs and Novas. San Antonio have the Gilligs, New Flyers and Nova CNGs.
Thank you for this! I was a bus driver for almost 30 years, started out in southern California in 1972 with seriously old GMs taking hotel patrons into Disneyland, then switched to Greyhound... which lasted 4 months, when they wanted me to move to Phoenix... but I had a newborn son and a new apartment. Anyway, I continued to drive city buses, mostly in Northern California, until the 80's then I went to long-distance charters, and tours around the Grand Canyon and other parks. The only Gilligs I drove were 40-foot single-door Phantoms in the early 80's in Eureka, California, for Humboldt Transit. Since then it was MCI & Prevost. I watched as my home town of Santa Rosa went from a rag-tag bunch of old buses to new Gilligs, later New Flyers, etc., although I did not drive for them. At the age of 70, I wish I was still behind the wheel. I miss it! Note: I now live in Rutland VT, where they have had a fleet of 30-foot Gilligs for some time, and just took delivery of two electric Gilligs. All are low-floor but not the BRT type.
I love Gillig buses with a passion including Gillig BRT diesel buses. We also have New Flyer Industries up here in Houston, TX. I also love Orion VII buses too.
my local transit mostly has gilligs, and started ordering some electrics, but we only got 17 electric buses. we have mostly gilligs, but also new flyer industry buses and novabus
My aunt lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan and they have Gilligs and Novas. Detroit also have New Flyer Xclesiors 40 and 60 foot buses, Proterras and Gilligs. Detroit is gonna bring some XE40 and XE60s. My city have New Flyers, Novas and El Dorado National Axess BRT and BRT CNGs for CTA & Pace. My favorite city is CT Transit and Fastrak because those bus operators be putting the pedal to the medal with their Xclesior buses. Boston is also my favorite because of their New Flyers. Some of my bus operator friend can't stand the Novas at all. They prefer driving New Flyers.
Gilligs overall have nicer quiet ride. Wish they would move the kneel knob, basically redesign the damn dash. Today I was enjoying my 42ft Proterra oversized golf cart. The controls easy use to except where the farbox keypad covers the kneeling and WC ramp switches. I would love for the speedometer to be above the steering wheel on all buses so I can easily see how fast I'm going. Luckily I have pretty good judgement on how fast or slow I'm traveling.
Yeah, I can’t see the speedometer on any bus. I don’t know why they don’t raise them higher. I always have to peek through the steering wheel, so I rarely use the speedometer unless a school zone or I know I’m going fast by don’t want to go too fast.
@@LuckyCharms777 Glad someone else feels my pain and aggravation, joking. Where I live we have law enforcement that's understands, to some extent if we happen to exceed the speed limit.
@@RenoBusdriver Yeah, I don’t think cops in most major cities are worrying about a bus going a few mph over the speed limit. The reality is probably 90%(?) of drivers speed, it’s just a matter of who the cops want to pull over, and they know a bus driver isn’t speeding for the joy of it. Funnily enough, the way buses are, whenever I think I’m speeding I’ll look at the speedometer and discover I’m actually doing the speed limit. Driving a bus at the speed limit actually feels faster than it is.
@@LuckyCharms777 Agreed. We have Gillig BRT, hybrid. Proterra 42ft. Newest to our fleet if New Flyer excelsior 40ft. They seem narrower than a Gillig and definitely feels way faster than what speedometer shows.
I drive for a small agency in eastern Washington State, Pullman Transit. We have an all Gillig fleet, from 1996 Phantoms to new 2022 electric low floors. They are all great to drive. Handle the hills and snow we have here well. My biggest complaint is the quality. Somewhere around 2012-2013 the quality plummeted. Our newer hybrid buses all took months to iron out all the issues when they were new, and the three electrics we have spend more time in the shop than running!
I drove a Gillig for the first time yesterday. The company that I work for, River Valley, Metro, has two 2004 Gillig low floors still in operation. The one I drove, number 406, has 721,000 miles, and it was a joy to drive. it sounds like a ticked off Detroit when you get up to speed. My only complaint is that it has no heat, but other than that I prefer those over our New Flyers, and definitely would prefer those over our ElDorados.
I’ve never driven one, would like to. Here in nyct I’ve driven Novas, new flyers, prevost, Orions.. hybrids to cng’s.. personally I like the novas the best due to the driver area. The controls, seat / fair box location as well as the radio. It all makes sense, and I can drive with the seat all the way to the floor and still see my right side mirror without the partition blocking me. On the new flyers the seating is weird, can’t sit as low and the phone (radio) is behind you over your left shoulder. Very silly design. They drive good though, especially the older ones.
Agree. I like the Nova driver compartment, it’s set up for driving rather than like an equipment operator of New Flyers. I don’t have to search for buttons and switches on Nova’s, so I can adjust them on the fly.
@@LuckyCharms777 yeah, also on the flyers we have here, you can’t turn off the overhead fan. So you have to deal with that noise all night / day. Very annoying. Also the nova front end was great for sweeping the curb with tight turns.
So Last Year NICE Bus (Long Island Bus) order the 2021 Gillig BRT Plus Bus CNG now this year they order the Brand New 2022 Gillig BRT Plus CNG Bus in my area
As a bus driver myself in Broome County New York.. Majority of our fleet is Gilligs...... me personally I love them... The corner well they're comfortable all around a decent bus
In my view, the biggest problem is the blind spot on the left. They lowered the left mirror on later Gilligs. Now we have a huge blind spot on the left. I understand you have a video addressing this issue. But I couldn't find it. Thank you for your videos.
I have yet to ever step foot on a NovaBus or Proterra bus. Between the limited experience in riding on six different bus manufacturers here with RTD (MCI, Gillig, New Flyer, BYD, Orion, Neoplan), I would say the New Flyer and MCI coaches we have ride the easiest. That says a lot considering both of them are at an extended length (60" and 45" respectively) in comparison to the regular high floor and low floor buses that are on regular routes. The old Neoplan motorcoaches we had rode terribly. I'm glad we retired them.
I also love riding on the buses in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. Dayton is mostly Gilligs only and Columbus Ohio gonna get rid of their Gillig diesels so most of their buses gonna be Gillig CNGs and New Flyer XN40s CNGs.
They had a variety of buses at the transit system I worked at in 2001. I loved the little Gillig bus I drove. 23 passenger, short, easy around corners. Bus #9209.
Hello from France, Dear ! I have so poor information about American buses, but if I was American I would buy Gillig buses, because their design is very « American stereotypical » with parallelepipedic body and a wide range of products and a variety of motorization solutions. I appreciate the variety and good appearance of the interior fittings offered by Gillig. Happy New Year ! 🍀🎉🍀💫 Greetings ! 🇫🇷🤝🇺🇸💫
Former Valley Metro. The driver seat wouldn't go back far enough, jamming our knees into the dash. Also, the stop request light on the light bar over the drivers head was obnoxious.
I haven’t ridden very many Gilligs but I’ve heard mostly good things about them. This was a great video and I hope you will do another video for what Bus Drivers think about New Flyer, Nova, MCI, Orion and all the other bus companies around and even those that aren’t anymore. That would be so awesome!
The Phatoms from 1983- 1991 6V92 HT trannys, with the growling walker muffers, sound could not be beat. Akron Metro, from Akron Ohio got a set of transits in 1983, Gillig's first order coming out of the school bus market.
I driven both Advantage and BRT here in Rochester NY. The only thing that they mainly used them on school routes so those Xcelsiors(😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬) can be mainly driven. Try driving them in snow.
Here in Buffalo New York our Transit (NFTA) we got Novas and Gilligs. We will soon have some new flyer xe40s. I definitely like the gillig hybrid buses the most. I'm no driver but as a passenger I think they ride the smoothest.
My favorite bus is and always be the GMC "New Look" buses. They were the best and a mainstay of cities in the United States and Canada. I have ridden on the GMC buses many times. Thanks for posting. I have ridden other buses as well. The NABI was based on a bus designed by Ikarus of Hungary 🇭🇺. I rode buses by Orion which were built in Toronto, Canada. The Flyer and New Flyer are from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I have ridden Gillig buses going school back in the day and they went into the transit buses when the lucrative school bus business was getting too competitive. I rode both Gillig school and transit buses.
We have mcis in our fleet here as well. They are getting old now, but before covid we mainly used them for commuter routes to take people from each city north of sf directly into sf and back out again. For this purpose they are decently suited. Generally I don't think things are completely black and white with buses it's more of pros and cons and certain bus types are better at certain things. Certainly mcis are really well made buses, usually the two things you can count on are a much quieter ride and much better power/acceleration. However the bike racks we have on ours are under the side of the bus, and they are time consuming and difficult for passengers to use, this, along with the rear lift make them I'll suited for busy public transit routes. During covid 19 they mainly put mcis out on all routes for "social distancing" reasons. The stairs proved stressful for many (not all) senior/disabled passengers. Low floor buses are much better suited to senior/disabled, front load bike racks (some mcis have them...but not ours) are better for busy public transit routes, as are front load wheelchair ramps on low floor buses. For routes with lots of highway driving the mci is alright, but I'd almost never choose one for basic service, my primary concern is to accommodate all passengers as efficiently as possible. MCIs have a lot of cons that make them arduous to use for every day transit. Something I'd like to know is if your buses have barriers? Are we all dealing with barriers now? They retrofitted our buses with barriers during covid and it's really annoying to deal with opening and closing them.
Where I’m from (moco Maryland) we have two operators metro and rideon ride on uses 40 and 29 foot gillig advantage busses and they universally suck ugly uncomfortable etc. metro uses new flyer excelsiors of all different sorts and they are all a joy imho but that comes down to metro putting a lot of care into the furnishing with new fancy screens vinyl seats charge ports and fare boxes.
Gilligs are an interesting bunch although I don't drive em, I do ride them through NICE Bus (Nassau InterCounty Express, which serves Eastern Queens up to Flushing, Jamaica and Far Rockaway, much of Nassau, and Western Suffolk County) and they are pretty fine in performance and comfortability
My bus company consists of New Flyers, and Novabuses. Out of all of them, the Xcelsior buses are my favorites to drive. As a bus owner who currently owns a Gillig Advantage, I can tell you that I love driving it. My bus is smooth and aggressive, it feels like it was meant for me. I've had the bus for 4 years and I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Advantages are awesome but the Gillig Phantom will always be a legend. 5:14 - You think those headlights suck? You should see our New Flyer DE40LfR buses. They make you feel like you have no headlights at all. So my bus ranking 1. New Flyer XDE40s 2. Gillig Advantage 3. New Flyer D40LF 4. New Flyer DE40LF 5. New Flyer DE40LFR 6. Novabus LFS Artics
Yeah Flyers are like the real buses. Love the new design and the space in the flyers when I drive them but they always have problems with air pressure or turning radius or air wipers getting stuck, etc.
Bro don’t mess with the og busses the 2006 new flyer D40lfr is retired in my city I loved them busses the D40lf is a og bus 2 and the c40s also the new flyer LFA.
@@chrisccc22 I love the basic suspension included on New Flyers. The basic suspension on a Gillig is much harsher; you feel and hear every crack in the road. When they first started launching Gillig equipment into revenue service where I am, some drivers even thought they'd hit something. That being said, the upgraded suspension options on Gilligs aren't too shabby.
@@jonathan_8908 We have Nova's hear, which I'm guessing is similar. Very low ride which creates it's stiffness. That is why the New Flyers were like Cadillacs. High cushy air bags. I'm in an old industrial city and our infrastructure is crumbling. The new Nova bus is putting many of us on leave with back problems.
Hey whats up man! Here at Capital Metro in Austin, TX we have a good chunk of Gillig buses as they are also the last diesel buses we received before our transition to full all electrics in 2020. They are comfortable, Manuever very well, and not too bad on the road with rattling. The bad is the couple of blind spots, the steering wheel not going up enough for tall people like me and you..... Yeah they are great buses and I like them. Our range from 2016 to 2020, the 2500 to 2800 series with 35 and 40 footers, Gillig BRTs with Cummins L9s and Voith 864.6 Transmissions. New Flyers are still my all time favorites!
Wzup with the color interior lights I remember Orion had the blue and red colored lights what bout the fixable buses they had green some had orange colored lights
Strange synchronicity. Just saw a few Gilligs yesterday, and I began wondering what it would be like to drive one. I only got to drive the Orion during training, and NICE bus only had 2 brand new Gilligs at the depot. Enter your video today to answer my questions.
I never driven a GILLIG, I’ve only Driven New Flyer, NABI, and Eldorado. But my company is supposed to be getting Electric GILLIG’s…..but my favorite choice is New Flyer by a long shot. But I would love to drive a NOVABUS
At Disney, they have a combination of Gillig and Nova. I prefer the Gillig. I really didn’t like the retarters kicking in the second I took my foot off of the gas pedals. Personally, if I have to drive a Nova at Disney, I liked the newer Novas (numbered 5000 to 5009).
I really love Gillig buses to be honest with you but unfortunately Chicago doesn't have them so I have to go to the state of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Michigan. Louisville KY is mainly Gillig buses only. We only have New Flyer Industries and Novas for CTA buses and Pace buses have El Dorado National Axess BRT and some with CNGs and New Flyer XD40s.
I'd say Gillig buses are pretty good depending on the transit if you are a passenger. I wouldn't drive em though as their steering wheel and seats sit too low. I'd gladly bring back and RTS and drive it over a Gillig as it feels way roomier and has that screaming Series 50 or 6v92TA in the back.
As a 22-year bus driver who's driven a lot of different transit buses, motor coaches, and commercial cutaway buses the Gilligs to me are always a solidly built vehicle. Where I currently work the majority of our fleet is Gillig Low Floors some as old as 2004 model years. I have driven newer NovaBus LFS models and like them as well and yes they do seem to provide a better roomier driver area. As we all know they're not going to exist in the States in a few years. Can a Gillig Low Floor drivers cockpit be improved upon for all sizes of operators most certainly! I also feel that it depends on the driver's seat ordered with the bus.
I've been retired from transit bus driving for a pretty long time and my all time favorite buses were Grumman/Flexibles. However I didn't mind the Giligs of the time they had a front door you could open while pulling up to a stop, fast closing front and back doors AND they were peppy as hell. They also had the best air conditioning when they started making air conditioning standard. New flyer low floors, forgetaboutit!
I grew up in Milwaukee Wisconsin and they didn’t have the Grumman buses in their fleet..I’ve never stepped foot on one before. Hopefully I can get to a bus museum or excursion that has one. Thanks for watching!!
@@BusDriverLife oh they were fantastic-the Cadillac of buses-the smoothest ride I have ever had, big comfy seat, loads of leg room, I just loved those buses.
@PortlandsTransport in Chicago were I'm from our suburban agency rta/pace had 1979 grumman flxibles I heard they were good my grandfather drove them they were retired in 1993 I was 6yrs old when they retired so cannot say much but as for myself my era of flxibles were metro B from 1991 and 1995 metro E that cta (chicago transit authority) and yes they were also the Cadillac of busses in my opinion very smooth riding when the streets weren't beat up but rattle traps on the ruff parts of streets but I loved them the metro B was retired In 2009 and the metro E was retired I 2010 due to budget cuts they were originally supposed to stick around to 2014 but that wasn't the case
I'm a new bus driver in a small Bay Area city. All buses are Gillig, with three of them being hybrids. Gillig is all I know, but I especially enjoy the hybrids, because it feels very smooth with excellent, easy braking. We have 40, 35, and 30 foot Gillig's, and while the 30 footers are easier to maneuver in tight streets, their brakes are stiff and jerky, and they literally bouce. Perhaps it's because they are older buses. We're supposed to get new battery-electric buses in about 1-2 years. In a nutshell, Gillig's do their job.
Im a transit bus operator and our fleet is now 100% Gillig except for the Ford cutaway buses. I have loved driving them and they do well when they're maintained properly and regularly. I'm on the shorter side of the spectrum so I don't experience much of those comfort issues when driving. Biggest complaint is the driver's seat could be nicer and the blind spots (I drive on a busy campus route with a lot of foot traffic so having to move around a lot in my seat is crucial especially during class changes) over all I love Gillig and their electric buses are smooth riders.
Hybrid BRT sucks from a bus technician stand point we got 10 in our fleet. We still have quite a few low floor diesels left but have been replacing them with cng the last few years. All Gillig besides 12 articulating new flyers we use for a college route
The Gillig BRT CNG's we've gotten at NICE Bus are very similar to your new ones. Except I don't think we have a digital speedometer display, most likely they were spec'd cheaper. They're better than the New Flyer XN40's though (the older batch) the New Flyers definitely seem more poorly made, plus a bad engine fan design has led to more breakdowns. Only the more recent batch of XN40s' we got a few years ago were better. I will say I will miss the Orions when they're gone through, the remaining 2010 VIING's we have will be goners real soon as the latest batch of Gilligs come in. But we still have 3G's from 2013 ish. We're also getting New Flyer XE40's but I'm skeptical of the quality of the fully electric buses. CNG's seem more robust. Of course the MCI's are way nicer and more comfortable, NJ Transit has lots of those and the newest batches are pretty damn comfy and quick. But transit buses don't have that same ride quality but I will say one of my favorite buses of all time (The Orion V) was close. Of course everything is low floor now which means a less smooth ride. As for driver's opinions, a lot of the drivers like the Gilligs more than the New Flyers, but the taller drivers don't, for the reasons you specified. They actually prefer the Orions.
I heard mainly good stuff with Gillig. The Phantoms are good buses both Transit and School Bus. I heard mixed stuff around the Gillig BRTs but at least they ain’t the articulated Nova Buses that had issues.
I drove Gillig Phantoms and Gillig LFs for Shuttle-UM when I was a student at the University of Maryland. I really liked the Gillig LFs. I thought they rode smoother than our Phantoms, but the build quality was a bit on the cheap side. However it seems that most modern transit buses are built cheaply no matter what the brand. We didn't have BRT versions so the blind spot issues were non-existent. The Phantoms rode very stiff but seemed to be built more sturdy than the LFs. What I didn't like were our Thomas TL-960s. Straight up school bus junk! As good as the Gilligs were to drive, I always preferred driving our Flxible Metro-Bs! Those were my favorites. I loved the look, the way they leaned in corners, and the sound of the Cummins L10 on some of our units. I'd take a Flxible Metro-B over a Gillig any day.
Gilligs are a good bus. it also depends on how a transit agency specs their buses that plays a huge role in terms of ride quality and other factors. i hate the NewFlyer excelsior because they sway too much prone to undercarriage damage, and some agencies had issues with warped brakes on the NFs...just seems like QC took a huge nosedrive. their best product was the high floor and the first generation low floor model...but even those had problems like excessive wheel shimming.
Hey, on most of MCTS- It's normally on the Gillings, like when we hit a bump it feels like the engine gonna fall out, passengers riding in the high part in the back feels the bump. Like the suspension failed us and scrapped the ground while driving. One time it gave me a head ache because the bus did it twice. It hurt, it but it does it on some of the new flyers aswell. Every ride to school, either I feel the bus riding these roads, or scraping. More of the newer Gillings on the MCTS roads - witch these roads are pretty messed up, the drivers go a bit slower. But with the 5400's through 5800's these drivers be flying with them riding these bumps - in my opinion.
Being That Nova Buses Are Durable and well built I have to say that gillig buses are super cool I own 15 Gilligs from Phantoms to Low Floor and they are cheaper to maintain.
In the State of Hawaii, we have at least 16 40 footer All Electric Gillig buses that have been released in 2021-2022 as Kalihi division buses. They are not bad, however, previously they have had battery issues so they were all sent to Gillig before but now, they’ve been coming back one by one to be on routes. There’s going to be more Gillig Low Floor buses coming which are replacing the retired 300s Gillig Phantoms. I do have a question to ask you, do you think Electric Gillig buses are overrated?? A friend of mine says they are overrated that’s why.
My company purchased 3 Gillig "all electric" buses last year, with plans to completely replace our aging fleet of diesel and diesel electric Gillig buses over the next 10 years. All of the buses in our fleet are Gillig's, so I can't compare them to anything, but I have no complaints. The technology in the "all electric" buses is pretty cool.
I love gilligs especially golden empire transit gilligs those are the best I road on 3 of them and they road pretty good I’m probably going to ride another one tomorrow it depends what my dad gets and by the way my dad works for golden empire transit and golden empire transit has 2021 gillig low floor CNG buses they are so cool
We have a lot of gillig buses, and all the new ones have the MFD. What on earth was Gillig thinking putting the dimmer control in a mechanic's menu? The mechanics want to disable our dimming control, leaving the mfd bright and unsafe at night! We drive a lot of pitch black, unlit highway too. Also, the mirrors are not great. Super small for unusual backing situations. By far not enough vertical range.
I’m training as a bus operator and I’m 5 foot 9 in. and in my opinion they are easy to drive. My only complaint is that they shift into second gear too early.
I miss the gillig phantom with the loud Allison and the 6v92
Hey Keywan, I think this is one of your best videos yet! I really enjoy the concept of you asking other bus operators from various agencies for their opinions on things affecting their daily lives out on the job. Very enjoyable and would love to see you explore this idea more. By the way my name is Malcolm and I said hi to you a couple months ago as you were taking over a 62 on 21st Ave, was very cool to run into you. keep up the good work!
Thanks!! I will definitely do more videos like this..it was fun! I do remember seeing you! It always catches me off guard when someone recognizes me..I’m normally very low key! I appreciate you saying hi!!
Gillig buses hadn't been in my area for about three years after the retirement of the last diesel Advantage buses. That changed in 2016 when one agency transferred ownership of part of a route to another agency which operates Gillig BRT CNG buses. They recently got the Low Floor Plus EV version and they're sweet rides!
Out here in Cincinnati we have Gillig diesels and New Flyer D40LF's + DE40LF's + DE40LFR's and D60LF for SORTA and TANK we have Gillig diesels including BRT and Hybrids. Cleveland also have Gillig BRT Plus CNG and Diesels.
..and New Flyers
Though as a passenger have to have b as balance if you're standing on one equipped with that Diesel and Allison transmission.
Love Gilligs as a customer! They are beautiful on the NICE system on Long Island.
I like driving Gillig buses. They seem to fit me just fine in the way they handle, the braking and smoothness of the ride. However, it wasn't always like that and I do have my complaints that I've manage to overlook over time. When I first came to this agency over 5 years ago, I had never driven a Gillig. One of my initial complaints about them, and also other drivers, was the braking system. It was difficult to make a smooth stop without the bus jerking as it switched over to a lower gear. The retarder was also jerky. It was so bad that the drivers sign a petition to have the braking system changed. The company luckily listen to us and had a better, smoother braking system installed. Ever since then the Gilligs have been my favorite buses to drive, despite the low steering wheel. (I'm 6'2).)
When comparably equipped, Gillig buses are usually the bargain option that accountants prefer over competitors like New Flyer. For the same amount of money, agencies can either buy a rather mediocre New Flyer or better spec Gillig. New Flyer doesn't really have a competing model to the cheapest Gillig configs (those with the jerky retarders, transmissions that grind on upshift from 1 to 2 on full acceleration, etc - there are transit agencies that still order those despite being universally hated by drivers and passengers alike).
I live in Ann Arbor, MI and I love riding our Gilligs and Novas. We also have Gilligs for the University of Michigan and some of them bus operators are college students. My favorite city is Grand Rapids because they have a lot of Gilligs. Lansing, MI the state capital have New Flyers and Novas. Detroit have New Flyers, Proterras and Gilligs. I love my public transportation in the state of Michigan.
All Gilligs in Duluth, Minnesota. We have massive hills, snow, ice, and sometimes -30. With our special ice tires, they don’t slip at all on the ice and stay warm. Very heavy duty!
Nice!!
We also have MCI buses and we only used them for express routes only during weekdays.
I used to HATE Gillig buses! They used to have tons of suspension problems, and fuel leaks. I love New Flyers and the old GM/TMC/Novas. However, I have changed my mind a bit. Our new Gilligs at MARTA however are quite comfortable and fully loaded, with mirror turn signals and back up cameras. I also miss the Orion V and VII. Being in NYC for a decade before ATL, they definitely won me over. But again our new Gilligs aren’t that bad and our upcoming order will most likely be split between Gillig and New Flyer
Hey Keywan. I judged a book by its cover when I seen the Gillig. Majority of our fleet is New Flyer and let me tell you there’s a difference between the 2. As we got our new batch I was fortunate to drive and service a Gillig, these buses are really good.
Thanks for sharing that!! I don’t have much experience with New Flyers outside of being a passenger... I definitely think they look nice.
Nashville, TN we have Gilligs diesels and hybrids, New Flyer 60 foot XDE60 and XD60s and we have NABI 60-BRT Hybrids.
all we have are Gillig buses my only complaint would be why is the windshield wiper switch way down on the dash & the power switch right next to me. it would make much more sense to have them swapped.
I love driving the Gilligs up here for IndyGo .
I’m new to Gilligs and transit buses, coming from the Motorcoach world.
I really like the gilligs, wish the steering wheel was thicker. Lots of blind spots especially doorside with the sign board being a driver around 5’11”.
Yes it’s definitely a lot of blind spots on the BRT models.
We also have Gillig BRTs and some New Flyer XD40 and D40LFRs up here for MCTS. We suppose to be ordering Nova Electric buses soon.
I like the Gilligs overall. I’m not a bus driver, and I haven’t ridden the bus in a while, but Gilligs are smooth, especially the old GILLIG Phantoms. Charlotte CATS has some 19 year old Phantoms from ‘03, and they still have the best suspension feel of any bus. Seriously, they’re 19, and still ride smooth af. I also like the GILLIG advantage, and the BRTs. However, the oldest First Gen Nova LFS are my favorite, just cuz they’re unique. From: Charlotte NC
Would've been funny if as soon as he said "I'm 6'2", he had the guy saying "He lying." lol
Lol!
I was excited to check out this particular video! Never rode or drove a Gillig, but heard good things about them (reliability, maintenance a bit easier than other bus makers). Ride quality and noise could make or break the rider experience, so on their future diesel buses I hope they put in lots of sound insulation around the engine bay, differential and wheel wells, and taller air springs to swallow all those bumps.
Im tall, gonna go Flyer, also I believe that the New Flyer design team is doing a bit more than Gillig.
In Chicago we don't have Gillic but we do have Nova, New Flyer and recently we've obtained Portora and will be putting them to use soon. I personally prefer the Flyer we trained in it and the breaking is lighter than the jerky Nova. The Portora is smooth but the steering wheel doesn't come up high enough I'm 6 feet so I agree with you on that. I hate riding low tho
@Benjamin Willis Oh Wow
Up there in Houston, TX we have New Flyers and Novas 40 foot diesels and CNGs, our New Flyer XD60 is our bus rapid and we also have Orion VIIs and we have Nova Artics. Austin, TX we have Gilligs, New Flyers and Novas LFX 40 ft and 60 ft. San Antonio, TX have Nova LFS CNGs, New Flyers and Gillig LF CNGs
My first ride on a full sized school bus was when I was in preschool and that was on one of the four late 70's to 1980 gillig school buses. My school district had those up till the year 2005.
To be honest, Nova buses seems like the luxury or Cadillac or buses and that’s because we ( Chicago) only have flyers and Novas and now the Proterra electric buses, which in my opinion is a really smooth ride and seems like that of a motorcoach even thought it’s a city bus. Love the braking on the Proterra buses as well. Flyers are good to drive when your cruising or just like that real bus feel. Novas and Proterra buses get you down the street and you might fall asleep in them lol.
It’s actually the opposite. Novas cost around 250k while NFI cost around 400-500k and you can definitely feel the ride quality difference on both (especially on agencies like the TTC). The new NFI buses that were delivered this year are some of the best riding buses i’ve ever been on, and they have some cool features like custom door chimes as well
I like GILLIGs. If you want a workhorse, long lasting transit coach you go G over NFI or Nova.
I guess the rep for being a "bus for small town agencies" is a notion because of GILLIG's 'less is more' approach
i can attest to this as my agency still runs alot of mid 2000s gilligs and anytime there is some type of cancelation its usually driver related and not a mechanical issue
@Benjamin Willis Because Indianapolis can't afford High Quality Buses like NF or Nova, at least they did ran Used ones as 2nd Hand Coaches (NF D40LF from COTA, Big Blue Bus and San Diego and Ex-COTA Nova LFs), Louisville never experienced with NF or Nova.
@Benjamin Willis Indianapolis and Louisville can't afford high quality buses like New Flyers and Novas so that's why they stick with Gilligs because it's cheaper and reasonable to deal with.
@@terrencewalker1982 Yep. Gilligs are usually the budget pick, at the expense of satisfaction. A Gillig will usually be cheaper than a comparably equipped NFI.
My hometown in Houston have New Flyers, Novas, NABIs and Orion's. Austin have Gilligs and Novas. San Antonio have the Gilligs, New Flyers and Nova CNGs.
Thank you for this! I was a bus driver for almost 30 years, started out in southern California in 1972 with seriously old GMs taking hotel patrons into Disneyland, then switched to Greyhound... which lasted 4 months, when they wanted me to move to Phoenix... but I had a newborn son and a new apartment. Anyway, I continued to drive city buses, mostly in Northern California, until the 80's then I went to long-distance charters, and tours around the Grand Canyon and other parks. The only Gilligs I drove were 40-foot single-door Phantoms
in the early 80's in Eureka, California, for Humboldt Transit. Since then it was MCI & Prevost. I watched as my home town of Santa Rosa went from a rag-tag bunch of old buses to new Gilligs, later New Flyers, etc., although I did not drive for them. At the age of 70, I wish I was still behind the wheel. I miss it! Note: I now live in Rutland VT, where they have had a fleet of 30-foot Gilligs for some time, and just took delivery of two electric Gilligs. All are low-floor but not the BRT type.
I love Gillig buses with a passion including Gillig BRT diesel buses. We also have New Flyer Industries up here in Houston, TX. I also love Orion VII buses too.
Nice!
my local transit mostly has gilligs, and started ordering some electrics, but we only got 17 electric buses. we have mostly gilligs, but also new flyer industry buses and novabus
We have Gillig and BYD buses in Baton Rogue. However in New Orleans they have New Flyer, Orions, and Gillig buses which are in Jefferson Parish.
Me personally. Gillig has always been my favorite bus model as a bus fan I hope too soon buy one of my own
My aunt lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan and they have Gilligs and Novas. Detroit also have New Flyer Xclesiors 40 and 60 foot buses, Proterras and Gilligs. Detroit is gonna bring some XE40 and XE60s. My city have New Flyers, Novas and El Dorado National Axess BRT and BRT CNGs for CTA & Pace. My favorite city is CT Transit and Fastrak because those bus operators be putting the pedal to the medal with their Xclesior buses. Boston is also my favorite because of their New Flyers. Some of my bus operator friend can't stand the Novas at all. They prefer driving New Flyers.
3:42 I've heard that about the New Flyer XN40 buses. The steering wheel is not accomodating for either taller or heavy set drivers.
Gilligs overall have nicer quiet ride. Wish they would move the kneel knob, basically redesign the damn dash.
Today I was enjoying my 42ft Proterra oversized golf cart. The controls easy use to except where the farbox keypad covers the kneeling and WC ramp switches.
I would love for the speedometer to be above the steering wheel on all buses so I can easily see how fast I'm going. Luckily I have pretty good judgement on how fast or slow I'm traveling.
Yes the kneel knob placement is bad!
Yeah, I can’t see the speedometer on any bus. I don’t know why they don’t raise them higher. I always have to peek through the steering wheel, so I rarely use the speedometer unless a school zone or I know I’m going fast by don’t want to go too fast.
@@LuckyCharms777 Glad someone else feels my pain and aggravation, joking. Where I live we have law enforcement that's understands, to some extent if we happen to exceed the speed limit.
@@RenoBusdriver
Yeah, I don’t think cops in most major cities are worrying about a bus going a few mph over the speed limit. The reality is probably 90%(?) of drivers speed, it’s just a matter of who the cops want to pull over, and they know a bus driver isn’t speeding for the joy of it. Funnily enough, the way buses are, whenever I think I’m speeding I’ll look at the speedometer and discover I’m actually doing the speed limit. Driving a bus at the speed limit actually feels faster than it is.
@@LuckyCharms777 Agreed. We have Gillig BRT, hybrid. Proterra 42ft. Newest to our fleet if New Flyer excelsior 40ft. They seem narrower than a Gillig and definitely feels way faster than what speedometer shows.
I drive for a small agency in eastern Washington State, Pullman Transit. We have an all Gillig fleet, from 1996 Phantoms to new 2022 electric low floors.
They are all great to drive. Handle the hills and snow we have here well.
My biggest complaint is the quality. Somewhere around 2012-2013 the quality plummeted. Our newer hybrid buses all took months to iron out all the issues when they were new, and the three electrics we have spend more time in the shop than running!
Thank you for sharing!! I’ve also heard of issues with the newer models..even where I work!
The back in really bangs when you go over a seed bump.
I've driven Gillig BRT buses in Houston for our Greenlink Downtown Loop.
the ENC Axess are really smooth if you are gentle with them, also I feel like its very comfortable as a tall person.
I drove a Gillig for the first time yesterday. The company that I work for, River Valley, Metro, has two 2004 Gillig low floors still in operation. The one I drove, number 406, has 721,000 miles, and it was a joy to drive. it sounds like a ticked off Detroit when you get up to speed. My only complaint is that it has no heat, but other than that I prefer those over our New Flyers, and definitely would prefer those over our ElDorados.
I’ve never driven one, would like to. Here in nyct I’ve driven Novas, new flyers, prevost, Orions.. hybrids to cng’s.. personally I like the novas the best due to the driver area. The controls, seat / fair box location as well as the radio. It all makes sense, and I can drive with the seat all the way to the floor and still see my right side mirror without the partition blocking me. On the new flyers the seating is weird, can’t sit as low and the phone (radio) is behind you over your left shoulder. Very silly design. They drive good though, especially the older ones.
Agree. I like the Nova driver compartment, it’s set up for driving rather than like an equipment operator of New Flyers. I don’t have to search for buttons and switches on Nova’s, so I can adjust them on the fly.
@@LuckyCharms777 yeah, also on the flyers we have here, you can’t turn off the overhead fan. So you have to deal with that noise all night / day. Very annoying. Also the nova front end was great for sweeping the curb with tight turns.
So Last Year NICE Bus (Long Island Bus) order the 2021 Gillig BRT Plus Bus CNG now this year they order the Brand New 2022 Gillig BRT Plus CNG Bus in my area
Hey Keywan, as someone who may be entering the profession soon, I really appreciate your insightful content!👊🏽
As a bus driver myself in Broome County New York..
Majority of our fleet is Gilligs...... me personally I love them... The corner well they're comfortable all around a decent bus
I love the 4200 series I have to drive over 17 Santa Cruz to San Jose. I love them they are like Cadillacs.
In my opinion, you won’t see a single Gillig bus if you’re in Canada. Most transit agencies in that country use mostly New Flyer and Novabus
Yea I think Gillig is mainly in the US.
Gillig is only for US.
In my view, the biggest problem is the blind spot on the left. They lowered the left mirror on later Gilligs. Now we have a huge blind spot on the left.
I understand you have a video addressing this issue. But I couldn't find it.
Thank you for your videos.
I have yet to ever step foot on a NovaBus or Proterra bus. Between the limited experience in riding on six different bus manufacturers here with RTD (MCI, Gillig, New Flyer, BYD, Orion, Neoplan), I would say the New Flyer and MCI coaches we have ride the easiest. That says a lot considering both of them are at an extended length (60" and 45" respectively) in comparison to the regular high floor and low floor buses that are on regular routes. The old Neoplan motorcoaches we had rode terribly. I'm glad we retired them.
I also love riding on the buses in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. Dayton is mostly Gilligs only and Columbus Ohio gonna get rid of their Gillig diesels so most of their buses gonna be Gillig CNGs and New Flyer XN40s CNGs.
They had a variety of buses at the transit system I worked at in 2001. I loved the little Gillig bus I drove. 23 passenger, short, easy around corners. Bus #9209.
Hello from France, Dear !
I have so poor information about American buses, but if I was American I would buy Gillig buses, because their design is very « American stereotypical » with parallelepipedic body and a wide range of products and a variety of motorization solutions. I appreciate the variety and good appearance of the interior fittings offered by Gillig. Happy New Year ! 🍀🎉🍀💫
Greetings ! 🇫🇷🤝🇺🇸💫
I would love to see a fleet of Gilligs operate for the CTA. Something different besides seeing Novas and New Flyers all the time.
If you’re going to buy 60 foot buses, you will probably buy from New Flyer or Novabus
Former Valley Metro. The driver seat wouldn't go back far enough, jamming our knees into the dash. Also, the stop request light on the light bar over the drivers head was obnoxious.
You need to drive a Volvo B8R and B8RLA with Marcopolo Torino body, it’s the best transit bus in Chile, I love driving on this!
I would love to drive one of those one day!
I haven’t ridden very many Gilligs but I’ve heard mostly good things about them. This was a great video and I hope you will do another video for what Bus Drivers think about New Flyer, Nova, MCI, Orion and all the other bus companies around and even those that aren’t anymore. That would be so awesome!
The Phatoms from 1983- 1991 6V92 HT trannys, with the growling walker muffers, sound could not be beat. Akron Metro, from Akron Ohio got a set of transits in 1983, Gillig's first order coming out of the school bus market.
I driven both Advantage and BRT here in Rochester NY. The only thing that they mainly used them on school routes so those Xcelsiors(😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬) can be mainly driven. Try driving them in snow.
The bus company where I live recently got 2022 Gillig Brats as well.
Very interesting I'm a bus driver in Queensland Australia we have European buses here.
Here in Buffalo New York our Transit (NFTA) we got Novas and Gilligs. We will soon have some new flyer xe40s. I definitely like the gillig hybrid buses the most. I'm no driver but as a passenger I think they ride the smoothest.
Love the Gilligs.
Only place I ever lived in or worked in with gillig buses is Arizona (valley metro)
My favorite bus is and always be the GMC "New Look" buses. They were the best and a mainstay of cities in the United States and Canada. I have ridden on the GMC buses many times. Thanks for posting. I have ridden other buses as well. The NABI was based on a bus designed by Ikarus of Hungary 🇭🇺. I rode buses by Orion which were built in Toronto, Canada. The Flyer and New Flyer are from Winnipeg, Manitoba. I have ridden Gillig buses going school back in the day and they went into the transit buses when the lucrative school bus business was getting too competitive. I rode both Gillig school and transit buses.
We have mcis in our fleet here as well. They are getting old now, but before covid we mainly used them for commuter routes to take people from each city north of sf directly into sf and back out again. For this purpose they are decently suited.
Generally I don't think things are completely black and white with buses it's more of pros and cons and certain bus types are better at certain things.
Certainly mcis are really well made buses, usually the two things you can count on are a much quieter ride and much better power/acceleration. However the bike racks we have on ours are under the side of the bus, and they are time consuming and difficult for passengers to use, this, along with the rear lift make them I'll suited for busy public transit routes.
During covid 19 they mainly put mcis out on all routes for "social distancing" reasons. The stairs proved stressful for many (not all) senior/disabled passengers. Low floor buses are much better suited to senior/disabled, front load bike racks (some mcis have them...but not ours) are better for busy public transit routes, as are front load wheelchair ramps on low floor buses.
For routes with lots of highway driving the mci is alright, but I'd almost never choose one for basic service, my primary concern is to accommodate all passengers as efficiently as possible. MCIs have a lot of cons that make them arduous to use for every day transit.
Something I'd like to know is if your buses have barriers? Are we all dealing with barriers now? They retrofitted our buses with barriers during covid and it's really annoying to deal with opening and closing them.
Where I’m from (moco Maryland) we have two operators metro and rideon ride on uses 40 and 29 foot gillig advantage busses and they universally suck ugly uncomfortable etc. metro uses new flyer excelsiors of all different sorts and they are all a joy imho but that comes down to metro putting a lot of care into the furnishing with new fancy screens vinyl seats charge ports and fare boxes.
Gilligs are an interesting bunch
although I don't drive em, I do ride them through NICE Bus (Nassau InterCounty Express, which serves Eastern Queens up to Flushing, Jamaica and Far Rockaway, much of Nassau, and Western Suffolk County) and they are pretty fine in performance and comfortability
We have a few 30 foot gilligs I love them
My bus company consists of New Flyers, and Novabuses. Out of all of them, the Xcelsior buses are my favorites to drive.
As a bus owner who currently owns a Gillig Advantage, I can tell you that I love driving it. My bus is smooth and aggressive, it feels like it was meant for me. I've had the bus for 4 years and I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Advantages are awesome but the Gillig Phantom will always be a legend.
5:14 - You think those headlights suck? You should see our New Flyer DE40LfR buses. They make you feel like you have no headlights at all.
So my bus ranking
1. New Flyer XDE40s
2. Gillig Advantage
3. New Flyer D40LF
4. New Flyer DE40LF
5. New Flyer DE40LFR
6. Novabus LFS Artics
Whenever I get the New Flyer I feel like I shouldn't be getting paid. It's like a Cadillac.
Yeah Flyers are like the real buses. Love the new design and the space in the flyers when I drive them but they always have problems with air pressure or turning radius or air wipers getting stuck, etc.
Bro don’t mess with the og busses the 2006 new flyer D40lfr is retired in my city I loved them busses the D40lf is a og bus 2 and the c40s also the new flyer LFA.
@@chrisccc22 I love the basic suspension included on New Flyers. The basic suspension on a Gillig is much harsher; you feel and hear every crack in the road. When they first started launching Gillig equipment into revenue service where I am, some drivers even thought they'd hit something. That being said, the upgraded suspension options on Gilligs aren't too shabby.
@@jonathan_8908 We have Nova's hear, which I'm guessing is similar. Very low ride which creates it's stiffness. That is why the New Flyers were like Cadillacs. High cushy air bags.
I'm in an old industrial city and our infrastructure is crumbling. The new Nova bus is putting many of us on leave with back problems.
I haven’t seen Gilligs in my area after 11 years, those 2000 Gilligs LF or Advantages were all diesel making them the last diesel buses to retire too.
Hey whats up man! Here at Capital Metro in Austin, TX we have a good chunk of Gillig buses as they are also the last diesel buses we received before our transition to full all electrics in 2020. They are comfortable, Manuever very well, and not too bad on the road with rattling. The bad is the couple of blind spots, the steering wheel not going up enough for tall people like me and you..... Yeah they are great buses and I like them. Our range from 2016 to 2020, the 2500 to 2800 series with 35 and 40 footers, Gillig BRTs with Cummins L9s and Voith 864.6 Transmissions. New Flyers are still my all time favorites!
None of these new buses will ever compare to the GMC Fishbowl.
Amazing buses!!
The Jimmies were beasts!!
Wzup with the color interior lights I remember Orion had the blue and red colored lights what bout the fixable buses they had green some had orange colored lights
Strange synchronicity. Just saw a few Gilligs yesterday, and I began wondering what it would be like to drive one. I only got to drive the Orion during training, and NICE bus only had 2 brand new Gilligs at the depot. Enter your video today to answer my questions.
I never driven a GILLIG, I’ve only Driven New Flyer, NABI, and Eldorado. But my company is supposed to be getting Electric GILLIG’s…..but my favorite choice is New Flyer by a long shot. But I would love to drive a NOVABUS
At Disney, they have a combination of Gillig and Nova. I prefer the Gillig. I really didn’t like the retarters kicking in the second I took my foot off of the gas pedals.
Personally, if I have to drive a Nova at Disney, I liked the newer Novas (numbered 5000 to 5009).
I did not realize you put my old comment on the video 🤣
I really love Gillig buses to be honest with you but unfortunately Chicago doesn't have them so I have to go to the state of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Michigan. Louisville KY is mainly Gillig buses only. We only have New Flyer Industries and Novas for CTA buses and Pace buses have El Dorado National Axess BRT and some with CNGs and New Flyer XD40s.
Same here in the UK , They don't want any imput from drivers
new to being a bus operator... But 75% of our fleet is Gillig... the rest are new flyers. I do like the new flyer artic buses the most
I'm nostalgic about the gillig phantoms, but I like the new low floor buses better. (I'm bus passenger)
Nice!
I'd say Gillig buses are pretty good depending on the transit if you are a passenger. I wouldn't drive em though as their steering wheel and seats sit too low. I'd gladly bring back and RTS and drive it over a Gillig as it feels way roomier and has that screaming Series 50 or 6v92TA in the back.
As a regular transit rider here in Canada, I've never been on the Gilligs since Canadian agencies always use Novas, New Flyers, and Orions.
As a 22-year bus driver who's driven a lot of different transit buses, motor coaches, and commercial cutaway buses the Gilligs to me are always a solidly built vehicle. Where I currently work the majority of our fleet is Gillig Low Floors some as old as 2004 model years. I have driven newer NovaBus LFS models and like them as well and yes they do seem to provide a better roomier driver area. As we all know they're not going to exist in the States in a few years. Can a Gillig Low Floor drivers cockpit be improved upon for all sizes of operators most certainly! I also feel that it depends on the driver's seat ordered with the bus.
I've been retired from transit bus driving for a pretty long time and my all time favorite buses were Grumman/Flexibles. However I didn't mind the Giligs of the time they had a front door you could open while pulling up to a stop, fast closing front and back doors AND they were peppy as hell. They also had the best air conditioning when they started making air conditioning standard. New flyer low floors, forgetaboutit!
I grew up in Milwaukee Wisconsin and they didn’t have the Grumman buses in their fleet..I’ve never stepped foot on one before. Hopefully I can get to a bus museum or excursion that has one. Thanks for watching!!
@@BusDriverLife oh they were fantastic-the Cadillac of buses-the smoothest ride I have ever had, big comfy seat, loads of leg room, I just loved those buses.
@PortlandsTransport in Chicago were I'm from our suburban agency rta/pace had 1979 grumman flxibles I heard they were good my grandfather drove them they were retired in 1993 I was 6yrs old when they retired so cannot say much but as for myself my era of flxibles were metro B from 1991 and 1995 metro E that cta (chicago transit authority) and yes they were also the Cadillac of busses in my opinion very smooth riding when the streets weren't beat up but rattle traps on the ruff parts of streets but I loved them the metro B was retired In 2009 and the metro E was retired I 2010 due to budget cuts they were originally supposed to stick around to 2014 but that wasn't the case
One of my favorite Flexibles was 1992 30ft. that had the same engine as the 40 ft. bus. I was sad to see them go out of business.
I'm a new bus driver in a small Bay Area city. All buses are Gillig, with three of them being hybrids. Gillig is all I know, but I especially enjoy the hybrids, because it feels very smooth with excellent, easy braking. We have 40, 35, and 30 foot Gillig's, and while the 30 footers are easier to maneuver in tight streets, their brakes are stiff and jerky, and they literally bouce. Perhaps it's because they are older buses. We're supposed to get new battery-electric buses in about 1-2 years. In a nutshell, Gillig's do their job.
Have you got any Mercedes Citaro buses in the states l
Bear in mind, Gillig buses and NABI buses are only available in USA. Canadian drivers will never ever drive a Gillig unless they go to the USA.
And to add, NABI hasn't been a thing since 2015
@@lambo8961 Yeah Nabis we’re cool until New flyer bought them
Im a transit bus operator and our fleet is now 100% Gillig except for the Ford cutaway buses. I have loved driving them and they do well when they're maintained properly and regularly. I'm on the shorter side of the spectrum so I don't experience much of those comfort issues when driving. Biggest complaint is the driver's seat could be nicer and the blind spots (I drive on a busy campus route with a lot of foot traffic so having to move around a lot in my seat is crucial especially during class changes) over all I love Gillig and their electric buses are smooth riders.
Thanks for your input!!
@@BusDriverLife any time! Drive safe out there
Hybrid BRT sucks from a bus technician stand point we got 10 in our fleet. We still have quite a few low floor diesels left but have been replacing them with cng the last few years. All Gillig besides 12 articulating new flyers we use for a college route
The Gillig BRT CNG's we've gotten at NICE Bus are very similar to your new ones. Except I don't think we have a digital speedometer display, most likely they were spec'd cheaper. They're better than the New Flyer XN40's though (the older batch) the New Flyers definitely seem more poorly made, plus a bad engine fan design has led to more breakdowns. Only the more recent batch of XN40s' we got a few years ago were better. I will say I will miss the Orions when they're gone through, the remaining 2010 VIING's we have will be goners real soon as the latest batch of Gilligs come in. But we still have 3G's from 2013 ish. We're also getting New Flyer XE40's but I'm skeptical of the quality of the fully electric buses. CNG's seem more robust. Of course the MCI's are way nicer and more comfortable, NJ Transit has lots of those and the newest batches are pretty damn comfy and quick. But transit buses don't have that same ride quality but I will say one of my favorite buses of all time (The Orion V) was close. Of course everything is low floor now which means a less smooth ride. As for driver's opinions, a lot of the drivers like the Gilligs more than the New Flyers, but the taller drivers don't, for the reasons you specified. They actually prefer the Orions.
I love the livery on the NICE Gilligs. I think it’s my favorite color scheme of all of them! Thanks for the input!!
I heard mainly good stuff with Gillig. The Phantoms are good buses both Transit and School Bus. I heard mixed stuff around the Gillig BRTs but at least they ain’t the articulated Nova Buses that had issues.
The GILLIG front looks a little bit like our Hydrogen Vanhool busses in Germany
😆
I love your channel!! Could we get another day in the life video and a whats in my bag video?
Yes and yes! Soon! I want the next day in the life to be really good! Also thanks for the compliment!
I like the Phantom.
I drove Gillig Phantoms and Gillig LFs for Shuttle-UM when I was a student at the University of Maryland. I really liked the Gillig LFs. I thought they rode smoother than our Phantoms, but the build quality was a bit on the cheap side. However it seems that most modern transit buses are built cheaply no matter what the brand. We didn't have BRT versions so the blind spot issues were non-existent.
The Phantoms rode very stiff but seemed to be built more sturdy than the LFs.
What I didn't like were our Thomas TL-960s. Straight up school bus junk!
As good as the Gilligs were to drive, I always preferred driving our Flxible Metro-Bs! Those were my favorites. I loved the look, the way they leaned in corners, and the sound of the Cummins L10 on some of our units. I'd take a Flxible Metro-B over a Gillig any day.
Gilligs are a good bus. it also depends on how a transit agency specs their buses that plays a huge role in terms of ride quality and other factors. i hate the NewFlyer excelsior because they sway too much prone to undercarriage damage, and some agencies had issues with warped brakes on the NFs...just seems like QC took a huge nosedrive. their best product was the high floor and the first generation low floor model...but even those had problems like excessive wheel shimming.
Hey, on most of MCTS- It's normally on the Gillings, like when we hit a bump it feels like the engine gonna fall out, passengers riding in the high part in the back feels the bump. Like the suspension failed us and scrapped the ground while driving. One time it gave me a head ache because the bus did it twice. It hurt, it but it does it on some of the new flyers aswell. Every ride to school, either I feel the bus riding these roads, or scraping. More of the newer Gillings on the MCTS roads - witch these roads are pretty messed up, the drivers go a bit slower. But with the 5400's through 5800's these drivers be flying with them riding these bumps - in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing!
Being That Nova Buses Are Durable and well built I have to say that gillig buses are super cool I own 15 Gilligs from Phantoms to Low Floor and they are cheaper to maintain.
Great insight!!
In the State of Hawaii, we have at least 16 40 footer All Electric Gillig buses that have been released in 2021-2022 as Kalihi division buses. They are not bad, however, previously they have had battery issues so they were all sent to Gillig before but now, they’ve been coming back one by one to be on routes.
There’s going to be more Gillig Low Floor buses coming which are replacing the retired 300s Gillig Phantoms.
I do have a question to ask you, do you think Electric Gillig buses are overrated??
A friend of mine says they are overrated that’s why.
My company purchased 3 Gillig "all electric" buses last year, with plans to completely replace our aging fleet of diesel and diesel electric Gillig buses over the next 10 years. All of the buses in our fleet are Gillig's, so I can't compare them to anything, but I have no complaints. The technology in the "all electric" buses is pretty cool.
I love gilligs especially golden empire transit gilligs those are the best I road on 3 of them and they road pretty good I’m probably going to ride another one tomorrow it depends what my dad gets and by the way my dad works for golden empire transit and golden empire transit has 2021 gillig low floor CNG buses they are so cool
We have a lot of gillig buses, and all the new ones have the MFD. What on earth was Gillig thinking putting the dimmer control in a mechanic's menu? The mechanics want to disable our dimming control, leaving the mfd bright and unsafe at night! We drive a lot of pitch black, unlit highway too.
Also, the mirrors are not great. Super small for unusual backing situations. By far not enough vertical range.
I’m training as a bus operator and I’m 5 foot 9 in. and in my opinion they are easy to drive. My only complaint is that they shift into second gear too early.