Edmonton Transit System
Orion SLF229 Trial

From February 24th to March 6th, 2005, ETS had a 2004 Orion SLF 229 demo bus running in revenue service. It was allocated to the Route 304 Southpark Village for the entire duration of the trial period. According to information posted at ETS's website, ETS is expecting to test out a variety of smaller medium duty type transit buses in anticipation for future replacement of some Ford-ELF Overland low floor community shuttle buses. ETS also anticipates future expansion of the community shuttle program and is also testing smaller buses for this reason. The 29 foot version of the Orion SLF200 series was the second of these anticipated demo buses.

The demo SLF229 is powered by a Mercedes Benz MBE904 diesel engine with an Allison transmission. The bus is equipped with a roof mounted air-conditioner/heater. The bus is also wheelchair accessible with a ramp and two wheelchair positions. This bus was configured to 23 seats with no wheelchair positions taken up.

The drive train provided a smooth and relatively quiet ride and the seating layout allowed for a roomy interior. This demo unit had been to many other transit properties before and possibly done a lot of highway driving. Thus, there were some problems that would be partially attributed to the wear and tear the bus has been through. Such problems were a malfunctioning stop request indicator, squeaky doors and rattles. The SLF felt a bit bumpy and the rear door closing chime was very loud. Although from a passenger comfort point of view and personal opinion, the Orion SLF229 is overall a better bus than the Blue Bird Ultra LF that ETS also tested.

Photo Captions- The only day I rode and saw the bus was March 5th, 2005. In the morning at about 0830, the SLF was working on the Route 30 University-River Ridge-Southgate route. As I was not expecting the bus to be on this route and had a tight time schedule to keep, I quickly took some photos (1, 2, 6). I asked the driver if the bus was going to be on the route 304 later that day, he said yes. Route 304 service does not start till late morning. Thus the SLF229 was working the 30 for the better half of the morning. In the afternoon, I waited at Southgate Transit Centre for the demo Orion SLF229 to arrive on Route 304 Southpark Village. As it pulled into Southgate I took a front and rear photo (3, 7). From there I boarded and took the 25 minute round trip where I took interior photos (10). As the SLF229 left Southgate Transit Centre on another run on the 304, I took photos (4, 5, 8, 9)

Please do not re-use these photos without prior permission from the respective photographer.

Front Views

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Rear Views

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Interior View

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