Orion Bus Industries Inc.; Petition for Temporary Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 121

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 98-3396; Notice 1]

Orion Bus Industries Inc.; Petition for Temporary Exemption From

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 121

Orion Bus Industries Inc. of Oriskany, New York, has petitioned for

a five-month exemption from Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 121 Air

Brake Systems. The basis of the petition is that compliance would cause

substantial economic hardship to a manufacturer that has tried in good

faith to comply with the standard.

This notice of receipt of the petition is published in accordance

with agency regulations on the subject and does not represent any

judgment by the agency about the merits of the petition.

On June 7, 1995, Western Star Truck Holdings Ltd., Canada,

purchased some of the assets of Bus Industries of America. Through its

wholly-owned subsidiary, Orion Bus Industries Ltd. of Ontario, a

manufacturer of city transit buses, it established Orion Bus Industries

Inc. as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orion Bus Industries Ltd. Since

1995, ``Orion Bus has been striving to re-organize the operation,

update and replace obsolete facilities and turn an insolvent

organization into a first class bus manufacturing facility employing

over 1,000 employees.'' The company manufactured 699 buses in the 12-

month period preceding the filing of its application.

Paragraph S5.1.6.1(a) of Standard No. 121 requires each ``single

unit vehicle,'' including transit buses, manufactured on and after

March 1, 1998, to be equipped with an antilock brake system. The

company will be able to comply as of that date with buses entering

production. However, it is asking relief from compliance for certain

buses whose assembly will not be completed until after March 1, 1998.

As it explains, these buses ``are part of bus contracts which have been

delayed due to the insolvency of a major part supplier.'' This has

disrupted Orion's schedule for over 27 weeks ``while a new vendor could

be found, new tooling produced and the new supply of parts tested and

certified to meet current in-use Safety Standards.'' As the buses were

not designed to be equipped with antilock braking systems, their fixed-

cost contracts have no provisions for the purchaser bearing the cost of

modifications, and Orion would have to absorb the costs. Orion has

increased its production schedule to minimize the number of buses

needing an exemption. As of December 1, 1997, however, it appears to

the petitioner that 148 buses will be produced on or after March 1,

1998, and not later than August 1, 1998.

Orion had a net loss of $650,000 during its limited operations in

1995, a net income of $1,223,000 in 1996, and a net income of

$4,696,000 in 1997. Further costs would be incurred were Orion required

to conform. At a minimum, the cost to convert stock axles sets and

brake assemblies to become anti-lock compliant is estimated to be

$636,740. Were Orion to complete its orders with conforming buses, the

purchasers might demand that the buses for which they had already taken

delivery be retrofitted to conform. This contingent liability is

estimated to be $7,000,000. Orion believes that a mixed fleet would

have a detrimental effect upon its purchasers ``by forcing them to

carry different replacement parts, implementing different maintenance

procedures and having to train maintenance personnel and drivers on how

to handle the different vehicles.'' Because drivers sometimes change

buses during their shifts, in an emergency a driver may not react

appropriately as the situation demands.

Orion submitted data indicating that a temporary exemption ``will

have little impact on the ability of a bus to come safely to a stop

within the stopping distances specified in Table II of FMVSS 121.''

These data ``indicate that the test vehicle [Orion VI Transit bus] met

all stopping distance guidelines and stayed within a 12-foot lane width

(without wheel lock).''

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the petition

described above. Comments should refer to the docket and notice number,

and be submitted to: Docket Management, National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590. It is requested but not required that 10 copies be submitted.

All comments received before the close of business on the comment

closing date below will be considered, and will be available for

examination in the docket at the above address both before and after

that date, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. To the extent

possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be

considered. Notice of final action on the petition will be published in

the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

Comment closing date: March 5, 1998.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR

1.50 and 501.4.

Issued on: January 28, 1998.

L. Robert Shelton,

Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 98-2591 Filed 2-2-98; 8:45 am]

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