Gillig Low Floor
Introduction The '''Gillig Low Floor''' (originally named '''Gillig H2000LF''' and also nicknamed '''Gillig Advantage''') is a transit bus manufactured by Gillig since 1997.The second low-floor bus design introduced in the United States (after the New Flyer Low Floor), the Low Floor originally served as a second product range for the company alongside the Gillig Phantom. As transit bus operators shifted toward low-floor designs, the Low Floor has replaced the Phantom entirely, becoming the sole vehicle platform offered by the company since 2008.Offered in three body lengths and multiple body configurations, the Low Floor is offered for a variety of transit applications. It is offered with conventional diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, compressed natural gas, and battery-electric powertrain options.The model line is currently assembly by Gillig at its Livermore, California facility; prior to 2017, the vehicle was assembled in Hayward, California.
Design history The Gillig Low Floor began life in the mid-1990s as Gillig was approached by Hertz Corporation, who sought a shuttle bus for its airport locations (to replace its fleet of GMC RTS buses). Featuring a carpeted interior, luggage racks, and a central entry door, the primary design requirement of Hertz was a low-floor entry for those carrying luggage or with limited mobility. In 1996, the first buses for Hertz (named the Gillig H2000LF) entered production, with Hertz placing the H2000LF in service at Logan International Airport in Boston (expanding to other airports in the United States). Gillig would produce the H2000LF for Hertz through 2005, as the design was replaced by standard Gillig Low Floor buses.In 1997, Gillig developed the H2000LF shuttle bus into the Low Floor transit bus. Several changes were made to the design, distinguished primarily by the reconfiguration of the entry doors (replacing the central entry with dual entry doors).Following the renaming of the model line, Gillig introduced the Low Floor as an expansion of its product range, marketed alongside the step-entrance Phantom. File:Hertz Car Rental shuttle (4829514873).jpg|H2000LF (1998) for Hertz; note large, printed destination/headsign and center doorFile:Gillig Advantage 6007.jpg|Low Floor (2006) for SORTA; note smaller headsign; top of windshield now aligned with top of sliding side windowsFile:SamTrans 2959, Gillig Low Floor at San Mateo County Fair.jpg|Low Floor (2014) for SamTrans; note larger door glass (square corners) and frameless side windowsFile:VTA 120 Express bus at Borregas, rear view.jpg|Low Floor (2014) for VTA, suburban configurationDuring its production, the Low Floor has undergone several revisions to its body design. In 2002, the windshield was enlarged (with the use of a smaller destination sign) and the side windows were reduced in width. After 2003, the rear side split windows that were configured upside down were reconfigured to match the rest of the side windows; frameless windows later became an option (with or without split openings).In 2005, the Low Floor model line was expanded by the addition of the Low Floor BRT, adding restyled front and rear bodywork and a front roof fairing; the Trolley Replica (not a trolleybus) restyled the standard Low Floor body as a vintage trolley.In 2008, the entry doors were revised, adopting larger glass panels (distinguished by squared-off corners). A suburban configuration was introduced alongside the standard transit Low Floor (replacing the version previously offered on the Gillig Phantom). Distinguished by its lack of a rear entry door, the suburban Low Floor was configured with forward-facing seating, internal luggage racks, onboard Wi-Fi, and other passenger-related options.For 2011, the Low Floor BRT Plus was introduced. Coinciding with the introduction of CNG and diesel-electric hybrid powertrains, the Plus adopted a full-length body fairing to accommodate CNG tanks and hybrid equipment on the roof. In 2017, a Low Floor Plus was introduced, combining the roof fairing of the BRT Plus with the body of the standard Low Floor.A battery-electric powertrain developed by Cummins was made available for the Low Floor Plus variant starting in 2019.The launch client for the Gillig/Cummins battery-electric bus was Big Blue Bus, serving Santa Monica, California. A battery-electric Low Floor (29-foot) was tested at Altoona in 2018, using a drivetrain adapted from the BAE HybriDrive powertrain.
Overview Of the two body configurations for low-floor buses, the Gillig Low Floor is a low-entry bus (the front two-thirds to three-fourths of the interior is low-floor) with a low-step entry (nearly curb height) and integrated manual wheelchair ramp while the rear part of the interior (behind the rear axle) is raised to provide sufficient space for the powertrain.The Gillig Low Floor is produced in three nominal body lengths in its standard transit bus configuration: , , and . Maximum seating capacity is 28 passengers for the 29-foot length (with seats over the front axle), 32 passengers for the 35-foot length, and 40 passengers for the 40-foot length. The turning radius of the Gillig Low Floor is  (29 foot body),  (35 foot body), and  (40 foot body).=== Powertrain ===A Utah Transit Authority 2020 Gillig Low Floor.==== Conventional (internal combustion) ====Currently (as of 2019 production), the Gillig Low Floor range is equipped with three engines: the Cummins B6.7 diesel, Cummins L9 diesel, and Cummins L9N compressed natural gas inline-six engines. Throughout its production, the Gillig Low Floor has featured a range of Cummins engines along with Caterpillar and Detroit Diesel engines.Allison, Voith, and ZF automatic transmissions are available.==== Diesel-electric hybrid ====TARC bus, carry their traction batteries in an enclosure on the rear roofSince 2004, the Gillig Low Floor has been available in a diesel-electric hybrid configuration with the Cummins ISB engine; hybrid models are identified by their roof-mounted battery pack. Hybrid models have been produced with Allison, BAE, and Voith series- and parallel-hybrid powertrains. In 2008, the Allison hybrid drivetrain was % more expensive than a conventional bus, which was partially subsidized by federal grants and expected savings in fuel and maintenance costs.The Gillig/Voith hybrid, branded DIWAhybrid, is a mild parallel hybrid system using Maxwell ultracapacitor on-board energy storage, and was tested to have an observed overall average fuel consumption of . The Gillig/BAE series hybrid, branded HybriDrive, had comparable fuel consumption, at  (40-foot) and  (40-foot, Manhattan and HD-UDDS driving cycles, respectively). The Gillig/Allison dual-mode (series/parallel) hybrid was similar, at  (40-foot, Manhattan and HD-UDDS driving cycles).==== Battery electric ====C-Tran, in Vancouver, WashingtonA fully electric configuration was introduced in 2019, with serial production commencing in 2020; it was developed as a prototype at the request of Big Blue Bus, (who was the lead customer for the model) which had reduced an order of 20 CNG buses to 19 in order to test an all-electric powertrain system developed by Cummins (branded "Cummins Battery Electric System"). The buses use plug-in charging with a SAE J1772 CCS Type 1 connector, and an overhead pantograph (SAE J3105–1) connection is available.As tested by the Bus Research and Testing Center in Altoona, a 40-foot battery-electric bus, with a gross capacity of 444 kW-hr (355 kW-hr usable) at 750 VDC, achieved a range of , depending on the driving cycle (Manhattan and EPA HD-UDDS, respectively; the Orange County cycle fell in between). Observed energy consumption was  (Manhattan),  (Orange County), and  (HD-UDDS). The Cummins TM4 traction motor had a rated output of .==== Trolleybus ====A BRTPlus trolleybus operating for the Dayton RTA.Gillig partnered with Kiepe Electric to build 45 "NexGen" trolleybuses for the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA); Gillig was responsible for the chassis, based on the Low Floor BRT/CNG, and Kiepe supplied the traction motor, battery, and trolley pole equipment. The contract was awarded by RTA in 2013 and the resulting buses featured "in-motion charging", using the trolley wires to charge an on-board battery that provided an off-wire range of up to . This meant that buses could detour around stalled traffic and the system could be expanded without installing more overhead wire; to facilitate off-wire operation, the driver could move the poles up and down without leaving their seat. Four prototypes were supplied in 2014: two used diesel engines to operate off-wire, while the other two used storage batteries. The remaining 41 would be equipped with storage batteries; the prototypes would be tested for more than five years before the first of the 41 regular production models arrived in August 2019.The final bus was delivered in September 2020.+Gillig Low Floor/BRT/Trolley EnginesEngineFuelProductionAvailabilityNotesCaterpillar C9Diesel2003–2009BRTTrolleyCummins C8.3Diesel1996–1998Low FloorCummins ISBDiesel2008–present (ISB6.7)2004–2007 (ISB)BRTTrolleyUsed for diesel-electric hybrid powertrainsCummins ISCDiesel1998–2003Low FloorCummins ISLDiesel2001–2010H2000LFLow FloorBRTTrolleyCummins ISL92011–2016Cummins L92017–presentKing County Metro diesel-electric hybrid versions use this engine instead of Cummins ISB6.7Cummins Westport ISL GCNG2010–2017Low FloorBRTCummins Westport L9N2017–presentCummins M11EDiesel1996–1999Low FloorCummins ISMDiesel1999–2009Low FloorBRTTrolleyCumminsElectric2019+Low Floor PlusPermanent magnet traction motor; peak/continuous power and torque:  and Detroit Diesel Series 40EDiesel1997–2003H2000LFLow FloorAlso known as the Navistar DT530E engineDetroit Diesel Series 50Diesel1996–2005Low FloorFord Triton V10Gasoline2009BRTGillig BRT onlyProduced in a single order of gasoline-hybrid buses for LeeTran.Vossloh-KiepeTrolleybus2014–2021BRTPlusFor Dayton RTA's trolleybus systemGillig Low Floor/BRT/Trolley TransmissionsTransmissionProductionAvailabilityNotesAllison B300R1996–presentAllAllison B400R1996–presentAllVoith D863.3 / D864.3Voith D863.3E / D864.3E1996–2005H2000LFLow FloorVoith D864.52005–presentBRTTrolleyZF 5/6HP592C2001–2007Low FloorBRTTrolleyZF 5/6HP594C2007–2010Low FloorBRTTrolleyZF Ecolife2010–presentLow FloorBRTAllison EP40/H 40 EP2004–presentLow FloorBRTTrolleyParallel diesel-electric hybrid powertrainBAE Systems HybriDrive2011–presentLow FloorSeries diesel-electric powertrainISE Corporation ThunderVolt2009BRTGasoline-electric hybrid (Ford V10)Voith DIWAhybrid2008–presentLow FloorBRTTrolleyParallel diesel-electric hybrid powertrain
Variants +Gillig Low Floor variants Name  Image    Changes BRT 100x100px 2005  BRT Plus 100px 2011  Low Floor Plus 100px 2017  Trolley Replica 100px 2005 Gillig also manufactures four models of buses based on the Low Floor chassis: the Low Floor BRT, Low Floor BRT Plus, Low Floor Plus, and the Low Floor Trolley. All have the same engine and transmission options as the standard Low Floor.=== Gillig BRT ===CDTAThe Gillig BRT is a restyled version of the Low Floor with different front and rear fascias. It wears a more futuristic look than the standard model. It is available in the same lengths as the standard Low Floor model, although the front fascia adds roughly an extra foot of length to the bus. Instead of sealed-beam headlights, the Gillig BRT has projector headlights. The Gillig BRT is available with CNG, Diesel and Diesel-Electric Hybrid drivetrains.=== Gillig BRT Plus ===The Gillig BRT Plus is a variant of the BRT which features a full-length roof fairing which hides equipment which can include A/C units, CNG fuel tanks, or batteries. The Plus made its debut in 2011 with Long Beach Transit #1201, which is also the first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) BRT produced.=== Gillig Low Floor Plus ===The newest variant of the Gilig Low Floor. Introduced in 2017, the Low Floor Plus is more mildly restyled compared to the Gillig BRT and BRT Plus. The Low Floor Plus features the headlights of the BRT and full-length roof fairings similar to the BRTPlus, but retains the same windshield and rear end cap as the traditional Low Floor model.=== Gillig Trolley Replica ===The Gillig Trolley is a trolley-replica bus produced in collaboration with Cable Car Classics of Healdsburg, California. It is available in 30, 35 and 40-foot (9.1, 10.7 and 12.2-meter) lengths. The vintage-style trolley appearance package exterior features include frameless bonded side windows, maintenance-free wood-like trim, ornate gold pinstriping, custom window and body graphic decals, roof cupola, functional solid brass bell, cow catcher, roof perimeter LED ropelights, and front center brass trolley lamp. The interior has solid American white oak seats, optional seat cushions, leather hand straps, brass handrails, stop request pull ropes, wood trim, and woodgrain wall panels and floor covering. In addition to conventional diesel, the Gillig Trolley is available with optional power trains, including Allison hybrid-electric, all-electric, and CNG.
See also *List of buses* NABI LFW* Neoplan AN440L* New Flyer Low Floor* Nova Bus LF Series* Orion VII* Grande West Vicinity
References
External links * Gillig Corporation, ''gillig.com'', Retrieved on 2009-09-11* Gillig Low Floor, ''Gillig Low Floor'', Retrieved on 2009-09-12* Gillig Hybrid, ''Gillig Hybrid'', Retrieved on 2009-09-12* Gillig Trolley Replica, ''Gillig Trolley Replica'', Retrieved on 2009-09-11* Gillig BRT, ''Gillig BRT'', Retrieved on 2009-09-11