Metro to return 8000-series buses to service following safety review

Following a comprehensive two-month safety review, Metro is returning to service 105 buses manufactured by NABI that had been sidelined since September 28.

The buses were voluntarily removed from service following two accidents where the engine shut off unexpectedly while the bus was in service.

The investigation found that the two incidents had unrelated causes. In the first incident, on September 25, the bus engine was found to have shut off due to overheating. However, due to a manufacturer software issue, the bus did not provide an audible indication to the operator of the engine trouble. Engineers from New Flyer, which acquired NABI, identified an underlying manufacturer software issue, and installed and tested updated software on all 105 buses to resolve this issue.

In the second incident, the root cause was determined to be improper wiring of the vehicle's master run switch. A fleet-wide inspection was conducted to ensure that all switches are properly wired, followed by comprehensive testing.

Metro will gradually begin returning the buses to service, following routine mechanical inspections for each bus, over the course of the next month.