⁴ᴷ 2020 Nova Bus LFS HEV 9911 & 2024 Nova Bus LFSe+ 5025 Ride Action on the Bx7 (3/10/26)

2020 Nova Bus LFS HEV 9911 was previously ordered and delivered as a demonstration bus for what would turn out to be the 291 bus LFS HEV order that was built between 2020 and 2021, and delivered from 2021 to 2023. 9911 was previously numbered “0022”, a numbering scheme that demo buses normally get applied due to them being temporary on property, and minimum numbers for MTA bus fleet normally only going down to 3-digits. It ran with electric powered front and rear doors instead of the air powered doors that older fleets have, and introduced Luminator Spectrum signage to Nova Bus fleets going forward, while New Flyers were standardized with Hanover RGB. Eventually, 0022 was returned to Nova Bus after a series of overall successful tests, though the LFS HEV spec was changed which lead to the unit being generally obsolete as a result for what the average bus would look like. 9622 was delivered after 0022’s demo period for this reason, and 0022 sat with Nova Bus for a total of 6 years until 2026, where 0022 was renumbered to 9911 along with another pilot bus that was originally going to be “9621”, which was officially renumbered to 9912 and never ran in service with the MTA until this point. Meanwhile, a year after LFS HEV deliveries had finished, Nova Bus finished building the last new order of LFS’ that the MTA will receive until 2027, that being the 5 bus batch of LFSe+’s, which were ordered to evaluate battery electrics from Nova Bus. Originally all 5 units were meant to be delivered and operated by Charleston Depot of Staten Island, though this assignment changed after 5027 and 5029 were the depots only truly active units while the other three were consistency out of action due to being checked by bus maintenance facilities. Eventually all 5 of these units were moved to Kingsbridge Depot (where 9911 and 9912 are also located), and they currently run frequently as mostly supplemental fleet for rush hours, using an identically named EV system to the LFS HEV orders hybrid system, which also makes them sound identical minus the lack of an engines noise at the rear. These LFSe+’s were also equipped with an extra screen at the rear of the bus, a feature that the diesel variant of this order did not receive while they were built first between 2023 and 2024, and delivered around the same time. While 9911 is equipped with a rear flip door similar to those orders, it does not have clear bottom windows and instead is covered up by the New York State livery across the whole bus, while the top windows are still clear. They are also electric powered doors, making them move smooth and quietly. The LFSe+’s have air powered doors, due to the fact that the electric powered door specifications on both 9911 and the production LFS HEV’s have caused issues with their interactivity. This means that instead, these buses release a large burst of air when unlocked, and are locked with the same type of mechanism, creating a large hiss when opened and a slight air sound when closed. These units also have bottom windows on the rear door like their diesel counterparts. 9911 was equipped with only USB ports but seemingly has had USB-C replacements on at least one part of the bus, while LFSe+’s have USB/USB-C ports all over. Keen eyes may also see that 9911 has older stickers, old license plates and screen programming, due to its absence from the city for enough time that fare hikes and outdated programming were given to the bus through Nova Bus, as it has been held for some time. #mtabus 0:00 - 2020 LFS HEV 9911 (ex. 0022) Ride 3:50 - 2024 LFSe+ 5029 on the M100 4:30 - 2024 LFSe+ 5025 Ride Video Clips Taken: March 10th, 2026. Instagram:   / emperor_of_nyc   Enjoy!