Overview: NABI was orginally founded as the American branch of Hungarian Bus Manufacturer Ikarus and began manufacturing exported Hungarian bus models in the United States under the brand name of American Ikarus. The buses were assembled in the United States in Alabama from Hungarian "Knock-Down" kits, or containers with parts which can be quickly assembled. In 2009 the company now known as NABI began a joint venture with British manufacturer Optare and also began experimenting with chassis offerings from both Scania and MAN.

 

 

 

NABI's European origins were often reflected in its "Futuristic" bus design and styling offered in its line up. In mid 2010 NABI's North American and Hungarian operations were largely separated however the
company still maintains a presence in Hungary. The 42 BRT was NABI's direct response to the dominance of New Flyer's Xcelsior model range but would ultimately prove unsuccessful.

 

 

 

The 42 BRT was inteded to be an improvement over NABI's aging LFW platform as well as a counter to New Flyer's Dominance of the market share. The 42 BRT is remarkably similar to the Xcelsior but its overall appearance is much different. NABI was purchased by New Flyer in 2013 after it acquired the company from a financial group for $79 Million. New Flyer announced it would dissolve NABI's model line up after 2015 and the NABI plant in Alabama would be converted to produced its Xcelsior model range. The last NABI LFW produced was built for Dallas Area Rapid Transit was completed in October 2015.

 

The 42 BRT was offered with features the Xcelsior did not offer as standard. 42 BRT's could be ordered with side-skirts which protected pedestrians from being in contact with the wheels as well as debris being kicked up by them. They also assisted with making the bus more aerodynamic, saving on fuel. 42 BRT's also came with a large circular one piece windshield which gave extremely good visibility in contrast to the Xcelsior's smaller two piece windshield. The 42 BRT was also equipped with more ports for security cameras which were mounted on nearly every corner of the bus. Some agencies opt for this feature to be omitted to save on cost but others like WMATA have kept this feature and it allows agencies to see who is at fault during accident litigation.