Gilfred Dasher (Bus)

The Gilfred Dasher is a series of buses that was produced by American manufacturer Gilfred Coach Industries, originally based on an American design. The successor to the Gilfred Transit MKII model line, the Dasher was offered the intermediate option between the Pluto I and Low Floor. Starting with the 2015 models, the Dasher entered its second generation 5 years after the first generation which was discontinued in 2010. The second generation Dasher is distinctive to the first generation in that it is comprised of badge engineered models as opposed to being a standalone model.

First generation (1998)
The original Dasher was a line of standard (high)-floor and later low-floor transit buses developed by Gilfred Coach Industries from its Pluto I design. The design was originally intended solely for the Canadian market as an alternative to the Transit MKII but ultimately the Dasher was soon introduced to the American market as the intermediate option between the Pluto I and Low Floor. The Dasher was produced from 1998 to 2010 and during its lifespan was mostly available in 30' rigid, 35' rigid, 40' rigid, and 60' articulated lengths. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses were sold with a variety of powertrains, including conventional diesel, LNG, and CNG combustion engines along with a diesel-electric hybrid system.

There were many optional features for the Dasher, including the rear exit doors. Most orders specified wide doors, but a narrower single-stream door was also available. A majority of the high floor dashers had a handicapped lift with its own separate door, but a few opted for a conventional entry door with built-in handicapped lifts. Another modification during the production run was the placement of the exhaust system and tailpipe. Models featuring larger diesel engines usually had a traditional exhaust stack that came out of the left hand corner on the back end, but smaller engined buses had the tailpipe protrude beneath the rear bumper or adjacent to the passenger side fender.

Second generation (2015)
Gilfred released the second generation Dasher line of low-floor transit buses for model year 2015, after a 5-year hiatus. The newer line was available in 60' articulated and 40' rigid nominal lengths. Rather than a proprietary design, the second generation Dasher is comprised of two separate badge engineered models; the 60 foot model was a badge engineered Heuliez GX 437 BHNS whereas the 40 foot model is derived from the Solaris Urbino 12. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses were sold with a variety of powertrain options, ranging from conventional diesel and CNG combustion engines to diesel-electric hybrid.