This was an extra special trip for me,

As most know I’m a huge fan of Neoplan buses, always liked the design of them (despite their rust and design flaws), and Neoplan buses in the USA are becoming more and more obsolete.

I made a trip to northern NJ again in November of 2020 to hunt down the rest of New Jersey Transit’s 2003/2004 model year Neoplan AN459’s in service and I managed to get very lucky In finding them, mostly in one area which was even better. NJT’s Fairview garage is operating the last and final of these buses in service, and as time goes on and more of their replacements (New Flyer XD60’s) roll into service, the number of Neoplan buses are dwindling into the “black paint” of death.

As of February 2021, there are less than, if not 3-5 left of these In service operating out of the Fairview Garage, mostly used on New York City routes that operate in and out of the Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT).

These by far are the most unique Neoplans I’ve ever experienced with their length being shorter than the typical “AN460” model due to clearance at the PABT (to my knowledge) and their powertrain set up.

NJT had two interior configurations for this AN459 model, one set of transit with standard seating interior set up and the other with suburban seating set up. Buses feature a CAT C9 Acert Engine and a ZF Ecomat Transmission which made for some decent sound effects!

Here’s some footage finished off with some oboard video from when these buses operated fully in the Newark area, Enjoy!

2003/04 Neoplan AN459
New Jersey Transit Corp
CAT C9 Acert
ZF Ecomat

Unit Numbers: 9501-9549, 9601-9636.