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Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

13.7.16

POMONA TRANSIT's * USA: Greener buses

* California - Route to a greener future includes zero-emission buses

---  Every day, passengers at Foothill Transit’s Pomona Transit Center see something unusual: battery-electric buses pausing at the station to charge between dropping off and picking up passengers. Since 2010, these buses have been moving passengers through the cities of Pomona and La Verne with no pollution and no fossil fuels... Foothill Transit is just one of many transit agencies throughout California making the transition to cleaner buses. California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a key policy designed to prevent climate change, is creating real monetary value and helping to make zero-emission buses economically viable... The LCFS calls for reducing the carbon intensity of transportation fuels 10 percent by 2020. Transit operators that use lower carbon fuels — in Foothill Transit’s case, electricity and natural gas — are able to generate credits and sell them in the market. At the current market value, the credits generate enough income to equal anywhere between 60 to 80 percent of the annual cost of the electricity required to power the Foothill Transit buses... According to a 2016 American Lung Association study, the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro area still ranks No. 1 in ozone pollution nationally. The transportation sector is responsible for nearly 40 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, which create health impacts for all Californians... While the LCFS was intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it’s also proving to be a major tool in the fight to improve air quality. Through the use of cleaner vehicles, transit districts have helped the state save $1.6 billion in potential public health impacts... 
 (Photo: A Foothill Transit line 281 bus on Foothill Boulevard)  --   San Gabriel. CAL, USA - San Gabriel Tribune, by John Boesel and Doran Barnes - 5 July 2016

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20.10.15

IT'S A BUS * USA: The vehicle that could save the planet

* South Caroline -  Isn't an electric car 

(Proterra EcoRide Electric Bus - How does it Charge? - Video from Proterra Inc. - Oct 23, 2013: The EcoRide™ is the world's first battery electric bus with fast charge enabled infinite range. With unmatched durability and energy efficiency based on rigorous industry testing at Altoona, the Proterra product is proudly made in America) 

-- Proterra, a company that manufacturers buses that run solely on electricity, have now tested a bus that travels for 258 miles on a single charge. That's far enough to travel from New York City to Boston without having to stop for a charge, and more than enough to make the rounds on a metropolitan public transit route... The South Carolina-based company, makes the news every month or so for landing in a new city with a fleet of buses or completing another multimillion-dollar funding round. Proterra's buses, which can get up to 35 minutes of travel out of just 10 minutes charging, have been replacing buses in cities such as Tallahassee, Florida; Reno, Nevada; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Los Angeles. Louisville, Kentucky, added 10 of the buses for the city's public transit system this past January, and it's estimated that the Proterra buses will save the city $300,000 a year... Many cities are using local clean initiatives and stimulus money to pay for the buses, which, at $825,000, cost almost twice as much as a standard, fuel-guzzling diesel bus. But those extra hundreds of thousands of dollars can be justified by the money saved by using electricity instead of fuel. Proterra buses only use about 19 cents a mile in electricity, while most city buses burn off a gallon of diesel in nearly 4.71 miles... But the Proterra would make that money back over the course of a city bus' typical 12-year lifecycle. Slate crunched the numbers: "A diesel bus can consume between $500,000 and $600,000 of fuel, while [the Proterra] would consume about $80,000 worth of electricity, based on average industrial electricity rates" ... 
 Greenville, SC, USA - Tech.Mic, by Jack Smith IV - October 05, 2015

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13.5.15

GREEN BUSES * Latin America: By 2020, 40,000 public transport units in the region will operate on clean energy

* Argentina - The move is the result of a regional agreement to cut pollution in public transport

-- Eight cities in Latin America will replace 40,000 passenger buses with non-polluting vehicles by 2020 ... The plan, which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions before 2019, was unveiled in the first ever Latin American mayors’ forum under the Climate Leadership Group (C40) during the signing of a declaration of intent on “clean buses” in Buenos Aires last 27 March... The eight cities are Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Curitiba, Mexico City, Quito, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Of their estimated total public transport fleet of 114,655 units by 2020, 40,000 or 35 per cent will stop using diesel fuel, which is expected to cut down 435,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year... These initiatives are crucial to combat pollution in the region. While carbon dioxide makes up 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America, 30 per cent of these emissions come from transport... In April 2013, C40 reported the results of a test programme measuring the performance of 17 hybrid and electric buses in Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, San Pablo and Santiago. “The technology, which combines diesel and electricity, recorded 26 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than those vehicles using diesel,” says Mauricio Osses, an engineering consultant at the International Research Center on Sustainability... In Lima, Peru, the new public transport system, the Metropolitano, is the “most advanced system when it comes to deploying a clean fleet”, according to Nicolás Estupiñan, transport specialist at the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The system is fuelled with natural gas like in Caracas, Cartagena and Medellín... In Campinas, Brazil, the Chinese firm BYD is constructing a plant that will produce 1,000 electric buses every year... In Mexico, CAF is sponsoring a programme to convert 20,000 of the 30,000 buses currently using diesel to clean energy sources. However, the main challenge is finance. A public transport diesel bus (which has two or more sections and a capacity of up to 160 passengers) costs US$250,000. But the hybrid vehicles are 25 per cent more expensive while electric vehicles cost 50 per cent more... In Argentina, a project is underway for the production, purification and application of hydrogen as a fuel and energy vector. The project will link all the research centres on hydrogen in the country to develop technology that can be used for vehicles and fixed installations... However, such higher initial investment cost can be offset in the long-run with lower fuel inputs... 
(Photo by Alfredo Cali - Panos)   --  Buenos Aires, CF, ARG- SCI DEV - 11 May 2015

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11.1.15

GREEN BUSES * UK: Most polluted cities

* England - Bristol hybrid buses trial given £1m government grant


(Photo: Rupert Street, Bristol. Rupert Street, a busy bus route in the city centre, has the highest concentrations of nitrogen dioxide of any site in the Bristol network) Bristol,EN,UK -BBC News -9 Jan 2015: -- Hybrid buses that automatically switch from diesel to electric power in areas with poorer air quality are to be trialled in Bristol... The city has been given a £1m grant from the government to buy a number of hybrid buses, to coincide with its year as European Green Capital... The new diesel-electric hybrid buses will use "geo-fence" technology - which uses GPS or radio frequencies to define and recognise geographical boundaries - to automatically switch to zero emissions when entering particular areas of the city... The "trigger zones" will be set in places with poorer air quality and the council will use the data collected to evaluate the benefits for the city environment...

* England - Bath and Bristol streets exceed EU pollution levels

(Photo: A street in Bath which exceeds the recommended EU pollution limit) 
Bristol,EN,UK -BBC News, by Luke Hanrahan -Jan 2014: -- Rupert Street in Bristol had the highest levels of nitrogen oxide in the city... Dozens of streets across Bristol and Bath exceed European air pollution levels... Data from Bath and North East Somerset and Bristol City Council showed nitrogen dioxide levels were more than twice the EU limit in some roads... In 1999, the European Union set an objective for every member state to lower nitrogen dioxide levels to fewer than 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air by 2010... Local councils have a responsibility to monitor air quality. This information is then made publicly available... In 2010, 90 Bristol streets out of 123 monitored by the council registered levels above the EU limit...

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19.11.14

FUEL CELL ELECTRIC BUSES * Europe

* European bus manufacturers and leading Mayors step up for

(Photo: Credo E-Bone concept bus utilizes fuel cell technology, li-ion batteries and lightweight composites) 
Brussels,Belgium -Fuel Cell and Hydrogen, by Zeynep Musoglu -12 Nov 2014: -- European bus manufacturers and city representatives announce the commercialisation of fuel cell electric buses for urban transport in Brussels ... On the occasion of the FCH JU Stakeholder Forum, representatives of five major European bus manufacturers (Daimler Buses (EvoBus), MAN, Solaris, Van Hool and VDL Bus and Coach) have signed a joint Letter of Understanding at the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking's (FCH JU) Stakeholders Forum in Brussels. The Letter underlines the commitment of bus manufacturers towards the commercialisation and market introduction of fuel cell electric buses in urban public transport. Fuel cell buses run on hydrogen and constitute a zero emissions transport alternative...

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5.11.14

GREEN SCHOOL BUSES * USA:

* Montana - East Helena Public Schools gets funds for clean diesel buses

(Photo: E. Helena, school bus) 
East Helena,MON,USA-The Independent Record, by ALEXANDER DEEDY -November 03, 2014: -- East Helena Public Schools has received grant funding from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to help fund the replacement of two school buses with clean diesel buses, DEQ announced last week... The school district will replace buses that were manufactured in 1998 and 2001, Superintendent Ron Whitmoyer said... The East Helena district is one of five in the state that received funding to replace a total of 10 buses, DEQ stated. The organization received applications for 13 replacements. The grant money was provided to the DEQ by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to reduce diesel emissions...

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12.8.14

* USA: Climate Movement Agenda (Opinion)

* New York - One million (frequent) electric buses plus protected bikeways, “everywhere”

NY,USA -Nakes Capitalism, by Yves Smith August/Originally published at New Economic Perspectives, by Michael Hoexter, a policy analyst and marketing consultant on green issues, climate change, clean and renewable energy, and energy efficiency -August 12, 2014: ... Many climate activists’ proposals have focused on energy sources, as in promoting more use of solar or wind energy, and haven’t focused on how consumers use energy, as in the related infrastructure. Whether or not you agree with his proposals for electric buses and bicycles, they do make for a point of departure in getting to pragmatic reforms... This set of demands goes against the grain of the fossil-fueled neoliberal order, tending to distribute income and services via targeted government spending to people in the middle and working classes, though these services are open to and would benefit all. These programs also direct government attention and support away from the fossil fuel companies towards renewable energy and electrified transportation, also against the grain. Because they work against the grain, they require people to get out on the streets and into state and federal government buildings to demand change. 
Slogans help in this regard, so here are a few obvious ones to start: 
 “1,000,000 Electric Buses, Now!!” 
“Bikeways Everywhere, Now!!” 
“100,000 Wind Turbines, 1,000,000 Electric Buses” 
“Clean, Frequent, Affordable, Public Transit, Now!!” 
“Safe Streets for Biking, for Walking, for Business and for Play” 
 And the list could go on …

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1.7.14

GREEN BUSES * USA: Lamers Bus Lines and Badger Bus

* Wiscosin - Students will be transported in environmentally-friendly school buses

(Photo: Blue Bird Vision Type C school bus powered by a 6.8-liter Ford engine delivers students to and from school with limited detriment to the environment) Milwaukee,WIS,USA -AgriView -30 June 2014: ... Successful Wisconsin-based contractors Lamers Bus Lines and Badger Bus are increasing their alternative fuel bus fleets while decreasing the fleets’ carbon footprint... Lamers Bus Lines has been providing bus transportation since 1944 and serves more than 25 school districts and 60,000 students across the state... The company recently added 41 new Blue Bird Propane Vision school buses, expanding its impressive propane fleet to 59 units... With more than 1,300 school buses, Lamers Bus Lines is looking to add more Blue Bird propane autogas buses to its expansive fleet...

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26.6.14

HYDROGEN POWERED BUSES * USA

* Hawaii - Hydrogen-powered buses coming to Big Island

(Photo: Hawaiian park to introduce two hybrid buses using both hybrid battery and hydrogen fuel)
Kailua-Kona North,Hawai,USA -West Hawaii Today, by TOM CALLIS -June 24, 2014: -- Hawaii Island could be less than a year away from having some of the first hydrogen-powered buses in the state on its roadways... As part of a pilot project spearheaded by the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, three shuttle buses will be converted to hydrogen power... At 10 cents a kilowatt hour, the cost of using hydrogen could be equivalent to $6 dollars a gallon for gasoline. The electric engines the hydrogen powers are more efficient, which essentially cuts that cost in half, to roughly $3 a gallon for comparison purposes... Another benefit is the absence of pollutants... The buses can drive for up to 150 miles on a “full charge of hydrogen,” Stan Osserman, HCATT director, he said the Big Island’s abundance of renewable resources makes it a promising place for using hydrogen-powered vehicles, which is why the buses are being located here...

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21.6.14

GREEN BUSES * USA: Florida's

* Port Charlotte school buses to run on natural gas

Port Charlotte,FL,USA -NBC2 News, by Chris Gilmore -Jun 20, 2014: -- Charlotte County School board members have made a major investment in their bus fleet. They approved a contract to convert 30 of their buses to run on natural gas... Board members say the change will save them money in the long run... As the school district phases out their buses that regularly run on diesel fuel, they will be spending up to $155,000 each to buy the new CNG buses... Things even out when the projected $100,000 savings in annual fuel costs is introduced...

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19.6.14

TECHNO BUSES * Switzerland: TOSA electric bus

* Switzerland - Battery-topped electric buses flash charge in 15 seconds

  (Video from YouTube: A TOSA bus in service at a charging station. These electric buses can charge up at a stop in the amount of time it takes for passengers to get on and off) 
Geneva,Switzerland -CNET, by Amanda Kooser -June 16, 2014: -- Electric buses are coveted for quietly keeping emissions out of the air. Many of these big vehicles hook into an overhead power line to keep them running. Those lines are unsightly and can require a lot of infrastructure work to install. You could get rid of overhead power lies by running buses solely on batteries, but it's a challenge keeping those batteries charged for long days of operation... The TOSA (Trolleybus Optimisation Système Alimentation) pilot project is testing electric buses with an unusual method for keeping charged up. The articulated bus has a battery pack on top of the vehicle. When it pulls into certain stations, it connects through a robotic arm to what is essentially an electric bus dock. A 15-second rapid flash charge helps to keep the buses running all day... Getting to this test phase required the use of a complex mathematical model that takes into account variables ranging from the cost of batteries to the placement of recharging stations to electricity rates. The pilot project acts as a real-life proof for the concepts behind TOSA. Geneva is the first city expected to adopt a TOSA bus line as part of its regular service, with a start date sometime in 2017...

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15.6.14

GREEN BUSES * USA: Star Trans'

* Nebraska - 5 new buses to save city $1.3 million

(Photo by ERIC GREGORY/Lincoln Journal Star: Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler introduced the city's five new buses, powered by compressed natural gas, Friday on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln East Campus) 
Lincoln,NEB,USA -The Lincoln Journal Star, by CHRIS HEADY -June 13, 2014: -- Five new StarTran buses powered by compressed natural gas were revealed Friday morning... The new StarTran buses are set to save the city $1.3 million over their 15-year lifetimes, with reduced maintenance and fuel costs, Mayor Chris Beutler said. They will produce 25 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than the buses they are replacing, which use diesel fuel... The city will deploy eight more of the buses during the next two years, as well as 11 Handi-Vans run on compressed natural gas, eventually making up a third of StarTran's fleet...

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7.6.14

GREEN BUSES * UK: Stagecoach´s

* England - More than half of Stagecoach UK bus fleet now runing on greener fuel

(Photo) 
London,EN,UK -Stagecoach PR -5 Jun 2014: -- Around 4,500 vehicles across UK now using 30% biofuel blend... Use of biofuel has helped save 67,700 tonnes of CO2e in the past year... Further savings predicted as company continues to roll out carbon saving fuel mix... Transport operator Stagecoach has revealed that more than half of its UK bus fleet now operates using a greener, carbon-saving fuel blend... Stagecoach has significantly increased the number of its buses running on a greener blend of 30% biofuel and 70% diesel, compared to a standard fuel mix with 5% bio content... Now, the company operates more than 4,500 vehicles using the greener blend of 30% biofuel across Scotland and England. In addition, Stagecoach has around 70 buses which run on 100% biofuel... Results show that the greener fuel has helped Stagecoach to save more than 67,700 tonnes of CO2e in the past year – the equivalent of the emissions produced by powering 27,000 homes for a year...

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31.5.14

STUDY * USA: UD Delaware`s

* Delaware - Electric school buses, could save school districts millions if integrated with a vehicle-to-grid system, according to new research

(Photo: The Trans Tech bus model. Electric school buses that power grid could save school districts millions)
Newark,DEL,USA -UDaily -May 28, 2014: -- Electric school buses that feed the power grid could save school districts millions of dollars — and reduce children’s exposure to diesel fumes — based on recent research by the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE)... A new study examines the cost-effectiveness of electric school buses that discharge their batteries into the electrical grid when not in use and get paid for the service. The technology, called vehicle-to-grid (V2G), was pioneered at UD and is being tested with electric cars in a pilot project... The University of Delaware's, Yushan Yan, believes that electrochemical energy engineering is the key to reducing humankind's reliance on combustion as the dominant player in energy conversion... Adapting the system for school bus fleets is a logical application. School buses generally travel distances within electric vehicles’ battery range, and they are not in use for much of the day. Electric school buses also do not release sooty diesel exhaust, which contains pollutants that can cause respiratory irritation, lung cancer and heart disease... For the study, researchers analyzed existing diesel school bus routes in a mid-sized suburban school district in Delaware and calculated the costs and benefits of V2G-capable electric bus replacements. Over 14 years, which is the typical lifespan of a bus, a V2G electric bus fleet could save an estimated $38 million... The economic research took into account costs associated with fuel, electricity and batteries, as well as pollution-related health care expenses and other factors... A diesel bus costs $110,000, compared with $260,000 for an electric bus equipped with a V2G-capable, 70-kilowatt on-board charger...

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17.8.13

GREEN BUSES * USA

* W. Virginia - School buses now rolling greener

(Photo: Natural Gas A Bus Fuel Option) 
Charleston,W.Va.,USA –Metro News, by Jennifer Smith -August 15, 2013: -- The wheels on the bus go round and round thanks to an eco-friendly fuel. Two-thirds of the state’s school buses are now using bio-diesel. It’s made up of diesel and either vegetable oil or animal-based fats... Ben Shew, the Executive Director of the Transportation Office for the state Department of Education, said school systems have been using the green fuel for several years... In fact this school year, the Transportation office will purchase 5-million gallons of biodiesel out of 6-million gallons of bus fuel. But it doesn’t come cheap... It also improves student safety. That’s because fumes from regular diesel can add up. With buses so close to school doors and windows, fumes can seep into classrooms...

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24.2.11

NEW GREEN BUSES FLEET * Abu Dhabi - A $30 million deal to have environmentally-friendly buses

MENA region shows more interest in clean energy, buses to roam Abu Dhabi’s streets

Abu Dhabi -Alarabiya (Dubai) -19 Feb 2011: -- Abu Dhabi gets ready to launch a fleet of environmentally-friendly busess after signing a $30 million joint venture with New Zealand’s DesignLIne and Liberty Automotive company...  The clean-energy guzzling busses will have its own factory, which is set to open later in 2011. The new factory is set to be capable of producing over 300 buses a year, and to generate more than $80 million in revenue in the first year of operations...  DesignLine said that a number of Middle Eastern countries were interested in its technology with negotiations underway to convert the Gulf region’s diesel energy powered fleet to either electric or hybrid powered vehicles...  Al Masah Capital this month reported that the MENA region had seen a 5.3 percent increase in green energy usage in 2010 where Abu Dhabi alone built the $19.8 billion Masdar City, a planned city that is built around the concept of clean energy...

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22.2.11

New green bus * UK - Link to MediaCityUK

(Video from ouTube, by richardwitter23 -15 Aug 2009: Films Manchester Metrolink in Salford Quays... You can see construction of MediaCity:UK in the background at the Harbour City station)

Manchester,UK -pteg -11 February 2011: -- Passengers in Salford will soon be able to jump onboard a new high frequency ‘green’ bus, running between Salford Crescent Railway Station and MediaCityUK... Councillors from Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) today approved the awarding of an initial 12-month contract for a new bus link in the area, with an option to extend up to a maximum of eight years... The low carbon service will run on a new eco-fleet of four hybrid-electric buses and will operate a 10-minute service on weekdays and a 15-minute service in the evenings and at weekends... The total number of ‘green’ buses coming to Greater Manchester as a result of successful bids made to the Green Bus Fund by GMPTE and operators is 161...

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8.11.10

Green Bus * UK - Plan parked till 2013

Pioneering council initiative to force polluting vehicles off the road has been delayed


Renfrewshire,Scotland,UK -The Herald Scotland, by DAMIEN HENDERSON -1 Nov 2010: -- A pioneering council initiative to improve bus services and force older, more polluting vehicles off the road has been put back two years after complaints it would bankrupt smaller firms...   The delay has prevented Renfrewshire from becoming the first Scottish council to enact 2001 legislation setting tough standards on the vehicles and services operated by bus companies...   Under a statutory quality partnership (SQP) agreed earlier this year, firms serving Paisley town centre would have had to ensure that, from October 3, 90% of their buses were low-floor, wheelchair-accessible vehicles with engines less than 14 years old...  However, the SNP-led council has proposed a “phased” introduction of the scheme, with a requirement that, by next September, half the vehicles in the town centre are low-floor with engines less than 15 years old... Charlie Gordon MSP, Labour’s transport spokesman, accused the council of succumbing to pressure from operators unwilling to invest in new buses...

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14.8.10

Green Buses * USA - Shelby School Buses Being Retrofitted to Help Air

Memphis,TENN,USA -AP/The Daily News –12 Aug 2010: -- Two-hundred fifty Shelby County school buses are being retrofitted with clean air technology designed to reduce pollution... It is a joint project among the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, Shelby County Schools and Cargill Corn Milling Inc. of Memphis... According to a news release from the health department, the retrofit will reduce the level of exhaust fumes entering the passenger cabin... Shelby County Schools carries 24,000 children each day for a combined distance of more than 3.7 million miles every year... (Photo by Matthew Craig - Memphis City Schools and Shelby County School students, like these at Cordova Middle School, got to go home early today because of threats of an ice storm)

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13.8.10

Greener Buses Fleet * USA - Hitting area streets

(Photos by Steve Bloom/The Olympian - Intercity Transit coach technician William Snyder runs an electronic diagnostic scan Monday on one of six hybrid buses as the full-sized buses are prepared for fleet service over the next week, with one already on the road)

Olympia,Washington,USA -The News Tribune, by JOHN DODGE -10 Aug 2010: -- Six hybrid buses fueled by biodiesel and electricity are joining the Intercity Transit bus fleet this month... The first of the more fuel-efficient buses hit the streets Friday, and the remaining five could be in service within a week... The total cost of the six hybrid buses, including tax, is $3.7 million. The public transportation agency serving Thurston County paid for the buses with $2.3 million in federal stimulus money, nearly $751,000 in other federal funds and about $575,000 in transit authority capital funds...
(Photo from The Olympian - Intercity Transit is rolling out hybrid buses that agency officials have been hoping to buy since testing them in 2004)

The hybrid buses, which cost about $180,000 more per vehicle than a diesel-fueled bus, are also expected to provide a quieter, smoother ride with fewer diesel odors...

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