B.C. Transit Buys 6 GM Hybrid Buses September 2004

WINNIPEG B.C. Transit is buying six New Flyer buses powered by a General Motors hybrid system the first Canadian customer to put the fuel-saving and emissions-reducing power plants into regular service.

New Flyer and GM announced today that B.C. Transit, the agency responsible for transit systems across British Columbia, has bought six 12-metre hybrid buses, with delivery set for next spring.

Three of the buses will go to the Victoria Regional Transit System and three to the Kelowna Regional Transit System.

The hybrid system is said to improve fuel economy by up to 50 per cent and reduce emissions by up to 90 per cent compared with conventional diesel engines.

Michael Grimaldi, president of General Motors of Canada, said GM is in discussions with other Canadian transit agencies and has "received genuine interest from authorities in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Hamilton and other jurisdictions."

The hybrid power plant uses dual electric motors for regenerative braking that captures the energy from slowing the bus into an advanced battery system. This electrical energy is then used to launch the bus from a stop using quiet electric motors instead of the diesel engine.

By the end of 2004, New Flyer expects to have 309 hybrid buses in operation.

SOURCE: Toronto Star

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