The first of three new hybrid buses for Belleville Transit is expected to arrive by the end of this week and be operational by the end of May.
The City currently has one hybrid bus in operation.
Transit Services Manager Brad Strauss recently went to Crookston, Minnesota for a final inspection and to sign off on the new buses.
The hybrid buses are more environmentally friendly.
“The bus will shut down when it’s not running so once it’s sitting at idle it won’t be burning emissions so you don’t have anything coming out of the tail pipe. So, a lot cleaner running vehicle, obviously saves quite a bit in fuel.”
They can also program the bus to run strictly off battery in certain zones to further cut down on emissions.
The other two new buses are in the final stage of completion and are expected to arrive in a couple of weeks.
The City purchased the buses last year at a cost of about $3.5 million.
Strauss says the new purchases will ultimately result in one extra bus on city streets as two current buses will be taken out of service.
At one time, the City was considering working towards making its fleet 100 per cent electric however Strauss says the industry continues to evolve.
“A lot of new technology’s coming out where there is natural gas buses being built, hydrogen buses being built. So right now the safest bet is hybrid and I think anyone jumping ahead – really the big cost for your electric buses is your infrastructure.”
Strauss says as Belleville Transit moves forward, they’re studying some of the lessons learned by larger agencies like the TTC and OC Transpo that moved towards fully electric infrastructure early.
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