Ann Arbor, MI switching entire bus fleet to hybrids
The city of Ann Arbor, MI is replacing its entire municipal bus fleet over the next two years and all the new buses will be hybrids. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will be getting the first fifteen units this fall with the rest of the 69 vehicle fleet being supplanted during 2008 and early 2009. AATA provides transit bus services to the city and surrounding communities. The extra cost of the first twenty buses is being covered by a federal grant, although it's not clear at this point how the other forty-nine buses will be paid for. The buses are being built by California-based Gillig and they use the GM Two-Mode hybrid system with a nickel metal hydride battery. The early experience of hybrid buses in Seattle proved to be disappointing with hybrid buses getting lower mileage than conventional buses. A later study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory compared the hybrid and conventional buses over the same routes and duty cycles for a six-month period and found the hybrids to have a 27 percentage advantage.
[Source: MetroMode via YpsiDixit]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Saveme 2:32PM (9/17/2007)
There goes Arbor Again. The cost is horrible and the city depending on the Big Brother to pay for it. In Europe there are green buses running on fuel cells with hydrogen and water vapor comes out of the tail pipe. No expensive batteries to keep it running.
Cost leads to taxes and less people who can afford live in the city. That could lead to more cars on the road and more parking lots. Shouldn't the city get rid of AATA and have private contractor come in, this would eliminate city cost on a transit that is not used by the majority of Ann Arborites This might lead to a savings for the city. Hmm sounds good. Spend wisely.
Reply
James C. Crawford 10:56PM (8/13/2008)
you should check your history before you talk about abolishing AATA. Private mass transit has been tried time and again in Ann Arbor and each one tanked and went into bankruptcy. It seems to me you are just being a complainer with no real substance to your arguments; just vitriol.
Get over it.