New Flyer of America Inc. (New Flyer), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, today announced that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) has exercised an option with New Flyer to purchase 45 additional Xcelsior® sixty-foot hybrid electric buses (90 equivalent units or EUs).
MBTA is one of the largest transit systems in the U.S., providing public transportation services in Greater Boston and carrying approximately 32 million passengers per year. This order follows recent MBTA awards to New Flyer for low and zero-emission buses, including a 2020 contract for 60 Xcelsior forty-foot hybrid electric buses, a 2019 contract for 194 Xcelsior forty-foot hybrid electric buses, and a 2019 contract for five sixty-foot battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE™ zero-emission buses. The purchases are supported by a combination of state and federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants, executing on MBTA’s planned fleet replacement, expansion and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions.
“Our partnership with MBTA spans 45 years, having delivered more than 1,500 buses, of which over
500 incorporate hybrid technology,” said Chris Stoddart, President, New Flyer of America. “As we continually innovate our products to become more sustainable, we continue to see early adopters like
MBTA to introduce the latest technology. Advanced hybrid-electric buses like this will result in immediate GHG reduction and are a critical transition step in the evolution to zero-emission mobility.”
New Flyer partnered with BAE Systems, a global leader in electric propulsion, to equip the buses with
a Series-ER hybrid system configured with the lightest and most compact next-generation components
that enhance system efficiency and reduce fuel emissions. In addition to the Series-ER hybrid system,
the low-emission hybrid buses feature onboard energy storage and smart controls supplied by BAE
Systems that will extend electric drive range and help modernize MBTA’s fleet. The Series-ER system
is powered by lithium-ion technology that allows buses to drive on strictly electric power up to 50 percent of the time.
New Flyer has been leading innovation in mobility for 90 years, and today supports growing North
American cities with sustainable buses, technology, and infrastructure. It also operates the Vehicle
Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and motor
coach technology and providing essential workforce development through electric bus training, now
available online. New Flyer is testing automated vehicle technology and remains committed to the
development of technology standards that deliver safe, clean, sustainable, connected mobility options
to communities.