St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA – January 4, 2019: (TSX: NFI) New Flyer of America Inc. (“New Flyer”), the U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer in North America, announced that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”) has executed options for 194 heavy-duty, forty-foot Xcelsior® diesel-electric transit buses.
The hybrid buses, supported by Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”) grants, will replace end-of- life vehicles. MBTA ordered its first New Flyer hybrid bus in 2010, and now has more than 200 forty- foot and 70 sixty-foot diesel-hybrid buses currently in operation, as it continues to focus on clean transportation initiatives for the greater Boston area.
“As MBTA focuses on clean transportation, the addition of New Flyer’s extended-range hybrid buses – complete with start/stop technology running on emission-free battery power inside the Silver Line tunnel – will help fulfill its environmental needs while increasing transit service,” Chris Stoddart, NFI president, said.
MBTA is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2002, New Flyer has delivered over 750 buses to MBTA, including diesel-electric hybrids and low-emission compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.
New Flyer has over 50 years of experience in manufacturing zero-emission buses (ZEBs), with more electric buses on the road in America than any other manufacturer. It is also the only North American manufacturer offering all three types of zero-emission transit bus (battery-electric, fuel cell-electric, and trolley-electric).
In 2018, New Flyer became the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, joined CharIN to support industry charging standards for all electric vehicles, became the first licensee outside the Volvo Group to join OppCharge in North America, signed CALSTART’s Global Commercial Drive to Zero to support fast-tracking adoption of clean trucks and buses, and also signed the Transportation Electrification Accord focused on driving an equitable and prosperous future for electrified transportation.