NFI Group Inc., a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, today announced that its subsidiary New Flyer of America Inc. has been awarded a contract from the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) to provide seven zero-emission buses as the agency begins the transition to a zero-emission bus fleet. Included in the contract are three sixty-foot zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ heavy-duty transit buses (six equivalent units or EUs), and four forty-foot battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ transit buses (four EUs) for a total of 10 EUs.
The MDOT MTA is one of the largest multi-modal transit systems in the United States, providing over 3.5 million annual bus rides.
MDOT MTA is awarding the pilot ZEB contract to NFI by utilizing grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s (“FTA”) Low or No Emission Grant Program and the Volkswagen Settlement. The new buses will help fulfil Maryland’s new Zero-Emission Bus Transition Act, which mandates all new buses procured must be emission-free beginning in 2023.
“Since 1995, NFI has delivered over 1,260 buses and coaches to the Maryland Transit Administration, and today we begin enabling its transition to zero-emission mobility,” said Chris Stoddart, President, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “Our battery-electric buses provide safe, efficient, quiet and emission-free public transportation, and will ultimately improve air quality and the quality of passenger experience in the state of Maryland.”
Designed on the proven Xcelsior® platform, New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE NG™ battery-electric bus delivers up to 525 kWh of power and features a new lightweight electric traction drive system providing up to 90% energy recovery. For more information, visit newflyer.com/ng.
NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed over 65 million EV service miles. In 2021, NFI was named as a ZEB partner of choice by nine major transit agencies across America.
Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean, and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure, and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 300 interactive events, welcoming 5,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.