May 27, 2016
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will be adding more than 500 hybrid buses to its fleet over the next five years.
As part of the transit authority's operating and capital budgets that were approved Thursday, the SEPTA Board approved a five-year contract worth $411.8 million with New Flyer of America Inc. for 525 diesel-electric hybrid buses, plus the option to buy 25 more.
The contract is another step in SEPTA's ongoing sustainability effort that was adopted in January 2011 and will allow the transit authority the ability to retire and replace its oldest vehicles.
"These bus fleet upgrades are critical to the Authority's ongoing efforts to provide efficient, dependable service for our customers," said SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale T. Deon. "Thanks to dedicated state funding from Act 89, we can continue to plan for these types of purchases in the short- and long-term."
According to SEPTA, more than half of its bus fleet is made up of hybrids. At the end of the new contract, hybrids will make up about 95 percent of the fleet.
"Public transportation has long been the most environmentally friendly way to get around, and it's only getting greener with more hybrid buses on the road," said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel. "SEPTA is proud to be an industry leader in providing cleaner, more fuel efficient modes of travel by bringing more hybrids into its fleet."
