The Niagara Frontier Transit Authority has announced that it has added 14 state-of-the-art hybrid electric buses to its Metro Bus fleet, as of today.
Fourteen of the fleet's oldest diesel-fueled buses will be retired from revenue service.
The new, U.S.-built buses were acquired for nearly $8.7 million. $7.2 millions came from the Federal Transit Administration, with the remaining balance split by the NFTA and the state Department of Transporatation.
The Authority says 98 of Metro's 307 buses are now clear-operating hybrids, which run on low-sulfur diesel fuel that generates electricity stored in batteries on the bus roofs.
The NFTA has operated hybrid buses since 2006 and has saved nearly 300,000 gallons of fuel for a savings of $750,000. The hybrids, which sell for $620,000 each, have also reduced oil consumption by more than $6,000 annually.
