Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc., the largest transit bus and motorcoach manufacturer in North America, announced that NJ TRANSIT issued a notice to proceed (NTP) to manufacture 184 commuter coaches in 2016 for an estimated value of $95 million.

This NTP covers the first year of NJ TRANSIT’s six-year bus acquisition program.

“This NTP is an important milestone of the NJ TRANSIT contract and authorizes MCI to begin manufacturing and delivering the first year’s requirement under the contract,” said Patrick Scully, MCI’s executive VP, sales and marketing. “We value the long-term relationship forged with NJ TRANSIT and the trust they’ve placed in MCI to build highly reliable coaches with industry leading lowest total cost of ownership.”

Through a competitive procurement process, NJ TRANSIT executed a contract with MCI in November 2015 to manufacture and deliver up to 1,219 commuter coaches. Consistent with the contract, MCI delivered three “pilot” coaches, all of which have successfully passed the NJ TRANSIT in-service testing and evaluation phase.

The MCI commuter coaches headed to NJ TRANSIT will be powered by clean-diesel with reduced exhaust emissions as required by the latest Clean Air Act amendments and feature a 57-seat configuration that’s Wi-Fi ready, seatbelt-equipped and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

NJ TRANSIT has purchased over 2,000 coaches over three decades from MCI, including 147 compressed natural gas models in 2015.