Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

Board of directors voted to award a $12.1 million contract to purchase 10 all-electric buses and charging equipment to BYD Motors Inc. a U.S. subsidiary of BYD Co. Ltd., a Chinese firm. The contract is funded mainly with a federal TIGGER grant.

A grant from the Wisconsin Clean Transportation Program helped the coach operator convert its fleet from gasoline to propane autogas, add hybrid-electric vehicles, and build a propane refueling station.

Anderson Coach and Travel of Greenville, Pa., and Northeast Charter and Tour Co. of Lewiston, Maine, were honored at the American Bus Association’s annual Marketplace, which took place from Jan. 5 to 9 in Charlotte, N.C., as the recipients of ABA’s “Green Operator Award.”

Colorado Mountain Express’s price for propane autogas averages $1.72 per gallon, compared to the current average cost for gasoline at $3.80 per gallon in the area.

Company also plans to build CNG fueling stations and provide CNG vehicle conversions for Commonwealth and local Virginia governments that want to take advantage of the benefits of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority estimates that replacing these three buses will eliminate 53 tons of harmful emissions and reduce petroleum consumption by more than 23,000 gallons per year, while reducing operating costs by more nearly $500,000.

Will replace three of the fleet’s oldest diesel buses, and will be inductively charged by stopping on an electromagnetic pad located at a bus stop along a "Green" Route, on which the bus will operate.

List includes trucking companies, refuse haulers, fleet operators, airports, municipalities and other organizations that have signed new or expanded existing agreements with the company.

Company pursuing similar retrofit certification for 2009, 2011 and 2012 model years of the same Ford E-series vans and wagons, and E-450 cutaway vehicle platforms.

The completion of this testing means all paratransit body configurations that are compatible with the ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas powered Ford E-450 chassis are eligible for FTA funding, including Champion, ElDorado National, Elkhart Coach, Glaval Bus, Goshen Coach and Starcraft Bus.