ElDorado National is now offering a 9.3-liter MaxxForce diesel engine in its E-Z Rider II paratransit bus, giving bus fleets a new option in clean diesel power for the demanding duty cycles of public transportation.

Pace, the suburban bus division of Chicago-area Regional Transportation Authority, recently ordered the first MaxxForce-powered E-Z Rider II bus. Pace serves more than 35 million riders a year throughout a 3,700-square-mile area covering six Chicago-area counties. It operates fixed bus routes, vanpools and dial-a-ride programs. Its vehicle fleet includes 372 paratransit buses.

The MaxxForce 9 engine provides 300 horsepower and 860 lb.-ft. torque for demanding transit applications. The 32-foot low-floor E-Z Rider II, with a 35,000 lb. GVWR, features heavy-duty Meritor axles, large S-cam air brakes, and a transit-proven and crash-tested monocoque safety cage. Together, the engine and paratransit bus are engineered for reliability and durability to meet demanding, real-world operating conditions, according to ElDorado.

To meet strict emissions standards, MaxxForce engines use Navistar's advanced in-cylinder NOx-reduction technology, which provides bus fleets with significant no hassle operational advantages over liquid-urea SCR emissions aftertreatment systems used by other diesel engine OEMs. These advantages include no additional wheelbase length to accommodate additional catalysts, no secondary operating fluid (liquid urea) to add, no additional driver training and ease of maintenance.