El Paso, Texas-based Sun Metro awarded New Flyer a contract for up to 202 Xcelsior CNG heavy-duty buses.

The five-year contract contains a firm order for 13 CNG 60-foot buses and nine CNG 40-foot buses. Additionally, the contract includes four, one-year options for up to 108 60-foot CNG buses and up to 72 40-foot CNG buses.

The order will increase the number of CNG buses in the Sun Metro fleet of 232 transit buses that are nearly all CNG-fueled. New Flyer has previously built and delivered 60 buses for El Paso’s fleet, in both liquid and compressed natural gas propulsions.

New Flyer has nearly 20 years of experience developing CNG systems and delivering well over 4,700 CNG buses. Additional vehicle benefits include a 20-year-certified CNG tank and a fire-suppression system that comes as a standard feature on all New Flyer natural gas buses.

“We feel privileged to partner once again with El Paso as their bus manufacturer,” said Paul Soubry, president/CEO of New Flyer. “This will be El Paso’s first experience with our ‘best in class’ Xcelsior platform. Among the many features of the Xcelsior will increase the efficiency of El Paso’s transit routes and provide a more enjoyable experience for all of its riders.”

The 22, 40-foot and 60-foot buses are anticipated to begin production in the third quarter of 2013, with an expected delivery in the first quarter of 2014.