The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) awarded New Flyer a contract for 12 Xcelsior CHARGE™ battery-electric, 40-foot heavy-duty transit buses, with options to purchase up to 63 additional zero-emission buses in 35- or 40-foot lengths throughout the remaining term of the five-year agreement.

CTDOT owns and operates nearly all public transportation services in Connecticut, delivering more than 27 million annual trips. Its CTtransit bus system is the state’s largest — supporting eight urban areas — and includes CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit system launched in 2015.

The purchase, supported by Federal Transit Administration funds, furthers the CTDOT Electric Bus Initiative, a partnership between CTDOT, CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and bus transit providers that has committed to providing a safe, reliable, and sustainable clean energy transportation system.

“We are thrilled to be developing — and soon operating — the first full-sized automated buses in revenue service in North America,” said Dennis Solensky, transit administrator, CTDOT. “And, we believe we have assembled a world class team to lead and accomplish this remarkable challenge.”

New Flyer technology is powering CTDOT's pursuit of sustainable integrated mobility. In 2020, New Flyer announced in partnership with CTDOT, Robotic Research, and the Center for Transportation and the Environment, that it would deploy North America’s first automated transit bus on CTfastrak with a battery-electric, Society of Automotive Engineers J3016 Level 4 automated transit bus.