[IMAGE]artic-cttransit-2--2.jpg[/IMAGE]Connecticut-based CTTRANSIT recently debuted 25 NOVA 60-foot articulated diesel buses; the first articulated buses in the state.

Currently, the new buses are operating in two CTTRANSIT divisions, with 13 buses in Stamford and 12 in Greater New Haven. The Hartford Division will receive 10 more buses by the summer that will be delivered with a hybrid-electric drive system.

The arrival of these buses required several modifications. While the new CTTRANSIT New Haven Division operations facility was built specifically with the 60-foot buses in mind, the Stamford facility needed a modified service lane and new exhaust reels to vent emissions. The Hartford garage needed a fall arrest system, to protect the maintenance staff when they work on top of the new buses, maintaining the air conditioning and hybrid-electric systems.

[IMAGE]CTTRANSIThybrid-2--2.jpg[/IMAGE]In addition to the artics, new state-of-the-art hybrid-electric buses debuted in New Haven on the same day. CTTRANSIT is the first U.S. transit system to operate New Flyer's Xcelsior hybrids. Fourteen of these buses will go to the New Haven fleet, while the Waterbury division is receiving seventeen 35-foot hybrids of this model.

These hybrid buses are powered by a combination of an internal combustion clean-diesel engine paired with a generator, electric storage system and an electric motor. New state-of-the-art small and lightweight lithium-ion batteries provide an extended range for the bus.

The hybrids' new, smaller engine meets the EPA's 2010 near-zero emissions requirement. The hybrid bus design provides for a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy compared to a standard new clean diesel bus.

Both types of buses are replacing 15-year-old buses in the CTTRANSIT operating fleet.