New Flyer Industries Canada ULC announced that Grand River Transit (GRT) has awarded New Flyer with a contract for 39 Xcelsior® clean diesel 40-foot, heavy-duty transit buses, and nine Xcelsior® clean diesel 40-foot, bus rapid transit (BR) style heavy-duty transit buses. The order, which incorporated nine new BRT-style buses, converted 39 buses from the option backlog to the firm order backlog.

The purchase, supporting scheduled vehicle replacement, also supports the construction and expansion of GRT’s rapid transit network consisting of ION (which means “going” in Greek) light rail and ION bus rapid transit. Public Transit Infrastructure Funds were used to support the purchase. The 39 buses have been delivered to GRT, with the remaining 9 BRT buses scheduled for delivery in 2018.

Formed in 2000, Grand River Transit provides transit service in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, St. Jacobs and New Hamburg, operating conventional buses, an express bus network, busPLUS service for community routes, and door-to-door transit service for riders with disabilities using specialized vehicles. It operates 70 routes covering more than 16 million kilometres and supporting a ridership of nearly 20 million each year.