North American Bus Industries Inc. (NABI) announced delivery of new hybrid buses to the Westchester County (New York) Bee-Line system. A total of 95 NABI 40-foot, low-floor, diesel hybrid-electric powered buses are scheduled to replace nearly one-third of the county’s entire bus fleet by the end of the year.

The first twelve Bee-Line buses were placed into service in late July 2009, with the deliveries from NABI continuing over the next several months. The low-floor (LFW) buses are being produced at NABI’s Anniston, Ala. manufacturing center using state-of-the-art assembly procedures and NABI's fully automated robotic paint process system.

Funding for the bus purchase includes a combination of 75 percent federal, 15 percent New York state and 10 percent Westchester County. In addition, Westchester County has placed a follow-on order for an additional 11 hybrid powered LFW buses to be delivered in the spring of 2010.  This will take the total NABI hybrid buses operating in the Westchester County system to 106 (30 percent of the Bee-Line fleet).

The new NABI LFW buses are fully accessible with a low-floor design and easy to use ramp for wheelchair boarding through the entrance door.