New Flyer Industries Inc. signed a new three-year agreement with Metrolinx for up to 287 diesel and/or diesel-electric hybrid 40-foot heavy-duty transit buses. Orders and deliveries under this agreement are expected to occur between 2011 and 2013.

Under this program, participating agencies located in the Province of Ontario can acquire new buses with additional provincial financial support. This Metrolinx contract is for New Flyer's newest bus model, Xcelsior.

Metrolinx, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was created in 2006 and is an agency of the Ontario government. Its mission is to integrate and improve all modes of transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area of the province. Several Ontario municipalities and regions are participants in this contract, including Barrie, Burlington, Durham Region, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Milton, North Bay, St. Catharines, Welland, Windsor and York Region.

Additional Ontario municipalities may also be able to participate in this agreement providing they meet certain conditions. To date, the following transit systems have obtained board approval for purchases of buses to be built in 2011 as part of this contract:

• Windsor Transit - five hybrid buses

• Durham Region - fifteen diesel buses

• London Transit - twelve diesel and hybrid buses

This is the third such contract awarded by Metrolinx, and all three have been awarded to New Flyer. New Flyer has delivered a total of 378 buses to 13 Metrolinx participants under the first two contracts. Since 1988, New Flyer has delivered over 2,800 buses in Ontario, 68 of which have been the new Xcelsior models.