New Flyer Industries Inc., manufacturer of heavy-duty transit vehicles in Canada and the U.S., has received orders over the last three months for up to 845 buses (1,162 equivalent production units or “EUs”), for a combined value of $484 million.

Of these orders, 584 buses (784 EUs) are new orders and 261 (378 EUs) are exercised options. These orders, when combined with previously-reported orders, bring the total number of buses ordered in 2008 to 3,332 (4,278 EUs), for a total of $1.78 billion in sales.

These orders are for a variety of vehicle configurations, including 35-, 40- and 60-foot buses with clean diesel, hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) propulsion systems.

Omnitrans in San Bernardino, Calif. has ordered up to 274 40-foot CNG buses (total firm orders and options). With this order, Omnitrans has ordered a total 431 CNG buses from New Flyer, making it one of the largest natural gas fleets in North America.