Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti bus fleet to get 10 more hybrids

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will be getting a seven-figure boost to help purchase 10 new hybrid electric buses for its fleet.

TheRide will receive $1,697,350 from the U.S. Dept of Transportation (DOT), to purchase new buses next year. Congressman John D. Dingell (D-Dearborn) made the announcement last week; this grant comes through the Clean Fuels Bus and Bus Facilities Program.

The 10 new hybrid electric vehicles will raise the number of hybrids in the fleet to 41 out of a total of 78 buses. That could make for significant savings: In its first two years of operating with hybrid vehicles, TheRide saved more than 100,000 gallons of fuel and $270,000 in fuel costs, a 30 percent savings.

This isn't the first time TheRide, which has bus routes through the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and surrounding townships, has invested in environmentally friendly buses: In the 1980s and '90s, the bus fleet was converted to a clean diesel system, and has used ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel since 2002. It began converting its fleet to hybrid electric buses three years ago.

This funding announcement is the latest in a string of transportation-related grants recently announced, including $1 million for improvements to the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor, $13.9 million for reconstruction of bridges on Stadium Boulevard, and $150 million to develop a high-speed corridor between Kalamazoo and Dearborn.

Source: Ann Arbor Transportation Authority; office of Congressman John Dingell
Writer: Kristin Lukowski