AATA to put more hybrid buses on road, builds new shelters

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 | Source: Concentrate

Now that more people are riding the bus in Washtenaw County, more hybrid buses are being brought on line by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. Better yet, much-needed shelters are popping up around town.

New shelters have been installed at seven Ann Arbor area bus stops. Each has surpassed a 50 passenger per day average. That makes for 22 new shelters installed so far this year bringing the total to 90 on AATA routes. More are planned for next year.

And since seven seems to be the lucky number, seven new hybrid buses are set to go into service next April. AATA began adding the fuel-efficient vehicles to their fleet last year. Currently 20 out of the 69 buses in service are hybrid.

"We are eventually going to replace the entire fleet, but only as they reach the end of their nine-year lifespan," says Lois Crawford, spokeswoman for AATA.

The hybrid buses are built by Hayward, California-based Gillig Corp and are significantly more fuel efficient. AATA expects to buy 80,000 fewer gallons (10 percent) of B10 bio-diesel this year because of them.

The hybrid buses also produce lower levels of pollution, making them a key component of Mayor John Hieftje's initiative to make Ann Arbor more environmentally friendly. Recently, the city started a campaign to transition all its facilities to 30% renewable energy by 2010.

Source: Lois Crawford, spokeswoman for AATA
Writer: Jon Zemke