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S.J. County Contracts for 50 Diesel-Electric Hybrid Buses

Posted on: Sunday, 27 November 2005, 15:00 CST

By Erin Sherbert, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Nov. 27--San Joaquin County will have cleaner and more environmentally friendly buses when the San Joaquin Regional Transit District rolls out new diesel-electric hybrid buses next year.

The district board recently awarded a contract to buy 50 new hybrids to replace the oldest and dirtiest buses in the fleet, said Paul Rapp, a spokesman for the district. The hybrids will serve Stockton and routes to other cities in the county.

Rapp said the district already has three hybrid buses and plans to eventually replace all 131 of its buses with hybrids.

Diesel-electric buses are designed to save fuel and lower emissions by as much as 90 percent, Rapp said. Though the hybrids are more expensive than diesel buses, the fuel savings make up that difference, he added.

By using less diesel fuel, the hybrids will emit less carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, both of which pollute the air.

"Those are the goals -- reducing fuel cost and running a cleaner fleet," Rapp said.

The hybrids will have a better design, with larger doors and better wheelchair ramps. The front of the buses will be at curb level so riders with mobility issues can get onto the buses, he said.

Barbara Toler, a Tracy resident who frequently rides the bus to Stockton, says she would like to see buses that are bigger and easier to board. "That would make accessibility easier," she said.

The district board awarded the $78 million contract last week to Gillig Corp. of Hayward, which included buses for 11 other transit agencies, most of which are from California. Rapp said by buying the buses together, it saved each agency about $50,000 per bus.

The district's 50 buses cost more than $20 million, most of which is covered with federal grant money. The remaining money will come from state and local funds, Rapp said.

Eventually, the district wants to operate a fleet of hybrid fuel-cell buses, which emit no emissions, he said.

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Source: The Record

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