Medialink (June 2007) — Seattle’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and target global warming are among the most aggressive in the U.S. Due to this strong environmental leadership, the city has one of the greenest transit agencies in the nation. Now with the addition of 500 more buses, they will have the largest fleet of hybrid-articulated buses in history with a total of 736 buses and hope other major cities will quickly follow suit.

Powered by hybrid technology from General Motors, GM’s strategy is to save as many gallons of fuel as possible by applying the technology first to high-volume and high fuel-consuming vehicles such as mass transit buses and SUVs. Currently, more than 700 buses with GM’s 2-mode hybrid system have been delivered to 54 cities across the U.S. and Canada, saving an estimated 1 million gallons of fuel annually. The addition of these 500 buses, will bring the total to more than 1,200 buses, saving an estimated 1.75 million gallons of fuel annually.

In fact, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted a one-year comparative study between conventional diesel buses and diesel hybrid electric articulated buses currently in Seattle. The report showed that the hybrid powered buses had a 27 percent higher fuel economy on average when compared to the convention diesel buses and total operating cost were lowered by 15 percent. The full study can be viewed at: http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/fleettest/pdfs/40585.pdf.

Transit buses with the 2-mode hybrid system deliver significantly better fuel economy than traditional transit buses, cut certain emissions up to 90 percent and have operating sound levels approaching that of passenger cars. Other benefits of the hybrid system include reduced maintenance costs resulting from extended brake, engine oil and transmission oil life, superior torque, and improved acceleration.

Produced for General Motors

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