San Francisco: Muni’s New Buses of the Future

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has taken delivery of its first New Flyer Industries electric trolley and biodiesel-electric hybrid buses. These two buses represent the next phase of upgrades for SFMTA’s aging vehicle fleet. Sixty brand new electric trolley buses will replace buses that have been in operation for over two decades. Concurrently, through unanimous board of supervisors approval, the SFMTA has purchased 61 new biodiesel-electric hybrid buses. The combined purchases are part of the agency’s five year plan to replace the entire bus fleet.

The introduction of the new low-floor biodiesel hybrid and electric trolley busses coincides with this year’s celebration of Earth Day. The new hybrids will run on B20: a blend of diesel and biodiesel, which is made from recycled oil and fat. The new trolleys will operate on 100 percent hydro-electric power. All of our electricity is hydropower – supplied from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and is carbon neutral. Muni now has one of the most diverse transit fleets in the world and is also the cleanest multimodal fleet in California.

“New 21st century buses are the very cornerstone of San Francisco’s Transit-First policy, making sure Muni is reliable, affordable and safe for our riders,” said Mayor Edwin M. Lee. “The purchase of a new state-of-the-art fleet of electric trolley and hybrid buses, which reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, helps San Francisco lead the way to a sustainable future. By offering real solutions to fighting climate change, we can meet the needs of our thriving economy and growing population.”

Reliability was the impetus for the newly launched Muni Forward initiative. Muni transports more than 700,000 people during a normal weekday and the majority of those daily trips are taken by bus. So Muni Forward’s aim is to prioritize the bus routes that are the workhorses of our transit system, identifying time of day to enhance frequency and extend service hours on Express routes. The cumulative result is more service and less crowding on several major routes. .............(more)

http://www.masstransitmag.com/press_release/12067594/now-arriving-munis-new-buses-of-the-future