[Sustain] Newsom unveils first bus in fleet of hybrid muni buses

Fri Apr 13 16:06:26 PDT 2007

  Newsom unveils first bus in fleet of hybrid muni buses

*Photo courtesy DaimlerChrysler.com 
<http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom/0-5-8786-1-617062-1-0-0-0-0-0-8669-7165-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html>*

* By Tamara Barak and Caitlin Cassady, Bay City News Service*

      April 10, 2007

*SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - *Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Municipal 
Transportation Agency chief Nat Ford this morning unveiled the first of 
what will be a fleet of diesel-electric hybrid Muni buses.

"This is part of our effort to have a zero-emission fleet by 2015. The 
hybrids are more fuel efficient, produce less emissions and are less 
costly," than the 20-year-old diesel-powered buses they will replace, 
Newsom said. More than half of Muni's vehicles already run on 
electricity provided by overhead cables.

The new buses are in line with Proposition I, passed by San Francisco 
voters in 2004. The law mandates that Muni replace diesel buses that 
were purchased before 1991 with green powered vehicles.

The city will put about five hybrid buses into service each week until 
it reaches its goal of 86 new vehicles.

The 30-foot and 40-foot buses feature larger passenger windows, as well 
as low floors to accommodate disabled and senior citizen boarding, 
according to Ford.

They will also feature cameras installed in the roof "to deter improper 
behavior on the vehicle," Ford said.

The hybrid vehicles, which feature a small diesel engine that powers an 
electric generator, will save about 20,000 gallons of gas per vehicle 
each year, Ford said.

They will also save the city considerable money in maintenance fees, as 
the hybrid buses are generally considered more reliable, according to Ford.

Once all the buses are acquired, San Francisco's fleet of hybrid 
vehicles will be the third largest in the U.S., Newsom said. New York 
City, Boston and Seattle have also employed the technology.

Muni isn't the only city agency to overhaul its fleet to reduce vehicle 
emissions.

As of March 19, more than 400 garbage collection vehicles in San 
Francisco had changed over to alternative fuels, according to Norcal 
Waste System Inc. spokesman Robert Reed.

The alternative fuels cut greenhouse gas emissions by 5,400 tons per 
year, a 21 percent decrease from when the trucks were using only diesel.

The three companies that work under the umbrella of Norcal Waste System 
Inc. - Sunset Scavenger, Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling and S.F. 
Recycling & Disposal, Inc. - started experimenting with alternative 
fuels in 2001 when they built a liquefied natural gas filling station, 
Reed reported.

The pilot program for the alternative fuel fleet consisted of eight 
transfer trucks and five collection trucks.

The remainder of the fleet was switched over in March and the trucks run 
on liquefied natural gas or biodiesel B-20, a blended fuel, which is 20 
percent biodiesel and 80 percent low-sulfur diesel, according to Reed.

In addition to Muni's efforts to go green, the transit system is also 
attempting to become more user-friendly. Beginning today at 5:30 p.m., 
the SFMTA will offer Fast Passes on its Web site.

For more information, log onto http://www.sfmta.com.

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