The Capital District Transit Authority (CDTA) in Albany, New York, is reducing its fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the number of hybrid buses in its fleet.

The CDTA fleet includes 250 vehicles, 200 of which were purchased between 1997 and 2000 and now are at or near the end of their service life. CDTA is purchasing 40 new buses, including three hybrid electric buses, to replace some of its older vehicles.

To boost the number of hybrid buses in CDTA’s fleet,  the TIGGER Program is covering the incremental cost of upgrading 20 of the new buses with hybrid electric propulsion systems. All told, the transit agency will add 23 new hybrid electric buses to its fleet.

Hybrid electric vehicles are particularly suited to the repetitive starting and stopping typical of a city bus route—braking energy, stored in the onboard battery system, is used for acceleration after passenger loading.

CDTA’s new high-efficiency hybrid electric buses, manufactured by Gillig Corporation, will use less diesel fuel than standard diesel buses. Upgrading 20 buses to hybrid electric technology will save CDTA an estimated 90,600 gallons of diesel fuel a year. Based on a $2.51 per gallon cost of diesel fuel, the transit agency will realize an annual savings of $227,400. Such savings will result in a payback period of less than nine years.

In addition to saving fuel, the hybrid electric buses will result in cleaner air for the capital district community. Compared to conventional diesel buses, the new hybrid electric buses will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 716.5 tons of carbon dioxide and 11.5 tons of oxides of nitrogen.