Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) is boosting both vehicle efficiency and building efficiency by adding 31 diesel-electric hybrid buses to its fleet and installing a stationary fuel cell as part of a $7 million TIGGER-funded project.

Vehicle efficiency is improved because these innovative buses are powered by an internal combustion, clean diesel engine paired with an electric motor. The design allows the hybrids to store energy in nickel metal hydride batteries, giving the buses extended range, and making them 25% more fuel efficient than comparable clean diesel vehicles. The near-zero emissions buses will help the agency reduce fleet greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and in doing so, this project supports state emission reduction goals. Additionally, it will cut operational costs by reducing diesel fuel consumption in the transit fleet.

CTTRANSIT is the first transit system in the United States to receive this new model of bus from New Flyer, Inc., which previously supplied hybrid diesel electric buses to the agency. The latest models—fourteen 40-foot vehicles that seat 38 passengers, and seventeen 35-foot buses that carry 30 riders—are also equipped with efficient LED lighting inside and out. Furthermore, the buses have more windows for passengers and significant upgrades in noise reduction.

The new state-of-the-art vehicles will be supplied to the New Haven and the Waterbury divisions. The price tag of a new 40-foot bus is about $560,000, compared to the $385,000 approximate cost of a comparable clean diesel bus. With the addition of these new diesel-electric hybrid buses, CTTRANSIT will now operate 33 diesel-electric hybrid buses and 5 hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses.