After 10 years of working toward improving the environment, the Capitol Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, furthered its goal by purchasing three diesel, hybrid electric buses.
The buses, which are the first of their kind to be used in the state of Michigan, will create less emissions than other CATA buses and provide a smoother ride for customers, said Sandy Draggoo, executive director and CEO of CATA.
CATA plans to begin building the buses into their regular routes as soon as Aug. 21.
"It is our mission to provide safe, reliable transportation," Draggoo said in a statement. "And we want to help keep the air clean while we're making that happen."
Craig Allen, director of maintenance at CATA, said he's known about the new technology for 10 years and hopes more of these buses are incorporated into the CATA fleet.
"We have plans to purchase more in the future," he said. "We will continue to invest in hybrid technology and we also, as technology merges and new technology is created, will always look at the vehicles that will continue our clean air initiatives. We want our customers to be given reliable and efficient equipment as well."
Each bus costs $508,900 according to a press release.
"Eighty percent of the funding came from federal funding, while the other 20 percent came from state funding," Draggoo said.
Pete Porciello, an air quality specialist for the Michigan Department of Transportation, or MDOT, said that some of the funding came from his department and added that he thought the buses were a good idea.
"(These buses) are better and use less fuel and put out less emissions," he said. "This is one of the better technologies used now since they are cleaner than normal buses."
Allen said CATA expects to save money on different expenses with the purchases of these buses.
"We can save 250 gallons (of fuel) a month," he said. "We're also looking at significant maintenance reductions with prolonged break life."
The diesel, electric hybrid switches between using electric power and diesel power depending on how fast the bus is going, Allen said.
Depending on driving conditions, from zero to 25 mph, the bus uses electric power and then switches to a combination of diesel and electric power from 26-40 mph.
Anything above 40 mph is propelled by only diesel power, according to a press release.
"It doesn't take fuel to accelerate the bus," Porciello said.
CATA's clean air initiatives have surpassed the state mandates, Allen said.
"Everything we've done since 1996, we've progressively taken steps to reduce our emission output and in most cases we are advanced to compliance regulation."
Draggoo said she hopes riders and others will notice the faster acceleration and smoother rides these buses have to offer.
"Customers and people in cars will notice the differences," she said. "They will love these buses."
