New Flyer of America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer in North America, announced that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”) has awarded New Flyer a new contract for five sixty-foot New Flyer Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty, battery-electric zero-emission buses (10 equivalent units).
The award furthers MBTA efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions while establishing safe and reliable transportation for the greater Boston area. The Xcelsior CHARGE buses will be used to demonstrate battery-electric vehicle technology on Silver Line routes. The project, which includes charging infrastructure, is supported by a grant through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Low and No Emission Vehicle Deployment Program (LoNo) and is a result of a partnership between New Flyer, MBTA, and the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE).
As previously announced, New Flyer’s sixty-foot battery-electric transit bus is the first and only sixty-foot battery electric bus to complete the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Model Bus Testing Program, qualifying it for FTA funding.
“Our Xcelsior CHARGE zero-emission buses offer a total capacity of 120-passengers, leading traction and gradeability, improved step height, an expanded door width, and the industry’s best entry ramp for passengers with mobility devices, making it an unmatched accessibility experience in public transit,” said Chris Stoddart, President, New Flyer of America. “Our zero-emission buses will help MBTA to not only reduce emissions in the Greater Boston area, but also deliver industry-leading passenger capacity to move the community with clean, efficient transportation.”
MBTA is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2002, New Flyer has delivered over 750 buses to MBTA, including diesel-electric hybrids and low-emission compressed natural gas (CNG) buses. Today’s battery-electric vehicle award follows MBTA’s recent execution of 194 options for New Flyer heavy-duty, forty-foot Xcelsior diesel-electric transit buses.
New Flyer has over 50 years of experience in manufacturing zero-emission buses (ZEBs), with more electric buses on the road in America than any other manufacturer. It is also the only North American manufacturer offering all three types of zero-emission transit bus (battery-electric, fuel cell-electric, and trolley-electric).
In 2018, New Flyer became the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, joined CharIN to support industry charging standards for all electric vehicles, became the first licensee outside the Volvo Group to join OppCharge in North America, signed CALSTART’s Global Commercial Drive to Zero to support fast-tracking adoption of clean trucks and buses, and also signed the Transportation Electrification Accord focused on driving an equitable and prosperous future for electrified transportation.
