Winnipeg Transit to order 20 hybrid buses in March

New tandem electric diesel hybrid bus tested on busy university route

Morgan Modjeski, staff

Winnipeg Transit has taken the first step into integrating a new set of hybrid buses and is currently testing an electric-diesel hybrid “tandem” bus with the expectation of adding 19 more to the system in March 2009.

The tandem bus, also known as an “accordion bus,” is made up of two large compartments that are attached in the middle by a large pivotal centre. The centre turns with the bus and moves up and down while the bus goes over bumps.

In early December, a test tandem bus, on loan to the city from New Flyer Transportation, started running on the 60 Pembina route, which goes from downtown to the University of Manitoba.

“The bus has more capacity, so they are testing it on that high volume route where there are a lot of passengers that can be accommodated by a larger capacity bus,” said Ken Allen, corporate communications officer for Winnipeg Transit.

The trial is expected to run until April 2008, according to mayor Sam Katz’s press secretary Carmen Barnett.

The results of this test bus will determine whether or not the city of Winnipeg and Winnipeg transit will be investing in the purchase of 20 new hybrid buses from New Flyer Transportation, which come at a cost of roughly $1 million each, according to Allen.

“On successful completion of the test, the city will order 20 buses for delivery in 2009,” said Allen. The buses would come at a cost of approximately $20 million.

Barnett said, “Twenty buses will be ordered for the anticipated date of March 2009.”

Allen said that the city is not paying for the current test bus that is running. “We are not being charged specifically for the test bus. We’re paying the cost of licensing, insuring the bus during the test run.”

The test bus is 60.7 feet long and can hold up to 115 passengers (62 seated and 53 standing). The fuel used by the new buses is ultra-low-sulphur diesel.

The new set of buses is supposed to increase ridership and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases, according to a press release from the Manitoba government and the City of Winnipeg.

No formal studies have been conducted on the new bus’s performance or effectiveness as of yet. Studies are scheduled to be conducted after the trial ends in April 2008.

“We’re continuing to evaluate and compare this test bus with our regular service buses and it’s a bit early to say how the test is going right now,” said Allen. “But once the testing phase is completed and the information is in line, we will be in a better position to make a comparison — we did just start testing a few weeks ago.”