News from King County Department of Transportation
Release date:  May 16, 2007

FACT SHEET: Metro Transit bus contract

• King County Metro Transit is signing a five-year contract with New Flyer of America to purchase up to 500 articulated buses to both expand the transit system and replace aging buses.
  
• This is one of the largest articulated bus orders ever placed in North American transit history.
  
• A majority of the buses will likely be hybrid diesel-electric coaches. All will meet or exceed the latest federal environmental emission standards.
  
• The contract is structured similar to those used in the aviation industry. It will give Metro the flexibility to order different types of buses and components designed for specific uses.
  
• The first order is for 22 hybrid articulated coaches to be delivered in 2008. These buses will be built by New Flyer of America using a hybrid drive built by General Motors and an engine built by Cummins Engine Company.
  
• By 2009, Metro expects to place another order for as many as 100 European-style coaches for the first of its “RapidRide” lines. These buses will have a distinctive look that is different from current Metro coaches and will be used on five bus rapid transit lines now being planned.
  
• The order could be worth at least $400 million over the life of the contract.  Metro will pay $719,000 per bus for its initial order of 22 buses. Each future order will stand on its own, and is subject to a rigorous cost analysis.
  
• The buses will be paid for through a combination of local, state and federal funding sources – including revenue from the “Transit Now” sales tax initiative approved by voters last fall. The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will provide approximately 80 percent of the funding.
  
• Metro advertised nationally to request competitive proposals for this purchase. Only two bus builders in North America offer articulated buses that comply with requirements mandated by the FTA. Only New Flyer of America submitted a proposal. A publicly advertised solicitation that yields no competition triggers additional FTA requirements for Metro to analyze the offer and negotiate a fair and reasonable price.
  
• Since first acquiring hybrid buses in 2004, Metro has seen a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to its conventional diesel fleet. The hybrids are also proving to be 40 percent more reliable than their articulated diesel counterparts in terms of mechanical breakdowns.
  
• The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted a one-year comparative study between conventional diesel buses and GM hybrid-powered buses operating on a typical King County Metro drive cycle. The NREL report showed that the hybrid buses had a 30 percent higher fuel economy on average when compared to the conventional diesel buses and total operating cost were lowered by 15 percent.
  
• During drive cycle testing, the NREL results showed that the hybrid powered lowered fuel consumption by 23 percent; nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 18 percent; carbon monoxide (CO) by 60 percent; and total hydrocarbon (THC) by 56 percent when compared to conventional diesel buses.
  
• Metro Transit is one of the “greenest” transit agencies in the nation. The fleet of 1,350 buses and 800 vans includes hybrid-diesel electric buses, electric trolley buses, and diesel coaches that run on the cleanest fuels available. Metro is a nationwide leader in the use of alternative fuel. The majority of its fleet operates on a 20 percent mix of biodiesel and ultra low sulfur diesel fuel.