850 Diesel Hybrid Buses for New York City

Today a lot of eco-friendly enthusiasts are looking forward to coming of new types of hybrid vehicles that shall be able to combine various sources of fuel or, which is even better, to work only from electricity. At the same time many large industrial cities are now ordering the hybrid buses that combine standard fuel engine and electric motor. For example MTA, the agency responsible for New York public transit, has placed an order for 850 Orion VII hybrid diesel-electric buses to Daimler AG.
When the agency gets these buses this will allow making its hybrid bus fleet the largest in the world, as the amount of hybrid buses is expected to achieve 1.700.

This type of buses was chosen as it is equipped with by BAE Systems’ HybriDrive technology. This type of engine is more than 30 percent more efficient than standard diesel engines. These buses are powered by an electric engine which is in its turn powered by a diesel-driven generator unlike other hybrid vehicles.
The only function of this diesel engine is powering the generator which is producing electricity for the motor.
According to Daimler these buses are less harmful for the environment as their soot production is 90 percent less. This is achieved because the diesel engine runs with the same speed when powering the generator. Conventional buses vary its speed when it starts and stops.
These buses are also provided with regenerative breaking technology which uses the drive motor in order to reduce the speed of the bus. This help turn the motor into the generator to produce the power which then will be stored in batteries and used to move the bus when necessary.
This order allows providing for New York City Transit with 745 buses and MTA Bus with 105 buses. The order is expected to be fulfilled by 2010.
Ottawa’s public transport agency also has placed the order for 202 buses of the same hybrid-electric diesel type.
[VIA: hybridcars.com]