1,000th GM-Allison Hybrid-Powered Bus Heading for Las Vegas
Historic delivery caps record-setting year for GM-Allison hybrid system
LAS VEGAS (Jan. 9, 2008) —The 1,000th bus powered by the GM-Allison hybrid system will be delivered here this month to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), GM announced at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show.
The landmark delivery is part of a fleet order by the RTC that will double its fleet of hybrid buses from 30 to 60 operating in the Las Vegas area.
"I'm pleased to announce that we will deliver our 1,000th hybrid bus right here in Las Vegas later this month," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest technology trade show with more than 140,000 attendees.
Those 1,000 GM-Allison hybrid buses, operating in more than 70 cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, will save an estimated 1.4 million gallons of fuel annually, enough to fill 175 tanker trucks.
The milestone delivery to the RTC of Southern Nevada caps a record-setting year for the GM-Allison hybrid system :
- In 2007, more than 400 GM-Allison hybrid-powered buses were produced, with 360 units delivered to 36 cities - the highest annual totals since deliveries began in 2003.
- Seattle's King County Metro Transit Authority awarded a landmark order in May 2007 for 500 buses, most of which will be powered by the GM-Allison hybrid system.
- The first international delivery was made in March 2007 to Dresden, Germany.
"GM has a goal of reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions," said Tom Stephens, GM Group Vice President, Global Powertrain and Global Quality. "GM's commitment to improving fuel economy, reducing vehicle emissions, and developing electrically driven vehicles is not a short-term strategy. We're in this game for the long term. We see energy and environmental leadership as a critical element of GM's ongoing turnaround plan and a key part of our business strategy."
According to a study conducted in 2006 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, transit buses with GM-Allison's hybrid technology deliver up to 75 percent better fuel economy than traditional transit buses, and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) up to 39 percent, particulate matter (PM) up to 97 percent, carbon monoxide up to 60 percent and hydrocarbons up to 75 percent. The report was published in December 2006, and can be viewed at http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/fleettest/pdfs/40585.pdf.
Other benefits include operating sound levels approaching that of passenger cars, reduced maintenance costs resulting from extended brake, engine oil and transmission oil life, superior torque, and improved acceleration.
The clean hybrid technology is licensed by General Motors to Allison Transmission, which manufacturers and sells the hybrid transmission. North American Bus Industries, Inc. manufactured the 1000th bus. North American Bus Industries, Inc. United States headquarters is based in Anniston, Ala.
