Athens Transit has unveiled the county’s new hybrid electric buses. The 12 new low emission diesel hybrid electric buses are the first hybrid buses in the ACC Transit fleet. County manager Blaine Williams says they were purchased with a combination of local, state, and federal funds for $8.4 million.
"The mayor and commission approved a grant application for $6 million dollars to the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority to purchase ten hybrid electric buses. And we were awarded those funds. And actually had some other federal grant money we pulled together, along with 2011 SPLOST money to purchase the 12 buses," said Williams.
They are replacing 12 older buses that are experiencing higher operating and maintenance costs. Two buses were placed into service Friday and the rest will go into service this week. According the county Public Information Office, the new buses will more than double the fuel efficiency of the buses they are replacing and will improve fuel use by up to 125% over a typical bus. Overall, they are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 15%.
"We're replacing half our fleet with a much more fuel efficient vehicle. Which will obviously have savings on fuel, and that's helpful to the transit department. As well as this reflects the mayor and commission's values and the community values about being more environmentally sensitive as well," said Williams.
ACC Transit will place an additional three hybrid electric buses into service in the spring of 2019 from other funding sources.
The county will host a dedication ceremony for the new addition to the fleet Friday, February 23rd at 1 pm. The ceremony will take place at the ACC Multimodal Transportation Center.
The new buses have internal and external security cameras, automated passenger counters, and a new Automated Vehicle Locating system that allows customers to track buses through the MyStop app or the Transit website and receive bus arrival notifications through email or text messages.
For more information visit www.accgov.com/transit.
