By Green Car Congress on 08/26/2010 – 2:05 pm PDTLeave a Comment .The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has awarded New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc. a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas (CNG) heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. This order adds approximately US$216 million to the current New Flyer backlog.

These CNG buses will be operated by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) and the MTA Bus Company (MTA Bus). Two pilot buses will be delivered to the MTA in the second quarter of 2011, with the balance of the base order delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and early 2012. The MTA is the largest transit agency in North America, and is responsible for public transportation in the state of New York.

In addition to providing bus service through the NYCTA, MTA Bus, and Long Island Bus, MTA also manages commuter rail lines, subways, bridges and tunnels. It transports more than 11 million passengers on an average weekday and accounts for approximately 30% of all transit trips in the US.

New Flyer was selected for this procurement after an extensive evaluation process for its ability to build reliable, high-quality transit buses. New Flyer currently has an agreement with MTA to provide warranty and campaign support services on site in New York demonstrating the “best bus value and support for life” approach actively deployed by New Flyer.

To date, New Flyer is ahead of the campaign support schedule specified in the agreement and costs have been maintained within estimates provided in the Company’s warranty provisions. Since 1996, New Flyer has delivered 823 buses to the MTA, including 630 60-foot diesel buses, three 45-foot diesel buses and 190 40-foot CNG buses for a total of 1,453 EUs.

Although Cummins Westport has not received a specific purchase order regarding the afore mentioned award, the company expects that it would be the supplier of natural gas engines for this order.

New Flyer is the leader in integrated CNG fuel systems, with its first deliveries of CNG buses in 1994 to San Diego; the company has delivered more than 3,500 CNG buses over the past 15 years.

Buck