CTA Orders 58 Articulated Hybrid Buses
- By Kevin Zolkiewicz
The CTA will receive 58 articulated hybrid buses from New Flyer of America, CTA President Richard Rodriguez announced this morning at the monthly meeting of the Chicago Transit Board. The $49 million purchase was made possible through federal stimulus funding.
The additional 60-foot buses will help fill the gap left by the sudden pulling of the NABI articulated bus fleet in February. The NABI buses, which totaled approximately 220 at the time, were parked after a bus experienced a structural failure in its articulation joint. The fate of the NABI buses continues to remain unknown as the CTA awaits an independent consultant’s report.
Delivery of the newly purchased buses is scheduled to begin in June. The CTA will possess a total of 208 New Flyer articulated hybrid buses following completion of the delivery in October. Last year, the CTA agreed to lease 150 articulated hybrid buses from New Flyer at a cost of $13.4 million per year. Delivery of those buses, numbered 4000 to 4149, is currently nearing completion. Today’s order is expected to continue the 4000-series numbering, running from 4150 to 4207.
New Flyer had already announced last October that CTA exercised options for 58 articulated hybrid buses. The manufacture later announced the awarding of a contract for up to 900 articulated hybrid buses, with a base order of 145 buses. The CTA has yet to make any announcements regarding the 900 bus contract. Initial funding for the contract could be provided through the recently-passed state capital program, which allocates approximately $172 million for the purchase of new buses.