New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., an independent global bus manufacturer, says King County Metro, a public transit company operating out of King County, Wash., has agreed to purchase 40 zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses from New Flyer, with plans to order an additional 80 battery-electric buses in the coming year.
Upon execution of the purchase agreement with Metro, the order will be added to New Flyer’s backlog.
Metro’s agreement to purchase up to 120 new battery-electric buses was celebrated by King County Executive Dow Constantine, alongside Metro General Manager Rob Gannon, with a bus demonstration at Metro’s South Training Facility in Seattle. The announcement follows Metro’s 2018 electric bus evaluation program, which used New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE buses, and is a major milestone in the county’s efforts to improve air quality, reduce carbon and create a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040 or earlier.
“Metro is a proven climate leader in America, and today’s announcement brings us even closer to the reality of a 100 percent zero-emission fleet,” says Chris Stoddart, president of New Flyer of America. “For over 40 years, we’ve proudly supported Metro with over 1,800 buses in pursuit of sustainable mobility, and together, this next step drives a major milestone that not only reduces Metro’s carbon footprint in King County, but improves air quality and helps to build a more livable community for everyone.”
New Flyer is proud to lead the industry in mobility solutions with the latest zero-emission buses, technology and infrastructure that together help build sustainable public transit across the U.S. New Flyer has more than 50 years of experience in manufacturing zero-emission buses with more electric buses on the road in America than any other manufacturer.
Photo: The zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit bus
