BAE Systems to Power Hybrid Buses in Everett, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia

BAE Systems is expanding its support of cleaner, greener transit with new hybrid buses powered by the company’s HybriDrive system in Everett, Washington, and Atlanta, Georgia.

The hybrid propulsion systems will power 15 New Flyer Xcelsior 40-foot hybrid buses for Community Transit, serving residents of Everett, Washington.

In Atlanta, HybriDrive technology will power two 35-foot Xcelsior buses for Atlantic Station, a residential and commercial community designed for smart growth and sustainable development through optimal land, air, and water quality resource management. Operated and maintained by Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, the buses will transport Atlantic Station residents to local MARTA rail stations.

The buses will be equipped with BAE Systems’ lithium-ion energy storage system, which offers longer life than other battery technologies and reduces vehicle weight for improved fuel economy and lower emissions.

The HybriDrive system dramatically reduces emissions and increases fuel economy while meeting the durability requirements of demanding urban transit operations. It consists of a generator, an electric motor, and an energy storage system managed by computerized controls. A diesel engine turns the generator and operates independent of the electric drive motor, allowing it to run at nearly consistent speed for optimum efficiency. The system also uses no mechanical transmission, a major maintenance item on conventional diesel buses.

BAE Systems’ HybriDrive technology currently powers more than 2,700 buses in cities across North America and in the United Kingdom and has transported more than a billion passengers in New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, Houston, Seattle, London, and Oxford, U.K. To date, the buses have accumulated more than 150 million miles of passenger travel and have saved more than 10 million gallons of diesel fuel, while also preventing the release of more than 100,000 tons of carbon emissions.