Hybrid bus on display today in Apple Valley

In Dakota County, Cedar Avenue commuters sick of paying $4 for a gallon of gas may soon have a high-speed alternative to the automobile - and this not-so-secret weapon in the war on budget-busting fuel prices ...

[swschrad]

in other news... didja notice all the new Metro Transit buses the last couple of weeks? yellow and blue stripe at the top. even the non-hybrid ones they have coming over the next couple years are more efficient than the 10 to 17 year old ones rattling around now.

[Hoodrat]

do we get to beat the driver?

[slimjim]

swschrad wrote:

in other news... didja notice all the new Metro Transit buses the last couple of weeks? yellow and blue stripe at the top. even the non-hybrid ones they have coming over the next couple years are more efficient than the 10 to 17 year old ones rattling around now.

Yup, pretty sharp looking. The ages for Metro Transit's fleet only range from 1995 to 2003 with the older buses. We have a pretty young fleet here compared to other cities. The FTA recommended life for a transit bus is about 12 years or 500,000 miles. It will be nice to see some of those older Metro buses go away. Keeping them running 14 hours straight 7 days a week certainly wears them out.

[slimjim]

Hoodrat wrote:

do we get to beat the driver?

No

[what a joke]

funny how the article didn't mention that for the extra 200 grand they spent for these they save 1 mile to the gallon and have admitted they will never recoup costs but are doing it for the right reasons.

[slimjim]

what a joke wrote:

funny how the article didn't mention that for the extra 200 grand they spent for these they save 1 mile to the gallon and have admitted they will never recoup costs but are doing it for the right reasons.

Ahh, your talking about the Metro Transit hybrid buses. They buses for the Cedar Ave. project have not been purchased yet.

[Disgruntled Outstater]

Liberals claim that building more traffic lanes will not help congestion. Yet now they want to build a special land for buses only? Even better, the libs will probably take the money from the gas tax funds (user fees) to pay for this new REALLY HOV lane.