. DaimlerChrysler and Metropolitan Transit
Authority Celebrate Clean Air in New York with Orion hybrid buses
"Blue Sky Merit
Award" of environmental organization Calstart for Metropolitan
Transit Authority's hybrid commitment
Major Order of
500 buses with option to add 389 more units to city service
Stuttgart/New York
- Andreas Renschler, Head of DaimlerChrysler's Commercial Vehicles
Division, gathered today with New York state's Metropolitan Transit
Authority (MTA) Chairman Peter Kalikow and New York City Transit
President Lawrence Reuter to celebrate the improvements to New York
City's quality of life provided by the hybrid diesel-electric buses
produced by Orion, DaimlerChrysler's North American city bus brand.
"Celebration of Cleaner and Smarter Transit" was the motto of the
event.
Renschler also transferred
the "Blue Sky Merit Award" on behalf of the environmental organization
Calstart to MTA for their leadership in the early use, commitment
to and support of fuel-saving hybrid technology. The award recognizes
that half of alternative transit hybrids on order or delivered in
the US are New York's.
MTA's subsidiaries
MTA Bus and New York City Transit recently ordered an additional
500 Orion VII transit buses with HybriDrive® propulsion, which are
assembled in Oriskany, NY, to increase their hybrid fleet to 825
by the middle of 2007. In addition, MTA took an option which could
add further 389 units to city service.
"We were proud
when our Orion VII was chosen by the MTA and New York City
Transit to reduce emissions, improve fuel economy and lessen
the noise of its transit fleet," said Andreas Renschler,
the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management member responsible
for commercial vehicles.
"And we are
even prouder that the buses' performance during daily use
in the world's toughest urban bus system has led to an order
of 500 additional units." Renschler emphasized that innovative
emission technologies were the basis for future products,
being not only an important factor in competition but also
part of DaimlerChrysler Commercial Vehicles Division's optimization
program "Global Excellence".
When compared to traditional
diesel transit buses operating in New York, the Orion VII shows significant
reductions in fuel use, pollution and noise produced. DaimlerChrysler has
a long tradition in pioneering hybrid drive systems, with the first hybrid
bus displayed on the Frankfurt International Auto Show, IAA, in 1969.
"Every Orion hybrid on the
streets replacing a diesel bus means a cleaner and quieter environment for
all New Yorkers," said Renschler. "The hybrid system includes a diesel engine
with nearly half the size of a standard diesel-bus engine, a generator and
batteries."
At the heart of the Orion VII
hybrid bus is the HybriDrive® propulsion system provided by BAE Systems
of Johnson City, N.Y. The system propels the bus with a single electric
motor powered by a diesel-driven generator. The diesel engine provides the
generating power which also charges the system's batteries. The batteries
are the source of additional electrical power for high demand situations,
such as fast starts and hill climbs. The diesel engine in a hybrid like
the Orion VII is optimized to run at relatively constant speeds or maximum
efficiency and clean operation. Acceleration and deceleration are accomplished
by varying the speed of the electric motor, not the diesel.
Another feature of the Orion
VII hybrid is the regenerative braking system that uses the electric drive
motor to slow the bus, effectively turning the motor into a generator to
help recharge the bus batteries. This feature both saves energy and significantly
reduces brake wear. The series hybrid design also eliminates the need for
a mechanical transmission which means no transmission overhauls, a major
maintenance item on conventional buses.
