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San Francisco approves purchase of 45 new hybrid electric buses

Green Car Congress

The Board of Directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all transportation in the city, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), recently approved the purchase of 45 new hybrid electric 40-foot buses from New Flyer Industries. These new vehicles will replace 13-year-old buses currently in service.

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Mn/DOT assessing potential for mileage-based user fee to replace fuel tax; Battelle conducting technology assessment

Green Car Congress

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) will recruit 500 people from Wright and Hennepin counties to take part in research to test technology that could someday be used to collect a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) in lieu of a gasoline tax. These funding sources support construction and maintenance of the highway system.

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Voith introduces topography-dependent shifting program SensoTop for N. American city transit buses

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SensoTop is based on Voith’s DIWA transmission system, but is equipped with an additional maintenance-free inclination sensor which will automatically adapt gear-shifts based on topography of the bus route. The technology is currently being tested in a number of North American cities, including Portland, Oregon and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

San Diego 210
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Why Schools Should Electrify Their Bus Fleets

Blink Charging

While electric school buses cost more than diesel buses to purchase, the savings in fuel and maintenance costs even out over the lifetime of the bus. In fact, one study found that EV fleet managers could enjoy 75% reduction in maintenance costs after electrifying their fleet!

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US DOT Awards $100M in Recovery Act Funds to 43 Transit Projects to Reduce Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Laredo Bus Facility Solar Canopies: Provide shade structures with integrated, grid tied photovoltaic cells to be erected on the bus storage lot at the Laredo Bus Maintenance Facility. This grant would allow ConnDOT to upgrade the upcoming purchases of buses and would fund the incremental cost of a hybrid bus compared to a conventional bus.

Emissions 256
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DOE announces $139M in funding for 55 projects to advance innovative vehicle technologies

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Regents of University of Minnesota. Field Demonstration of a Near-Zero, Tier 5 compliant, Natural Gas Hybrid Line-Haul Locomotive. VoICE-MR: Vocation Integrated Cost Estimation for Maintenance and Repair of Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV). Regents of the University of Minnesota. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

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ARPA-E awards $32M to 10 new projects to improve connected and automated vehicle efficiency

Green Car Congress

The vehicle will be further augmented with a hybrid-electric system to broaden the engine control technology operating range. The GM team draws on experience in engine technologies and connected and autonomous vehicles to expedite the project development process. Michigan Technological University. The University of California, Riverside.

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