Council to embark on $3.5M purchase of 3 hybrid transit buses

The fleet management report recommends the purchase of the three hybrid buses. Despite higher upfront costs — a new hybrid transit bus costs approximately $337,000 more than a diesel bus — municipal officials are confident savings will be realized through lower fuel and maintenance costs. A diesel bus retails for $850,000 while the hybrid bus price is $1,187,000. The report indicates the new hybrid buses will not arrive until 2025 due to factory delays when all of the three identified diesel buses will be out of use. BayToday inquired about the financial and operational efficiencies the municipality expects to realize in the switch to hybrid transit buses.