Powering Boston's bendy buses

Our HDS300 hybrid-electric propulsion systems will soon be powering 44 articulated buses in Boston with an option for 46 more as part of our largest HDS300 order to date. New Flyer will install these systems on 60-foot Xcelsior^® diesel electric hybrid buses, and deliver them to the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority.

Articulated buses are often found in highly-populated cities since they carry more passengers with a length of 60 feet as opposed to their standard counterparts, which are typically 40 feet in length. The 60-foot buses are comprised of two bus bodies linked by a pivoting joint, hence the nickname, “bendy bus.”

Due to their length and body mass, these “bendy buses” require power systems that can handle increased power, torque, and weight, making them a match for our HDS300 system. This system is capable of powering a bus of up to 63,000 pounds, easily climbing steep hills and sustaining speeds of up to 65 miles per hour.

“We began offering the HDS300 system for North American articulated buses with New Flyer in 2013 and are powering 60-foot transit buses in cities such as Santa Clara, Honolulu, San Francisco, Seattle, and now Boston,” says Bob Lamanna, director of Global Transit Sales and Service. We expect the number of BAE Systems-powered articulated buses to grow as our customer Nova Bus begins to produce 60-foot buses with our HDS300 propulsion system. Transit member agencies as part of the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ) have 31 systems on order from Nova Bus for 2016, 15 in 2017 and Nova Bus mentioned they are seeing interest from other transit agencies now that they are offering BAE Systems’ propulsion.

Learn more about our Hybrid-electric propulsion system.