According to the company, the LAUSD transportation services, which currently operates more than 300 natural gas buses, have chosen the their CNG school busses because of their low emission characteristics.
These CNG busses are claimed to have complied with the US EPA 2010 emissions standards since 2007, meeting the state’s California Air Resources Board (CARB) limits.
The company which also uses alternative drive systems, including hybrid technology, in commercial vehicles, is believed to have so far obtained contracts to deliver more than 3,000 Orion buses with hybrid systems.
The company delivered 25 Orion VII CNG transit buses to four transit agencies in California and four medium-duty Freightliner Business Class M2 106 Hybrid trucks to the city of Denver to be used for forestry, traffic signal, and traffic sign repair last month.
DTNA also opened a Local Hybrid Application Center at its Portland location for the research and development of hybrid technology in North America.
The new contracts reflect Daimler’s ‘Shaping Future Transportation’ initiative for commercial vehicles that focuses on the use clean and efficient drive systems along with alternative fuels in order to realize the vision of zero-emission commercial vehicles.
Kelley Platt, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, said: “We welcome this opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and enhanced passenger safety. LAUSD underscores its commitment to sound environmental strategies with its selection of 130 additional school buses that incorporate clean-fuel technologies.”
