Winnipeg Transit's efforts to go green with long, so-called "bendy" buses partially powered by electricity appear to have crashed.
The introduction of 20 of the so-called articulated, approximately 60-foot-long diesel-electric hybrid buses for the city fleet is poised to be scuttled because of poor performance during a recent trial run.
Fuel consumptionCity spokeswoman Pam Sveinson confirmed yesterday that Winnipeg Transit's purchase of the score of vehicles from local manufacturer New Flyer Industries — each at a price of about $1 million -- is uncertain, mainly because of problems with the model's fuel consumption.
"The concerns are related to efficiencies in terms of fuel savings and reduced emissions," she said, adding the city is looking at alternatives.
More details will be revealed in coming weeks, she added, though a source close to the talks between Transit and New Flyer suggested the city is likely feeling pressure to buy other forms of buses from the company because of a previous agreement between the two sides.
"I think they're working something out, because there was an intent to purchase. I don't think they can just walk away from that. I think they'll get something else," the source said.
The source pointed to the performance of electric power in cold weather as among the difficulties with the hybrids' engines.
The city conducted a five-month trial involving one hybrid last December. The buses are heavily used in several North American cities and highly touted by advocates of a local rapid transit system.
At a media event for the pilot project with provincial and federal officials in mid-December, Mayor Sam Katz said he was "ecstatic that the wheels of the diesel-electric hybrid articulated test bus have hit the streets of Winnipeg."
It was projected that 20 of the buses be on local streets by the spring of 2009.
Katz was not made available to comment yesterday.
Flexible connections
New Flyer, which has distributed such articulated buses -- using flexible connections to join two parts of the vehicles -- to several transit systems across the continent, also refused to confirm the roadblock.
"We tend not to discuss matters with our customers in the media," said company spokesman Glenn Asham. "We'll let the city make that confirmation if they so choose to."
Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) said maintaining heat in the trial bus was also difficult, adding the city has no choice but to back away from the buses if they don't work well.
"It would be irresponsible to spend $20 million on something that has problems," he said. "The last thing we want to do is buy something that doesn't work properly."