Connecticut to Receive New Fuel Cell Bus under USDOT Grant

          CTTransit, the statewide bus system administered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT), will be getting a new, next generation hydrogen fuel cell bus, to add to the Hartford-area fleet, under a $3.3 million grant just announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration.

          The fuel cells are produced by UTC Power, a division of United Technologies of Hartford. The new bus, which is manufactured by New Flyer Industries of St. Cloud, Minnesota, is expected to be in service by the end of 2013 and will have a smaller, lighter and more powerful fuel cell than the earlier models. The success of this new generation bus should boost the potential for zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell power plants for transit systems throughout the United States, since the smaller power plant will now allow fuel cells to be installed in domestically-manufactured buses that are compliant with the Federal Transit Administration’s Buy America rules.

         CTTransit currently operates five fuel cell powered buses and is in the process of procuring a sixth.  This grant will bring to seven the number of fuel cell buses operated by CTTransit by the end of 2013 and would make Connecticut’s fleet the second-largest in the country.

         Hydrogen fuel cell buses are zero-emission vehicles. The only thing that comes out of the tailpipe is water vapor: no smog-forming nitrogen oxides, no particulates, and no carbon dioxide. This means cleaner air, less global warming and healthier, quieter neighborhoods.

         “With fuel prices on the rise, the availability of reliable transit as a transportation choice can be a significant part of relieving the pain at the pump for people across Connecticut,” said Connecticut DOT Commissioner James. P. Redeker. “Fuel cell buses run on hydrogen. Their clean operation can have an immediate positive impact on street-level emissions.  And the proliferation of fuel cell vehicles will be good for Connecticut’s economy.”

         CTTransit is the state-owned bus transit system serving the Greater Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, New Britain, Meriden, Bristol and Wallingford areas.

      More on CTTransit at www.cttransit.com.

      More on UTC Power at www.utcpower.com/products/transportation.