City officials get more details on buses that will be hitting Lawrence streets next year

A 40-foot hybrid bus parks near City Hall before Tuesday night’s City Commission meeting. This morning, city officials and transportation advocates will ride the vehicle. The city of Lawrence has already ordered three such vehicles, using .8 million in federal stimulus money. The buses will be assigned to the system’s Route 11, which operates in conjunction with KU Parking & Transit to serve both municipal and Kansas University riders.

A hybrid bus on its way to service in Kansas City, Mo., stopped in Lawrence so city officials could see what they’ll be getting next year, when the first of three such vehicles is delivered by Gillig Corp.

Some information about the bus — one described by transit administrator Robert Nugent as “like a giant Prius” — as disclosed by Joe Saldana, Gillig’s regional sales manager:

40 … Length, in feet, of each hybrid bus the city is buying, or 10 feet longer than the longest bus in the T’s current fleet.

40 … Percentage in noise reduction for a hybrid bus, when compared with conventional diesel.

“You can actually carry on a conversation,” said Donna Hultine, director of KU Parking & Transit. “I don’t have to yell at you.”

37… Seating capacity. Occupancy increases to 52, with people standing.

20 … Percentage increase in fuel efficiency of a hybrid bus, when compared to a conventional diesel model.

“Some increase as high as 40 percent,” Saldana says.

8.9 … Miles per gallon recorded by the bus during its trip from San Francisco to Lawrence. A typical diesel bus generally runs at 4 mpg.

1.8 … Cost, in millions of dollars, for the package of three vehicles being purchased by the city, using federal stimulus money.

0 … Amount of soot accumulated on the hybrid’s exhaust pipe, or elsewhere on the back of the bus.

“That’s even after over 2,000 miles,” Saldana says. “The air coming out is cleaner than the air going in,” both in terms of nitrous oxide and “particulate matter.”