9/4/03
Mid Life Overhaul Will Have Positive Environmental Impact andProvide Continued Reliability and Customer Satisfaction
As part of its ongoing effort to maintain and upgrade the quality of its bus fleet, Chicago Transit Authority soon will begin major overhaul work on its New Flyer buses (5800 Series), which were purchased in 1995. The overhaul will extend the service life of the buses, improve reliability and reduce emission levels.
The Chicago Transit Board approved the nearly $7.3 million contract with Bus & Truck of Chicago, Inc., to provide the labor and material for the mid-life overhaul of up to 65 New Flyer (5800 Series) low floor buses. The overhaul includes a new 2000 model year Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) engine, the addition of a particulate filter and a new transmission.
EGR engines take a portion of gas exhaust and run it back through the engine. In other words, re-burning the exhaust, which makes the engine run cleaner. A particulate filter removes soot particles from the exhaust virtually eliminating particulate matter emissions into the air.
Along with its priority toward a newer and more reliable bus fleet, CTA seeks out and incorporates today's green technologies into bus maintenance and future bus purchases. This includes ongoing maintenance, engine upgrades, engine replacements and reducing the overall age of the fleet by purchasing new buses that meet high environmental standards. The result is an environmentally friendly bus fleet that by 2004 will have reduced emissions by 23 percent from what it was in 1997.
"Public transit, by its very nature, is environmentally friendly," said CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?With the addition of EGR engines and particulate filters on our New Flyer buses, we will lower emissions by 30 tons per year. With this contract, we will continue to maintain and upgrade our fleet, improve customer satisfaction and continue to be an environmentally conscious agency."
Since 1997, CTA has worked to bring its bus fleet to a state of good repair. Upgrades to improve reliability and install air conditioning were made to 488 TMC buses between 2002 and 2002. Delivery of 484 new 40-foot, accessible, low-floor, air-conditioned Nova buses was completed in 2002. In addition, CTA recently began to take delivery of 226 articulated low-floor, air-conditioned buses from North American Bus Industries, Inc. (NABI).
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