“We welcome this opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to environmental stewardship and enhanced passenger safety,” Kelley Platt, Thomas Built Buses CEO says in a statement.
“LAUSD underscores its commitment to sound environmental strategies with its selection of 130 additional school buses that incorporate clean-fuel technologies.”
However, the LAUSD order is only a small part of Daimler Trucks North America’s (DTNA)efforts to introduce alternative-powered buses and trucks on North American roads. Aside for the CNG buses developed by both DTNA and Thomas, the German manufacturer has already received orders for some 3,000 Orion buses with hybrid systems and for 25 Orion VII CNG transit buses.
Last June, DTNA announced the opening of the Local Hybrid Application Center in Portland. Here, research and development of hybrid technology will be developed, in conjunction with Daimler Trucks’ Global Hybrid Center in Japan.
“The new contracts are part of Daimler’s “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative for commercial vehicles. With this initiative, the company aims to use clean and efficient drive systems along with alternative fuels in order to realize the vision of zero-emission commercial vehicles that will satisfy tomorrow's transportation needs,' the German carmaker adds.
Shaping Future Transportation was launched in 2007 as a means to research and popularize the use of alternative-powered buses and trucks both in Europe and North America.
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