Montreal to Receive First Hybrid Bus

Montreal’s first hybrid electric-diesel transit buses will hit the streets in early 2008. The Montreal Transit Corp. (MTC) approved a financing deal with the federal and Quebec governments that will launch the $5.6 million project. The province will foot half the cost of the eight hybrid buses, using some of the money it receives on Montreal’s behalf from a cut of the federal gasoline tax.

The buses, made by Nova Bus of St. Eustache, will be powered by a blend of electric power and a diesel engine. The MTC will pump biodiesel into the hybrids to further curb pollution emissions. The hybrid buses feature both a diesel engine and an electric transmission box, which acts as transmission, generator and electric motor. Batteries, stored on the bus’s roof, recharge when the vehicle brakes