SAN FRANCISCO—Infrastructure and transportation have been knownissues for the otherwise booming city of San Francisco—amplifyingthe housing crisis here for some time now. But inSeptember, we wrote that the City made one big step forward, with ahistoric investment in public transportation,with the largest light-rail vehicle contract in history ($648million). Now, the city has purchased 61 new hybrid Muni buses tofurther advance the City's goal of being the greenest transitoperator in the nation.

Mayor Edwin M. Lee recently revealed that San FranciscoMunicipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will purchase the hybriddiesel buses after receiving unanimous approval by the Board ofSupervisors on legislation led by Supervisor Malia Cohen. As partof the SFMTA's five year plan to replace the entire bus fleet, theprocurement of 61 low-floor biodiesel-electric hybrid buses willimprove transit service, improve the overall customer experience,and bring clean, new vehicles that use state-of-the-art hybrid andbiofuel technologies to make Muni's fleet, already one of thegreenest in the nation, even cleaner.
“San Francisco is replacing its fleet, so we can bring ourtransportation system into the 21st Century and give riders thetransportation experience they deserve,” says Mayor Lee. “Thisinvestment is a giant leap forward in making sure our fleet isclean, green and helps improve transit times.”
According to Cohen, “The SFMTA's fleet of diesel buses will reachor exceed its life expectancy in the next six years, but alreadySan Francisco's commuting public is experiencing the fallout fromMuni's unreliable fleet. The purchase of these hybrid buses willdecrease fuel consumption of buses and keep San Francisco residentshealthier by reducing excessive emissions.”

The new buses, which will be purchased from New FlyerIndustries, will use less fuel and have lower emissions. Theannouncement adds to the 112 hybrid Muni buses purchased in2013.