Combining a gasoline powered internal combustion engine with an electric motor, Hybrid-Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are environmentally-friendly vehicles that can operate two times more efficiently than conventional vehicles.

Conventional vehicles emit pollutants into the atmosphere through their tailpipes. These pollutants cause smog, contribute to global warming and aggravate human respiratory diseases. HEV's emit fewer pollutants into the air.

HEV's reduce:

• smog-forming pollutants
• greenhouse gas emissions, and
• our consumption and dependency on fossil fuels.

Hybrid vehicles are competitively priced, and offer exceptional gas mileage. Vehicle performance is similar to or better than conventional vehicles and HEV's have the same level of safety and comfort features that our conventional vehicles have.

A hybrid electric vehicle has:

• a gasoline engine that is similar to but small than those used in conventional cars, and uses advanced technology to reduce emissions and increase efficiency
• a fuel tank - where gas is stored for the engine
• an electric motor - used primarily for low speed cruising or to provide extra power for accelerating or climbing hills
• a generator - to produce electricity to run the motor and charge the batteries
• batteries - that provide energy which is used to power the electric motor and store energy (produced by the generator) for later use

HEV's are designed to help reduce emissions and improve efficiency by:

• recovering braking energy and storing it in the battery for later use
• turning off the gasoline engine and relying on the electric motor and batteries
• using advanced aerodynamics to reduce drag
• using low-rolling resistance tires, and
• using lightweight materials to reduce the weight of the car which help to increase fuel economy and mileage

Hybrid Buses

Various types of hybrid technology have been used for transit buses. The system incorporated into New Flyer's 12.2 m (40') low floor bus is a diesel-electric system that will allow a maximum operating speed of 89-97 km/h or a maximum sustainable speed of 95 km/h. The bus has one transverse diesel engine and AC generator and two electric traction drive motors. Fifty-six batteries are housed in the roof of the bus. While a typical bus dissipates braking energy as heat into the air the regenerative braking of the hybrid electric bus transfers a significant amount of this energy into the storage batteries. As with most hybrid electric systems this bus experiences its best performance in comparison to a regular bus when driving conditions involve low speed, stop and go conditions.

An interesting feature of the New Flyer bus is the ability of the vehicle to operate in a completely electric mode with the diesel engine shut down. Starting with a fully charged battery the bus can travel for 16 kilometers without air conditioning or 8 kilometers with air conditioning.

Some of the key advantages of this bus include the following:

• Emissions reductions that approach those of alternative fuels.
• Increased mileage and therefore reduced greenhouse gas emissions and fuel costs.
• Range and performance that is comparable to a regular diesel bus.
• Reduced noise levels.
• Uses existing fuel infrastructure (e.g.'s storage tanks and dispensing equipment).