Washington, DC to Expand Transit Fleet with 100 New Flyer CNG Buses

New Flyer of America announced the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) exercised options for 100 heavy-duty 40-ft. New Flyer Xcelsior CNG buses.

The 100 options valued at approximately $56 million were exercised off a contract signed in June, 2013. To date, 500 buses have been exercised off this contract of which 329 have already been delivered to WMATA and 75 XDE40 or 60-foot buses remain to be exercised.

The buses will be deployed to support the Priority Corridor Network (PCN) focused on improving service of 24 of the busiest routes that today serve half of WMATA’s 440,000 daily riders. New Flyer’s Xcelsior buses will add over 100,000 new daily rides to the PCN and is expected to save each passenger up to 50 percent on their typical travel time.

WMATA currently provides over 2.3 million trips to over 4 million residents every year, with a predicted increase in fleet size from 1,505 buses in 2013 to 2,060 by 2025. WMATA’s growing ridership increases by approximately 40,000 trips per year and has a service area spanning 1,500 square miles.

“With over 1,200 buses delivered to WMATA since 2002, New Flyer is thrilled to continue our relationship with WMATA and be a partner they can continue to rely on,” said Paul Soubry, New Flyer’s President and Chief Executive Officer.