New Flyer transit buses powered entirely by wind energy are going into Portland, Ore.
The city’s public mass transit agency, TriMet, showed off this week the first of five all-electric buses scheduled to hit the road.
New Flyer’s Xcelsior Charge battery-electric buses are believed the first wind-powered vehicles used in mass public transit in the United States.
TriMet says how these buses perform will determine if they’re "viable and economic" for system-wide expansion. On TriMet’s electric-bus webpage, the agency notes it may also consider other alternative-fuel buses in the future.
The buses were funded through a US$3.4-million federal grant and the agency’s partnership with Portland General Electric.