SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
June 2, 2006

San Francisco's Municipal Railway, which has been criticized for not moving quickly enough toward a more environmentally friendly fleet, took delivery Thursday of the first of 56 diesel-electric hybrid buses. The buses -- made by DaimlerChrysler at a cost of about $488,000 apiece -- will not only reduce pollution from the Muni bus fleet, but also improve fuel economy and make service more reliable, officials said.

At a City Hall unveiling of the hybrid bus, Mayor Gavin Newsom said that the acquisition of the 56 vehicles will give Muni the third largest hybrid fleet in the country but that the city should strive to go further.

"We have the -- I think -- rather remarkable ambition of being completely zero emission -- 100 percent emission free -- in our metropolitan transportation system by 2020," Newsom said. "I want us to exceed those goals, which I'm confident we can do."

The hybrid buses will replace Muni's oldest diesel buses, which date back
to 1989

Diesel buses: 495
Electric trolley buses: 333
Metro streetcars: 151
Historic streetcars: 26
Cable cars: 40

To be added by this fall:
Hybrid buses: 56

Source: Municipal Transportation Agency

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