Palm Tran Connection Conducting Hybrid Ride Demonstration Project

For immediate release: July 27, 2009
Contact: Jessica Dumars, 561-841-4245 Senior Public Relations Specialist

Palm Tran Connection, the paratransit service of Palm Beach County’s public transportation agency, is participating in a hybrid demonstration project with the Florida Department of Transportation and Palm Beach Metro Transportation. A four-week test run in Palm Beach County of a 31-foot Champion Hybrid Ride bus began July 27.

Palm Tran Connection will use the Hybrid Ride on paratransit routes that are contracted to Palm Beach Metro. The vehicle is being tested in a variety of settings by transit agencies statewide. At the completion of the demonstration project, the Hybrid Ride will be integrated into the fleet at Star Metro in Tallahassee.

According to company officials, the Hybrid Ride may yield up to 40 percent better fuel economy than conventional diesel buses. This is the first use of hybrid technology in the daily operation of paratransit services in Palm Beach County and another example of Palm Tran’s continuing efforts to explore opportunities to go green.

For more information about the Hybrid Ride project, contact Erin Schepers at 850-414-4526.