by KYW's Mike Dunn
Score one for the environment. The SEPTA board Thursday was expected to give thumbs up to the purchase of a fleet of fuel-efficient hybrid buses.
SEPTA plans to purchase 400 hybrid buses to replace one-third of its fleet. Assistant General Manager Pat Nowakowski says the hybrids will each cost nearly $160,000 more than a regular bus, so it was a tough call:
"If you add up $159,000 for 400 vehicles, it's $63 million extra that we will spend on these. So it's a significant decision that we had to make."
But Nowakowski says SEPTA will just about break even on the hybrids over their expected 12-year life span thanks to increased fuel efficiency, and that calculation doesn't even factor in the benefits to the environment. The first shipment of 100 hybrids buses is to arrive next year.
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