The Ever-so-Popular Orion VII hybrid

Just in case you didn’t see one going down Union Turnpike or Broadway (but not Queens Boulevard or Lefferts Boulevard yet), The MTA now has a highly populated fleet of Orion VII HEVs. These forty-footers save gas and keep the air clean (on the side of the bus it says “Clean Air Hybrid Electric Bus,” marketing it more a smog reducer) by storing the energy normally lost as friction while the bus is braking. They are powered by BAE Systems’ HybriDrive technology. Here’s how it works: 1)The bus starts moving of energy from the electric motor 2)When the bus starts braking, the motor is used as a generator, recharging the battery and effectively saving gas (the Orion VII HEV gets 3.27 MPG while diesel gets 2.31 MPG and CNG chugs in at 1.53 MPG). These beauties save money, and improve service “for the rest of us.”