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Electric Vehicle
Transit Institute Web Article
Energy-efficient hybrid-electric fleet helps revitalize downtown
Denver
August 29, 2001
Can a fleet of 36 hybrid-electric buses help revive a city's
dying downtown area? That's exactly what happened recently in
Denver, Colorado.
Urban Denver was showing signs of decay. After the petroleum
companies moved out in the late 1970s, they left over 40 percent
of the inner city vacant.
Today, though, a bustling shuttle route operates in the Denver
Mall, a mile-long section of 16th Street that is flourishing
with stores and boutiques. The shuttle fleet has helped to
transform the once depressed area into the city's top tourist
attraction. The route through the mall, which carries 55,000
passengers daily, connects to major light rail lines and bus
terminals. Operated by the Denver Regional Transportation
District (RTD), the shuttle route transports more than a million
passengers each month.
"Denver's citizens were pleased to get rid of the black exhaust
clouds from traditional diesel-engine buses," comments John
Davis of the Denver transit system. In fact, they gave the
electric fleet a Downtown Denver Award for improving passenger
ease and convenience with minimal pollution.
The city's new EcoMark buses, which are manufactured by TransTeq,
reduce congestion, improve fuel economy and lower emissions.
Each bus carries 116 passengers with only a 70 HP engine (the
same horsepower that powers a two- passenger Honda Insight and a
five-passenger Toyota Prius).
Each bus is fueled by clean, compressed natural gas. For
additional fuel savings, the 45-foot buses use energy captured
during braking to charge batteries. Each hybrid-electric bus
emits less pollution than a single car.
Denver's free mall shuttle is popular with commuters and
tourists alike.
"The Denver story is important for two reasons," notes John
Powell of the Electric Transit Vehicle Institute. "It proves
that public transit has economic value for a community, and it
demonstrates the value of hybrid-electric bus technology."
For more information on electric and hybrid-electric
vehicles, please visit the Electric Vehicle Transit Institute's
website at http://www.etvi.org/
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