Back in 2009 the city announced that it was going to test five of DesignLine's sleek and eco-friendly hybrid buses, the ECO Saver IV. The buses hit the streets as promised and even we were impressed by how quiet they were. Only problem? Those "quite quiet" hybrid motors couldn't quite cut it on the streets of the Big Apple. 2nd Ave. Saga has confirmed with the MTA that these buses of the future are not going to be the buses of our future.
Here's the MTA's statement regarding the late DesignLiners:
Based on testing that was conducted on DesignLine buses from August 2009 through December 2010 it became clear that the 30KW turbine engine did not provide enough power to operate in regular passenger service in a multitude of conditions. A larger 65KW turbine was fitted on a test bus but after extensive testing in service operation, it proved to lack an acceptable level of reliability for NYCT passenger service. We will return the five buses that were in Evaluation Service and all monies that were given to DesignLine will be refunded to NYC Transit.
C'est la vie. At least we can now track some of our not-future buses online, right?
