More Green Busses

From the News-Gazette today:

Three more diesel-electric hybrid buses joining fleet: C-U Mass Transit District
Three more 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid buses are on order for the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District and are expected to be delivered in late summer.

The MTD board Wednesday approved ordering the low-polluting, energy-efficient buses from New Flyer Industries Inc. at a total cost of $1.81 million.

The purchase of the buses is 100 percent federally funded.

Each of the buses being replaced was purchased in 2003 and has more than 500,000 road miles.

With the addition of the new coaches, the MTD will have 92 diesel-electric buses out of a total fleet of 111. The remainder are conventional diesel buses.

The C-U MTD as a local government body was established by referendum back in 1970. From their history page:

In a story that appeared in the November 17, 1970, Champaign-Urbana Courier, P.E. Cherry, then manager, described the state of affairs as, "declining ridership, 22 year old buses and deficit spending." A request was made to the Illinois Commerce Commission by the City Lines to cease operation. The hearing on the petition was put on hold in lieu of a referendum to create a mass transit district. The issue was voted on November 24, 1970, and was overwhelmingly approved. The first director, Thomas Evans, had been hired the previous April for $16,000 a year.

If you want to attend a board of trustees meeting, here is a link to the 2018 schedule: https://www.cumtd.com/about-us/news/article/530/

If you want to contact the board, information is available at the bottom of this page here:

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is governed by a board of trustees made up of seven members selected by the Champaign County Board from submitted applications. To contact a trustee, send your correspondence to:

[Trustee Name]
c/o Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District
1101 E. University Ave.
Urbana, IL, 61802