First Fleet of Hybrid Buses Delivered to Yosemite National Park

by the Associated Press
Fresno Bee - April 25, 2005

A fleet of new hybrid buses delivered here in California's Sierra Nevada will help shuttle tourists while belching less of the diesel soot that can obscure the scenery visitors come to admire.

The diesel-electric buses like the ones delivered to Yosemite National Park on Monday are already running in 22 cities around the country, but this will be the first fleet to operate in a national park. The shuttles will carry visitors along Yosemite Valley, and into the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, a stand of some of the world's largest trees.

The vehicles still consume diesel, but they're vastly more fuel efficient, according to General Motors Corp.

The buses are manufactured by Gillig Corp., of Hayward, Calif., and use a GM Allison Electric Drive system.

The hybrid buses produce up to 90 percent less emissions, one of the reasons why park officials chose the technology, National Park Service Deputy Director Don Murphy said in a statement. The new buses are also much quieter than the conventional models.