Hybrid-powered school bus rolls into Nazareth

"We are very excited," Meghan Ochs, who researched and managed the hybrid bus purchase the past two years for Jennings, said. "We think there is great potential behind the project. The whole goal, long-term, is to see these buses all over the road."

Hybrid buses, which run on a combination of diesel power and a battery pack connected to an electric motor, make Ochs giddy thanks to a 70 to 100 percent gain in fuel economy claimed by the manufacturer. The buses also run 90 percent cleaner. pennlive.com

Navistar, through its subsidiary IC Corporation, is the largest school bus manufacturer in North America and the first to introduce a diesel hybrid plug- in option. The company's Green Diesel Hybrid school bus couples an International VT365 V8 diesel engine with a hybrid-electric powertrain that includes a specially designed transmission, batteries and permanent magnet motor. The system recovers kinetic energy during braking and uses it to charge the batteries, making hybrid school buses ideal applications because of the frequent starting and stopping. This stored energy provides additional power for acceleration and reduces idling.

In addition to school buses, diesel-electric hybrid has application in waste handling trucks, utility company service vehicles, long-haul highway trucks, and local-delivery trucks and vans. Along with the Green Diesel Hybrid school bus, Navistar also displayed a utility truck outside the state capitol.