With assistance of $85,396 from the Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund, the St. John's Transportation Commission will install mini hybrid devices on six of its buses and help reduce its environmental impact. Along with a reduction in fuel consumption, this system will also help remove debris from the engines' radiators, resulting in more efficiently operating engines.

"Every action to reduce greenhouse gases represents not only a positive environmental move, but also a wise business decision," said the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Environment and Conservation. "We have many wonderful examples of how businesses and organizations are working together with government to foster and implement sustainable ideas. I applaud the St. John's Transportation Commission for this initiative which can potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by upwards of 67 tonnes annually."

The commission will install a mini-hybrid thermal system on six of their buses, replacing the traditional hydraulic fan and alternator which are run by placing a demand on the engine. The system comprises eight efficient, electric, controllable fans and a high-efficiency brushless alternator. Along with the reduction in fuel consumption the system will provide, the fans will also be reversed periodically to clean debris from the engine's radiator, thereby helping the engine run more efficiently. While the thermal device will not convert the buses into conventional hybrids, the system will help achieve approximately 50 per cent of the fuel savings of a typical hybrid at 10 per cent of the cost.

"We are continuously searching for solutions to help mitigate our carbon footprint on the city, and this project complements the many other measures we have taken such as our exhaust retrofit program and anti-idling policy in our bus storage area," said Judy Powell, General Manager of the St. John's Transportation Commission. "We anticipate our ridership increasing over the next five years, so these actions are necessary. We want to continue to develop additional green approaches for our transit system."

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