Vancouver-based Firm Wins Order for L.A. Low Emissions Bus Engines

Cummins Westport Inc. of Vancouver, B.C., has been selected by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County to provide its low-emissions L Gas Plus natural gas engine for an order of up to 600 buses. Initially the transit authority will purchase 200 buses equipped with the L Gas Plus engine, with the right to increase the order to 600 if certain options are exercised.Cummins Westport is a joint venture of Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations Inc. It develops and markets low-emissions alternative fuel engines manufactured by Cummins. “With the options, this is the largest order Cummins Westport has received to date and the first order for the new 320-horsepower L Gas Plus,” says Hugh Foden, president of Cummins Westport. “We are pleased to be filling our 2005 backlog with such a significant order.”The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Los Angeles County has ordered the Cummins Westport 8.9-liter L Gas Plus natural gas engines for installation in 60-foot, low-floor articulating buses, manufactured by North American Bus Industries (NABI) of Anniston, Ala. The first of these buses will be delivered by mid-2005 with remaining deliveries through 2006. After delivery of the first 200 engines, 70% of the transit authority’s total fleet of 2400 buses will be powered by natural gas, making it one of the largest natural gas-powered transit bus fleets in the world. The commercial launch of the L Gas Plus engine is planned for mid-2004.The L Gas Plus is targeted to achieve a level of 1.2 grams of oxides of nitrogen per brake-horsepower hour (g/bhp-hr). This represents a reduction of more than 40% over the best equivalent low-emissions diesel engines certified to date. It is also expected to be certified at 0.01 g/hp-hr for particulate matter without a particulate trap, which is 80% lower than the levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for transit buses.