NFI Group Inc. (NFI or the company), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on October 25 announced that the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) has exercised options for 118 D4500 clean diesel commuter coaches, in its final year of an existing six-year contract (orig-nally announced in 2015) with NFI subsidiary Motor Coach Industries (MCI). The order was converted from NFI’s backlog. Earlier this year, NJ Transit also exercised and received delivery of additional options for 30 MCI D4500 commuter coaches and 25 clean-diesel, 60-foot, New Flyer Xcelsior® heavy-duty transit buses) 50 equivalent units or EUs).
The orders propel NJ Transit’s fleet revitalization plan, replacing older, end-of-life vehicles and enhancing the passenger experience in the New Jersey community. NJ Transit is America’s third-largest public transit agency, connecting New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia and providing nearly 270 million passengers trips every year.
“NFI continues to deliver the most advanced technology and proven transit platforms available in North America,” said Paul Soubry, president and chief executive officer, NFI. “With unmatched quality, industry-leading accessibility, lifetime service and support and reliability through the most demanding environments, our buses and coaches provide efficient transportation for cities that need mobility solutions at scale.”
“Since 2003, New Flyer and MCI deliv-ered more than 3,000 vehicles to NJ Transit, including 1,449 buses and 1,564 coaches,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North Amer-ican Bus and Coach. “With these additional orders, we build on NFI’s proven product legacy and longstanding partnership with one of the biggest transit agencies in America. By revitalizing its fleet with MCI’s ADA-compliant D4500 coaches and New Flyer’s high-capacity Xcelsior buses, NJ Transit ensures the continued provision of safe, reliable and efficient mobility for the greater New Jersey community.”
Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustain-able mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening late 2017, the VIC has hosted more than 300 interactive events, welcoming 4,000 industry professionals for EV and infra-structure training.