BAE Systems to provide propulsion systems for New York City transit buses

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — BAE Systems will provide 435 electric hybrid power and propulsion systems for new fleet of buses of the New York City Transit Authority.

The systems will help in “reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption,” BAE Systems said in a Wednesday news release.

“We are committed to collaborating with New York as it strives to reduce transportation emissions and improve air quality in the communities across the state,” Steve Trichka, VP and general manager of Power & Propulsion Solutions at BAE Systems, said. “Our Series-E system provides transit operators with a highly reliable, flexible option that brings our state one step closer to a zero-emission future.”

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia., BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, a global defense, security and aerospace company. Its website says the firm employs nearly 86,000 globally. That figure includes more than 1,300 employees in Endicott, per a company spokesman.

BAE Systems will produce the Series-E systems at the company’s manufacturing facilities in Endicott, which employs more than 1,300 people, the firm said.

The Series-E system combines motors, energy storage, and smart controls to create a clean form of electric drive power for buses and their accessories such as air conditioning, air compressors, cooling systems, heat, power steering, and doors, BAE Systems said.

The system features the company’s power-dense ultracapacitor technology, which provides efficient and reliable energy storage for the life of the bus. With “fully electrified accessories,” each bus can also support engine stop/start technology for idle reduction.

This feature allows the bus engine to turn off at stops, while the accessories on board continue to operate on electric power.

With the new order, BAE Systems’ footprint will extend to more than 2,000 transit buses across the state of New York and more than 12,000 worldwide, including cities such as Paris and London. Each year those systems help to “save more than 25 million gallons of fuel and more than 300,000 tons of [carbon dioxide] from entering the earth’s atmosphere.”