Oregon's Lane Transit awards contract to New Flyer for mobility solution that includes both electric buses and depot chargers

ST. CLOUD, MN, March 10, 2020 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer of America Inc. ("New Flyer"), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"), one of the world's leading independent global bus manufacturers, today announced that the Lane Transit District ("LTD") has awarded New Flyer a contract for 11 Xcelsior CHARGE™ battery-electric forty-foot heavy-duty transit buses, including seven ABB depot chargers to support electric bus infrastructure development.

The zero-emission bus purchase, supported by Federal Transit Administration ("FTA") Low or No-Emission funding, helps LTD to continue fulfilling its mission of providing clean, reliable, convenient transportation options for the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon metro area and surrounding community.

"It is clear the Lane Transit District is a visionary in the evolution to sustainable mobility operations and community connectedness," said Chris Stoddart, President, New Flyer. "We commend the LTD team for its steadfast focus on making zero-emission goals a reality, and look forward to supporting them in reducing carbon emissions while providing cleaner, more efficient, and connected mobility to Lane County residents."

LTD has a longstanding commitment to sustainability. In 2014, it received silver level certification for the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) sustainability commitment. Since then, LTD hired a Sustainability Program Manager and conducted carbon footprint analysis of its operations to measure the impacts and benefits of public transit on climate change. The study found the two greatest opportunities to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions existed in ridership increases and reduction of fleet vehicle emissions. The LTD Board of Directors is now developing ambitious emission reduction goals for its fleet, and the partnership with New Flyer and commitment to investing in electric vehicles is an important part of its carbon reduction strategy.

With the addition of Xcelsior CHARGE™ buses to its fleet, LTD joins other west coast cities leading the transition to zero-emission mobility with New Flyer, including Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Coachella Valley, Oakland, San Francisco, Orange County, and Victor Valley.

In assessing its transition to sustainable mobility, LTD employed an innovative partnership with the University of Oregon ("UO") to study opportunities and challenges. The Sustainable City Year Program, part of UO's Sustainable Cities Initiative now in its tenth year of pairing students with community partners in need of fresh ideas, partnered with LTD over the 2019/2020 academic year. It focused on projects to make local transportation more efficient and sustainable, examining physical infrastructure and soliciting design ideas for transit stations.

"We have worked hard to lead the transition to connected, efficient, and sustainable mobility, and to develop a more livable community through unique and innovative approaches," said Aurora Jackson, General Manager of Lane Transit District. "Together with New Flyer and alongside our community stakeholders, we're pairing battery-electric technology with local concepts for transit improvement, and will continue to leverage local partnerships in our evolution toward a zero-emission fleet."

Since 2004, NFI has delivered 50 buses to LTD, including New Flyer transit buses and low-floor cutaway buses from NFI sister company ARBOC. Over half are comprised of electric hybrid propulsion, helping to lower emissions from public transit.

LTD provides more than 10 million boardings per year on its buses and EmX Bus Rapid Transit line in Lane County, Oregon. Encompassing the Eugene-Springfield metro area, LTD is a special district of the State of Oregon and led by a seven-member board of directors appointed by Oregon's governor. LTD also operates RideSource, a paratransit service for people with disabilities, and numerous transportation options programs to promote sustainable travel county-wide.

New Flyer has been manufacturing zero-emission buses for more than 50 years, with more electric buses on the road in America than any other bus manufacturer. With nearly 90 years of experience in manufacturing, New Flyer today supports growing North American cities with sustainable buses, technology, and infrastructure. It also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus technology and providing essential workforce development through electric bus training. New Flyer was the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, and is currently developing automated bus technology to improve safety in public transit.

About NFI

With 9,000 team members operating from more than 50 facilities across ten countries, NFI is a leading independent global bus manufacturer providing a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions under brands: New Flyer^® (heavy-duty transit buses), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), MCI^® (motor coaches), ARBOC^® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI buses and motor coaches incorporate the widest range of drive systems available including: clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, and zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell).  In total, NFI now supports over 105,000 buses and coaches currently in service around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information are available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.

About New Flyer

New Flyer is North America's heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product line under the Xcelsior^® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. It also offers infrastructure development through New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe, sustainable, and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New Flyer actively supports over 41,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 7,300 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,600 are zero-emission. Further information is available at www.newflyer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of NFI Group that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions and economic conditions of and funding availability for customers to purchase buses and to purchase parts or services, customers may not exercise options to purchase additional buses, the ability of customers to suspend or terminate contracts for convenience and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these factors, the NFI Group disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.      

SOURCE New Flyer of America Inc.

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