Philadelphia, PA – After about a year of acceptance, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has finally debut their New Flyer XHE40 Buses in revenue service on route 23.
In April 2024, SEPTA ceremoniously retired their final fully diesel bus and simultaneously introduced Philadelphians to the first hydrogen fuel cell-electric bus SEPTA owned. At the time, SEPTA also announced more plans for future electric buses to enter the fleet.
Much unlike the previous fleet of battery buses built by Proterra, these fuel cell electric buses were built by New Flyer industries, a company that has been directly building buses for SEPTA since 2000, including the current trackless trolley fleet.
During the acceptance period, a temporary hydrogen station was put into Midvale bus depot, where the 10 XHE40s are housed. over time, SEPTA plans to have a more permanent structure added into the depot.
For now, enjoy these buses! They’re very fast and very quiet, even compared to the latest BAE Xcelsior Hybrids!
