RIPTA to use stimulus money for buses

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Officials with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority say they will use federal economic stimulus money to buy new hybrid buses.

RIPTA Assistant General Manager Mark Therrien tells The Providence Journal the new buses will replace the conventional diesel-powered buses the agency uses now.

He says the diesel-electric hybrids get better mileage, cause less air pollution and need fewer repairs.

RIPTA General Manager Alfred Moscola says the hybrid buses cost as much as $200,000 more, but the agency will realize considerable savings in the long run.

Therrien says RIPTA could get as much as $36 million under the stimulus bill. He did not know exactly how many of the new buses they would buy.