Denali Goes Hybrid

Denali National Park is testing a hybrid diesel electric bus this summer. If it works well they may replace all their buses with hybrids.

Park managers do not allow visitors to drive their personal cars the length of the park road. Visitors board the buses near the park entrance. The 92-mile road, much of it unpaved, is the only way in and out of the nearly 6 million-acre park, home to Mount McKinley, at 20,320 feet the tallest mountain in North America.[...]

The hybrid bus requires as much as 70% less fuel.

"The beauty is when you use less fuel, you emit fewer pollutants," Kladder said.

The hybrid application is perfect for park buses, because just like school buses, they make a lot of stops and starts, Kladder said.

For park managers, it's not all about money. The quieter hybrid motors will enhance the visitor experience.

One big problem with the diesel-engine buses — which drive an average of 1.2 million miles per year — is that they are noisy. They can be heard from afar in the park.

The hybrids are quiet.

"Can you imagine the thrill of moving slowly and silently past a bear nursing its cub or wolf hunting along the road?" said Elwood Lynn, assistant superintendent of operations for Denali.

I hope it works for the park service. With diesel fuel going up and up, there will be bigger demand for this type of bus driving the cost of the buses down. It will make them much more attractive to other transit systems.

Via Backpacker's Ted Alvarez