Cummins Westport engine selected by San Diego for up to 357 buses

VANCOUVER, Oct. 6, 2002 Cummins Westport Inc., a joint venture of Cummins Inc. of Columbus, Indiana, and Westport Innovations Inc. of Vancouver, announced today that its low- emissions C Gas Plus engine has been selected by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board for an order of up to 357 buses. Initially, the transit authority will take 117 buses equipped with the C Gas Plus engines with the right to increase the order to 357 if certain options are exercised. The 8.3-liter C Gas Plus natural gas engine will be installed in 35 to 40- foot transit buses scheduled to go into service with San Diego Transit Corp. (SDTC). Delivery will begin in early 2003. While the bus manufacturer has not yet been selected, the C Gas Plus was the only low-emissions engine to meet the performance standards set by San Diego Transit. The C Gas Plus is an advanced technology 280-horsepower engine that is intended mainly for buses and urban work trucks like refuse haulers and pickup and delivery trucks. It was introduced by Cummins Westport in 2001. Some of the new buses for San Diego will be used to retire older diesels while others will augment the fleet, which currently numbers 350. If all of the options are exercised, San Diego's fleet will grow to 744 by 2006 and will be 100% natural gas powered at that time. The local Cummins distributor responsible for the order is Cummins Cal Pacific. "More than 600 transit buses with the C Gas Plus are already in service across the U.S. and we expect to see continued strong new orders as fleets seek low-emissions products that are also low in maintenance costs," said Hugh Foden, President of Cummins Westport Inc. Says SDTC Quality Assurance Manager Julio Ortiz: "We have been running more than 70 C Gas Plus engines in our buses for up to a year. We think this is the most reliable natural gas engine on the market today. We also appreciate its performance and the outstanding local distributor support." In test results released by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in August this year, emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from a bus powered by the C Gas Plus were significantly below a diesel engine running on low sulfur diesel fuel and fitted with a particulate trap. Commenting on the test results, California's South Coast Air Quality Management District said that NOx emissions reductions "are critical in Southern California since they contribute to the formation of both ground-level ozone and fine particulate, or PM10. Those are the region's two worst pollutants, associated with a range of health effects including increased hospitalizations, worsened asthma symptoms and premature deaths." "This study confirms that overall emissions from CNG buses continue to be cleaner than diesel engines that use low sulfur fuel and particulate traps," said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Cummins Inc. is a global power leader in engines, electrical power generation systems and related technologies. Westport Innovations is the leading developer of natural gas fuel systems for diesel engines. Cummins Westport, formed in 2001, develops and markets low-emissions alternative fuel engines manufactured by Cummins.