Chicago Gets First Hybrid Collection Truck

Chicago has added its first hybrid collection truck to its fleet of refuse trucks. Navistar International, Warrenville, Ill., presented Howard Henneman, the city’s commissioner of fleet management, with the keys to a new International DuraStar Hybrid truck at the National Truck Equipment Association Convention and the Work Truck Show in Chicago.

“We are pleased to be the first municipality in the region to utilize this new technology,” Henneman said in a press release. “We expect that this technology will be an important part of our environmental efforts moving forward.”

The DuraStar truck is a diesel-electric hybrid that provides at least 60 percent fuel savings in utility-type applications. It also eliminates emissions when auxiliary equipment such as the overhead utility bucket operates on the truck’s battery power.