The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) approved the purchase of a new Hybrid Red Bus from New Flyer Of America during their January 22, 2026 Board of Directors Meeting.
According to a January 14, 2026 memo from RIOC Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen to RIOC President B.J. Jones:
Based on New Flyer’s track record, ability to meet our standards, and the proven reliability of their buses, we recommend that the Board of Directors authorize the purchase of one (1) Xcelsior XDE40 hybrid bus from New Flyer of America for $1,005,706, a 5% contingency of $50,285 and 25% tariff of $251,427 for the total cost of $1,307,418.
During the January 22 RIOC Board Meeting, Ms Cunneen reported to the Directors:
… Due to global tariff uncertainty, the final price may increase by an estimated 5 to 25% at the time of production. With the 5% contingency and potential 25% tariff, the total project cost is $1.3 million. The tariff cost will be determined at the time of line entry of the bus, which for us means October or November of this year. It’s important to note that 72% of bus components are manufactured here in the US, while the rest of the parts are sourced outside of the US from Canada and Mexico. These parts include steel and HVAC components….
RIOC Chief Financial Officer Dhruvika Patel Amin added:
That’s a very conservative estimate right now. There is a trade agreement between America, Mexico and the US where the tariffs are lower. They’re around 10 to 15%. But we just don’t know when these buses are built out and when they’ll be delivered if that is going to hold in place. So this is kind of the higher level range that we’ve seen in the industry. So we want to be very conservative.
More on the Roosevelt Island hybrid Red Bus purchase from the January 14, 2026 memo by Ms Cunneen to RIOC President B.J. Jones.
Also discussed was exploring a future transition to all electric or natural gas Roosevelt Island buses but that is not expected anytime soon. Watch the video for the full discussion.
Here’s more on Trump threatening tarrifs on goods made in Canada.
Boggles my mind that RIOC is yet to trial a fully electric bus.
1. RIOC = NY State Corporation.
2. MTA = NY State Authority.
3. MTA Buys EV Busses
4. Am sure MTA has done relevant analysis re: charging requirements, servicing etc.
5. Roosevelt Island – very limited number of parameters. Drive in a mostly circular fashion, less than 3 miles for a loop if I recall. Large storage compound, many areas for charging stations if needed. Giant Power plant across the river.
6. RIOC works with MTA to borrow/lease a test bus for say 6 months.
7. Involve Cornell Tech and local community in studying outcomes. We are all on the island and can see the bus meander by.
8. Win for all, Co-operation between State entities, community feedback, student involvement. Drink favourite beverage and discuss outcomes.