Thomas Built Buses School Buses from Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) Now Also Equipped with BlueTec

• Shortly after the introduction of EPA 2010 emissions standard, DTNA’s sales of BlueTec school buses surpass 1,500-unit mark
• Orders demonstrate high level of customer acceptance of ultramodern BlueTec exhaust emission control technology
• Martin Daum, President and CEO of DTNA: “We are delighted that so many large school districts and public transportation companies have chosen our school buses with BlueTec technology.”

High Point, N.C. – Thomas Built Buses, DTNA’s school bus manufacturer, now offers all of its school buses with BlueTec. DTNA introduced the SCR exhaust emission control technology known as BlueTec because it has proven to be the most effective solution for reducing pollutant emissions. It therefore optimally satisfies the EPA 2010 emissions standard, which took effect in the U.S. at the start of this year. Thomas Built Buses has already sold more than 1,500 BlueTec-equipped school buses. Customers in 44 states and five Canadian provinces have ordered the BlueTec buses.

“We are delighted that so many large school districts and public transportation companies have chosen our school buses with BlueTec technology. This really gives us reason to be proud,” says Martin Daum, President and CEO of DTNA. “Our customers are using this opportunity to make a sustainable commitment to environmental protection by choosing BlueTec,” adds Daum.

One of the most recent orders, for 40 school buses, came from Prince William County in northeastern Virginia. Ed Bishop, transportation director for the Prince William County School District, has confidence in BlueTec technology: “We have chosen BlueTec because we are convinced that it’s superior to other alternatives for satisfying the EPA 2010 standard, and that it will be the leading technology over the long term.” Safety and environmental aspects are equally high priorities for Bishop: “We don’t just buy school buses. We invest in new safety and emissions technology because we know it’s the best thing to do, not only for the safety of the students we transport, but also for the environment in the communities we serve.”

American Bus Sales and Service, the Thomas Built Buses dealer for Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia, has the distinction of having placed one of the first large orders for the BlueTec buses. The dealer ordered 59 Saf-T Liner HDX school buses in December 2009, which will be delivered to public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, this summer. In March of this year DTNA announced it had received a major order for 288 school buses from Durham School Services, a provider of transportation services for schools that is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Thomas Built Buses is offering the SCR technology under the BlueTec name for its entire line-up of school buses. BlueTec-equipped vehicles consume less fuel, deliver higher engine performance, and meet the requirements of the new EPA 2010 emissions standard that took effect throughout the U.S. at the start of this year.

DTNA has already subjected the BlueTec technology to many millions of kilometers of testing, impressively demonstrating its reliability and fuel efficiency. And today more and more customers throughout North America are choosing BlueTec-equipped, safe, and reliable school buses and trucks from DTNA.

Thomas Built Buses (www.thomasbus.com) is the leading manufacturer of school buses in North America, with more than one third of the market. Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, the largest heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America and a leading manufacturer of vehicles in Classes 4 to 8. Daimler Trucks North America produces and markets commercial vehicles under the Freightliner, Western Star, and Thomas Built Buses brands.