The city of Taicang in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, put the first batch of 13 gasoline-electric hybrid buses into service on Jan 28, in a bid to reduce fuel consumption and cut carbon emissions.

The buses will operate on the route that encompasses bus lines 105 and 115. The new hybrid energy buses are 10.5 meters long, and each can carry 76 passengers.

When the speed is more than 40 km/h, the gas-electric hybrid-powered buses will only use fuel engines. When the speed ranges from 20 km/h to 40 km/h, the fuel and electricity will jointly provide power. Finally, buses will be powered by electricity stored in specially-made cell automatically when the speed is less than 20 km/h..

Cai Wenqin, one of the drivers of the new buses, said that the bus is easy to operate and makes passengers' travel more comfortable.