ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- For years, visitors wanting to see Denali National Park's grizzly bears, moose, sheep and caribou have had to ride school buses that polluted the air and spoiled the tranquillity with their noisy, carbon dioxide-spewing diesel engines.
Mount McKinley's west side gleams in the sunlight in Denali National Park.
Now park officials are testing a hybrid bus that promises to run cleaner, cheaper, and quieter.
The 230-horsepower hybrid bus -- white and sporting pictures of Denali on its sides -- went on a drive in the park Thursday. The plan is to test it this summer to determine its potential for replacing the park's 110 diesel buses.
Park managers do not allow visitors to drive their personal cars the length of the park road. Visitors board the buses near the park entrance. The 92-mile road, much of it unpaved, is the only way in and out of the nearly 6 million-acre park, home to Mount McKinley, at 20,320 feet the tallest mountain in North America.
The hybrid -- looking a lot like a spiffy school bus -- comes with a diesel engine but also has a hybrid system, said Keith Kladder, marketing manager for IC Bus of Warrenville, Illinois, the manufacturer of the bus.
Production of the hybrid buses began about a year ago, Kladder said.
"The technology is just coming to market," he said.
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