Calgary Transit to fork over $60-Million for new vehicles
Posted Sep 26, 2013 12:38 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They’re sleek, shiny, and new, and will soon be added to Calgary Transit’s fleet.
Officials announced Thursday morning the purchase of 150 new buses from New Flyer Industries out of Winnipeg, MB.
It will start with the delivery of 3 vehicles this December and with more arrivals coming through the end of 2014.
One of the big features of these vehicles is they will be air-conditioned.
They will also be low-floor buses, improving the accessibility to those senior and handicapped passengers.
“The other thing it does, of course, is these are newer buses with new engines, so they will be considerably more environmentally friendly and fuel efficient,” says Manager of Transit Fleet Russell Davis.
According to the contract, each bus will cost the city $400,000 for a total of $60-million.
“With transit ridership steadily increasing year-over-year, there is a great need for us to increase reliability by replacing older buses and improve accessibility,” says Transit Director Doug Morgan.
Davis says this purchase should take all of the old high-floor and two-stroke engine vehicles off the road.
New Flyer Industries has already made 653 buses for the city in the last 20 years.
The life cycle for these new vehicles is estimated to be 18 years.
