The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the Municipal Railway (Muni), unveiled the first of 80 newly rehabilitated 40-foot Neoplan buses scheduled to rejoin the SFMTA fleet this year.

The refurbished buses, all scheduled to undergo complete major system overhauls, will add years of life to some of the SFMTA's hardest-working vehicles, improve fleet performance reliability, reduce repair costs, and deliver added customer comfort and safety.

The first bus unveiled is currently being inspected by SFMTA personnel to ensure that all issues are addressed and that the rehabilitation of the remaining 79 vehicles is done correctly by Complete Coach Works (CCW).

The contract allows for the mid-life overhaul of 80 Neoplan high-floor diesel buses, built in 2000-2002, which will make up approximately 39% of the SFMTA Neoplan fleet. By replacing critical components that include the propulsion system, cooling system, pneumatic system, suspension system and doors, improved service levels will be achieved and the mean distance between failures will be increased.

Other corrective maintenance work such as body and understructure repair and reinforcement will also be implemented.

The Neoplan buses serve 400,000 boardings per day. The Muni customers on the biodiesel bus routes where these refurbished vehicles will be deployed will be welcomed aboard buses that have new exterior paint and decals, fresh graffiti-resistant interior coating, new graffiti-resistant and brighter light covers, resurfaced flooring, rebuilt wheelchair lifts and more visible all-LED destination signs.

This rehabilitation project will rotate eight buses at a time. Turnaround time from start to finish for each bus is about 35 days. Service will not be impacted during the rehabilitation period.

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