One company received federal stimulus grants for the purchase of new vehicles. Another operator, providing trips along the same route, says this represents unfair competition.
Transplus plans to design transit buses in Canada, buy brand-name components from across North America, assemble those components in China and sell the vehicles at a discount.
An $85,000 federal grant covered 80 percent of the purchase cost, with the remainder covered by donations and employee matching. In service for about a week, the bus is being monitored for mileage and performance.
The initial term of the supply agreement is one year. Deliveries totaling $627,500 are scheduled to begin in October. Additional deliveries permitted in the agreement during its one-year term could raise the total value of the contract to over $1 million.
As part of a four-year, $15 million contract with ACS, public transportation users will receive smart cards free of cost from the city, load them with a pre-paid amount. The new system consolidates the different fare options now used by the RTD.
Manufacturer put its Commuter Coach, featuring APTA’s signature campaign graphics, front and center in a caravan at the rally that converged on Capitol Hill last week, urging Congress to increase funding for public transportation by passing a multi-year surface transportation authorization bill.
Under the $1.6M contract, NextBus will use its patented technology to process data obtained from all buses in LA Metro’s fleet equipped with GPS devices, then provide real-time, predictive bus arrival information to users by interfacing with the Southern California 511 phone- and website-based traveller information service, LA Metro’s own public website, the nextbus.com website, as well as cell and smartphone text messaging.