Keolis was awarded an approximate $20 million-a-year contract to operate and manage the Greensboro Transit Authority’s (GTA) fixed-route bus and paratransit services starting in January 2019.

The N.C. fixed-route service comprises 16 routes and five Higher Education Area Transit (HEAT) routes, delivering approximately four million passenger trips annually. GTA’s paratransit services provide an additional 250,000 journeys per year.

The 3.5-year contract with two one-year options to operate Greensboro’s transit network includes safety management and training, bus maintenance and repair, fare collection, and bilingual customer service support (English and Spanish).

“Keolis and the GTA both believe in the power that sustainable public transit can yield for communities. We are excited to serve this vibrant city with strong economic growth and truly believe our partnership with the GTA will make a positive impact,” said Steve Shaw, president and CEO at Keolis Transit America. “We are inspired by the potential to provide world-class transportation services to meet the evolving needs of the Greensboro community.”

The current bus fleet will be modernized by the GTA with more environmentally sustainable vehicles through the introduction of electric buses. Starting November 2018, electric Proterra buses will replace vehicles in the 43-bus fleet. By March 2019, 14 electric buses will be in operation with aspirations to eventually have a fully electric fleet.