The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which operates the Municipal Railway (Muni), unveiled two refurbished "like new" buses that are part of the $12.6 million contract to rehabilitate 62 Neoplan buses.

The contract, awarded in September, is part of the Motor Coach Component Life Cycle Project, which allocates a total of $16 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) economic stimulus funding to directly improve vehicle availability, service reliability and performance by rehabilitating 35 standard (40-foot) and 27 articulated (60-foot) Muni buses.

The buses, one of each length, are currently being inspected by SFMTA personnel in order to ensure that all issues are addressed and that the rehabilitation of the remaining 60 vehicles is done correctly by Riverside, Calif-based Complete Coach Works.

The Motor Coach Component Life Cycle Rehabilitation Project, using $16 million in ARRA funding, will allow for the mid-life overhaul of 62 Neoplan high floor diesel coaches, approximately 20 percent of the SFMTA Neoplan fleet. By replacing critical sub-systems 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, according to the SFMTA. Other corrective maintenance work such as body and understructure repair and reinforcement will also be implemented.

In the past year, the SFMTA has advanced key capital projects and aggressive preventive maintenance programs to ensure the integrity of the Muni system. Many of these state-of-good-repair advancements were enabled by $71 million in ARRA transit funds awarded by the Obama Administration.