To help maintain and improve service, the University of Georgia's (UGA) transit system ordered 20, 40-foot low-floor buses from North American Bus Industries (NABI), with the first four scheduled to deliver prior to the fall semester in 2009.

Because of its high-density operation, UGA opted for a seating package that allows large numbers of “standing” passengers. “The package we designed for them allows UGA to crush-load as many as 100 passengers – with backpacks – into these buses,” said Chris Dabbs, regional sales manager, NABI. "The low-floor design also augments quick loading and unloading.”

UGA’s new buses from NABI will feature a “new-era” passenger counting system.

The UGA transit system handles its annual load of 9.2 million with a fleet of less than 50 buses. Bringing in low-floor buses over the last five years has been a popular move with the student body, said Ron Hamlin, UGA campus transit manager.

In addition to the 20 buses slated for UGA, the University of West Georgia also piggybacked onto the order for another three of the 40-LFWs.