The 40-foot buses produce lower emissions than standard fueled vehicles and older CNG vehicles, helping improve air quality in the community.
This is the first electric bus to be deployed in Sun Tran’s fleet, and will be leased for the next year.
The strike, now going into its second month, shows no signs of ending, with the Teamsters and Sun Tran management deadlocked over competing compensation proposals and driver-safety measures.
Management is working with a federal mediator to schedule a meeting with the union, while only eight routes are operating and the agency offered no weekend service.The strike began August 6, which makes it the longest strike in recent history.
Purchased with funding from the Federal Transportation Administration and the City of Tucson, Sun Van received 35 cutaway vehicles built by Glaval at a cost of $90,000 per vehicle.
The new Gillig buses are low-floor, offering ramps and kneeling features for the convenient boarding of passengers with disabilities, as well as an on-board camera system for added passenger safety.
Born in Seattle into a fairly large family, Kate Riley had hopes of moving to Arizona to become a nurse. Instead, her father persuaded her to take management courses at a local college.
The decision was preceded by an hour of heart-wrenching testimony from parents of disabled children, advocates from local nonprofits and low-income senior citizens dependent on the paratransit service.
Currently three-quarters of Sun Tran’s fleet exclusively utilizes biodiesel fuel, which is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant greases.
The new contract was ratified with a vote of 212 to 69.