VERO BEACH — In accordance with the federal safety standards, some of the buses in the GoLine fleet have reached the end of their useful life and are no longer able to provide reliable public transportation service.
The Senior Resource Association (SRA) is replacing them with new, high-efficiency buses acquired from the Gillig Corporation of Haywood, CA. The new buses arrived last week and are ready to be used by the public.
“In order to ensure the safety of our riders, necessary changes were made to replace and upgrade the buses. By upgrading the buses to accommodate more passengers, overcrowding can be addressed on the most popular routes without having to run multiple buses,” said Karen Deigl, President & CEO of the Senior Resource Association.
The Gillig buses, proudly made in America, feature a number of improvements over the old buses in terms of both passenger comfort and efficiency. While the length of the new Gillig coaches is similar to that of the older buses, the innovative design accommodates more passengers.
Because the new buses are substantially more durable than their replacements, the resulting reduction in the frequency of future fleet replacements will amount to a sizeable cost savings to the SRA over the long term.
The advanced technology engines are both cleaner and significantly quieter than those of the older buses. This, in turn, will result in less impact to surrounding neighborhoods. And the new buses offer features requested by GoLine passengers, such as bike racks and low floors for ease of boarding.
The new Gillig coaches, which cost $360,000 each, were purchased at no cost to the county. The new buses were 100% paid for with a Federal Transit Administration Capital Grant, which can only be used to acquire vehicles or other equipment.
