Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has announced the receipt of the first two buses of its new 476-bus fleet.
The delivery marks a milestone in the DART Transform programme – which aims to improve customer experience across the network.
Other initiatives to improve the passenger experience include upgrades to stations, passenger facilities, operating facilities, and the creation of a unified signalling system.
Nadine S. Lee, DART President and CEO, said:We’ve made a strategic commitment to improving our entire transit network with DART Transform and the new buses will be the first major component that every rider will get to experience.
We can’t wait to see the positive impact these new vehicles will have on our customers as they travel to their next destination with DART.
Now the first two buses have arrived, DART’s maintenance and operations team are now set to inspect and test the vehicles before full production commences in October. Each new bus will operate on compressed natural gas (CNG), and have been manufactured by Gillig.
Funding for the vehicles comes courtesy of a 103 million USD competitive grant awarded by the FTA as part of its Low or No Emission Grant Program, which provides funding for low-emission and no-emission transit buses. This funding covered almost one third of the buses’ total cost, with DART saving a total of 15 million USD by purchasing all 476 buses in a single order.
The order itself consists of 76 30-foot buses and 400 40-foot buses, with 20-30 set to arrive per month and operators beginning to run the first routes later this year (mid- to late-November).
Passenger amenities onboard include vinyl seating, on-board passenger information displays in both English and Spanish, tinted windows and upgraded bike racks.
