New Buses, New Look Are Here

MTA is getting a clean and fresh look, beginning with the introduction of our first five new buses and the arrival of nine more this summer. Along with the new buses comes an updated logo and bus design emphasizing the "green" nature of the vehicles, which get about three times the fuel mileage of current buses and provide more comfort and improved on-time performance.

The following is excerpted from The Telegraph of April 22, 2010.

MTA begins phasing in new, smaller buses to its fleet

By MIKE STUCKA - mstucka@macon.com (photos by Beau Cabell)

“It’s about time.”

With those three words, Macon Transit Authority rider Pamela Swint summed up the promise of five new buses unveiled Wednesday.

Rick Jones, the authority’s general manager, said the five new buses will soon be matched by nine more, plus a new bus terminal and new fare boxes. The new buses should be in service next week after fare boxes and radios are installed.

To cover all the routes, the authority needs 17 buses on the streets. If they get all 14 replacements, most city buses running would be new.

Jones said the new buses should increase on-time reliability to 95 percent.

“We promise we’re going to get you what you need and deserve, above your expectations,” he told a crowd of about 80 people Wednesday downtown at the Terminal Station.

The new buses are different. Instead of a regular transit buses, they look like an overgrown church bus. They also have a new look engineered by FastSigns of Macon, which includes blue and green striping with an environmental theme. Macon Transit also unveiled a new motto — “We Keep Macon Moving!” — and a new uniform for drivers: black plants and a beige shirt.

Early reviews were positive. Regular rider Sharlene Exum took a short test ride.

“This is great,” she said as the bus rolled down Cherry Street. “I think Macon deserves it. I can’t wait until we get the other nine. These buses make the other buses look bad.”

David Scott, a disabled rider who takes the Houston Avenue bus downtown each day, said Macon Transit now has to make sure the new buses are maintained and kept clean. He said he expects the authority will succeed.

At about $108,000, the new church-style “cutaway” buses are about a third of the $350,000 it costs to buy a regular transit bus. The cutaway buses typically last five to seven years, compared with 12 years for the regular bus. Even so, they are cheaper to replace over time.

Macon Transit said the new buses are more environmentally friendly because they have less emissions and get better gas mileage than their older counterparts.

Many of the aging Macon Transit buses were built by a company that went out of business years ago, making it difficult to get parts.

The federal government is picking up 90 percent of the cost of the buses. When Macon Transit is reimbursed for the first five buses, Jones plans to order nine more.

The agency also has been struggling without federal operations money promised in July.

That check — about $1.15 million — arrived Tuesday, Jones said. In the meantime, the agency had been running on a line of credit, essentially a loan of about $1 million.

Jones said the new bus terminal at Terminal Station is expected to open in June. Video screens will show how and when the next buses will arrive.

Jones has said he wants the system to become more reliable, then re-evaluate the routes. With the right buses and the right system in place, ridership can increase and fares can cover a greater portion of expenses, he said.

Others are thinking bigger. Mike Ford, chief executive officer of NewTown Macon, asked the crowd at the bus unveiling to imagine trains pulling into the other side of Terminal Station again, and perhaps a Greyhound inter-city bus station as part of the complex. Meanwhile, a new booster group, Georgians for Passenger Rail, is pushing for train service between Macon and Atlanta.

To contact writer Mike Stucka, call 744-4251.