Press Room

NFTA Commissioners Approve the Purchase of 80 Metro Buses

Tuesday March 24, 2009

Buffalo, NY . . . The Board of Commissioners of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority took action at their March 23 meeting to approve the purchase of 80 new buses to upgrade its Metro fleet.

The commissioners approved the purchase of 24, 40-foot, low floor hybrid electric buses from the Gillig Corp. of Hayward, Calif. at a total cost of $14,709,729. With the timely assistance of Rep. Brian Higgins, the Federal Transportation Administration will cover 80 percent of the cost, with the remaining 20 percent split between the New York State Department of Transportation and the NFTA. This purchase will increase to 67 the number of hybrids that Metro will be using.

In addition, Metro will use $24.35 million of the $24.43 million it received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to the purchase 56, 40-foot, low floor, diesel buses from Gillig. Metro personnel will use the remaining monies to inspect the manufacturing process of the buses. There are no matching funds required with this purchase, saving the NFTA approximately $1.09 million.

"New buses are our top priority," said Eunice A. Lewin, Chairwoman of the NFTA's Surface Transportation Committee. "These new buses will help Metro better serve its customers and substantially reduce their maintenance costs."

The 80 new buses are expected to arrive in approximately 12-months and will help to significantly expand the efficiency of Metro's fleet. An equal number of buses will be retired as the new buses arrive.

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