$8-Million Mid-Size Bus Buy Approved

The Orange County Transportation Authority on Monday approved the purchase of 40 mid-size transit buses to replace smaller vans now in service.

The move is in conjunction with an order for 117 new buses placed by the district a month ago, OCTA officials said.

The 40 El Dorado National buses, which seat 24 passengers each, will begin operating in about 16 months, said David Armijo, OCTA’s director of operations.

The rest of the order will be filled two months later with standard-size buses designed to seat 45 people.

Armijo said that the mid-size buses, built in Chino, will have lower floors, a longer life span and better fuel economy than the vans--6 miles per gallon compared with 4.5 miles per gallon.

“These new buses will move quicker and will allow us to maintain better schedules,” Armijo said.

By using fewer of the smaller vans, which can hold an average of 16 passengers, the OCTA will save about $950,000 in overhead costs, Armijo said.

The OCTA had originally planned to buy just 20 of the mid-size buses but opted to double its order to take advantage of wholesale prices, Armijo said.

The 40 new vehicles will cost about $8 million.

The purchase of replacement buses is part of the transit district’s 1995 Bus System Improvement Project, which identified the need for more mid-size vehicles, rather than vans or full-size buses, on certain routes.