Transit provider gets new buses

12 vehicles expected to rebuild fleet damaged in fire

SPRINGDALE — Ozark Regional Transit has received the first of 12 new buses needed to replenish its fleet.

The transit provider got a $3.6 million federal grant in April 2018 from the Federal Transit Administration to replace some of the 20 buses lost in a January 2017 fire.

Eight buses were replaced earlier with $114,000 in insurance proceeds and two federal grants of about $360,000 each.

“For the first time in ORT’s history, we’ve had enough purchasing power to create our own specifications for our fleet, rather than piggy-back on other transit systems’ purchases and whatever specs had been created to fit their needs,” transit officials said in a news release.

“This simple difference alone offers greater efficiency with parts inventory and fleet maintenance for the long term,” the news release said.

Having its own fleet again means Ozark Regional can sell vinyl-wrap advertising on buses, something it couldn’t do with buses borrowed from other transit systems, according to the release. Advertising revenue should increase income and, as a nonprofit organization, will translate into improvements in service, the release said.

The restored fleet also will allow for more long-term planning for the rollover of vehicles as they age.

Joel Gardner, executive director, said Ozark Regional is buying eight 30-foot buses for $350,000 each and four 35-foot buses for $380,000 each. The buses are from Arboc Bus Manufacturing in Middlebury, Ind.

The new buses are lowfloor and diesel powered, Gardner said. All of the buses are expected to be delivered by Aug. 1.

Ozark Regional will put the buses into service within a week of each delivery, Gardner said. That gives time to fully inspect each bus and get it service ready, he said.

The transit provider used a fleet of loaned and borrowed buses to maintain service through much of the past two years.

A wind-whipped fire started in the early morning hours of Jan. 10, 2017, and destroyed the 20 buses, depleting the fleet. Explosions launched parts of buses more than three blocks away.

The fire is believed to have started when a particulate filter on the exhaust system of one of the buses overheated during cleaning.