Milwaukee car dealership selling former MCTS bus
A Milwaukee car dealership is selling a former Milwaukee County Transit System bus.
“It’s something you don’t see everyday,” said Miguel Herrera, owner of Arandas Auto Sales, near South 27th Street and West Forest Home Avenue.
When Herrera purchased the bus during a public auction about eight months ago, he planned on turning it into a party bus.
“I don’t have the time,” he said. “I’ve been so busy lately, so I decided to sell the bus.”
MCTS sold this particular bus within the last two years, along with about 30 other old buses, said Matt Sliker, MCTS’ integrated marketing manager, in an email. Buyers are usually auction houses, auto shops and scrapyards.
MCTS buses are sold once they reach their “end of life,” which means after 12 years or when the vehicle accumulates more than half a million miles, Sliker said.
Herrera said the bus runs well and has air suspension, which makes it go up and down when passengers get on and off.
Before selling its old vehicles, MCTS always removes its license plates and paints over logos and the “Milwaukee County Transit System” words on the exterior, Sliker said.
About eight or nine people have visited the dealership to check out the bus so far since it went up for sale last week.
“It’s different from every other vehicle I’ve bought,” Herrera said. “I like it. It has a lot of potential.”
He said some interested people are looking into whether the bus could become a food truck with seating.
Sliker said MCTS’ old buses are “most often” used for parts and as scrap metal.
“However technically they could be used for any purpose,” Sliker said. “We’ve even heard cases where the buses sometimes end up being used by smaller transit systems.”
The bus at Arandas is priced at $7,995.