By Lookout Staff
March 23 -- Santa Monica will get ten new hybrid shuttle buses that are quieter and pollute less than the eight-year old models in the Mini Blue system thanks to stimulus money from the federal government.
The City Council on Tuesday is expected to authorize the City manager to purchase the 30-foot-long coaches from Creative Bus Sales for $7,355,687 plus a contingency of $705,680, according to staff. The purchase price covers tax, spare parts and training.
The total option order cost of $8,061,367 will be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, staff said.
The buses, marketed as “Rides,” operate within the City’s business districts and neighborhoods and include the Tide Ride, the Crosstown Ride and the Sunset Ride.
“The quieter engines in the new buses will reduce the amount of noise generated by 20 percent in neighborhoods,” staff wrote in its report.
“Also, replacing bio-diesel powered vehicles with gasoline/hybrid technology reduces nitrogen emissions by 76 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent, which is consistent with the City’s sustainability goals.”
The council, which is scheduled to approve the item on consent, is currently weighing the future of the Tide Shuttle, one of the three lines in the Mini Blue system.
The council was expected to eliminate the Big Blue Bus’ most unpopular route, which has an average of only 12 riders an hour, and shift its service from the Downtown to the new Annenberg Community Beach House at 415 PCH slated to open this spring.
But the council gave the shuttle a six month reprieve last month to allow transit officials time “to work with business and community stakeholders to demonstrate marketing strategies that may enhance the route's viability,” according to a staff report to the council.
