Big buses coming to Sandusky

SANDUSKY — Sandusky Transit officials remain driven to satisfy passengers using the city's public transportation system. The latest upgrade helps prove this point. During a recent public meeting, transit officials announced the acquisition of four new 32-passenger buses, which will soon be added to its fleet. James Stacey, the city's transit administrator, answered some additional questions about this acquisition: • The need: "The Sandusky Transit System experiences higher ridership during the months between May and November. To keep up demand, the transit system needs higher-capacity vehicles. The plans are to purchase four Ford 550s, 32 feet in length, capable of transporting 32 passengers each. (They are handicap-) compliant, equipped with two wheelchair securements." • The swap-outs: "These buses are replacement vehicles. The lifespan of a transit vehicle is seven years or 200,000 miles. The oldest Sandusky Transit System vehicle in operation dates back to 2010, and this will be the first vehicle the city has introduced into the fleet since 2020." • The lines: "The new vehicles will be dedicated to the blue- and red-fixed route lines because they experience the highest ridership. Currently, the Blue Line has two buses that run the route during operating hours with a frequency of 30 minutes, while the Red Line has a frequency of 60 minutes." Note: The other color-coded courses on Sandusky Transit's fixed-route lines don't need bigger buses, Stacey said. These fixed-route lines stop at specific places on the hour every hour. • The sizes: "The other routes have substantially lower ridership than the red and blue lines, and so the smaller buses are sufficient for those lines. Also drivers need to have a commercial driver's license to drive the bigger buses, and the bigger buses require a larger turn radius. So it gives us more flexibility to run the smaller buses on the other routes." • The stats: "So far in 2024, the Blue Line has accounted for 57% of total ridership, and the Red Line 24%. These two lines carry significantly more passengers than the purple, green and yellow lines." Note: To date, there have been more than 317,000 trips recorded in 2024 for the fixed-route lines. The Blue Line has recorded about 182,000 trips. The Red Line has recorded about 75,000 trips. • The cost: The buses cost, on average, around $240,000 each. They will be paid for by federal dollars at an 80%/20% split, which means that the federal government pays 80%, and the city pays 20%. The city's financial responsibility for each vehicle is $40,000 and will be paid for from the (local) transit capital reserve account. Note: Various sources, from local to federal funds, generate dollars in this account. Based on this math, the total cost should equal $960,000 with $800,000 coming from federal funds, and $160,000 coming from local funds. • The importance: "Our mission statement is to operate the Sandusky Transit System in collaboration with local entities, to generate the most efficient, cost-effective form of safe, reliable, on-time transportation for the public to utilize daily. Thousands of riders depend on the system every day, and this is one way that we can help improve the experience of our riders."