Moorpark to use federal grants for new buses
By Michele Willer-Allred
Originally published 04:48 p.m., July 2, 2009
Updated 04:48 p.m., July 2, 2009



The Moorpark City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved replacing the city’s diesel engine buses with three new lower emission buses.

The cost of the three new compressed natural gas transit buses is $1.26 million. The city’s cost will be reimbursed by federal grant funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The city’s current transit system uses three buses daily for the city’s two-route system.

Three 32-foot El Dorado National E-Z Rider II buses will replace outdated school-type buses in the city, a 1998 Bluebird and two 2002 El Dorado MST IIs.

Each bus, made in Riverside and supplied by vendor Creative Bus Sales of Chino, will seat 27 passengers or 18 passengers and three wheelchairs.

City officials said the new buses will emit significantly less sulfur than the city’s older vehicles.

The compressed natural gas buses will use a spark-ignition engine to burn natural gas.

The California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board has said that vehicles operating on natural gas have 80 percent less combined carbon monoxide and nitrogen-oxide emissions than gasoline-fueled vehicles.

City Councilman David Pollock said the new buses cost considerably more than the buses they are replacing — about $400,000 each compared to $100,000 for the previous buses.

However, he said the features of the bus go beyond complying with air pollution regulations. Current city buses are standard-floor buses, which require stairs to board the bus and the use of a wheelchair lift for the disabled.

City Engineer Yugal Lall said occasionally a wheelchair lift will malfunction, preventing the bus from being accessible.

The new buses will be low-floor buses, with no steps required for boarding. Lall said passengers with wheelchairs won’t have to use a lift, and instead will be able to board using a single ramp.

The buses also will have two doors, allowing passengers in wheelchairs to board the bus without the need for turning around in tight quarters.

They also will have air conditioning and heating vents distributed throughout the bus instead of a rear ventilation system.

Other features include automated bus stop announcement systems; seven hand straps on ceiling grab rails; and security cameras on the inside and outside of buses.

Compressed natural gas buses are already used at Los Angeles County airports and in the city of Simi Valley. Moorpark buses will be fueled at Simi Valley’s Transit Maintenance System.


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