The City of Cold Lake has obtained two new transit buses for its backup transit fleet through an auction.
The buses were determined to be in working condition and could be integrated into the fleet so a budget was allocated for the auction. The winning bids landed on $7,000 each for the two 2006 NovaBus Model LFS.
The buses will be rewrapped to the Cold Lake Transit branding and will replace the city’s 1992 MCI buses.
The MCIs were the first buses in Cold Lake Transit’s fleet and were originally purchased from Calgary Transit after they had reached their service life with the transit system.
“We are a smaller community with a small, but effective transit system and so we’ve looked for the most cost-effective means of supplying our transit fleet right from the start,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “Council appreciates that our staff were able to find this deal – we know our staff are passionate about their work. Two buses for $14,000 makes a huge difference. These new-to-us vehicles will help to deliver a very consistent and reliable level of public transit service.”
The two new buses are 43-passenger kneeling models with wheelchair-accessible ramps, locations for wheelchairs or electric scooters, are fully air-conditioned and heated, and come with mounted bike racks. They are similar to the existing NovaBuses but do not have a rear door.
“These are a great step up for our backup fleet, and will allow us to take our newer models
out of service for cleaning and maintenance, while still providing fully accessible transit
service to our users,” Copeland said. “It will be sad to see the MCIs go. They were the first
full-sized transit buses on our roads, and they helped us launch an important service that
many of our residents have embraced. But we could not pass up the increased accessibility
and reliability these newer models will bring to our fleet – especially at this price.”
The buses were originally owned by Strathcona County and were taken out of its transit service as part of a routine fleet rotation and modernization. Once the inspections and minor retrofits are completed the busses will be rebranded. Cold Lake says the busses will come into service in the New year.