UF students will be seeing more new buses on campus starting this fall.
Gainesville Regional Transit System, or RTS, recently bought 11 used buses from Lynx in Orlando and an additional 17 new buses from California, RTS spokesman Chip Skinner said.
The buses will be ready to ride by the beginning of fall, he said, and some of the used ones, which are undergoing strenuous tests, may hit the streets as soon as the Summer B semester
A new bus costs around $400,000 to $600,000, Skinner said. The 11 used buses cost about $230,000 all together, which helped cut costs.
“All of the used buses together cost less than one new one,” Skinner said. “We took over the interest rate Lynx was paying and then paid a severely discounted price for them.”
As for the new buses, funding was provided by federal grants, according to Skinner.
“Around 50 percent of RTS’ funding comes from a transportation fee attached to each credit hour at UF,” he said. “The rest comes from a local gas tax, state grants and federal funding, which helped pay for the new buses.”
Carm Jeudy, a UF advertising junior, said she doesn’t mind that about half of RTS’ budget comes from a student transportation fee.
“The majority of people who use the buses are students,” she said. “It only makes sense to charge them. I personally use the bus all the time and am glad that the city has them for students who don’t have a car.”
The used buses have been painted orange and blue, Skinner said. RTS wanted continuity in the color of its buses, which are blue but also to appeal to UF students and fans. The buses will be used on campus, but RTS is still deciding if they will also be used around Gainesville.
Jeudy said she was thankful for new buses around Gainesville.
“Some of the current ones are just getting old,” she said. “It’ll be really nice to get some newer ones, even if some of them are still used.”
The used buses are still newer than most of the current fleet, Skinner said.
He said UF should appreciate the new buses because they are environmentally friendly and will not break down as much.
