Nothing Like That New Car Smell
What’s blue and white weighs about 14 tons and traveled more than 3,000 to get to Rhode Island?
If you guessed the new 2016 Gillig buses that are helping to refresh our fleet, you are correct. Eighteen of the buses – which were driven here from Gillig Corp.’s headquarters in Hayward, California – have already arrived and another fourteen are expected over the next several months.
RIPTA is extremely grateful for grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and funding from the state fleet funds which make these vehicle purchases possible. The 2016 buses will enable RIPTA to retire older models that are past their useful mechanical lives.
RIPTA last got some new buses in 2013, and very little has changed in the styling or the mechanics of the sleek 40-foot Gilligs. One safety improvement is the fact that the 2016 models have a one-piece windshield with no vertical stanchion dividing it down the middle. This means one less blind spot for drivers to contend with.
All the new buses have stainless steel bike racks, wheelchair ramps and “clean diesel” engines with particulate filters that help meet air quality requirements by removing matter (soot) from diesel engine exhaust. And yes, they do have that “new car” smell.
