SamTrans introducing new Coastside buses

SamTrans is rolling out the first of four new buses specially designed for use on the Coastside.  The 29-foot buses combine the versatility of a smaller vehicle with the benefits of a standard-size bus.  The event will be Thursday, Jan. 28 at 1:00pm in the New Leaf parking lot.

The new vehicles, which accommodate up to 41 passengers (28 seated and 13 standing) will replace the smaller vehicles currently in use on Route 17.  Ridership on the popular route regularly exceeds capacity.
 
Tenatively, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo will join officials from SamTrans local officials, including Susan Alvaro, president, San Mateo County Board of Education; Rob Gaskill, superintendent, Cabrillo Unified School District; Marina Fraser, mayor, City of Half Moon Bay; and Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, coastside representative, San Mateo County Transit District Board of Directors.

The buses are part of a larger purchase of 135 buses that will replace 1993-year models that have exceeded the recommended 12-year life-span.  The new buses use the latest clean-diesel technology, emitting 70 percent less nitrogen oxide and 90 percent less particulate matter than the older buses did in 1993.