Huntington – Huntington Area Rapid Transit (HART), the only Town-operated bus system on Long Island, is putting 15 new vehicles into service, providing easier access for passengers and fuel savings.
The newest members of the HART fleet include seven 20-passenger Spirit of Mobility buses manufactured by ARBOC Specialty Vehicles, an Indiana-based company, and eight paratransit buses from Shepard Brothers in upstate Canandaigua. The clean-diesel ARBOC buses will be used on fixed routes and will provide easier maneuverability, greater fuel efficiency and easier passenger access than the 29-passenger vehicles they are replacing. The eight clean-diesel paratransit buses are consistent with existing vehicles and will replace ones that, like the fixed route vehicles being taken out of service, are beyond their useful life.
“Huntington is proud of the way HART serves Town residents who either want or need to use public transportation,” Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “These new buses will help HART to keep providing the type of top-notch service residents deserve.”
HART also has three hybrid fixed-route buses, which will remain in use.
The new fixed-route buses cost $175,500 each and the smaller paratransit buses cost $53,368 each. Eighty percent of the cost comes from federal mass transit funding. The Town and New York State each assume 10 percent of the cost.
The first of the vehicles went into service this week and will be joined by the others shortly.