San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) will launch its new 60-foot hybrid articulated buses on their maiden voyage into service on its popular Metro Express Route 40.
Route 40 operates along Pacific Avenue between Hammer Lane and Downtown, often with standing room only on weekends. In Fiscal Year 2013, RTD served 1.9 million customers with its Metro Express service (Routes 40, 43, and 44) – 45 percent of RTD’s total system-wide ridership.
To accommodate this high ridership, RTD will introduce six Nova LFX hybrid buses and has increased Route 40’s weekend frequency from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes (10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)
Additionally:
- These new articulated buses are 50 percent longer than regular Metro Express buses.
- Stockton is one of the smallest cities in the U.S. using articulated hybrid buses.
- RTD is the first and only California transit agency using Nova LFX articulated buses.
These new buses cost just under $1 million each and are funded by the Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (88 percent) and the State of California Proposition 1B Program (12 percent).
The articulated buses offer comfortable seating and three doors to optimize passenger flow. Their front entrance and large aisle, combined with a gradual boarding ramp, make them fully accessible for wheelchair and mobility device users. RTD’s Nova LFX buses use quiet, low-emissions hybrid technology to reduce fuel consumption, as one bus can replace up to 100 cars but requires only 5 percent of their space.
