2014 Transit Bus Fleet Survey: Top Fleets Taking Steps to ...ity’s (MTA) New York City Transit/MTA Bus Co. with 6,782 total vehicles. This is the first year the MTA has com-bined

26 < mETRO mAGAZINE September/OctOber 2014 metro-magazine.com

With usage amongst millennials and Baby Boomers gaining popularity, many agencies are reporting measures to pull more of these segments onboard, including targeted marketing programs and increased technologies. Meanwhile, the amount of alternative-fueled vehicles has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. By Alex RoMAn, Managing editor

To mark METRO’s 110th year, we added 10 more transit agencies to our Top 100 Bus Fleets survey, which is topped by the Metropolitan Transportation Author-ity’s (MTA) New York City Transit/MTA Bus Co. with 6,782 total vehicles.

This is the first year the MTA has com-bined the two fleets into one number, with the total fleet count coming in at 10% of the 68,835 vehicles reported by 110 transit agencies, covering three countries and 33 states. The amount of total vehicles climbed 16% compared to 2004’s 59,337 total reported and 5% compared to 2013.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Transit (2,508), the Los Angeles County Met-ropolitan Transportation Authority (2,360), Chicago’s Pace Suburban Bus

2014 Transit Bus Fleet Survey:

Top Fleets Taking Steps to Attract Growing Market Segments

(1,960) and the Southeastern Pennsyl-vania Transportation Authority (1,860) round out the top five, with Woodbridge, Va.’s Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission closing out the Top 110 with 154 vehicles.

TRENds ANd INITIATIvEsAs studies continue to find so-called

millennials — those born between 1982 and 2004 — driving less and being more open to alternative forms of transporta-tion, many agencies are making efforts to become more attractive to that mar-ket, as well as on the opposite end of the spectrum, to Baby Boomers.

Of these initiatives, adding real-time bus information, offering free Wi-Fi, creating apps and improving fare pay-

ment, such as adding smart cards and smartphone payment technology, are the most popular for attracting millen-nials, as well as marketing and brand-ing efforts.

In Montreal, for example, the Societe de Transport de Montreal (No. 10) re-ports it has repositioned the agency as a “younger and more dynamic organiza-tion with a brand identity that is much more engaging.”

Meanwhile, other agencies, includ-ing West Covina, Calif.’s Foothill Tran-sit (No. 63) and Syracuse, N.Y.’s Central New York Regional Transportation Au-thority (No. 77) report expanding their social media outreach to “reach millen-nials where they are,” with other popular initiatives including outreach to schools

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and universities, the expansion or re-vision of bus routes, and adding more bike racks.

Popular initiatives for attracting Baby Boomers, include outreach to senior liv-ing communities, travel training, tar-geted marketing, increasing space for mobility aid devices, and either free or discounted fares.

When asked what technology or equipment they are adding to increase efficiencies or improve safety, many transportation agencies are reporting the implementation of computer aid-ed dispatch/automatic vehicle location systems, security cameras, enhanced trip planning and automated stop an-nouncement systems.

Additional improvements being made include expanded use of alter-natively-propelled vehicles and adding automatic passenger counting systems, as well as LED lighting and bus displays.

At New York MTA, new initiatives un-dertaken by the agency in the last year, include adding a bus operator security door, improved fire detection, security cameras onboard buses; proactively ad-dressing pedestrian safety in alignment with the city’s “Vision Zero” action plan; increased observational rides and on-street observations and direct engage-ment with bus operators; enhanced bus operator training with emphasis on distracted pedestrians and cyclists; re-searching new technologies to help mit-igate collisions; collaborating with the Department of Transportation on traffic engineering and streetscaping.

Meanwhile, other agencies report they are working on either expanding their existing fleet or purchasing new buses to replace outdated vehicles, im-proving bus stop and transit center ac-cessibility, expanding late night service, improving security both on-board buses and at pickup points, and creating rapid or targeted bus routes.

ThE NumbERsA closer look at the numbers reveals

48,770 buses are 35 feet or longer, mak-ing up 71% of the total vehicles reported, with 14,210, or 21%, of vehicles 35 feet and under. Fifty-eight percent, or 39,879,

With 8,539 vehicles, natural gas is the environmentally-friendly fuel of choice, followed closely by hybrid-electric vehicles with 7,277 vehicles. This year, electric vehicles get their own category and make up 4% of the total 16,964 alternative-fueled vehicles reported, which was 530 vehicles more compared with 2013. Overall, alternatively-fueled vehicles make up 25% of the total 68,835 vehicles reported. In 2004, alternatively-fueled vehicles made up only 13.6% of the total vehicles reported.

Natural Gas: 50%Hybrid-Electric: 43%Electric: 4%Other: 3%

1. MTA New York City Transit 4,6672. New Jersey Transit Corp. 3,0533. L.A. Metro 2,7214. Chicago Transit Authority 2,0245. Toronto Transit Commission 1,638

Buses 35 feet and over remain the most popular choice, with 48,770 total buses, followed by buses 35 feet and under and articulated vehicles, with 14,210 and 5,855, respectively. Compared to 2004, the totals are very similar with buses over 35 feet totaling 46,437 buses, however, that total constituted 77% of the total, with buses under 35 feet making up 15% of the sum.

Fleet Mix

AlternAtive Fuels

top 5 bus Fleets in 2004

0

25000

50000

35 ft. and over Under 35 ft. Artic

71% 21% 8%

(48,770) (14,210) (5,855)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000


the most representation in this year’s Top 110.

With all the budget and staff cuts go-ing on around the nation, METRO would especially like to thank all of the transit agencies for participating this year. If you know a fleet that belongs on this list or have suggestions on how to improve our future lists, please let us know at [email protected].

Digging a bit deeper, 17 transit agen-cies in this year’s Top 110 are from Can-ada, thanks to the addition of Brampton Transit, which reported 359 total vehi-cles and debuts at No. 57. Overall, seven of those Canadian agencies cracked the top 20, led by the Toronto Transit Com-mission at No. 6, with 1,851 reported ve-hicles. Meanwhile, with 16 transit agen-cies, California remains the state with

of the total vehicles are low-floor appli-cations and 13% of are used for demand response. This year’s Top 10 makes up 36% of the Top 110 Bus Fleet totals, which is approximately 2% higher than 2013. Overall, this year’s respondents report that they intend to order 6,701 ve-hicles in the next year, up 13% from last year’s number.

Meanwhile, the amount of alterna-tively-propelled vehicles reported total 16,964 and make-up 25% of the fleet to-tals reported for 2014, with natural gas continuing to lead the way with 8,539 vehicles. Hybrid-electric propulsion continues to follow closely behind with 7,277 vehicles, or 43%, of the total alt-fu-el vehicles reported, with electric vehi-cles — a new category for 2014 — mak-ing up 4% of the sum. Overall, 64% of respondents reported electric vehicles as the type of vehicle propulsion they are most interested in adding to their fleets, followed by natural gas and hybrid, with 36% and 19%, respectively.

TOp 110 TrANsIT Bus FLeeTs

top Fleets coMpArison: 2004 vs 2014

2004 2014

Total vehicles: 59,337 68,83535 ft. and over: 46,437 48,770Under 35 ft.: 9,231 14,210Articulated: 3,669 5,855Buses on order: 4,839 6,701Alt-fuel vehicles: 8,190 16,964


2014 2013 Agency 35 ft. Over Artic. 2014 2013 and 35 ft. Total +/- under

TOP 110Transit Bus Fleets

L.A. Metro - No. 3

1 1 MTA New York City Transit/MTA Bus Co.NYC

1090 4,895 797 6,782 —

2 2 New Jersey Transit Corp.Newark, N.J.

39 2,384 85 2,508 92

3 3 MetroLA

50 1,952 358 2,360 -10

4 10 Pace Suburban BusChicago

1510 450 0 1,960 189

5 6 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation AuthorityPhiladelphia

470 1,237 153 1,860 -3

6 4 Toronto Transit CommissionToronto

0 1,848 3 1,851 -31

7 7 Coast Mountain Bus Co.Vancouver, B.C.

499 1,092 252 1,843 -13

8 8 King County DOT/Metro TransitSeattle

500 692 643 1,835 -17

9 5 Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago

0 1,523 306 1,829 -41

10 9 Société de Transport de MontréalMontreal

98 1,470 257 1,825 -1

11 11 Washington Area Metropolitan Transit AuthorityD.C.

87 1,393 65 1,545 38

12 14 Regional Transportation DistrictDenver

492 778 131 1,401 52

13 13 Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris CountyHouston

186 1,212 0 1,398 31

14 12 Massachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityBoston

0 989 101 1,090 -344

15 17 BC TransitVictoria, B.C.

407 645 0 1,052 22

16 16 Valley MetroPhoenix

274 676 101 1,051 -48

17 18 OC TranspoOttawa, Ontario

88 577 359 1,024 -1




uTA - No. 31

18 20 Calgary TransitCalgary, Alberta

157 773 73 1,003 59

19 26 San Francisco Municipal RailwaySan Francisco

112 648 183 943 164

20 19 Edmonton Transit SystemEdmonton, Alberta

49 855 33 937 -10

21 21 Metro TransitMinneapolis

0 750 169 919 31

22 25 Miami-Dade Transit AuthorityMiami

77 713 25 815 -2

23 22 Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation DistrictPortland, Ore.

253 559 0 812 -66

24 24 Orange County Transportation AuthorityOrange, Calif.

267 501 36 804 -15

25 27 Maryland Transit AdministrationBaltimore

0 750 42 792 52

26 28 MTS Bus OperationsSan Diego

208 488 86 782 57

27 31 Dallas Area Rapid TransitDallas

212 543 0 755 112

28 30 Regional Transportation Commission of Southern NevadaLas Vegas

327 284 125 736 27

29 29 Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit AuthorityAtlanta

250 469 0 719 1

30 23 Port Authority of Allegheny CountyPittsburgh

60 515 126 701 -128

31 34 Utah Transit AuthoritySalt Lake City, Utah

214 395 0 609 -18

32 33 AC TransitOakland, Calif.

90 400 86 576 -46

33 35 Winnipeg Transit SystemWinnipeg, Manitoba

35 535 0 570 3

34 32 Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional TransportationDetroit

420 123 2 545 -82




sun Tran - No. 56

35 37 Delaware Transit Corp.Wilmington, Del.

301 221 0 522 2

36 38 Department of Transportation ServicesHonolulu

36 372 111 519 6

37 39 CTTRANSITHartford, Conn.

0 447 33 480 64

38 40 VIA Metropolitan TransitSan Antonio

0 460 16 476 39

39 41 Greater Cleveland Regional Transit AuthorityCleveland

88 345 41 474 -11

40 42 GO TransitToronto

0 466 0 466 8

41 44 MiWayMississauga, Ontario

36 358 69 463 14

42 49 Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation AuthorityRochester, NY

190 236 30 456 42

43 45 Detroit Department of TransportationDetroit

0 445 0 445 —

44 46 Santa Clara Valley Transportation AuthoritySan Jose, Calif.

67 331 40 438 -5

45 48 Reseau de transport de LongueuilLongueuil, Quebec

0 402 29 431 —

46 43 Capital MetroAustin, Texas

0 390 40 430 -22

47 47 Broward County TransitPompano, Fla.

112 286 31 429 -7

48 74 Sound TransitSeattle

0 277 139 416 148

49 53 Milwaukee County Transit SystemMilwaukee

8 407 0 415 28

50 50 Charlotte Area Transit SystemCharlotte, NC

129 278 0 407 -1

51 52 South West Ohio Regional Transit AuthorityCincinnati

50 346 5 401 11




Brampton Transit - No. 57

51 54 Niagara Frontier Transportation AuthorityBuffalo, N.Y.

91 310 0 401 18

53 63 Nassau Inter-County ExpressGarden City, N.Y.

95 300 0 395 70

54 51 COTA Central Ohio Transit AgencyColumbus, Ohio

150 230 0 380 -17

55 36 MetroSt. Louis

106 262 11 379 -154

56 55 Sun TranTucson, Ariz.

127 240 0 367 -10

57 — Brampton TransitBrampton, Ontario

0 329 30 359 —

58 56 Los Angeles Department of TransportationLos Angeles

250 102 0 352 7

59 61 Halifax Metro TransitHalifax, Nova Scotia

54 245 47 346 13

60 57 Montgomery County TransitRockville, Md.

179 162 0 341 -1

61 58 Societe de Transport de l’Outaouais CityGatineau, Quebec

31 308 0 339 —

61 58 Community TransitEverett, Wash.

67 108 164 339 —

63 60 Foothill TransitWest Covina, Calif.

15 286 30 331 -7

64 62 Westchester County Department of TransportationMt. Vernon, NY

21 231 78 330 —

65 64 Transit Authority of River CityLouisville, Ky.

89 230 0 319 10

66 65 LYNXOrlando, Fla.

68 221 10 299 3

66 67 Suffolk County TransitYaphank, N.Y.

284 15 0 299 6

68 65 San Mateo County Transit DistrictSan Mateo, Calif.

4 237 55 296 —




Omnitrans - No. 72

69 68 Greater Dayton Regional Transit AuthorityDayton, Ohio

149 140 0 289 8

70 69 Metropolitan Bus AuthoritySan Juan, PR

43 237 0 280 —

71 71 Fairfax Connector, FCDOTFairfax, Va.

74 204 0 278 —

72 72 Omnitrans San Bernardino, Calif.

110 147 14 271 -6

73 73 Capital District Transportation AuthorityAlbany, N.Y.

55 214 0 269 —

74 69 Jacksonville Transportation AuthorityJacksonville, Fla.

156 112 0 268 -12

74 74 Hampton Roads TransitHampton, Va.

150 118 0 268 —

76 74 Nashville Metropolitan Transit AuthorityNashville

107 116 42 265 -3

77 80 Central New York Regional Transportation AuthoritySyracuse, NY

83 179 0 262 23

78 77 Kansas City Area Transportation AuthorityKansas City, Mo.

101 155 0 256 5

79 — Sun MetroEl Paso, Texas

110 144 0 254 100

80 77 Spokane Transit AuthoritySpokane, Wash.

139 99 13 251 —

81 79 Rhode Island Public Transit AuthorityProvidence, RI

30 210 0 240 —

81 84 GRTC Transit SystemRichmond, Va.

104 136 0 240 10

83 80 Durham Region TransitWhitby, Ontario

39 198 0 237 -2

83 88 Long Beach TransitLong Beach, Calif.

13 211 13 237 13

85 85 Madison Metro TransitMadison, Wis.

17 214 0 231 3




Indy Go - No. 86

86 83 Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. (IndyGo)Indianapolis

93 118 17 228 -4

86 90 Metro Regional Transit AuthorityAkron, Ohio

106 118 4 228 19

88 86 ABQ RideAlbuquerque

74 129 24 227 —

89 87 Sacramento Regional Transit DistrictSacramento, Calif.

26 199 0 225 —

90 89 Hamilton Street RailwayHamilton, Ontario

0 196 25 221 —

91 92 Regional Transit AuthorityNew Orleans

97 93 16 206 —

92 97 Pinellas Suncoast Transit AuthorityClearwater, Fla.

58 145 0 203 12

93 93 Golden Gate TransitSan Rafael, Calif.

11 177 10 198 —

94 94 Hillsborough Area Regional Transit AuthorityTampa, Fla.

29 166 0 195 —

94 94 Big Blue BusSanta Monica, Calif.

9 186 0 195 —

96 96 London TransitLondon, Ontario

4 178 10 192 —

97 — Kitsap TransitBremerton, Wash.

84 104 0 188 —

98 98 Mass Transportation AuthorityFlint, Mich.

53 131 0 184 -3

99 69 Pioneer Valley Transit AuthoritySpringfield, Mass.

73 106 4 183 —

100 99 Fort Worth Transportation AuthorityFort Worth, Texas

70 100 8 178 1

101 — Central Contra Costa Transit AuthorityConcord, Calif.

89 86 0 175 —

102 90 Memphis Area Transit AuthorityMemphis, Tenn.

68 95 5 168 -41

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103 82 Toledo Area Regional Transit AuthorityToledo, Ohio

154 10 0 164 —

104 — Ben Franklin TransitRichland, Wash.

112 50 0 162 —

105 — North County Transit DistrictOceanside, Calif.

47 114 0 161 —

106 — Capital Area Transportation AuthorityLansing, Mich.

52 96 12 160 —

107 100 Lane Transit DistrictEugene, Ore.

61 71 26 158 -8

107 — Prince George’s County TheBusForestville, Md.

158 0 0 158 —

109 — Palm TranWest Palm Beach, Fla.

4 146 6 156 —

110 — Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Comm.Woodbridge, Va.

29 125 0 154 —

Documents

2014 Transit Bus Fleet Survey: Top Fleets Taking Steps to ...ity’s (MTA) New York City Transit/MTA Bus Co. with 6,782 total vehicles. This is the first year the MTA has com-bined