New Times / News

That's a tall bus for a town with low bridges and trees

BY ROBERT A. MCDONALD

San Luis Obispo city officials had to trim trees and move two power lines to make way for a 40-foot English-style double-decker bus.

The $850,000 behemoth will have its coming out party at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 7 at the transit center at City Hall in downtown SLO. It’s too large for many routes in the city, so it will probably be restricted to two busy routes that service Cal Poly students.

The money for the bus came from a federal transit grant and state agencies, said John Webster, transportation manager for the city.

City transit officials say the double-decker will cut back on or eliminate the practice of leaving passengers stranded during peak hours and could save on the cost of hiring drivers, because there won’t be a need for an extra bus to pick up riders. When it’s full, it will run at low per-passenger fuel costs, city staffers say.