Cold Lake, AB – The City of Cold Lake was able to modernize its backup transit fleet after two buses similar to Cold Lake Transit’s newest models came up for auction.

After staff determined that the buses were in working condition and could be integrated in the fleet, a budget was allocated for the auction. The city was able to place winning bids of $7,000 on each of two 2006 NovaBus Model LFS. The buses will be rewrapped to the Cold Lake Transit branding and will replace the city’s 1992 MCI buses. The MCIs were the first buses in Cold Lake Transit’s fleet and were originally purchased from Calgary Transit after they had reached their service life with the transit system.

“We are a smaller community with a small, but effective transit system and so we’ve looked for the most cost-effective means of supplying our transit fleet right from the start,” Mayor Craig Copeland said. “Council appreciates that our staff were able to find this deal - we know our staff are passionate about their work. Two buses for $14,000 makes a huge difference. These new-to-us vehicles will help to deliver a very consistent and reliable level of public transit service.”

The new vehicles are similar to the City’s two existing NovaBuses, lacking only the rear door. Both are 43-passenger kneeling models with wheelchair accessible ramps, locations for wheelchairs or electric scooters, are fully air-conditioned and heated, and come with mounted bike racks.

The City of Cold Lake understands that the buses were originally owned by Strathcona County and were taken out of its transit service as part of a routine fleet rotation and modernization. The 2006 NovaBuses are currently undergoing inspections and minor retrofits. Once completed, they will then be rebranded before coming into service – likely early in the New Year.

“These are a great step up for our backup fleet, and will allow us to take our newer models out of service for cleaning and maintenance, while still providing fully accessible transit service to our users,” Copeland said. “It will be sad to see the MCIs go. They were the first full-sized transit buses on our roads, and they helped us launch an important service that many of our residents have embraced. But we could not pass up the increased accessibility and reliability these newer models will bring to our fleet – especially at this price.”

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