Buses, trucks and more up for grabs at P.E.I. government auction

The government of Prince Edward Island will be holding a vehicle auction on Saturday.

Approximately 30 buses, 10 trucks, four vans and cars along with other miscellaneous items will be up for auction at theevent, said Stephen Szwarc, acting director for highway maintenance with the province.

"Usually it's once a year, but since we are in the process of moving to our new site, we're trying to have another auction before the winter so that we can move some vehicles before we have to move," Szwarc said.

The viewing begins at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 9:30 a.m. to give Islanders a chance to decide what they'd like to bid on, Szwarc said.

The auction, which begins at 10 a.m., will be conducted by an outside auction servicethat will run the event on behalf of the province, he said.

Past auctions have seen between 100 and 300 visitors.

Szwarc said in the past, larger auctions have generated more than $100,000 for the government.

Since thisauction will be smaller, he said, the province anticipates that numberwill also be more modest.

Buses that are purchased at the auction can become roadworthy, but there arenumerous stipulations thatmust be followed, such as repainting the bus in a different colour before they can be registered, Szwarc said.

"For school buses there's a certain year that they just age out or they're just at a point that we're not going to repair them," Szwarc said.

Successful bidders of school buses will have the opportunity to go over the stipulations with staff after the auction, he said.

The government auction will happen at 3 AcadianDr.in Charlottetown on Saturday.

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