Why Trius Transit is getting 10 used buses instead of new ones

A change in funding from Ottawa means Trius Transit is getting six-year-old buses from Calgary instead of 10 new vehicles, according to owner Mike Cassidy.

He saidthe allocation of the federal government's transit program used to be based on population but has been changed to ridership within the provinces instead.

Cassidysaidthe details of the new programcame as a shock and meant his plans to purchase new buses had to be revised.

"When we receive our allocation from the feds this year it only amounts to a total of $660,000 compared to close to $4 million dollars in '05 to '06," said Cassidy.

He noted one new transit bus can cost between $400,00 and $500,000 and the entire province of P.E.I. was only allocated a total of $ 660,000.

'Very, very fortunate'

"We had to be very prudent on how we added buses to our fleet," he said.

"We were very, very fortunate that the city of Calgary has six-year-old buses and we were fortunate enough to be able to negotiate for 10 of these six-year-old buses."

The final decision to move forward with the purchase came from the three municipalities that pay fortransit: Charlottetown, Stratford and Cornwall.

The used buses are in good mechanical shape and will help replacesome ofthe aging Triusvehicles, said Cassidy.

He's hoping the federal government will eventually come through with more money. He hopes to convince Ottawa to change thefunding backto a population-based system.

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