On Tuesday, the Pullman City Council voted unanimously in favor of purchasing five low-floor diesel-powered buses from the Gillig Corporation.

Pullman will order one 35-foot bus and four 40-foot buses within 30 days. The city will pay $1,960,890 for the five-bus package with money coming from the federal stimulus package.

The 35-footer will accommodate about 70 passengers, while the 40-foot buses will pack in roughly 90 people at maximum capacity.

“(The purchase is) necessary if we want to have a bus service,” said Pullman City Councilman Bill Paul. “The old buses wear out and have to be replaced, and the other thing is, we got some great state funds. These buses will replace older buses – they’re not being added to the fleet.” Pullman Transit Operation Supervisor Chris Mitchell was present at Tuesday’s gathering as an advocate for the purchase.

“The biggest thing is, our newest old bus is a 1997 bus,” he said. “So, with that in mind, it’s already 11 years old. Some of the ones we’re replacing are ‘85 and ‘86 models. If you want to go green at all, (the ‘85 and ‘86 models) are prior to the green technology.” Pullman Transit maintains a fleet of 18 buses, each of which has a lifespan of roughly 12 years, Mitchell said. Transit will place five of the oldest buses up for auction when the newly purchased buses are wheeled into the city.

Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson said using the money allocated by the state funds would allow the purchase of just three hybrids in comparison to five diesels.

Both the 35 and 40-footers will come with a pollution-control device, he said. Johnson said he hopes the city will make a hybrid-package purchase the next time new buses become necessary. Johnson has asked Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-WA, for funds to purchase hybrids. He also said Sen. Patty Murray, a WSU alumna, has been at the forefront of the push to obtain funds for the mass transit system.

Besides the new buses being more fuel-efficient, no differences exist between the newer and older models, Paul said. He also said the city feared the purchase of hybrids because maintenance costs are a mystery due to the different technology.

The new buses also include improved services for people with disabilities as well. They operate with a wheelchair ramp instead of a hydraulic lift, as seen in the older bus models, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said another benefit that the diesels have over the hybrids is that Pullman can bring the new diesel buses on site much sooner than it could with the hybrids. The new buses will operate with a seven to eight miles per gallon fuel efficiency, as compared to the three to four miles per gallon efficiency of the older buses, he said.

Despite the quicker completion, the buses will not be ready until 19 months after the order’s placement, Mitchell said.

“The actual process has already started immediately after the City Council approved the agreement last Tuesday,” he said.

Mitchell said the lengthy 19-month waiting period stems from the 3,000 other buses ordered from the Gillig Corporation, prior to Pullman’s order. He said transit systems like Spokane’s, who have 350 to 400 buses and order 20 to 30 buses each year, create this backup.

Paul was adamant in crediting the WSU students in the addition of the five new buses to the fleet. Students of WSU were vocal and voted in favor of the upgrade, he said.