A project that was on the city’s back burner has quickly moved to the front of the stove.
The Sedona City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 10, agreed to a lease purchase for a small fleet of hybrid buses, which will be used as trailhead shuttle transit vehicles. The purchase, which is not to exceed $712,000 plus interest, is from Creative Bus Sales via the Arizona State Cooperative Purchasing Contract, with financing from Zions Bank.
A city report states that the trailhead shuttles and core fixed-route services were not anticipated to be fully operational for approximately five years, But with increased visitation seen in 2020, staff is accelerating the trailhead shuttle deployment to mitigate traffic congestion and lessen illegal parking in and around some of the more popular trailhead areas. As planned, the shuttles are scheduled to be fully operational early next year, prior to spring break, Transit Administrator Robert Weber said.
Due to manufacturing delays in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the original equipment manufacturer has projected up to a nine-month lead time for 2021 models.
Creative Bus Sales has reviewed its nationwide inventory and has agreed to hold five new 2020 model coaches for the city. However, with OEM production delays, available inventory is in high demand and because of this, staff is recommending purchasing the vehicles as soon as possible.
Creative Bus Sales has agreed to certify a local fleet maintenance firm located in Camp Verde to perform all warranty work, general repairs and preventative maintenance to include repairs of the hybrid systems on these buses. Having local maintenance support will avoid having to shuttle or tow the vehicles to the Creative Bus maintenance facility in Phoenix, the report states.
Weber said this same maintenance firm in Camp Verde will also serve hybrid fleets from Cottonwood, Prescott Valley and the Yavapai-Apache Nation. Otherwise, any maintenance would have to take place in Phoenix.
“I was relieved to see they were able to pull this off,” Weber said. “That could be a real kink in our armor, being so remote without that kind of support.”
Weber said in an ideal world, the city would start with electric buses, but due to the costs as well as lack of city infrastructure and ability to maintain them, the hybrids were the next best option. He said a 20-passenger gas-operated bus gets around nine to 10 miles per gallon, while the hybrid gets 12 to 13 and possibly more.
In May, it was announced that the city would be using the Ranger Station Park on Brewer Road as a temporary trailhead transit hub for the new buses. After the proposal was made public, residents in that area expressed their displeasure to the city regarding the proposed temporary hub.
During the June 8 council meeting, City Manager Karen Osburn announced there will be a modification of the proposed shuttle routes. The Ranger Station Park will now be one of a handful of transit locations — the others have yet to be determined — and will be used for stops along State Route 179, including Cathedral Rock.
