City officials approved a pair of purchase agreements totaling more than $700,000 for a new Gillig bus for ColumBUS Transit, and another to retrofit the department’s buses with improved camera technology.
“I have two sole source awards today,” Matthew Dudukovich, the city’s director of transportation told board members. “… I don’t think either of them today are a formal requirement, but I do want to gain your support and let you know that we are spending some significant dollars.”
The Columbus Board of Public Works and Safety gave unanimous consent for transit to buy a 29-foot Gillig low-floor diesel transit bus for a purchase price of $668,398 using funds from a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant, according to Dudukovich.
Transit was able to acquire the bus through the State of Washington’s procurement process, Executive Director of Administration Eric Frey noted, and the bus will match the city’s current fleet of Gillig buses.
“We continue to leverage the strategy to keep our buses with the same manufacturer, to reduce the maintenance expenses, as well as increase the efficiency for the drivers,” Dudukovich said.
Texas-based Safety Vision will be tasked with retrofitting the camera technology in city buses for $40,047, according to city documents. Dudukovich said that the purchase will come out of the 2024 capital budget.
“I think everyone’s aware that we do use cameras around all of the bus systems inside and out, so we’re going to upgrade. We’re going to retrofit our current buses with the system that we just purchased for the five cutaway busses,” Dudukovich told the board.
The buses’ current technology is out-of date, according to Dudukovich, and Safety Vision’s work would mean transit would have “one common system amongst both the Gillig buses and the cutaway buses.”
“We think this will help our drivers and rider safety, and make it simpler for my team to be able to administer that system and utilize it in an effective way,” Dudukovich said.
