DART buses next to Bentleys, Ferraris?

Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s new DART buses will be on display at the 2012 Dallas Auto Show at the Dallas Convention Center. DART will unveil its new 40- and 26-foot buses along with a Mobility Management (MV-1) van at the March 23 to 25 event.

The buses sit beside Bentleys, Ferraris and Mercedes-Benz.

DART buses on display are part of an order of 459 new compressed natural gas (CNG) buses built by North American Bus Industries, Inc. of Anniston, AL. DART plans to introduce heavy duty, low-floor buses to replace the current fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and clean diesel buses that began service in 1998. The new buses are scheduled to be in service beginning in 2013 and the full fleet conversion is scheduled to be complete in 2015.

Later this year DART will introduce a new fleet of approximately 123 14- to 17-passenger buses for use on flex routes. The smaller buses are part of an effort to maintain the same level of service at lower costs and are manufactured by ARBOC Specialty Vehicles of Middlebury, IN.

DART also will debut new paratransit vehicles later this year. The MV-1 vans are specifically designed and tested for use in paratransit service and are manufactured by AM General Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, IN.