University at Buffalo Renews Transit Contract and Boasts Newly Designed Transit Buses

The University at Buffalo recently renewed its university transit service contract with First Transit Inc. Currently, First Transit operates 28 vehicles and oversees eight employees. The university’s shuttle service transports more than three million passengers annually.

In addition to the contract renewal, students, faculty and staff will now be riding on the newly designed buses to and from campus. The 28 new buses are Eldorado EZ Rider II heavy-duty transit buses. The buses are powered by biodiesel fuel and include the latest in clean engine technology to produce near-zero emissions. Also included in this fleet is the DriveCam DC3 system, which monitors driving behavior to provide real time feedback and coaching data to improve safety and fuel economy.

“We truly value our relationship with the university and are pleased to continue providing service to its students, faculty and staff,” said Jeff Hamill, general manager, First Transit. “These new vehicles are a great addition to the campus and provide our riders with a new way to travel by allowing them to track and monitor their service and know that they are traveling environmentally friendly throughout their campuses. These innovations allow our customer to provide enhanced service to the university community while significantly reducing the carbon footprint for campus transit.”

Another technological addition to the buses is the Insight Street Eagle Automated Vehicle Locator. This system allows First Transit and the university to monitor system performance and share bus location information with students. With this GPS based bus tracking system, students can monitor the location of their bus by using their mobile devices.

First Transit has provided service to the students of the University at Buffalo since 2007.