Federal grant to fund new buses for LATS

A $6.1 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration will allow LATS to proceed with plans to replace its aging buses.

Lawton’s mass transit system was notified that it has been awarded the FTA grant, which will allow LATS to replacing seven fixed route diesel buses with diesel-electric hybrid buses, said Tony Hansley, head of marketing and innovation for LATS. Hansley said the result will be reduced maintenance costs and lower emissions from the eco-friendly vehicles, while providing more reliable transportation to the Lawton community.

The grant covers the entire cost of those buses, he said. LATS will order the buses as soon as it has confirmation and receipt of those federal funds. While it will be a while before LATS actually receives its money, system administrators will begin talking to bus manufacturers “soon” to begin an acquisition process that will be about two years from order to delivery.

Hansley said it is important for LATS to update its aging fleet, where multiple buses are well past their designed life. Lawton is selecting hybrid models because the federal government is limiting its grant funds (which traditionally cover at least 80 percent of the purchase cost) to low-emission and zero-emission buses, General Manager Ryan Landers has said. Hansley said those hybrids are a good investment and necessary for Lawton’s mass transit system.

“Our fleet is past its useful life,” he said, adding the electric/diesel hybrids will reduce bus emissions by 75 percent.

City Council members confirmed the decision to buy hybrid buses earlier this year during discussions about one of LATS’ other major projects: construction of the system’s first indoor passenger transfer center. That indoor facility will be combined in a complex that will include administrative, storage and maintenance facilities, and part of the construction must include fueling stations for buses.

Council members had considered the idea of electric buses, but decided hybrids were a more economical choice because of their cost ($850,000) and the fact more manufacturers are producing them. Landers said hybrid buses don’t have the same extensive refueling capacity as full electric buses, citing a battery system that typically recharges itself during daily operations. Such buses also can use slower charge portals, which are less costly than the fast charge portals that electric buses need, and can operate in electric-only mode, traditional diesel mode, or a combination.

Information about LATS is available via its website: www.ridelats.com