LEWISTON — A new Citylink report makes the case that buses in the fleet, purchased with federal money, may not be the best fit for Maine’s climate.

“Those buses are classified as 12-year buses, but we can show that their actual life is much shorter than that, especially here,” said Phil Nadeau, chairman of the Lewiston Auburn Transit Committee, the group that operates Lewiston-Auburn’s Citylink system. “I’m recommending we ask the Federal Transit Authority to recognize that and to reclassify those buses, at least.”

On Wednesday Nadeau released the 34-page report written by national bus fleet consultant Halsey King.

King was hired as the local group’s response to state complaints of poor maintenance practices at Western Maine Transit Services. Western Maine is the group contracted to manage Citylink’s system, provide its drivers and maintain its buses.

All of Maine’s buses have been purchased using Federal Transit Agency matching grants. The federal government pays 80 percent of the cost of a bus, which can be more than $400,000. The state and local agencies split the remaining 20 percent.

As part of the agreement, the local agencies need to maintain the buses. If they do not and the buses are retired early because of poor maintenance, the local agency can be required to repay the FTA grant.

The King report backs up many of the complaints that state consultant Mike Merwin made about the Twin Cities fleet this summer. It notes maintenance practice deficiencies and problems with maintenance records and suggests ways to correct the problems.

“We’ve never disputed that report and that there were practices that needed to be addressed,” Nadeau said.

But the report also said that several of Citylink’s low-floor buses, purchased in 2002 and 2006, are not designed to work optimally in Maine’s climate. Those problems, not maintenance, are to blame for the poor performance.

The report notes that the 2006 buses, made by Bluebird, have brake lines and steering links that sit lower then other parts of the bus, making them vulnerable to potholes, train tracks and other road hazards.

King’s report also makes the case that the FTA, which originally gave the Bluebird buses a 12-year work life, was aware of those potential problems.

Nadeau said he is contacting bus agencies around the country to find out if they’ve had similar problems. He expects to file a second report with his findings later this month or early in January.

“We know that the FTA has expectations about how long these vehicles will last, but I think we’ll be able to show that it hasn’t been the experience all around,” Nadeau said. “If it’s a problem in several places, not just here, it’s something they will have to address.”

The buses were rated by the FTA that they would last for 12 years. Since the federal government paid for 80 percent of the costs of those buses, they would expect the Citylink system to repay them for years the buses are not used if Citylink retires them early due to maintenance issues.

“The useful life for those buses is 12 years, and that means they should be in service until 2018, but we have serious concerns that they will make it,” Nadeau said. “If they don’t, that’s a $15,000 to $16,000 cost to us per bus, and it could leave us in a very difficult situation.”

staylor@sunjournal.com

Consultant’s report on WMTS/Citylink mainintenance and bus fleet by Scott Taylor

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