Double-decker bus scores positively with OmniRide riders, would cost nearly double

WOODBRIDGE — Apparently, people liked riding to work on a double-decker bus.

In April, OmniRide temporarily added a double-decker bus to its fleet and conducted an eight-day test run on several different routes, including a route from Gainesville to Washington D.C.

In exchange for a free ride, passengers on these runs were asked to fill out a multi-question survey on what they thought about the bus. The questions ranged from how the bus looked to the comfort the seats and the overall ride.

The transit agency sought feedback from riders as it considers making these types of busses a permanent addition to its fleet.

The results are in and this is what the public had to say about their experience.

According to Omnicide’s survey, 79% of riders favored the addition of these double-decker buses to the fleet. Only 18% of riders shared no opinion or were undecided about their experience and 3% of riders were not favorable towards the buses.

 Some of the positives that were recorded by the survey are as follows:

•  It holds more people so the trips won’t be overcrowded
•  The view is nice
•  The bus is unique

 There were also negatives that were recorded by the survey, these include:

• The ride on the lower deck wasn’t as smooth as with other Omniride buses
• The seats felt cramped
• The bus lacks overhead storage
• The upper deck ceiling is too low for tall people

“If OmniRide decided to purchase double deck buses in the future, some of these negative reactions could be addressed by, for example, changing the seat type. But other factors, such as the height of the ceiling, couldn’t be changed,” said OmniRide spokeswoman Christine Rodrigo.

Omniride has been searching for alternatives to improve their service and was approached by Alexander Dennis, a British bus building company based in Scotland with a manufacturing plant in Indiana.

Dennis provided Omniride with their “SuperLo” model, a 12 feet 10-inch tall vehicle that is 45 feet long and can hold up to 81 passengers. They have long been a fixture on the streets of London and have since made their way to the U.S. and Canada, being used for tourist transport as well as mass transit systems.

Should OmniRide choose to go with this option, each bus would cost $1 million, nearly double the cost of a bus in the transit agency’s current fleet of 57 passenger MCI buses with a price tag of $600,000 each. Add to the cost midlife overhauls costing another $250,000 which extends the bus’ lifespan to about 16 years.

OmniRide officials have questioned whether a midlife overhaul for the double-decker buses could expand their life span as well which could potentially justify their purchase if they can have a similar lifespan and carry more passengers.

These factors, as well as maintenance, fuel consumption, and training, will be taken into account in their cost/benefit analysis as the transit agency takes the next step to see if the buses would be a good fit for OmniRide.