Buses which are retired from the fleet at the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) don't necessarily head for the junkyard. Since SamTrans maintains buses fully until they are replaced, even a 14-year-old bus has some good miles left in it. Ten SamTrans buses are now in a second career with the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District.
Three Gillig buses were also sold to San Francisco International Airport for its emergency operations unit. Two of the buses are being modified for hold medical supplies and emergency response equipment to respond to airplane crashes; a third will be transformed into a mobile decontamination unit.
The San Mateo County Area Office of Emergency Services spent $40,000 to upgrade a former SamTrans bus into its "Support One" vehicle, used for emergency support and as a backup for the county's 911 dispatch center. It is equipped with a mobile communications system, soundproofing, carpeting, and seven communications stations, four of which can be used for radio dispatch.
Even buses which are no longer roadworthy can go on working. One bus, which had been clipped by a train, became an emergency training bus for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which uses it for "confined-space" rescue drills. It was also used by the Woodside Fire Protection Agency for a mass casualty training exercise. The practice drill involved flipping the bus on its side and putting it on top of two cars. Elementary school students became the "wounded passengers". Emergency responders throughout the county participated.
For more information:
Christine Dunn, SamTrans, 650-508-6243