Styling proves more important than ever for transit fleet purchases

It seems the big, boxy utilitarian-looking bus is headed off for the sunset. Taking its place are sleeker, more attractive models that look as upscale as the luxury sedans and SUVs that transit agencies hope to replace on our busy thoroughfares.

And a different group of people are driving those decisions than ever before, says Michael Melaniphy, vice president of MCI's Public Sector division. In years past, it's been maintenance directors and other mechanical-minded managers that have driven the decision, says Melaniphy. Now, it's the front office. And what they want is style — and lots of it — along with a feeling of luxury that extends into seating, computer connectivity and entertainment.

MCI has been fortunate enough to please both camps, according to Melaniphy. For years, MCI's hard-working D-Series coaches have offered maintenance directors very attractive mean distance between failure ratios. They still do. But over the last couple of years, the D-Series has been undergoing styling changes, helping to cement MCI's market leader position in the commuter-coach market.

"A lot of agencies have gone to the taxpayers and asked them to pass dedicated funding," says Melaniphy. "They're also asking more people to ride, and they're thinking about what's important to 'choice' riders, those who can choose whether or not to take public transportation. The agencies know they have to give those riders more amenities, in line with what their own automobiles offer them. We've embraced the challenge with both arms."

MCI's engineers and designers have been responding and rising to the challenge, offering up new exterior designs and ramping up the interior feature packages. It's not unusual these days to see an MCI commuter coach gliding along, equipped with plush seating, cupholders, laptop hookups and video entertainment.

Agencies go the distance
Minnesota's SouthWest Transit is one agency that's relied in part on a modern, updated fleet to attract affluent riders. It's striking black-and-copper coaches, many of them late-model MCIs, are a distinctive sight along the streets, and the agency has been enjoying double-digit growth for the last five years. Style, whether in the exterior paint job or the interior amenities, has played an important part in the agency's success.

"Our area of the Twin Cities is very affluent," says Len Simich, chief executive officer of SouthWest Transit. "Everyone has an auto, and they probably have two or three sitting in their driveways. The question is, how do we get them to give up their cars? Our strategy is to give them a premium service. First it has to be very reliable and welcoming. Second is the type of facilities. And the third thing is the equipment itself. A lot of our commutes are in excess of 20 miles, and we want to make sure our customers are comfortable and have the latest and the
greatest. The MCI coaches have fit in very well."

Practicality still counts
Agencies like SouthWest know that buses still need to operate well, and the maintenance-director camp still holds some sway in the market. Melaniphy jokes that there are a lot of decision makers who come clamoring for buses that look like rockets or bullets. "There are only so many curves or swoops you can add to a bus," says Melaniphy, who points out that form must ultimately follow function. "At the end of the day, your primary mission is still to design a bus that holds as many people as possible and comfortably and reliably gets them from Point A to Point B."

And as ever, the need to innovate — and excel — continues.

"We've got some really good designs, and agencies are buying our buses more than anyone else's," says Melaniphy. But we're aware the marketplace isn't static and that we must continue to push the envelope. Stretching ourselves to meet the market helps us grow as a company."

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