Bus Facts

DART NABI Bus at CBD West Transfer Center View more DART Bus images

DART putting new bus to the test

DART is spending the next several weeks testing a model of its bus before they begin arriving later this year. The 459 30 and 40-foot buses are fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG). It marks the latest phase of DART's clean transit fuels program. It is also one of the nation's largest CNG bus orders. The $210 million contract with North American Bus Industries, Inc. of Anniston, Alabama will allow the agency to introduce heavy duty, low floor buses to replace the current fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and clean diesel buses which began service in 1998. The new buses are scheduled to be in service beginning in Fiscal Year 2013. The full fleet conversion should be complete in 2015. DART is building four CNG fueling stations. The stations will be located at its bus and Mobility Management operations facilities.

Some of the new features - leg room for customers, improved window tinting, color LED destination signs, an operator shield for security and safe vehicle operation and on-board security cameras.

Later this year DART will introduce a new fleet of approximately 123 14 to 17-passenger buses. The smaller buses are part of an effort to maintain the same level of service at lower costs and are manufactured by ARBOC Specialty Vehicles of Middlebury, Indiana.

The public had a chance to see the new buses during the Dallas Auto Show in late March.

• Click here to view a photo slide show of the DART bus display at the Dallas Auto Show,
  March 23-25, 2012 (Opens in a new window)
• DART's New CNG Buses Fact Sheet (PDF file opens in a new window)

DART NABI CNG Bus outside DART Headquarters on March 6, 2012


Take a first look at the new buses with DART President/Executive Director Gary Thomas and
learn about some of the exciting features of these new vehicles.