David Schmalz here. Yesterday, I did something for the first time in my life—I rode a double-decker bus in Monterey County.
The occasion was a demonstration ride for Monterey-Salinas Transit board members—they had just wrapped up their May meeting—with the idea that, if it becomes possible in the future for the agency to potentially purchase some double-deckers, they would know what they’re signing up for.
The bus, an Alexander Dennis Enviro500, is on loan right now for MST’s drivers to test out and check bridge heights and whatnot. And as it stood outside MST’s office in Ryan Ranch yesterday morning as the board members left the building, the sky was clear. Salinas Councilmember Tony Barrera, who was smiling ear to ear upon seeing the bus, asked for his picture to be taken standing next to it. “Man this is awesome,” he said.
As everyone gathered to board, General Manager Carl Sedoryk gave an overview: The electric double-deckers cost $2 million each, as opposed to $1.3 million for a standard electric bus. He said there’s a surprising lack of consolidated information about bridge heights in the county, but that so far bridges haven’t been an issue—there've been some challenges with trees, he said, but he wasn’t worried about it.
And he reminded the board, gesturing toward the bus, “This is aspirational.”
I felt like a kid again when I hopped onboard and climbed to the second level. The interior was plush and felt brand new, and the view out the front window was surreal, a heightened perspective on the road I’d never seen. Rolling down South Boundary Road in Del Rey Oaks, a narrow strip of road lined with chaparral and oaks, was lovely.
As the bus wrapped around on a short loop back to Ryan Ranch, Sedoryk told the board that if MST were to ever purchase double-deckers, it would opt for buses with two sets of stairs, unlike the model we were in, which had one. And if purchasing them were possible, getting four buses would be the “sweet spot.”
As for how to come up with the roughly $8 million to do so, he said MST will be looking at what’s in the state budget this year as far as cap-and-trade credits, and he also mentioned the possibility of federal funding, though he didn’t sound hopeful.
The catalyst for MST’s interest in acquiring double-deckers is Line 23, which runs between Salinas and King City. It’s gotten more popular in the past year—Sedoryk chalks that up to increased enrollment at Hartnell—and because MST doesn’t allow standing passengers on Highway 101 due to safety concerns, there have been issues with buses filling up at peak hours.
If MST manages to get the funding at some point to purchase a pair or more of double-deckers, Sedoryk said they would take two years from ordering before they’re road-ready.
Obviously, the purpose of the acquisition would be to better serve commuters, but if it ever happens, I will definitely be taking Line 23 for one or more joyrides—the sweep of the Salinas Valley, from a front-row seat on the second level? That’s my kind of adventure.