Musician Ralph Tourkow is fondly remembered as a talented musician who had a jovial sense of humor and a schedule of dinner dates. His family and friends agree that to meet Tourkow was to instantly meet a friend.FORT WAYNE – Citilink has taken delivery of five more hybrid buses.
Their arrival brings the transit agency’s total of hybrids to 14, out of a fleet of about 50 buses.
General Manager Ken Housden said the hybrids get more than 6 miles per gallon, which might not sound like much but is 50 percent better than a regular diesel bus, which gets less than 4 mpg.
“When we spend over $1 million a year on fuel and can get an increase of 50 percent, that’s a big issue for us,” Housden said.
He said buses generally are in service for 12 to 14 years, so the fuel savings will add up dramatically over the lifetime of the vehicle.
“It’s like the gift that keeps on giving,” Housden said.
With the new buses coming on line, he said this is the first time in recent memory that the entire Citilink fleet is up-to-date and none of its buses in service are scheduled to be replaced.
Housden also said the new downtown transfer station is performing exceptionally well, and because it is big enough to hold all of the buses at once, there are fewer delays.
That has pushed Citilink’s on-time rating well above 90 percent, which he said is excellent in the industry.
Officials also are hopeful that pending legislation could mean new spending on transit. Under one plan being considered, Citilink could get enough new funding to increase its service to every 30 minutes instead of every hour, could add later hours and even Sunday service.
