GLOVERSVILLE - The city Transit System has received $706,000 in federal stimulus funds through the state Department of Transportation, some of which will be used to purchase a trolley-style bus.
GTS Director Al Schutz said he hopes the trolley will help efforts to revitalize downtown.
The bus will be paid for with $175,000 of the $706,000 funding package the Transit System received from DOT. The money also includes the purchase of another new bus, engineering work for the creation of a pole barn, furnace repairs, roof repairs, the purchase of a brake meter, $225,000 to repave the bus station's West Fulton Street parking lot and new office equipment, including scheduling software, computers and a copier.
The department received $120,000 to purchase the new modern-style bus, Schutz said, which will bring the department's fleet to 10. He said with the purchase of the new bus, all of the vehicles will be less than 10 years old.
Schutz said the trolley will have an old-fashioned style and will be painted in colors similar to those used in the 1930s, but it will have modern features such as air conditioning.
He said he thinks it will add to an "ambiance" in downtown.
"The trolley is the most interesting piece of the funding," he said. "They are all very high-tech, but with an old-fashioned look."
The trolley cannot be contracted out and must be used on a fixed route that is open to the public, Schutz said. He said he believes it will be used during the summer months.
"It will be used to bring people around the downtown, from stores to parks," Schutz said. "It's really limitless what we can do. I think it's another piece in the revitalization of the downtown."
The funding the department has received shows DOT's faith in Gloversville's transit system, Schutz added.
"Mass transit is one of the solutions to our long-term problems," he said. "DOT wouldn't be pumping this kind of money if they didn't think it was a viable operation."
The department had a $231,000 shortfall in 2008, its smallest in its history. Schutz said none of the city's departments make a profit, and the Transit System earns back 80 cents for every dollar it spends, mainly through bus fares and advertising revenue.
"We're excited about it," he said. "The trolley will bring some nostalgia back."
Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com