For Immediate Release

For more information contact:
Steve Kratzer
Marketing and Business Development Representative
steve.kratzer@optimabus.com
316-779-7700 ext. 344

Utah Transit Authority adds 18 additional under-30-ft. Opus low-floor buses to its original order of 15, bringing UTA order to 33 units

Wichita, KS – March 3, 2005 – Optima Bus Corporation announced today that the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) in Salt Lake City, Utah, has exercised its option to add another 18 under-30-ft. Opus low-floor buses to the organization's original 15 units UTA ordered in 2004. That brings to 33, the total number of the popular futuristic buses the UTA expects to be in service by late fall, 2005.

Blended into its fleet of more than 500 larger buses, Utah Transit Authority officials say the fuel-efficient futuristic-looking Opus will be an ideal sized vehicle for use on light rail system feeder routes, as a downtown circulator service and for use in less densely populated areas. "The fuel efficiency of the Opus makes it the perfect solution in areas where lower ridership doesn't justify the use of our larger, less fuel-efficient buses," says UTA fleet engineer Doug Woodbury. "These smaller, more nimble buses help us to become more efficient, yet still meet the high standards our riders have come expect of UTA," he explains.

Because the Opus is less than 30-ft. in length, it can also easily navigate the steep streets, common in the UTA operation area. "Those same vertical streets are totally off-limits to the 40-ft. buses," explains Woodbury.

Utah Transit Authority's General Manager John Inglish says the UTA evaluation team looked at a wide array of factors before settling on a decision to go with the Opus. "We checked with other organizations that use the Opus and they all gave the bus high marks for performance, reliability, and rider appeal," says Inglish. "They also gave Optima Bus Corporation high marks for after-sale support." Opus' roomy interior and feeling of openness, says Inglish, was also high on the list of reasons the UTA ordered 33 Opus low-floor buses.

As an engineer, Woodbury says, "We were impressed that the folks at Optima went out of their way to accommodate our technical requirements related to our harsh winters and high altitude. They made sure our Opus buses will have extra protection against the road salt we use each winter and to ensure the Opus engine will deliver optimum performance at Utah's high altitude."

Optima marketing and sales manager Diane Hawkins says, "We are pleased the Utah Transit Authority in Salt Lake City has enough confidence in the Opus that it exercised its option to add 18 more units to its order even before the first 15 units UTA ordered last year were delivered. Their action," says Hawkins, "is proof the Opus' reputation for great performance and outstanding dependability is firmly established and continues to grow with each new delivery."