For Immediate Release

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

Fresno Area Express purchases three American Heritage Streetcars from Optima Bus Corporation

Wichita, KS – November 20, 2003 – Optima Bus Corporation announced today that it received an order for three American Heritage Streetcars from Fresno Area Express (FAX) in Fresno, California.

“It was an easy decision to purchase the American Heritage Streetcars. They provide the best of both worlds — a nostalgic look and feel coupled with industry-leading technology and design,” says Bruce Rudd, Transit General Manager for FAX. “The unique look of the American Heritage Streetcar allows us to promote our community’s vivid history.”

Fax’s new American Heritage Streetcars will transport passengers through a historic route in which steel wheeled street cars operated in the early 1900s."

“This is our first purchase from Optima, and our first experience with streetcars,” says Rudd. “We have every confidence the American Heritage Streetcars will encourage people to use public transportation and make history come to life when they step inside.”

“It’s exciting to be involved with a community that is so focused on promoting its past,” says Diane Hawkins, marketing and sales manager for Optima. “The high standards with which the American Heritage Streetcars are constructed and engineered further advance their appeal and make them a great fit for many transit systems, including FAX.”