Our Million-dollar Bus Doesn't Add Up. We Did the Math

About a year ago, DART paid a pretty steep fare for seven new buses at about a million bucks a pop. We thought it was time to check in to see just how they were making out in our fair city.As our critics are likely gearing up to tell us, we had seemingly straightforward reasons for paying so much. These weren't normal buses. Although they cost almost double the price of a regular diesel bus, they were intended to reduce emissions and pay for themselves over the course of their lifetime thanks to zero fuel cost. By spending more up front to help the earth, we would save more down the road.What's more, the cash for each bus came through a federal government program. The $7.6 million outlay was essentially free money, so why not spend it?   Continue reading...