CLEVELAND — The city of Sandusky is working to accommodate the growth in tourism and population, especially during their most popular months, May through November.
Starting with public transportation, Sandusky transit officials announced the addition of four 32-passenger buses to the fleet.
“There have been issues with capacity on our buses and the riders have expressed the need and desire for larger buses. I think it's something we recognize that we needed... we wanted to make sure to respond to those requests from our riders to make sure that they are having a comfortable experience,” Sandusky Communications Manager Tom Horsman said.
Currently, the buses can only hold 16 passengers, and these buses are replacement vehicles.
The average lifespan of a transit vehicle is seven years or 200,000 miles. However, the oldest Sandusky transit system vehicle in operation is twice that age, dating back to 2010 according to James Stacey, the city's transit administrator.
Community members like Janette depend mostly on the Sandusky public transit to take her where she needs to go. She says she is usually able to snag a seat, but over the years it has become difficult.
“If people don’t have a seat, then they don’t let them on because they don’t want them to stand on the bus while it’s moving. They don’t want them to fall or hurt themselves, so they have to wait for the next bus,” Janette said.
Horsman said in 2023 they had around 380,000 riders, and Sandusky has gone from a rural area to an urban city.
“We could have about 10 million visitors visit a year; nearly 4 million alone come to Cedar Point, which is in Sandusky. We have thousands of international employees and workers that are living here in the summertime. So, we have a lot of different needs than some smaller comparable cities,” Horsman said.
To continue to be a city that wants to grow and attract more people, Tom says they want to have different options for people to get around and invest in additional public vehicles over the next few years.
Horsman says the new buses are expected to be up and running in six to eight months.
