Palatka- U.S. Congressman Mica (R-FL) joined residents, local leaders and State representatives for the first public presentation and roll out of a new transit vehicle designed and built in Northeast Florida to service rural communities and special needs passengers.
        “The story behind the development of the Brevi Bus is an interesting one,” said Congressman Mica.
        In 2003, Putnam County sought to update their aging vehicle fleet, which contained ten aging buses.  Of these ten buses, their last new bus purchase occurred in 1989 and some vehicles had over 500,000 miles of use.
        In 2005, Rep. Mica was successful in securing first-ever federal support for new Putnam Ride Solution buses.  However, after an extensive search, Putnam County failed to locate a vehicle that met its needs.  More than 50 percent of the County roads were unpaved, so a large bus or traditional passenger vehicle would not meet local requirements.
        The County made the decision at that time to pursue development of a locally engineered vehicle.  To complicate matters, a special Congressional waiver was needed and finally obtained in 2008 to allow for the research and development of this new vehicle.  With local support, the low-floor Brevi Bus was designed to be shorter, more maneuverable, more rugged and more accessible to those with disabilities.
        “The resulting Brevi Bus is a great success and a testament to the ingenuity and vision of our residents,” continued Congressman Mica.  “Like Putnam County, many rural areas have many unpaved roads which still need access to public transportation, and these new Brevi Buses will fill this unique local and national need.  Maybe most exciting is that there are plans to manufacture these buses in Putnam County.”