I think you will all agree that this is an exciting moment for our entire community. The City of Wichita is pleased to launch a new era in public transportation for our City - an era that continues to focus on our citizens but will also concentrate on comfort and convenience.

Mayor Bob Knight

As you know, Wichita has been named an All-American City three times because of our quality of life - and Wichita's public transportation system is woven into the tapestry of that quality of life. I share our City Council's dedication to public transportation to make our City more accessible for its citizens. Today we take a big step in improving our public transportation system for Wichita. Today our new City's new buses will soon take the streets for public transportation. They will be joined by others just like them – in total, we will receive 34 new buses by the end of this summer. These additions will update our City's bus fleet, making them all better looking, easier to operate and maintain, and most importantly, more comfortable and safe for our passengers.

I am proud to say today that this new fleet will make our City buses 100% ADA accessible! Now all citizens of Wichita will be able to ride a City bus. These new buses have a modern design, are more comfortable and offer lower fuel and maintenance costs that will lower overall operating expenses. We know that with these amenities, more people will be willing, and able, to ride a City bus.

Congressman Tiahrt cutting the tape.

This was all made possible thanks to our State & Federal governments. The City of Wichita worked with the Federal Transit Administration and the Kansas Department of Transportation to bring these buses to Wichita. The total dollars that we received was 10 million dollars. Most of that money could have gone to any other city...Oklahoma City, Des Moines, or even Chicago or Dallas. Instead, it comes to Wichita to improve our quality of life for you.

With our new bus replacement program well under way, the future for transit in Wichita has taken an extremely positive turn. Future plans continue to add services and development that will add up to improved mass transit for the citizens of Wichita. These new buses today lead that charge. Enjoy the new design, bright colors, comfort and safety that it brings. We want you to know that now and for the future...YOUR RIDE IS HERE!