Twice the Ride
Double-Decker busses will add a second floor to the Cheney commute.
They鈥檙e sleek, futuristic and ready to bring the magic back to the commute from Spokane to Cheney.
鈥淭hey鈥� are seven shiny new Enviro500 double-decker busses, one of which made an introductory appearance in front of Eastern鈥檚 PUB in late April.
When the dedicated campus bus route debuted 55 years ago, grateful students soon dubbed the service 鈥渢he Magic Bus.鈥� Over the decades its charms have not waned. These days, in fact, both the main routes serving 51福利社鈥� the 66 and 6 鈥� are often standing-room-only during peak hours.
Hence the need for Enviro500s, which will join the fleet serving the university at the start of the next academic year.
According to the Spokane Transit Authority鈥檚 website, the Enviro500 鈥渋s the world鈥檚 best-selling three-axle double-decker bus,鈥� dozens of which are already on the road 鈥渋n major cities such as New York, Hong Kong and Dublin.鈥� Here in our humble Cheney home, the busses鈥� biggest attraction may have nothing to do with their superior top-floor views: Each will seat 82 passengers, a significant boost over the capacity of even the articulated 60-foot buses that now ply the route.聽
鈥淥ne of the big motivators for the double-decker is the second story is full of seating,鈥� says Dainon Setzer, business development manager at STA. 鈥淪tanding from Spokane to Cheney or back makes for a long bus ride.鈥�
And those riders? Is he confident they鈥檒l see the magic? 鈥淥h yeah,鈥� Setzer says, gesturing toward a group waiting to tour the busses鈥� interior. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got people coming out when the bus isn鈥檛 even moving!鈥�
