After more than a decade of shuttling passengers across the Twin Cities, Metro Transit bus No. 844 has made its final run. But it won't be rusting away in retirement.
Even with more than 400,000 miles on its odometer, its best days may still be ahead.
City buses have to be taken out of service after 12 years on streets, regardless of condition, according to regional guidelines. Buses typically spend a couple years in the seasonal 'State Fair fleet' and then are retired/auctioned.
Bus No. 844, a 2001 Gillig Phantom, was the perfect vehicle for Bill Jones, who recently bought it on an online auction.
He's transforming it into the Rock and Read Bus, and this summer he will use it to help elementary and middle-school kids in north Minneapolis sing their way to a better vocabulary and motivate them to read.
Jones spent last weekend taking out the seats and giving the bus a fresh paint job. Next he will install countertops with room for 30 laptop computers connected to an onboard server. A Florida company is donating the "Tune Into Reading" software, which he'll use to have children read a story, then sing it. The students will get a score for both the musical and academic aspects.
Not like sitting at a desk
"Kids need different ways of learning. They love it and they get involved," said Jones, citing a University of South Florida study that found a similar program helped students raise their reading ability by one grade level over a nine-week period. "This will be like a rolling computer lab. It's something different than sitting in a wood desk in a classroom."
This year Metro Transit will retire 75 buses and put most of them up for auction. Over the years, buses have been sold to transit systems in Africa. Others have been reincarnated as bookmobiles, petting zoos, arts buses and even grocery stores. Many are bought by scrap dealers who sell parts to other transit systems, said Rob Milleson, Metro Transit's director of bus operations.
