UNA will soon have two new buses in its vehicle fleet after bids were sent off to purchase two 44-passenger buses for use by the university community, officials said.

The buses will replace the current buses in use and allow those buses to continue their shuttle routes on campus.

“We are looking at two buses that are designed to go over the road,” said Vice President for Student Affairs David Shields. “They are a little different than our current buses. Our current buses are for small trips and shuttle trips.”

Shields said the current buses would be capped at 120-mile round trips to ensure the safety of passengers. The new, larger buses will allow groups on campus to take longer trips and to have a safer mode of transportation, he said.

The buses could be on campus by early spring, Shields said. Due to the higher cost of the buses, the purchase will have to go through a bidding process, he said.

said. Due to the higher cost of the buses, the purchase will have to go through a bidding process, he said.

Shields said they went with the 44-passenger buses because of the cost. The cost for a typical charter bus, which the university rents for athletics events is in the upwards of $500,000, he said. The university will spend close to $120,000 on these buses, which will save the university a considerable amount of money, Shields said.

“Because (the money is coming from capitol and student fee funds) they are university buses,” Shields said. “It doesn’t mean that they are solely for athletics. The idea is not to make these exclusive to athletics, they are campus buses.”

The monies being used to purchase the buses will be taken from the student parking fee and the university’s capitol fund. The student parking fee typically pays for parking decals, shuttle buses on campus and the maintenance of the buses. Shields said the money they are using has been in reserves.

“These buses will give us the opportunity to do over the road trips,” he said. “Our shuttle buses are really just for shuttling.”

The new buses would allow students and other members of the UNA community to travel more safely to locations due to their ability to take longer trips and give riders a more comfortable ride.

“(The current buses) are safe, they are just not meant to be over the road buses. I would feel much better with these buses,” Shields said. “These two buses will alleviate (the use of shuttle buses for trips) a little bit.”

The new buses will be available just like any other vehicle on campus, Shields said. The buses can be checked out through the university just like the other vans in the university’s motor pool.

“They are open to anybody and everybody to use, they are not exclusive to student activities or athletics,” Shields said. “They will be part of the university fleet, they will not be assigned to a specific person or group.”

The buses are a great thing for the university not only because of the safety they offer, but because they have many other features, Shields said.

“We are also going to get these buses wrapped,” he said. “They are going to be wrapped with UNA information.”

The buses would feature admissions information and other contact information for the university, Shields said.

“I think it’s going to be wonderful for our marketing and branding as an institution. It’s a moving billboard,” Shields said.