Two new buses for Lafayette County’s Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) were delivered on Wednesday, Sept. 25 to Greenwood Auto in Dodgeville and received by Ashley Nedeau-Owen, Director of Transportation Development with SWCAP; Wayne Wilson, Lafayette County board member; Kate Chambers, ADRC director and Bob Long, bus driver for ADRC in Lafayette County.
    The buses, which were manufactured by El Dorado National, a Kansas based company are built on Ford chassis. Each bus is lift equipped and also has built in storage for carry-ons such as grocery and shopping bags.
    The new buses will replace the two current buses being used, which are 12 and 13 years old and long past due for replacements.
    The new ADRC buses will be used to transport individuals in Lafayette County identified as being 60 years old or older or persons with disabilities. Both of the buses are also available for others to ride as well for a fee, on a space available basis.
    These new buses were awarded to Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, Inc. (SWCAP) through a federal section 5310 grant. SWCAP and ADRC partnered in the fall of 2012 to write a grant application, which was awarded in full.
    This federal grant program is a primary source of funding for Wisconsin’s rural public transit providers as well as government programs and non-profit enterprises like the Hodan Center and SWCAP.
    The buses will go into service on October 1. They were originally scheduled to be delivered on Sept. 20, but due to an accident, one of the buses suffered a broken window on the trip to Wisconsin, so that halted the delivery for some time until the window could be replaced.