By CJ Carnacchio
Leader Editor
A new type of vehicle specifically-designed for wheelchair users will soon be traveling local roads, providing rides for folks served by the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA).
It’s called the MV-1 and it’s built in Mishawaka, Ind., by Mobility Ventures, a subsidiary of AM General.
AM General created and manufactured the iconic Jeep used in World War II. Decades later, it produced the famous Humvee for the U.S. military, followed by the Hummer line for civilian drivers.
NOTA Director Lynn Gustafson is very excited to add the MV-1 to the fleet, now 18 vehicles strong.
“It’s a heavy-duty vehicle,” she said. “The suspension will handle the (gravel roads) better than our other vehicles. The wear-and-tear when we have to travel on the dirt roads shouldn’t be as severe.”
The MV-1 is capable of transporting a total of four passengers – three on the rear bench seat plus one wheelchair or two on the bench and two wheelchairs.
“It will be used in all the communities,” Gustafson said.
NOTA provides low-cost, publicly-subsidized transportation to senior citizens, disabled individuals and low-income folks living in Oxford, Addison and Orion townships along with the villages of Oxford, Leonard and Lake Orion.
The big advantage to the MV-1 is it’s not a standard vehicle that’s been modified to accommodate wheelchair users.
“This vehicle was created solely to serve the disabled,” Gustafson explained. “It was designed and built for them.”
Unlike NOTA’s other vehicles which are equipped with power wheelchair lifts, the MV-1 has a power ramp.
“It’s very accessible,” Gustafson said. “You press a button and a long ramp comes out. That should make it very easy for the drivers to handle the disabled.”
The ramp is the key.
According to the company’s website, “The design started with the ramp and from there, the entire vehicle was built around (wheelchair users’) specific needs. It comes straight from our factory in Indiana fully wheelchair accessible.”
Gustafson said the MV-1 costs approximately $47,000, but NOTA didn’t have to pay a penny.
“We got a grant for it,” she explained.
The MV-1 is the eighth new vehicle NOTA has received this year. It purchased a Ford Transit 250 van for $45,518 in February, then in April, took possession of six Ford Transit 350 vans, worth approximately $270,000, via grant funding.
The 250 model holds eight passengers, plus one in a wheelchair, while the 350 model accommodates seven passengers, plus a wheelchair rider.
Gustafson said 10 of NOTA’s 18 vehicles are now either 2015 or 2016 models.
Before, the average mileage of a NOTA vehicle was about 190,000 miles. Now, it’s 53,000 miles.
Having a fleet with newer vehicles helps NOTA keep its operating costs down.
“We don’t have to spend all our money on repairs and maintenance,” Gustafson said.
She noted the new vehicles also “look better,” which projects a positive image to the community, are “more comfortable” for riders and have increased fuel economy, which again, saves money.
As of May, the authority’s given 13,976 rides this year. Last year, NOTA provided 34,137 rides to residents in the three townships and three villages.