After rider complaints about slippery plastic seats, Halifax Transit is looking to add cushioned fabric inserts to a large portion of its more than 300-bus fleet.
A tender that expires Thursday says nine inserts will be required for each of the 69 conventional NovaBus buses.
The 1,242 seat and back cushions are to be installed on the nine plastic seats closest to the driver, including two side-facing benches.
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In an email, a spokeswoman with the municipality, Erin DiCarlo, said the original switch from fabric to plastic was made to reduce maintenance time and costs because the plastic seats are more durable and easier to clean.
DiCarlo said since switching to plastic, customers have expressed a preference for the “comfort of fabric seats” and Halifax Transit has listened to their concerns.
She said the buses in question were built with plastic seating and went into service at various times between 2016 and 2018.
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“The primary complaint about the plastic inserts was that they are slippery,” DiCarlo said.
She said the nine seats were identified as the highest priority for the fix because there are as no barriers, such as other seats or partitions, in front of them.
The request for quotations says it will take until June 30, 2022 for all of the buses to get the new cushioning.
Halifax Transit has 334 buses in its conventional fleet.