Oxford-University Transit will soon welcome five new 30-foot heavy duty low floor transit buses to its fleet.

Adding the buses will be a great benefit for the community, according to OUT Superintendent Ron Biggs.

“The five that we’re putting the request for proposal out for will be new buses that will replace a couple of the buses we have,” Biggs said. “The demand for reliable public transportation is high, so we want to meet that need.”

OUT got approval to declare a surplus on a couple of the older buses in its fleet. Biggs said that he’d also spoken with Oxford Fire Department Chief Mark Heath about letting OFD acquire one of the surplus buses for training purposes.

OUT buses serve thousands of people every year, transporting them across the University of Mississippi campus and the city of Oxford. However, Biggs said OUT doesn’t operate without its fair share of obstacles.

The city is in the midst of annexing 12 square miles, adding 3,600 people to the population. Biggs said he hopes the new busses will help OUT expand its services and meet new challenges head-on.

“The buses we have now are large buses and they’re still overcrowded. The annexation may lead to expansion of our services, which would help a lot of people,” he said. “It also will allow us to be a little more timely. There are instances during the week where we’ll have to pass people up because the busses are overcrowded, so this should help somewhat.”

OUT is also in the process of completing its facility, Biggs said. The new building will feature a conference room, more parking and additional bays to accommodate the new buses.

For more information, such as bus schedules and routes, visit http://www.oxfordms.net/visitors/oxford-university-transit.