A group of interested people was introduced to a new level of transit technology and efficiency Thursday in Nelson as BC Transit unveiled a Kootenay-sized "Vicinity" bus.
The unit, of which two will soon begin service in Nelson, has seating for 23-passengers, a total capacity of 39 and a length of less than 30 feet, some 10 feet shorter than the full size 'Nova' units currently working the Nelson routes.
Politicians and media were invited to try their hands behind the wheel of the new assembled-in-China, designed-in-Canada vehicle.
Castlegar Mayor Lawrence Chernoff, who also serves as Chair of the West Kootenay Transit Committee, said before the so-called bus rodeo that the merits of the new unit would be assessed as the two are put to work in Nelson. Decisions on whether the Vicinity would see duty in other communities would be considered at a later date.