Intercity Transit to acquire new Dial-A-Lift vehicles 

Intercity Transit is set to acquire new vehicles for its Dial-A-Lift program, which provides door-to-door, shared transportation for people with disabilities. 

The Intercity Transit Authority, the agency’s board of directors, authorized General Manager Emily Bergkamp to purchase 13 Turtle Top Tierra buses from Northwest Bus Sales Inc. for $3.8 million. 

The decision was made during a transit authority meeting on Wednesday, April 16. 

Brenden Houx, a senior procurement and project management coordinator at the agency, said of the 13 buses, 12 are being replaced as they have reached their set life expectancy, while one was lost in an accident in 2024.  

Once the 12 buses have been declared surplus, they will be sold to other government agencies, and if not sold through that process, will be put up for a public auction. 

The Dial-A-Lift program provides around 475 passenger trips each day for 1,225 clients, according to Houx. 

“The Dial-A-Lift service Intercity Transit provides is crucial to the community and directly corresponds to Intercity Transit's mission by providing enhanced transit services for all in our community,” Houx said.

The transit authority also authorized the purchase of two Ford F350 work trucks for $132,000 from Bud Clary Ford to replace two facility trucks that have likewise met their set life expectancy. 

Both contracts were competitively bid through the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services.