BJCTA Donates Two 40-Foot MAX Transit Buses to Miles College

By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times For the first time, Miles College will have its own transit buses for students to travel on and off campus and to area destinations, courtesy of a gift from the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority’s (BJCTA’s) MAX Transit. Last week, MAX Transit donated two 40-foot buses to Miles, the Fairfield, Alabama, historically Black college and university (HBCU), just outside of Birmingham. “Our buses are good buses,” said Charlotte Shaw, executive director and CEO of MAX transit. “I can’t keep them in useful life for a long time. [Because of federal regulations], I can do only 700,000 miles or 15 years, whichever comes first. And, of course, most of the time I meet my miles first. … I had two really good buses, and I wanted [Miles] to have them.” “I am grateful to [BJCTA Executive Director Shaw] because bus service does not come into Fairfield,” said Miles College President Bobbie Knight. “If you go to Miles College and don’t have a car you can’t get around.” Shaw and Knight met for dinner shortly after Shaw’s January “State of the Transit” address, which she gave at the Boutwell Auditorium in downtown Birmingham. As the two...