Summer 2002 and July 2005: New Orleans City Officials Plan to Use Buses to Evacuate Some Residents; Lacks Capacity for Full Evacuation

Officials with the City of New Orleans Office Of Emergency Preparedness make plans to deploy Regional Transit Authority buses and school buses to assist in the evacuation of the city’s estimated 134,000 residents who do not own cars. According to RTA spokeswoman Rosalind Cook, an RTA emergency plan would supply 64 buses and 10 lift vans to transport people, either out of town or to local shelters. Its largest buses hold about 60 people each. However, city officials emphasize that the city is overmatched: “It’s important to emphasize that we just don’t have the resources to take everybody out,” says New Orleans Emergency Preparedness Director Joseph Matthews. [Times-Picayune, 7/24/2005] In July 2005, Cook will warn officials that only 100 RTA buses will likely be available for a possible evacuation because the RTA will need to continue its regular operations until shut down by a city curfew. Bus availability will be further limited by the number of volunteer drivers who would agree to drive them away, she says. Moreover, even if the RTA’s entire 364-bus fleet is deployed, it could evacuate only about 22,000 people—less than one-fifth of those needing transportation. [Times-Picayune, 7/8/2005]