MV Transportation, Inc. Announces Vehicle Sales Agreement and New Executive

MV Transportation, Inc., the largest American owned private provider of public transportation services, has entered into an agreement with The Vehicle Production Group LLC (VPG) of Miami, Florida to become the exclusive distributor of their products to the public paratransit market in the United States and is pleased to announce Gary Willms, a national leader in transit vehicle sales, has been named President of MV Sales and Leasing, Inc. (MVSL), its bus sales subsidiary.

Under the terms of this agreement, MVSL will sell and lease VPG's purpose built accessible vehicle, the "MV-1", to organizations receiving public transportation funding from governmental entities in the United States. VPG's production of the "MV-1" paratransit vehicle will offer an innovative and functional alternative for public paratransit systems.

Incorporating the principles of Universal Design – the idea that products should be equally accessible for all people regardless of mobility, age, or situational impairment – the MV-1 is the first vehicle designed and built, direct from the manufacturer, to meet or exceed ADA guidelines and satisfy the demanding needs of paratransit fleets. The vehicle is safe, durable, and amazingly comfortable for all passengers whether they're in a wheelchair or not, and purpose-built for paratransit without the need for any retrofitting. In essence, the MV-1 has created a new class of accessible transportation – the "Mobility Vehicle".

The MV-1 is the most cost effective paratransit solution designed specifically to transport ambulatory and mobility impaired passengers. With room for up to 2 wheelchairs, the vehicle outperforms the competition in virtually every category, and with no aftermarket conversion to compromise vehicle integrity. The vehicle will offer an OEM engineered and factory installed dedicated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powertrain option. Assembled by AM General in it's high quality, UAW Mishawaka, Indiana assembly plant, the MV-1 exceeds the domestic content required under the Buy America Act and will be available for purchase in 2010.

Gary Willms is joining MVSL with extensive experience in bus sales. Gary has an impressive background with more than 25 years in bus manufacturing. He joins MVSL from ISE Corporation where he served as Vice President of Business Development. He previously was Neoplan USA's Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and in January 2005 took over the responsibilities as Vice President of Program Management. He has been a Purchasing Director for the Gillig Corporation, as well as the company's Manager of Transportation Marketing until joining Neoplan in September 2004. Mr. Willms is an active member of APTA and has served on several of the organizations committees, including the Standard Bus Guideline Committee during its development.

"The agreement between MV and Vehicle Production Group is an exciting opportunity for the nation's leading paratransit operations firm to offer a high quality purpose built vehicle to the public transit community," said Jon Monson, Chairman of MV Transportation, Inc." For the first time, our industry will have the opportunity to utilize a vehicle that is designed specifically to meet the needs of our most precious cargo – seniors and people with disabilities."

Monson continued, "The MV-1 can operate on natural gas or conventional fuel and at substantially lower operating costs than the existing alternatives. VPG is an outstanding, well capitalized company that will manufacture a high quality, American built product for our industry. When I first saw this vehicle, I said "it's about time".

Based in Fairfield, California, MV is the largest private provider of paratransit services and the largest privately-owned transportation contracting firm in the United States. The company employs more than 12,000 dedicated transit professionals and operates more than 180 paratransit, fixed-route, shuttle and Medicaid contracts in 24 states and the District of Columbia.