News: Aging bus fleet limps along

[mark1447]

The MTA bus fleet isn't aging gracefully.

Because demand is forcing more additional buses onto the street, more than one out of four in operation are at least 12 years old, the age when the vehicles are supposed to be retired.

Mechanics say they have increasingly found themselves tearing out engines and bus underbellies, while some drivers just blatantly refuse to get behind the wheel of the older models.

Expensive overhauls bring the old clunkers back to life, but it hasn't transformed ugly ducklings into swans - meaning more breakdowns and delays for riders.

“Everyday the rails are cracking, the bulkheads are cracking,” said Bob Keith, a bus mechanic for 24 years who is running to become a union leader. “We are welding them all and putting them back into service. But that's a temporary fix.”

One driver, who asked not to be named, said many of the buses are 10 to 15 years old.

New York City roads wreak havoc on a bus's chassis as it ages. Mechanics say they are gutting more of them, and would prefer customers had newer vehicles to ride in.

“When a chassis breaks, anything could be imaginable,” said Keith. “It's a scary thought.”

Bus failures in January were up 20 percent compared to 2007, according to MTA figures.

"The buses just keep getting worse and worse, slower and slower," said Joseph London, of Manhattan. "It's always crowded, even at the off-peak times when I ride."

The breakdowns aren't an everyday occurrence, but when one bus fails, its passengers have to wait for a replacement, an inconvenience that backs up the entire route.

“The bus just doesn't show up, it's late or it's packed,” said William Henderson, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA.

Sandra Darbasie, of Manhattan, said she recently suffered through a scary breakdown on a city bus.

“We smelled something burning in the back,” Darbasie said. “(The driver) stopped the bus and we had to wait a while for a replacement.”

Joseph Smith, president of MTA bus operations, recently told the agency’s board that the older buses have become a costly thorn in the its side.

“We have some serious structural problems with these buses,” Smith told the board.

Ironically, a growth of ridership has fueled the need to resurrect and maintain older buses, Smith said. In 2006, the MTA absorbed seven private routes operating in the boroughs. Those lines experienced a 10 percent increase in ridership between 2007 and 2008.

The MTA bought hundreds of new hybrid buses when it took over the private lines, but some of the old models remained in service.

By year's end, the MTA will receive 850 new hybrid buses that will allow them to replace many - but not all - of the vintage models.

“It's an old fleet as far as buses go,” Henderson said.

Smith said the buses in operations are safe and do not pose a danger to passengers.
“When (a bus) is too old, we stop it and sell it,” he said.

Andrew Breiner contributed to this report.

Buses in the Big Apple

1,700: buses in the fleet are 12 years or older.
6,200: total buses in the fleet
3,950: average number of miles between bus breakdowns in January, up 20 percent from 2007
968 million: total rides in 2008
2.4 million: average weekday ridership in January
390: routes in the city

Source: AM- New York (April 1, 2009)

[Maserati7200]

B.S.

An RTS never broke down on me

[DOB2RTO]

Originally Posted by Maserati7200

B.S.

An RTS never broke down on me

When I operated out of KB when they were mostly RTSs, I never had one break down on me. Only the Orion V, and articulateds, were the breakers for me.......

[KTrainExp]

I've never had one break down on me either. I've never had any bus break down on me before....but that's just me and the Amsterdam Dept.

[MTR Admiralty]

Originally Posted by DOB2RTO

When I operated out of KB when they were mostly RTSs, I never had one break down on me. Only the Orion V, and articulateds, were the breakers for me.......

Yeah I know right...
The O7s are getting messed up from the potholes.

[CPBO]

Shoot......I have ran out of gas.....won't start.......to all of a sudden not go over 20.....no trainsmission fluid.......it was bone dry!!!.....I could keep going but u get the point.....CNG's = junk!!

[Shortline Bus]

Originally Posted by CPBO

Shoot......I have ran out of gas.....won't start.......to all of a sudden not go over 20.....no trainsmission fluid.......it was bone dry!!!.....I could keep going but u get the point.....CNG's = junk!!

Hey guys i guess most of you (except for my friend Ulmer) have not ridden on the Ulmer Park depot in SW Brooklyn. Ulmer is still only NYCT/MTA Bus left (correct me if i am wrong) still only RTS/GMC's with a few 'newer' hand me downs RTS" from other depots bulit in 1999-2000 almost a decade ago.

[Shortline Bus]

Originally Posted by 33rd Street

Hudson River, Jamiaca Depot is the last 100% RTS depot left.

The one flaw with that article is they don't realize that buses are better maintained now than they were in the late-80's.

I was talking 'local buses' 33rd. I am fully aware Ulmer has the MCI coach buses for the express buses. But thanks for letting me about Jamaica depot as well as being 100% RTS still.

[CurAke79]

RTS NovaBus and TMC RTS-06's never broke down on me....I had one NovaBus with no A/C but it was a Grand Avenue Depot bus so what you expect. Other that RTS's were good to me on my end. I've had two experiences on an Orion V!

[S78 via Hylan]

Same here. I have no problems with the RTS, however the Orion V's annoy me.

[Orion]

Originally Posted by CPBO

Shoot......I have ran out of gas.....won't start.......to all of a sudden not go over 20.....no trainsmission fluid.......it was bone dry!!!.....I could keep going but u get the point.....CNG's = junk!!

Maybe College Point is junk...

[DOB2RTO]

Originally Posted by MTR Admiralty

Yeah I know right...
The O7s are getting messed up from the potholes.

So did the RTSs at KB, but even with the different makers of them, it was basically the same bus, so they had many years of experience getting it right for NYC streets. Orion on the other hand, did not yet. Those Orion VII CNG, I have seen on the back of the tow truck also. They have issues with them things also. The artics are just too heavy, and have 2 huge A/Cs', for that tiny engine. MTA needs to do an engine overhaul, and put either a Cummins are CAt in those things (just the older dragging dawgs of the artic world). During the summer they break down in huge numbers, and hit too many hard potholes, the rear shocks and bellows go on one side or the other.......

Originally Posted by CPBO

Shoot......I have ran out of gas.....won't start.......to all of a sudden not go over 20.....no trainsmission fluid.......it was bone dry!!!.....I could keep going but u get the point.....CNG's = junk!!

When that stuff happened to me, I kept going until it wouldn't go no more.........

[Igor Gaysinsky]

when i used 2 go to high school i graduated in 2005 i attended in 2001 to 2005
yukon haD tons of rts some orions to

they had the oldest going back to 1982 those were the 7000 serious rtses
origanel they were 1000 series or 2000 series rtses they were over hauled and renumberd to 7000 series number rtses

we haD them

7040 to 7049

those are 1982 those were rtses with coushin seats

3949 and 3901

those are 1985

we had i`m guess 60 rtses numbered 4000 sumthing series rts

those are 1986 and 1987

but yukon had alot of 8000 series rts
those are 1990

so i think they should never have retired them should have kept them in service.

yukon had some orions to that were once express busses

126 162 169 123

those were orions with coushin seats but they were used on school trips and the seat were ripped up the coushins to a point that it needed new seats
and when u tap the seat with ur hand dust would fly out.

[S78 via Hylan]

Yes. that is true. I remember when I was about 10 years old, I used to ride the
S61 with Orion V 100 series, they were horrible! Most of the seats in the back were nearly ripped off. I am so glad SI does not have any more Orion V 100's.

[Fresh Pond]

I was never on a RTS that broke down, but i did see plenty get towed.