East New York

On 3/14/2018 at 10:33 PM, LegoBrickBreaker101 said:

Can anyone confirm that 1020 is at WF and / or is in service? I know it's on the TTMG roster but I just wanted to make sure it's actually there.

It is. However I know that there are quite a few new members so you don't really know how the "Double-Pilot" program works. Again it was created with the 7090+ batch of XD40's. 

1016-1020 are the 5 pilot buses of the order. This means at least one bus is guaranteed for in-service testing and the others are for audit, maintenance and blueprint. 1020 has been operational just as long as 1016, and is now being used for maintenance and driver training. 1017-1019 could come or go back to the vendor or manufacturer facility at any time. Just like 5439-5442, 5987- 5990, 7091-7093, 8090-8093 etc. 

15 hours ago, The Real said:

I gotta correct you bro.

At the time of the award for the CNG, Nova had built 2 buses for Calgary, the first Hamilton Street Railway order and was in the middle of building the Buffalo order. New Flyer lied on paper to the MTA about that.

Also Nova has just about the same amount of technical experience with Hybrids as New Flyer, just because they built more Hybrids for the Canadian properties than US properties doesn't lessen their technical know-how on building and supporting Hybrid buses.

New Flyer keeps using that "technical experience" excuse to the MTA about Nova, but the truth of the matter is while New Flyer may have been in the CNG game longer than Nova, Nova's technical know-how surpasses New Flyer. On the electrical vehicle front, Nova kicks New Flyer's ass but unlike New Flyer, Nova will not "cheapen" (lower its prices) just to score a bid, Nova knows what its worth. New Flyer, since 2013 has been underbidding itself and is a dangerous gambling game that if they don't watch themselves, they'll go the way of Flxible and Orion...who had tons orders at their close dates, but couldn't financially sustain itself after various financial woes INCLUDING under bidding. From the beginning of the Xcelsior production until around 2013, the X was priced at the most expensive bus on the market, followed by Nova, then Orion and the GILLIG. After 2013, all of a sudden we saw a jump, and a large jump in X orders nationwide, all of a sudden they were beating out GILLIG in markets that was GILLIG strongholds, that was the red flag for me with New Flyer. Some properties are starting to come to their senses about the X product, its still not where it should be in terms of quality for New Flyer to be boasting so much about it. Point Blank, Its Not. New Flyer should've kept the LFR platform around a bit longer and really got the X to where it should be in terms of quality and THEN gotten rid of the LFR, but its not THERE yet, its not.

Unlike the X....The Nova LFS, the GILLIG Low Floor all have had their time to mature and be the strong built, higher quality buses that they are, not debatable. I hate the the GILLIG Low Floor, with everything in me, but I know a quality built bus when I see it. You know I've been around this industry long enough to know. The Nova LFS, when it first came out was a weak product, it wasn't until the 2nd generation variant that the LFS became a well-built, strong quality product. HELL, even ElDorado has take the time to strengthen that Axxess platform and that a mean ass bus, I'm excited to see how they do in the LACMTA environment. But I say all that the say this, the MTA better be careful with all this New Flyer stuff, none of it sits well with me ESPECIALLY after having lived through and seeing the business and the business practices of many bus manufacturers. Get the X to where it really needs to be because every new order of Xs I've seen around the North American continent, and I've experienced many of Xs between the US and Canada, the quality is just not there yet. Pretty ass buses, yes! But for me that's where it stops.

No, I totally agree with you 200% and you are definitely correct. I'm just saying this is what the MTA supposedly said in the final the evaluations which led them to the decisions of now. This isn't my point of view or opinion. We definitely see how the contract was written for the CNG's, (which was a tad bit shady) and you know my personal position on everything that's been going on. 

Now you know for a fact I know exactly how much tech experience Nova has. The RTS speaks for itself and the LFS is the most solid platform out which is built with the same philosophy. This is just what the final reports supposedly said, so I posted. 

However, my position is the same as yours and it runs a LOT deeper than this! Lol.

Nova quotes the prices of it's buses based on the specs. NFI bases their prices on winning orders. 

In case anyone didn't know, MTA has historically ordered 2 pilot buses. NFI created the 4-5 pilot program to one-up Nova and say hey "we can deliver on any schedule you want unlike the other guys."

But In agreeance with you, Quantity over Quality seems to be the precedent right now, and it definitely reflects in the maintenance records and "caugh" Altoona records.

The MTA of today that you and I know are worried about the price on paper. This is the same MTA that at one time said they would never order another bus from New Flyer after the D60's and also said they would never order another Nova after the RTS hybrids. NFI can afford to low-ball and Nova just won't do it. But that's just good business. 🤷🏾‍♂️

5934, 5935 MQ to WF

MQ now has 8072-8089

I just received a report of an MCI D45 CRT LE in route to Zerega for demonstration purposes. Awaiting confirmation now.

On 3/10/2018 at 12:46 PM, MHV184 said:

Can KingsBridge even handle OG Hybrids? I've never seen Kingsbridge recieve these buses until now.

The OG and NG are the same buses essentially with different bodies. The 3800-3959 units are essentially the same. Any depot can handle and 40 foot buses unless they are electric or CNG whick are restricted to the depots that can store and maintain them.

On 3/10/2018 at 2:32 PM, Around the Horn said:

Would anyone happen to know why 728 (a West Farms bus) is parked on 86th Street and Avenue U in Brooklyn?

Transport bus.

On 3/6/2018 at 3:38 PM, IAlam said:

I wonder why the MTA isn't looking at the other versions of Nova Buses. I've gotten a couple of chances to ride the CNG LFS buses in Buffalo and they run just as good as their diesel counterparts. On top of that, the LFS does come in hybrid and all-electric versions.

We've actually talked about this a few times but I will go over it again for the ones that missed it.

Nova bids on every MTA procurement, however for several reasons they have chosen to go with New Flyer.

CNG: When MTA awarded the contract they based the evaluation off technical experience. Nova had none at the time and had only delivered 2 CNG buses. 

Hybrid: MTA decided all the evaluation pilots and most likely all of the of the 275 will go to New Flyer because of the price point. The Nova hybrids are more than $100k more per bus than NFI. Therefore this was a unanimous decision. If the price range would have been similar as is other split Nova/NFI orders they may have got 10 in there as well. In addition, techinal evaluation is always a major point as well as at that time and still currently, Nova has only delivered hybrids to SEPTA. (Not including Canada.) 

Electric: Of the top 4 manufacturers in MTA's final evaluation, this was "unofficially" the ranking:

4. Nova: Technical experience and in service evaluation capability is not too bad, but only in Canada, and still very new.

3. BYD: Technical experience is excellent, however, within the United States the only substantial fleet they have delivered are 10 to LBT. And MTA would like to alter the specs in a way that would likely not be cost effective. Not only that, the platform K9 platform has not completed an MTA New Bus Qualification.  

2. Proterra: Tech Evaluation is excellent and MTA always monitors what LACMTA and everyone else chooses. They are the highest technically rated hybrid in the country and as they deliver more buses the price will continue to drop. The Specs aren't what MTA is typically used to, but the range on the buses is unmated at this particular time. 

1. New Flyer: Tech evaluation is not the best because they don't have many buses in service, yet have and will be delivering a substantial amount of buses in the near future. The platform is common to all current models in service and for body and interior maintenance purposes this automatically lowers the over-life maintenance costs. The bus also comes at a great price.

Final decision. 3 Year Bust Test & Evaluation program. I'm being told MTA is now also evaluating the retention of whatever manufacturer is selected buses we have in service. This however is unconfirmed and as of my last official report this is only a dual lease. I cannnot confirm if there is a lease to buy option. However, from what I have reviewed there's always the option on the table by default. So MTA could in fact purchase 50 buses with only 45 of them being brand new. They would get a great deal on the remaining balance for the 5 winners.

If somehow MTA decided both buses come out as winners and do a split award things could shake up. 

On 3/4/2018 at 2:22 PM, Brillant93 said:

It’s not there yet but on the fleet and depot page it’s assigned to it. The depot itself is being modified to have artics. ENY is a large depot, I think the largest in Brooklyn so they can handle artics. The assigned XD60s won’t go to their right depots until later. 

It's actually artic ready and they had 6030 I believe it was for depot maneuvering already and they repaired it for JK. So they already started maintenance training and logistics to get ready for the inevitable.

On 3/6/2018 at 6:57 PM, JeremiahC99 said:

So when the 17 new XD60’s and 39 new XD40’s come in, by then, the 60 RTS buses will start to be retired?

'99 RTS' will only be retired when buses are beyond repair. RTS life was extended to 2020. The 96's are now 22 years old and the last are on the way out the door. 

On 2/25/2018 at 11:29 AM, JeremiahC99 said:

For the B82 SBS, where will the 40 foot buses for the service come from? Will they be new buses (which would be diverted from the Jamaica Bus Depot allotment (like what happened with the XD60s that we’re supposed to go to Manhattan and Brooklyn, or will 20 XD40’s (7090-7109) from the 50 XD40 buses EN have be wrapped in the SBS scheme, like the B46 SBS? Where would the XD60’s assigned to the M train shuttle go once the work finished on April 30th, 2018?

 

1.) Last i recalled, the M Shuttle work would need in April 30th, 2018. By this service would be restored and the buses would be displaced from Grand Avenue.

2.) I wonder if those buses may come from ENY Depot’s existing fleet. That depot has 50 XD40’s lying around the depot, so it could be possible that they could wrap around 20 buses for the service, leaving 30 for the other routes.

3.) Will the SBS XD60’s at Quill be displaced once all 77 SBS LFSA’s are in service there?

Almost all of the answers to this are on the first page of this thread, and all of this had been discussed multiple times. Assignments are always posted there, and updated when the time is available or new information comes out.

I also ask that you look back a few pages as well and see what has been discussed.

Revised LFSA assignment updated.

5457, 5465 to MQ

On 2/23/2018 at 12:27 AM, Dannny said:

7668 and 7670 from SC, to scrap. 

Where did you get this information? 7668 is on the repair line and 7670 was fueled this morning and put on the run line.

On 2/24/2018 at 8:03 PM, Calvin said:

7661 to scrap

Pending. It's still at JG.

5187 GA to EN 

Note: 2 LFS went to GH but I misplaced the sheet with the numbers and the Depot they came from. And I'm not going through all 41 to see which ones they are. Anywho, the roster was updated about 8 hours ago so all transfers reflect.

6 hours ago, Novabus 5000 said:

5009 has always been a grand bus since it came from west farms

It was on the B6 the other day. Must have been a loan

5480, 5481 to GH

58 minutes ago, limitednyc said:

when is 5439-43 going to come in?

5439-42 are pilots. As always, pilots could come at anytime. Since 43 is likely the revised spec audit bus, they will all come whenever they are reconfigured to the revised specs. 

On 2/7/2018 at 7:45 AM, Future ENY OP said:

Surprised that they are unwrapping the 5300 series. Noting that MCH definitely needs SBS buses. Why not send some to MCH. However, gotta remember that MCH can't have too many buses plus these buses can't park on the street. 

On 2/9/2018 at 10:46 AM, EastFlatbushLarry said:

i'm not. some of the 53xx's have been taking a consistent pounding. i wouldn't be surprised if the Flatbush 53xx's get unwrapped if certain transfers & moves occur in the future, distant or near. it somewhat bugs me that MCH "can't" be used to it's full potential, meanwhile, no one bats an eye at 100 street, although both communities complained about both depots for somewhat similar reasons

OF can hold about 70 more standard buses (23-25 artics) than they have now, however due to Union issues and other political reasons they only have what they have now.

And as I mentioned before ALL of Flatbush's (SBS) artics and standards will be replaced, and any other buses on ANY SBS routes that are not new will be replaced as well at all other depots.

5464, 5466 to MQ

5467 to GH

5009 UP to GA

18 hours ago, WestFarms36 said:

Why not push the 2013 XD60's down to Brooklyn for the B82 +SBS+ until the next batch of XD60's come in, a 80 displaced D60HF's can cover up for both depots, and have the 2017 XD60's at GH hold up a bit longer.

I already posted about this. All those plans were changed because MTA wants all new buses in the new scheme on SBS routes. That means the priority has shifted to such. And once again, the ONLY new XD60's that are at their planned assignments are at Stengel and Tuskegee. ALL the other ones are on loan.

17 hours ago, Brillant93 said:

So that begs the question would the same thing happen to the B82 sbs? 

9 hours ago, Brillant93 said:

They could come from anywhere but why start off a new route that was promised to be artic with 40 footers? I mean don’t they care about the overcrowding on that route? If they are going to upgrade it to artics then how long from then? Why should customers have to deal with as long as the mta seems it fit? 

 

What the heck is the big deal? First off, no one promised anything. Second off, no one ever said (not myself, The Real or MTA) what buses would start on the line. We all stated several times however that the route would eventually be converted to artic ops. So why don't you take out the time to go through all the information in the bus threads. You are asking way too many questions that we aren't really obligated to answer. You wouldn't know any of this if it wasn't for us. You are not privy to any of this information until MTA puts it in black and white for the public. 

To date, all standard lines converted to SBS either started with 40 footers, or were converted to artic ops just prior to implementation of the service. So the MTA has made a decision and it is what it is. 

MTA does not work your time schedule. When they get around to converting the line to artic, they will. Right now buses are on loan as you should know. When the new assignments come out they will go to the B82+ 

In the meanwhile, please stop asking so many frivolous questions that we aren't obligated to answer anyway. 

This is one of the main reasons we rarely post year-in-advance information like we once used there at NYCTF. 

You all have gotten so comfortable that you think you are entitled to this information. Then you ask questions to which the answers can be found all over the forum. 

16 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said:

Also are they still ginna convert b46 sbs to artic?

There was never any plans to convert that line to artic. It was always under evaluation, and still is. In the meanwhile it's not going artic anytime soon. You have personally asked about this before. 🙄

Thank you very much! Everyone please take note that the B82+ will start off with 40 footers.

The ones (40's) on the Bx6+ are slowing going to be removed, and will start off with 5 artics. We will then see how capacity is anD the line will be adjusted accordingly.

The LFS update should come within the next couple minutes ntus as production is now said to be acellerated.

5459 to MQ

Latest roster update effective this morning.

 http://ttmg.org/transitwiki/Insider's_Guide:_Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority_Bus_Operations_-_Depot_Summary

5452, 5462 to MQ

8 hours ago, Novabus 5000 said:

Why would they repaint it into TA livery? 4904 is not the one they got from transit. That was 4978.

You are right! I didn't even pay that any mind in the production list. Thanks. And that's when I remembered 4904 had vertical tail lamps. I need some sleep! Too many buses and too many late night updates lol.

16 hours ago, Q64 To Forest Hills said:

570-658 will all get the info screens and WiFi. They were also slated for passenger counters but I don’t know the status of that at this point. 

Every bus in the fleet including the RTS now have Wifi installed. It just needs to be activated on many of the buses. Info screen are going on everything 2011 and newer and the 1200's of course for right now, but anything could change. Passenger counters coming to all buses.

I am being told it's plan may change or have changed to screens on everything 2009 and Newer now.

10 hours ago, Future ENY OP said:

Direct swap for CS and Flatbush. This here makes sense. I believe this what we spoke about a while back and now I see what you mean in regards to maintenance aspect.  

Since most of the New Flyer parts are in Brooklyn/Queens and the LFS/LFSA parts are in the Bronx this totally makes sense. 

Ok I was able to confirm prelim LFS assignments for Bronx, SI and QV. Still waiting on the details. 

Also was able to confirm they want to leave the Xcelsiors at CS, however they are now planning to definitely replace the LFS's at Flatbush.

Still no word on where they will go once they are unwrapped. As of now JA is keeping their new Xcelsiors and this will begin the inevitably that I mentioned of some depots winding up with mixed fleets of LFS' and X's. 

2 hours ago, paulrivera said:

5468 is in service on the Bx12 SBS.

Right on schedule! 

5 hours ago, aemoreira81 said:

 

I would be shocked if any CNG buses get saved, because they need to be re-tanked.

True. But I would have expected this RTS to stay because of its rich history. For those that don't know, it was delivered brand new to NYCTA (Gleason), then sold to Command because Gleason wasn't gonna be CNG ready for a while. Then it was absorbed by MTA Bus. Even if the bus is somewhere immobilized for good, it should still be saved.

It would be really nice if they repainted it in the original TA delivery scheme instead of scrapping it.

1 hour ago, Novabus 5000 said:

 

That bus runs. Needs work and its more then transit is willing to put into it.

Correct. I also was told something about them not wanting to have to deal with the tanks. I'm being told they may not save 7560 as originally planned so we have to look out for that too.