BUS - Random Thoughts Thread

[Turbo19]

We should replace buses sooner than every 12-15 years anyway.  10 years is enough.

Tell that to the FTA, they'll laugh right at the thought.

[GojiMet86]

9889 is on the Q101 on the Bridge heading to Manhattan. He's coming back to Astoria, but there's heavy traffic.

[Cait Sith]

I wouldn't be smiling for jack s***. With the way buses are built today, I wouldn't be looking forward for a brand new order, especially from New Flyer. Them XD40's, XD60's, and the new C40LF's are loud rattlers considering their age and don't give me that crap of maintenance issues. I been on older D60HF's that aren't rattlers and hell, I've roden RTS that are in WAY better condition than the newer buses in the city.

 

The problem with this is that all buses are rattlers, the 8000s when they were new were rattlers, the 1000s, 5200-5500 series D60HFs were rattlers, hell, the 1997 series RTSs were rattlers, specifically the suburbans! Remember, this is New York City, the streets will make ANYTHING new rattle!

We should replace buses sooner than every 12-15 years anyway.  10 years is enough.

 

That's a hard thing to do especially when all the new stuff has their issues. Remember when Castleton started getting hybrids? They started recalling those because of issues and the 300s returned to the island!

 

They take a while to junk the older equipment because they want to make sure that the new stuff is working well over time. It's been evident that the newer 40fters have not been doing all that well with the exception of the CNGs, the C40LFs are doing much better than expected from what I hear, especially with their MDBF.

 

There are even some 1996 RTS's that are doing better then the newer Orion VII and NG's. Well some are doing better than MTA bus Orion VII's. To me I think this is a Low Floor thing because high floor buses didn't have all these problems the newer buses are facing.

 

It's not a "Low Floor thing", it's the technology used in buses in this day and age that's screwing up.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Cait Sith

[-CT1660-]

The problem with this is that all buses are rattlers, the 8000s when they were new were rattlers, the 1000s, 5200-5500 series D60HFs were rattlers, hell, the 1997 series RTSs were rattlers, specifically the suburbans! Remember, this is New York City, the streets will make ANYTHING new rattle!

 

That's a hard thing to do especially when all the new stuff has their issues. Remember when Castleton started getting hybrids? They started recalling those because of issues and the 300s returned to the island!

 

They take a while to junk the older equipment because they want to make sure that the new stuff is working well over time. It's been evident that the newer 40fters have not been doing all that well with the exception of the CNGs, the C40LFs are doing much better than expected from what I hear, especially with their MDBF.

 

 

It's not a "Low Floor thing", it's the technology used in buses in this day and age that's screwing up.

Like I always said, they don't make em' like they used to..

[Via Garibaldi 8]

That's a hard thing to do especially when all the new stuff has their issues. Remember when Castleton started getting hybrids? They started recalling those because of issues and the 300s returned to the island!

 

They take a while to junk the older equipment because they want to make sure that the new stuff is working well over time. It's been evident that the newer 40fters have not been doing all that well with the exception of the CNGs, the C40LFs are doing much better than expected from what I hear, especially with their MDBF.

 

True, but it's not like they would scrap that many buses anyway.  They always keep a certain amount in storage anyway.

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

True, but it's not like they would scrap that many buses anyway.  They always keep a certain amount in storage anyway.

The ones in decent condition are kept in storage just in case a depot needs more buses if they send their buses for overhauls or for an emergency.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The ones in decent condition are kept in storage just in case a depot needs more buses if they send their buses for overhauls or for an emergency.

Of course, as is evidenced by all of those bloody Orions I've seen on the Bx10 of late.   Is Kingsbridge short on buses or what?  I rarely see so many Orions on the Bx7 or Bx10, but for the last few weeks now, I've seen far more Orions than the newer buses.

[Cait Sith]

Of course, as is evidenced by all of those bloody Orions I've seen on the Bx10 of late.   Is Kingsbridge short on buses or what?  I rarely see so many Orions on the Bx7 or Bx10, but for the last few weeks now, I've seen far more Orions than the newer buses.

 

The Bx7 and Bx10 only run Orions though. Kingsbridge has nothing but Orions (High and Low Floor) for their 40ft fleet!

[Via Garibaldi 8]

The Bx7 and Bx10 only run Orions though. Kingsbridge has nothing but Orions (High and Low Floor) for their 40ft fleet!

I'm referring to the old ones... The Orion V's as opposed to the NG's...

[Cait Sith]

Also got to put into mind that there are other routes that KB operates that requires a good amount of buses themselves, the Bx3, 13 an M100 are notorious for having a crap ton of hybrids on the line.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Also got to put into mind that there are other routes that KB operates that requires a good amount of buses themselves, the Bx3, 13 an M100 are notorious for having a crap ton of hybrids on the line.

Yeah I've seen them, but are they short on the newer buses? That seems to be the case from what I've been seeing.

[Cait Sith]

Yeah I've seen them, but are they short on the newer buses? That seems to be the case from what I've been seeing.

I dont think they are, but at the same time, they've been sending the hybrids out for their overhauls.

[Around the Horn]

Yeah I've seen them, but are they short on the newer buses? That seems to be the case from what I've been seeing.

They might be putting all the newer buses on the M100,Bx3 and Bx13.Sort of how JG puts newer buses on the B9,B35 and B70 and puts more O7's on the B63,B8,B67/69 and B61 and mixes of old and new on B4,B16,B43,B68.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I dont think they are, but at the same time, they've been sending the hybrids out for their overhauls.

That's probably what it is.  That's what they would do on SI too...

 

They might be putting all the newer buses on the M100,Bx3 and Bx13.Sort of how JG puts newer buses on the B9,B35 and B70 and puts more O7's on the B63,B8,B67/69 and B61 and mixes of old and new on B4,B16,B43,B68.

No, I don't think it's that.  They usually have more hybrids out than the older buses overall and the hybrids get the hills better IMO than those older Orions.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

That's probably what it is.  That's what they would do on SI too...

 

No, I don't think it's that.  They usually have more hybrids out than the older buses overall and the hybrids get the hills better IMO than those older Orions.

Ah not really. From my experience, The Next Gens have a lot of trouble getting up hills and the Orion V's speed up on the hills with little to no problems. The Next Gens are mostly out in KB territory because it makes the job for KB drivers easier when it comes to having disabled passengers. There are 85 Next Gens out and KB has been getting a lot of Orion V's from other depots and from repairs so more are available for their use. As far as the routes that use Next Gens the Bx3, Bx7, Bx10, Bx13, and the M100 are notorious for having a lot of Next Gens out just like Cait Sith said, but the M100 has a tendency of having mostly artics out due to the amount of passengers it gets everyday and its a qualified route to have artics running. Just to put it simple, the Next Gens make the job easier for some of the drivers, but the downside is that the Next Gens run so slow and are not really that reliable in general.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Ah not really. From my experience, The Next Gens have a lot of trouble getting up hills and the Orion V's speed up on the hills with little to no problems. The Next Gens are mostly out in KB territory because it makes the job for KB drivers easier when it comes to having disabled passengers. There are 85 Next Gens out and KB has been getting a lot of Orion V's from other depots and from repairs so more are available for their use. As far as the routes that use Next Gens the Bx3, Bx7, Bx10, Bx13, and the M100 are notorious for having a lot of Next Gens out just like Cait Sith said, but the M100 has a tendency of having mostly artics out due to the amount of passengers it gets everyday and its a qualified route to have artics running. Just to put it simple, the Next Gens make the job easier for some of the drivers, but the downside is that the Next Gens run so slow and are not really that reliable in general.

I dealt with a lot on Staten Island (the NG's) and I found that they accelerated much better and also got up the hills better than the Orion V's and I see the same thing here in Riverdale, though these Orion V's seem a bit better than the ones on Staten Island.  Probably not beat to sh*t like the ones out there.    When you say 85 out do you mean 85 out for repair or 85 out on the lines?

Edited August 15, 2013 by Via Garibaldi 8

[Kingsbridgeviewer382]

I dealt with a lot on Staten Island (the NG's) and I found that they accelerated much better and also got up the hills better than the Orion V's and I see the same thing here in Riverdale, though these Orion V's seem a bit better than the ones on Staten Island.  Probably not beat to sh*t like the ones out there.    When you say 85 out do you mean 85 out for repair or 85 out on the lines?

There are a total of 85 Next Gens in the KB Roster and there are only like 2 of them out of service for repairs so basically almost all 85 Next Gens are running especially during rush hour. The Orion V's in Staten Island are beaten up badly due to the areas those buses go through which are pretty tough for a bus. The ones at KB don't go through harsh areas a lot of times since most are stuck in Kingsbridge or Riverdale, although the other areas some of them go through are pretty tough, but not enough to make the Orions problematic. The Orion V and Orion VII's at KB are taken care of pretty well at KB.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

There are a total of 85 Next Gens in the KB Roster and there are only like 2 of them out of service for repairs so basically almost all 85 Next Gens are running especially during rush hour. The Orion V's in Staten Island are beaten up badly due to the areas those buses go through which are pretty tough for a bus. The ones at KB don't go through harsh areas a lot of times since most are stuck in Kingsbridge or Riverdale, although the other areas some of them go through are pretty tough, but not enough to make the Orions problematic. The Orion V and Orion VII's at KB are taken care of pretty well at KB.

Yeah that's true. Most of the roads in Riverdale aren't too bad, especially since some parts of the Henry Hudson Parkway Service Roads were repaved last summer.  Funny thing is they were only repaved because folks in my neighborhood made a stink that their cars were taking too much of a beating on the Service roads and then our local leaders allocated funding to get those trouble spots repaved.  It's much nicer now walking in those areas. They should re-do Riverdale Avenue though between 238th and 236th.  The street is buckling like crazy.    I would make more a stink about it, but I'm more concerned about my street being repaved at the moment.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Via Garibaldi 8

[NewFlyer 230]

There are a total of 85 Next Gens in the KB Roster and there are only like 2 of them out of service for repairs so basically almost all 85 Next Gens are running especially during rush hour. The Orion V's in Staten Island are beaten up badly due to the areas those buses go through which are pretty tough for a bus. The ones at KB don't go through harsh areas a lot of times since most are stuck in Kingsbridge or Riverdale, although the other areas some of them go through are pretty tough, but not enough to make the Orions problematic. The Orion V and Orion VII's at KB are taken care of pretty well at KB.

I thought all the Orion V's were moved around to other depots. I know a lot of CS Orion's came from SI and the Bronx. It's just like those Orion VII's at MTA Bus a lot of them were moved around and most of them are bad. FR tore up BP's 3500-3522 and LGA and JFK don't take of buses that well even though JFK is doing much better than they used to be under GBL.

[Orion VII 4 Life]

9195 is getting towed at the Junction, ran the Q35 (still not getting these JFK-FR loaner/trippers) and it's a private tow truck too. Pic proof later.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Orion VII 4 Life

[GojiMet86]

Does CT Transit still have the Classics?

[Around the Horn]

What's the TA's policy on bus operators using their radios to listen to music?The BO of 336 had some 70's soul and the Arabic women on the bus were throwing fits(it's against their religion to mention sex or love in a public place)

[SevenEleven]

Does CT Transit still have the Classics?

Yep and they're still kicking.

[Cait Sith]

 

That's probably what it is.  That's what they would do on SI too...

 

No, I don't think it's that.  They usually have more hybrids out than the older buses overall and the hybrids get the hills better IMO than those older Orions.

 

 

Ah not really. From my experience, The Next Gens have a lot of trouble getting up hills and the Orion V's speed up on the hills with little to no problems. The Next Gens are mostly out in KB territory because it makes the job for KB drivers easier when it comes to having disabled passengers. There are 85 Next Gens out and KB has been getting a lot of Orion V's from other depots and from repairs so more are available for their use. As far as the routes that use Next Gens the Bx3, Bx7, Bx10, Bx13, and the M100 are notorious for having a lot of Next Gens out just like Cait Sith said, but the M100 has a tendency of having mostly artics out due to the amount of passengers it gets everyday and its a qualified route to have artics running. Just to put it simple, the Next Gens make the job easier for some of the drivers, but the downside is that the Next Gens run so slow and are not really that reliable in general.

 

There's a flaw in that post, hybrids don't lose power or struggle going uphill. They eat hills for breakfast. I've been on the Riverdale routes with the NGs on numerous occasions and not one has slugged uphill.

 

And when it comes to disabled passengers, there are plenty on the Bx7, 10 and 20.

 

And those next gens are definitely not slow, especially the ones out of Kingsbridge.

 

Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[GojiMet86]

Yep and they're still kicking.

 

Thanks. And I actually didn't realize until now that those aren't MCI Classics, they're Nova Classics.