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MTA Bus Operations: Fleet & Depots


East New York

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58 minutes ago, NewFlyerFan said:

Apologies if this sounds like a newbie question but will any of the older Local Service buses, both NYCT and MTA Bus be repainted in the new Blue and Gold scheme?

IIMN, all 2011 buses and up (plus the 1200s) were planned to get the new scheme sooner or later.  I don't know if this is still the case.

4 minutes ago, WestFarms36 said:

I really do not really care. As long as I have a vehicle that takes me from Point A to Point B it really doesn't make a difference to me, while the Bus moves, has Heating in the winter, and AC in the Summer, I am fine. All these new buses will be old someday. The XN40's are already turning 2 and we just got them the other day. The 1200's were just received the other day and almost 9, in an agency this big, buses will be old and nothing can be replaced overnight. Yes the RTS has been in service longer than originally intended, yes they aren't up to code on the most recent ADA Standards, and yes the Fuel Efficiency on those buses aren't prestine, but you can never expect an agency looking after 5,800 Buses with fleet expansion planned to not have old buses still crawling. Even small county agencies are up to this day dealing with older buses. Yes it is a public agency where you can voice your concerns, but fleet assignments happen where there is need. You can't take away new buses from a depot that is in need for new buses to send it elsewhere to please others. Many New Yorkers don't have a problem riding them anyway. Look at the (C) train for example. People began complaining over the R32's being very stingy to ride on, (MTA) swapped a few sets with the (J)(Z) , without it being a necessity. The (C) never went 100% R160 anyway, and now those same R160's sent from the (J)(Z) , guess where they have to go back again? Yes back to the Nassau St Line. Now due to lengthening of the (C) train, it is now getting R46's which are younger and in better shape, and probably share 5 R179 sets with the (A) and the R32's running on the (J)(Z) returning to where they came from in the first place. Which comes back to this, buses cannot be rolled around the city like dice, because 1 person wants new buses on their route. Sometimes those new buses are there for planned future +SBS+ routes, or to increase Bus capacity and prevent Bus Shortages *cough* Gun Hill *cough* West Farms *cough* eventually those depots with old RTS's will get even newer buses with the WIFI, USB Charging Ports, and Information Screens. Its just a matter of patience and acceptance. Therefore ENY is right, if it were not for this platform, most of us would be like the (MTA) Papparazi's all around the 5 boroughs.

I agree with everything here.  The only thing I don't like about the RTS are the lifts.  Otherwise, they're good buses for their age and for the most part ride fairly well.  I live mostly near Ulmer routes and they take pride in maintaining their RTSs (especially the ZFs).  Not sure if it's preference of maintenance or the fact that the newer buses just aren't aging as well (case in point: 1200s LFSAs), but the XD40s ride horribly.  So newer isn't always better, either.  Politics does play a role in fleet assignments (for the subway as well), but that only goes so far.  If that was the primary driving factor in fleet assignments, the (6) and (7) would never have swapped fleets.  The only time I can think of when politics may have played a role was the (N) back before it got R160s, except Coney Island got them anyway because of the power issues in the Rockaways (which have since been resolved).

 

Back to the topic of new fleets, I do have a question.  Has the MTA considered getting CNG express buses for the BC depots (Spring Creek, College Point)?  I know NJT just got new CNG MCIs, and it would make sense for uniformity and to be more "green."

Edited by Bosco
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1 minute ago, WestFarms36 said:

 

I really do not really care. As long as I have a vehicle that takes me from Point A to Point B it really doesn't make a difference to me, while the Bus moves, has Heating in the winter, and AC in the Summer, I am fine. All these new buses will be old someday. The XN40's are already turning 2 and we just got them the other day. The 1200's were just received the other day and almost 9, in an agency this big, buses will be old and nothing can be replaced overnight. Yes the RTS has been in service longer than originally intended, yes they aren't up to code on the most recent ADA Standards, and yes the Fuel Efficiency on those buses aren't prestine, but you can never expect an agency looking after 5,800 Buses with fleet expansion planned to not have old buses still crawling. Even small county agencies are up to this day dealing with older buses. Yes it is a public agency where you can voice your concerns, but fleet assignments happen where there is need. You can't take away new buses from a depot that is in need for new buses to send it elsewhere to please others. Many New Yorkers don't have a problem riding them anyway. Look at the (C) train for example. People began complaining over the R32's being very stingy to ride on, (MTA) swapped a few sets with the (J)(Z) , without it being a necessity. The (C) never went 100% R160 anyway, and now those same R160's sent from the (J)(Z) , guess where they have to go back again? Yes back to the Nassau St Line. Now due to lengthening the (C) is now getting R46's which are younger and in better shape, and probably share 5 R179 sets with the (A) and the R32's running on the (J)(Z) returning to where they came from in the first place. Which comes back to this, buses cannot be rolled around the city like dice, because 1 person wants new buses on their route. Sometimes those new buses are there for planned future +SBS+ routes, or to increase Bus capacity and prevent Bus Shortages *cough* Gun Hill *cough* West Farms *cough* eventually those depots with old RTS's will get even newer buses with the WIFI, USB Charging Ports, and Information Screens. Its just a matter of patience and acceptance. Therefore ENY is right, if it were not for this platform, most of us would be like the (MTA) Papparazi's all around the 5 boroughs.

I feel that way too. I only need a bus that goes to where I need to go, especially for the B46 SBS. Most of the time, I feel indifferent about what bus fleet the B41 and other routes get, but when I see a bus that is of interest (i.e, 7483, the new scheme buses, etc.), I would usually take a picture of it if possible. I feel as if these new buses (the ones with the new scheme) are the "Greased Lightning" of the MTA's bus fleet?

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14 minutes ago, Bosco said:

IIMN, all 2011 buses and up (plus the 1200s) were planned to get the new scheme sooner or later.  I don't know if this is still the case.

I agree with everything here.  The only thing I don't like about the RTS are the lifts.  Otherwise, they're good buses for their age and for the most part ride fairly well.  I live mostly near Ulmer routes and they take pride in maintaining their RTSs (especially the ZFs).  Not sure if it's preference of maintenance or the fact that the newer buses just aren't aging as well (case in point: 1200s LFSAs), but the XD40s ride horribly.  So newer isn't always better, either.  Politics does play a role in fleet assignments (for the subway as well), but that only goes so far.  If that was the primary driving factor in fleet assignments, the (6) and (7) would never have swapped fleets.  The only time I can think of when politics may have played a role was the (N) back before it got R160s, except Coney Island got them anyway because of the power issues in the Rockaways (which have since been resolved).

 

Back to the topic of new fleets, I do have a question.  Has the MTA considered getting CNG express buses for the BC depots (Spring Creek, College Point)?  I know NJT just got new CNG MCIs, and it would make sense for uniformity and to be more "green."

For me personally I used to like the RTS but over time they look very raggedy compared to other fleets but they're over 20 years old. I usually had the worst experience with RTS and I live by FB where it used to be all RTS's. Even now the OG's having shown age the past few years. There's nothing attractive about an old bus and the seats and windows are starting to show age. But at the end of the day newer fleets and what is kept is beyond anyone's control. 

Quick question but I remember when I was a kid the RTS has squeaky windows so did they used to have bullet proof windows? 

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28 minutes ago, Bosco said:

IIMN, all 2011 buses and up (plus the 1200s) were planned to get the new scheme sooner or later.  I don't know if this is still the case.

I agree with everything here.  The only thing I don't like about the RTS are the lifts.  Otherwise, they're good buses for their age and for the most part ride fairly well.  I live mostly near Ulmer routes and they take pride in maintaining their RTSs (especially the ZFs).  Not sure if it's preference of maintenance or the fact that the newer buses just aren't aging as well (case in point: 1200s LFSAs), but the XD40s ride horribly.  So newer isn't always better, either.  Politics does play a role in fleet assignments (for the subway as well), but that only goes so far.  If that was the primary driving factor in fleet assignments, the (6) and (7) would never have swapped fleets.  The only time I can think of when politics may have played a role was the (N) back before it got R160s, except Coney Island got them anyway because of the power issues in the Rockaways (which have since been resolved).

 

Back to the topic of new fleets, I do have a question.  Has the MTA considered getting CNG express buses for the BC depots (Spring Creek, College Point)?  I know NJT just got new CNG MCIs, and it would make sense for uniformity and to be more "green."

The (6) and (7) car swap had nothing to do with politics. The (6) and (7) swap was because of the (7) getting CBTC.

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1 hour ago, WestFarms36 said:

The (6) and (7) car swap had nothing to do with politics. The (6) and (7) swap was because of the (7) getting CBTC.

True--but that's exactly what he said.

"If that [politics] was the primary role, the (6) and (7) would never have swapped fleets."

And that's right. Try selling an older fleet with longer dwell times to the massively powerful and wealthy UES companies--wouldn't have happened! But politics came second and the swap did occur. That was Operations Planning and Car Equipment dictating to the higher-ups, not the other way around.

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3 hours ago, Gotham Bus Co. said:

 

Should every fleet assignment be subject to a public referendum? Which communities should have priority over all others in choosing their buses?

I wouldn't say every fleet assignment, but as I've said before, buses should be spread around so that each community gets a piece of new buses. There are also some communities that suffer from high levels of pollution due to the amount of buses running through their neighborhoods with high levels of asthma. A lot of the poor neighborhoods in the city are affected by this and have been on the (MTA) to address this issue, which they have in certain areas, so in my mind, yes buses are important, and we have every right to speak out about who gets what. Aside from that they are paid for with taxpayer dollars, be it state or federal, so I and all other taxpayers have every right to speak out about them.

I think it's time that a lot of Queens get a batch of this new fleet. They have a lot of those old RTS buses and a lot of the (MTA) Bus routes.  Flatbush Depot could also use their share as well.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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11 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I wouldn't say every fleet assignment, but as I've said before, buses should be spread around so that each community gets a piece of new buses. There are also some communities that suffer from high levels of pollution due to the amount of buses running through their neighborhoods with high levels of asthma. A lot of the poor neighborhoods in the city are affected by this and have been on the (MTA) to address this issue, which they have in certain areas, so in my mind, yes buses are important, and we have every right to speak out about who gets what. Aside from that they are paid for with taxpayer dollars, be it state or federal, so I and all other taxpayers have every right to speak out about them.

I think it's time that a lot of Queens get a batch of this new fleet. They have a lot of those old RTS buses and a lot of the (MTA) Bus routes.  Flatbush Depot could also use their share as well.

Where have you been for the last three years?

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2 hours ago, WestFarms36 said:

 

I really do not really care. As long as I have a vehicle that takes me from Point A to Point B it really doesn't make a difference to me, while the Bus moves, has Heating in the winter, and AC in the Summer, I am fine. All these new buses will be old someday. The XN40's are already turning 2 and we just got them the other day. The 1200's were just received the other day and almost 9, in an agency this big, buses will be old and nothing can be replaced overnight. Yes the RTS has been in service longer than originally intended, yes they aren't up to code on the most recent ADA Standards, and yes the Fuel Efficiency on those buses aren't prestine, but you can never expect an agency looking after 5,800 Buses with fleet expansion planned to not have old buses still crawling. Even small county agencies are up to this day dealing with older buses. Yes it is a public agency where you can voice your concerns, but fleet assignments happen where there is need. You can't take away new buses from a depot that is in need for new buses to send it elsewhere to please others. Many New Yorkers don't have a problem riding them anyway. Look at the (C) train for example. People began complaining over the R32's being very stingy to ride on, (MTA) swapped a few sets with the (J)(Z) , without it being a necessity. The (C) never went 100% R160 anyway, and now those same R160's sent from the (J)(Z) , guess where they have to go back again? Yes back to the Nassau St Line. Now due to lengthening of the (C) train, it is now getting R46's which are younger and in better shape, and probably share 5 R179 sets with the (A) and the R32's running on the (J)(Z) returning to where they came from in the first place. Which comes back to this, buses cannot be rolled around the city like dice, because 1 person wants new buses on their route. Sometimes those new buses are there for planned future +SBS+ routes, or to increase Bus capacity and prevent Bus Shortages *cough* Gun Hill *cough* West Farms *cough* eventually those depots with old RTS's will get even newer buses with the WIFI, USB Charging Ports, and Information Screens. Its just a matter of patience and acceptance. Therefore ENY is right, if it were not for this platform, most of us would be like the (MTA) Papparazi's all around the 5 boroughs.

While what you say is correct, this is still an area that I think the (MTA) realizes they need to improve in if they're going to get bus ridership turned around.  While no agency is perfect, rider comfort does matter and if a bus has no AC and crawls, it means a miserable ride and if that rider has other options well there's a lost rider.  In some cases it won't matter of course. Riders that take takes may just take them no matter what. If they don't see a bus in 5 minutes, they'll just hail a cab and keep it moving, and that's fine.  What I'm referring to is reliability of service and overall perception.  These things are important along with the speed of service.  

My boss rides the local bus to and from our office, and we were about to have a meeting one day, and she commented on how decrepit the bus was that she took to the office. It was pretty funny, but passengers do pay attention and ultimately while the bus is there to take you from point A to point B, you do expect some level of comfort and a decent ride for the money. When I had nails sticking me when I went to sit down on SI express buses before all of those new Prevosts came in, you better believe I was complaining and so were other passengers.  Two hour commute in some cases and we can't even get a decent seat for $6.50... We would comment about how the (MTA) didn't gave a damn about us because we had broken buses with no AC, sunken seats and often missing or late buses because of the poor quality of the buses, as they would break down more often.

Just now, LTA1992 said:

Where have you been for the last three years?

I've been around.  Yes the (MTA) is moving in new buses.  I'm well aware of it, but even they acknowledge that they'll need to do better going forward if they're going to get people back on buses again. That's just the reality of things now.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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@Via Garibaldi 8 Here’s a list of brand new buses Queens has received over the years:

2009-10: Orion 7 NG Hybrids for Casey Stengel, Jamaica, JFK, LaGuardia

2011: Nova LFS, XD40, Orion (30 of each to QV)

2012: Nova LFSA: Casey Stengel

2011-12: New Flyer C40LF CNG: College Point

2013: MCI D4500CT coaches: Queens Village

2015 XD40: Casey Stengel

2015-16 Nova LFS: Jamaica, Queens Village

2015-16 New Flyer XD60: JFK, Baisley Park

2016-17 New Flyer XD60: Casey Stengel, JFK, LaGuardia

Edited by S78 via Hylan
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23 minutes ago, S78 via Hylan said:

@Via Garibaldi 8 Here’s a list of brand new buses Queens has received over the years:

2009-10: Orion 7 NG Hybrids for Casey Stengel, Jamaica, JFK, LaGuardia

2011: Nova LFS, XD40, Orion (30 of each to QV)

2012: Nova LFSA: Casey Stengel

2011-12: New Flyer C40LF CNG: College Point

2013: MCI D4500CT coaches: Queens Village

2015 XD40: Casey Stengel

2015-16 Nova LFS: Jamaica, Queens Village

2015-16 New Flyer XD60: JFK, Baisley Park

2016-17 New Flyer XD60: Casey Stengel, JFK, LaGuardia

I'm aware but they have a very large fleet due to the lack of subway service in parts of the borough and how big Queens is. In my mind it's probably the most neglected borough in terms of bus service (both local and express). My trips out there have only reinforced that opinion. The (MTA) has improved though, with less piece meal which is what Queens has received until recently.

Edited by Via Garibaldi 8
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I can understand that some fans may like the RTS and all, but as a daily rider of the B64 those pieces of crap needed to go years ago...

Wheelchair lifts and kneeling mechanisms which rarely work, weird stains on the seats, liquids dripping from the ceiling, belching exhaust and they scream like banshees... And if you've got really bad luck, you end up with the one really trash RTS out of Ulmer Park missing rows of seats and without a working stop request bell...

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2 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

scream like banshees...

I know a few D60s that would love to have a word with you on this. 5546 especially IIRC lmao. If I went to the Bronx more often, I'd be able to hook you up with a few more D60s up there....

--------

Seriously though, I agree. The RTS are a nice novelty and all but there are few that are in great condition. I have encountered some that don't feel "bad" as a rider, but they don't exactly hold a candle to some of the Nova LFS... Throw in a few seats with the blue fabric worn down to the yellow netting thing and bumpers that look like they had WWIII occur on them and you're 100% set...

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7 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I wouldn't say every fleet assignment, but as I've said before, buses should be spread around so that each community gets a piece of new buses. There are also some communities that suffer from high levels of pollution due to the amount of buses running through their neighborhoods with high levels of asthma. A lot of the poor neighborhoods in the city are affected by this and have been on the (MTA) to address this issue, which they have in certain areas, so in my mind, yes buses are important, and we have every right to speak out about who gets what. Aside from that they are paid for with taxpayer dollars, be it state or federal, so I and all other taxpayers have every right to speak out about them.

I think it's time that a lot of Queens get a batch of this new fleet. They have a lot of those old RTS buses and a lot of the (MTA) Bus routes.  Flatbush Depot could also use their share as well.

Buses are spread out and us people in the poor neighborhoods don’t give a damn about which bus pulls up. As he asked above, where have you been? Queens has basically gotten new buses every year for the last 9..... And Queens doesn’t have a lot of old RTS at all. We have the majority here in Brooklyn. Your facts are off in several areas here, but I’m only going to reference 2 for right now.....

Queens NYCT and Bus combined only have 86 RTS buses..... 

Queens only has 63 Gen I OG’s.... 

Can we be done with this conversation now? 😴

4 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

I can understand that some fans may like the RTS and all, but as a daily rider of the B64 those pieces of crap needed to go years ago...

Wheelchair lifts and kneeling mechanisms which rarely work, weird stains on the seats, liquids dripping from the ceiling, belching exhaust and they scream like banshees... And if you've got really bad luck, you end up with the one really trash RTS out of Ulmer Park missing rows of seats and without a working stop request bell...

For me to have rode on, driven, and evaluated countless MTA Buses, (especially the RTS) I’m amazed and must just be very lucky with buses because I hardly ever get crap RTS’ and they consist of about 70% of my overall trips seeing as I live in Brooklyn and we have the bulk of them. I ride them daily on the B6, B14, B15, and B17. 

I’m almost certain I’ve been on, and behind the wheel of more of them that about 90% of the posters here. (Including some Bus operators we have here.)

I guess I just have excellent luck when it comes to them! 🤷🏾‍♂️

And once again, the would have been gone if buses could be made fast enough. Overall, the maintenance record tell a tale slightly different then some of the narrative you all provide. If they were 50% as bad as some of you say, they would have been replaced in a similar manner to the Orion V’s and VII hybrids. Before most of you who are making this comments were born there was a much worse situation. MTA used to keep buses a lot longer than they used to now, and if you compare the records fleetwide, with the exception of the Nova LFS the remaining fleet has an average breakdown rate greater than that of the RTS. 

If we wanna get into that and review the records I will point out how out of 300+ old raggedy RTS buses, how many were road called today versus how many New Flyers that aren’t even 365 days old have been recalled, and the rediculously high rate of NG road calls is insane. Nothing will look brand new for 20 years in NYC, but I have to disagree based on the maintenance records. The wheelchair lift has always been the Achilles Heel of the RTS, and MTA uses the kneeler more than any agency in the country. By no means am I taking away from that because I’m currently having life issues with my Nova RTS and it’s definitely a pain. I also have a leaky roof hatch. Common problem when showing age, and that can easily be replaced. But in terms of everything else, I know for a fact my RTS, and my friends RTS’ runs circles around this new equipment.... They are much less labor intensive, cost less to maintain, and the gas mileage for MTA RTS’ is the same as our newest MCI’s just for reference. Mind you the MCI is a lot heavier and operates at higher speeds.... 

But to be honest, I couldn’t care less at this point. People are always going to have their own opinion which we are all entitled to. I have my own, and this is my second, so even when they are gone I will still have mine. I think it’s nice that out of 5,800 buses, more than 300 Legends are still around. You younger guys are spoiled these days. Once upon a time it was the norm to have 22 year old buses running around. 

Did some of you know that people come from all over the globe to catch a pic or ride on an RTS? Let them live out their last 2 years in peace. If they were hated so much or didn’t have the maintenance record that I know they do and I have access to, Quill wouldn’t have any at all. 

Add up the numbers...... Theres no reason for Quill in 2018 to have the RTS other than the history and the fact that’s it’s been the staple of NYC for decades. If you own an RTS you can book a TV commercial, music video or ad faster than any other model as long as you aren’t in Cali. They only want them for pre-2000 era projects. Those buses are money makes and they move NYC every time we have a major storm... Can’t wait to see how things go when we have a blizzard and there are no RTS buses to send out on snow loans... Hope most of you all have cars or an RTS like me in 10 years! Lol

I don’t see ANY of the other models other than RTS on the “Bus IQ Test” on the new digital displays either..... I wonder why that is?

Yes the need to go. You all can stand 2 more years running or less. Your ancestors had to deal with them longer.... The 7000 series RTS were here for what 25 years? One of my best friends who is also in the industry heavily like I am (and currently an MTA bus veteran operator) drove 7018 this morning. It will run circles around every last Bus in our fleet. Including every RTS we have currently have in service.....

I wanna see if anyone collects something we have in the fleet now 40 years later.... Maybe I’m just bias because I love them and I’m from Detroit. Maybe it’s because I was a contractor for Millennium and have consulted with Roswell and Pontiac since 1990. Whatever it is, the black and white has spoken for itself since 1977. Take out the wheelchair lift, lack of driver space and comfort, as well as things that come with age, there’s no real valid complaint other than it being “old.”

The Defence rests. RTS for life! Detroit designed and built. If anyone brings me better maintenance records, (Other than Nova LFS which has a modular design based directly off the RTS) I will stand down.... And I’m also a Truck and Bus Maintenance Technician in training, as well as an Airframe & Powerplant (Aircraft & Engine) Tech if anyone wants to question my professional opinion or experience and expertise on these things.... Someone here once said all I do is sit behind a desk and push papers and read statistics, when in reality most all of you have probably seen or passed me somewhere within the 5 boroughs and didn’t even know. 

Anywho, I’m done with this discussion and think I’mma go watch some videos of me whipping my RTS....💪🏾

51E19FFF-39F0-4075-8E25-B812BCF9D794.jpeg

Edited by East New York
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6 hours ago, East New York said:

Buses are spread out and us people in the poor neighborhoods don’t give a damn about which bus pulls up. As he asked above, where have you been? Queens has basically gotten new buses every year for the last 9..... And Queens doesn’t have a lot of old RTS at all. We have the majority here in Brooklyn. Your facts are off in several areas here, but I’m only going to reference 2 for right now.....

Queens NYCT and Bus combined only have 86 RTS buses..... 

Queens only has 63 Gen I OG’s.... 

Can we be done with this conversation now? 😴

For me to have rode on, driven, and evaluated countless MTA Buses, (especially the RTS) I’m amazed and must just be very lucky with buses because I hardly ever get crap RTS’ and they consist of about 70% of my overall trips seeing as I live in Brooklyn and we have the bulk of them. I ride them daily on the B6, B14, B15, and B17. 

I’m almost certain I’ve been on, and behind the wheel of more of them that about 90% of the posters here. (Including some Bus operators we have here.)

I guess I just have excellent luck when it comes to them! 🤷🏾‍♂️

And once again, the would have been gone if buses could be made fast enough. Overall, the maintenance record tell a tale slightly different then some of the narrative you all provide. If they were 50% as bad as some of you say, they would have been replaced in a similar manner to the Orion V’s and VII hybrids. Before most of you who are making this comments were born there was a much worse situation. MTA used to keep buses a lot longer than they used to now, and if you compare the records fleetwide, with the exception of the Nova LFS the remaining fleet has an average breakdown rate greater than that of the RTS. 

If we wanna get into that and review the records I will point out how out of 300+ old raggedy RTS buses, how many were road called today versus how many New Flyers that aren’t even 365 days old have been recalled, and the rediculously high rate of NG road calls is insane. Nothing will look brand new for 20 years in NYC, but I have to disagree based on the maintenance records. The wheelchair lift has always been the Achilles Heel of the RTS, and MTA uses the kneeler more than any agency in the country. By no means am I taking away from that because I’m currently having life issues with my Nova RTS and it’s definitely a pain. I also have a leaky roof hatch. Common problem when showing age, and that can easily be replaced. But in terms of everything else, I know for a fact my RTS, and my friends RTS’ runs circles around this new equipment.... They are much less labor intensive, cost less to maintain, and the gas mileage for MTA RTS’ is the same as our newest MCI’s just for reference. Mind you the MCI is a lot heavier and operates at higher speeds.... 

But to be honest, I couldn’t care less at this point. People are always going to have their own opinion which we are all entitled to. I have my own, and this is my second, so even when they are gone I will still have mine. I think it’s nice that out of 5,800 buses, more than 300 Legends are still around. You younger guys are spoiled these days. Once upon a time it was the norm to have 22 year old buses running around. 

Did some of you know that people come from all over the globe to catch a pic or ride on an RTS? Let them live out their last 2 years in peace. If they were hated so much or didn’t have the maintenance record that I know they do and I have access to, Quill wouldn’t have any at all. 

Add up the numbers...... Theres no reason for Quill in 2018 to have the RTS other than the history and the fact that’s it’s been the staple of NYC for decades. If you own an RTS you can book a TV commercial, music video or ad faster than any other model as long as you aren’t in Cali. They only want them for pre-2000 era projects. Those buses are money makes and they move NYC every time we have a major storm... Can’t wait to see how things go when we have a blizzard and there are no RTS buses to send out on snow loans... Hope most of you all have cars or an RTS like me in 10 years! Lol

I don’t see ANY of the other models other than RTS on the “Bus IQ Test” on the new digital displays either..... I wonder why that is?

Yes the need to go. You all can stand 2 more years running or less. Your ancestors had to deal with them longer.... The 7000 series RTS were here for what 25 years? One of my best friends who is also in the industry heavily like I am (and currently an MTA bus veteran operator) drove 7018 this morning. It will run circles around every last Bus in our fleet. Including every RTS we have currently have in service.....

I wanna see if anyone collects something we have in the fleet now 40 years later.... Maybe I’m just bias because I love them and I’m from Detroit. Maybe it’s because I was a contractor for Millennium and have consulted with Roswell and Pontiac since 1990. Whatever it is, the black and white has spoken for itself since 1977. Take out the wheelchair lift, lack of driver space and comfort, as well as things that come with age, there’s no real valid complaint other than it being “old.”

The Defence rests. RTS for life! Detroit designed and built. If anyone brings me better maintenance records, (Other than Nova LFS which has a modular design based directly off the RTS) I will stand down.... And I’m also a Truck and Bus Maintenance Technician in training, as well as an Airframe & Powerplant (Aircraft & Engine) Tech if anyone wants to question my professional opinion or experience and expertise on these things.... Someone here once said all I do is sit behind a desk and push papers and read statistics, when in reality most all of you have probably seen or passed me somewhere within the 5 boroughs and didn’t even know. 

Anywho, I’m done with this discussion and think I’mma go watch some videos of me whipping my RTS....💪🏾

51E19FFF-39F0-4075-8E25-B812BCF9D794.jpeg

Really no need to come at me so aggressively but you're like that in general. I'm aware of everything you said. Historically speaking Queens has had a lot of old models. Whether you or anyone else doesn't like the fact that anyone from the public is allowed to express their opinions to the (MTA) about the fleet is your problem, but I will continue to do so as I have in the past.  I've never been deterred to speak up on things that I believe in so your aggressive attitude doesn't phase me in the slightest. Back to whatever the discussion is.

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1 hour ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Really no need to come at me so aggressively but you're like that in general. I'm aware of everything you said. Historically speaking Queens has had a lot of old models. Whether you or anyone else doesn't like the fact that anyone from the public is allowed to express their opinions to the (MTA) about the fleet is your problem, but I will continue to do so as I have in the past.  I've never been deterred to speak up on things that I believe in so your aggressive attitude doesn't phase me in the slightest. Back to whatever the discussion is.

Where was the aggression? Passionate, definitely.

At any rate, there really is no need to continue. You can beat this dead, irrelevant horse all you want. It's been spelled out to you.

Queens has gotten new buses for 9 straight years and will continue to do so for at least the next three. If there is no change in the "normal" replacement schedule, Queens should continue to get new buses every year for the foreseeable future. Why all the fuss about something that is happening naturally?

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Artic assignments are being updated now. LFSA option assignments are also posted in case anyone missed it.

On 6/4/2018 at 9:17 AM, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Really no need to come at me so aggressively but you're like that in general. I'm aware of everything you said. Historically speaking Queens has had a lot of old models. Whether you or anyone else doesn't like the fact that anyone from the public is allowed to express their opinions to the (MTA) about the fleet is your problem, but I will continue to do so as I have in the past.  I've never been deterred to speak up on things that I believe in so your aggressive attitude doesn't phase me in the slightest. Back to whatever the discussion is.

First of all, you know that I speak in a very direct and aggressive manner, so why state whats been obvious for the last decade here? This isn't our first "roadeo." 

Frankly, no one gives a damn about you expressing your opinion on the fleet as that is your right. As I said before and will say it again, internal ops do not concern you or the general public in any way. You can comment on whatever you want, but neither MTA or myself will ever be obligated to tell you or the general public what fleets plan are, especially in a post-9/11 environment. I think you should seriously call 511 and ask them why drivers are fighting fight over old RTS buses and complain about it. I would love for you to see what what happens....

You sir are just an ass-hole that likes to be confrontational every chance you get. You wanna sit here and play the victim and beat a dead horse. You keep changing how you word your posts to argue a point that will never be valid. You keep bringing up this "commenting" on the fleet crap to deflect from the fact that you are dead wrong, and that was never what I was talking about. Period. 

 

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On 6/3/2018 at 11:17 PM, Around the Horn said:

I can understand that some fans may like the RTS and all, but as a daily rider of the B64 those pieces of crap needed to go years ago...

Wheelchair lifts and kneeling mechanisms which rarely work, weird stains on the seats, liquids dripping from the ceiling, belching exhaust and they scream like banshees... And if you've got really bad luck, you end up with the one really trash RTS out of Ulmer Park missing rows of seats and without a working stop request bell...

Even worse are the ones at JFK, which are 22 years old. Not even the former Green Lines 1985 GMC RTSs ran this long. Only the former RTS 3503 (finishing life as 1837) ran this long, being retired at 23. (Most agencies retire buses at 12-14.)

Now, as for the Wi-Fi, I would hope all of the purchases delivered in 2011 and later (plus the 1200s) also get outlets.

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1 minute ago, aemoreira81 said:

Even worse are the ones at JFK, which are 22 years old. Not even the former Green Lines 1985 GMC RTSs ran this long. Only the former RTS 3503 (finishing life as 1837) ran this long, being retired at 23. (Most agencies retire buses at 12-14.)

Now, as for the Wi-Fi, I would hope all of the purchases delivered in 2011 and later (plus the 1200s) also get outlets.

Everything 2011 and new will be have their WiFi activated, and at this time only new buses will get the new scheme and outlets with the exception of the express buses of course. All the pre-2011 buses will be retired or start to retire within the next 4-5 years. 

It also appears that MTA may be dropping the Green Express scheme that was expected for the next generation of express buses.

Express Testing & Evaluation Update: The Alexander-Dennis went back and the D45 CRT LE is now pending. 

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15 minutes ago, East New York said:

It also appears that MTA may be dropping the Green Express scheme that was expected for the next generation of express buses.

Well that's very disappointing... A great branding opportunity missed...

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Just I hope that the MTA does not drop the Green scheme for the Express Buses. How can someone tell if the bus design is local or express. 

As for you arguments about why does Queens get new bus orders than anything else was already been said by ENY. 

Each boro should have a different look on their buses, especially when the MTA is about to do another “get-together” real soon about redesigning the Bronx routes. It has been since 1984 on my birthday when they changed many routes around. 

As for SI, get ready to take the last pics of the “X” designated routes next month. 

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10 hours ago, East New York said:

It also appears that MTA may be dropping the Green Express scheme that was expected for the next generation of express buses.

 

Green express scheme? You mean the bus stop signage and the bus route color?   

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