Transit geek

But I heard that Malvern won't be deploying VISION by year's end. Maybe Mount Dennis?

Frankly speaking, it's applicable to the entire GTA. We could mention that YRT's last Orion V was taken out of service only 14 months ago.

Probably because the YRT app has access to up-to-date route maps. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=can.yrt.onebusaway&hl=en_US Since YRT is going paperless with fare media, it makes sense to go paperless in other ways as well, such as with the electronic signs replacing paper schedules.

Not till an en-route fast charging station has been installed, of which I have found no news of - unless this could be Nova's first extended-range e-bus.

When I was visiting my grandma's flat in Hong Kong, that happened to my $150 Fujifilm Finepix. Its zoom lens broke and came off and we didn't bother fixing it considering its cheap price point. Since then, we have relied on our phones (though I am still aspiring to purchase a rugged point-and-shoot in the future).

I caught GO F59PH 562 at ~10:40 departing Milliken GO northbound hauling a midday trip to Unionville. Of the six bilevels behind it, only one was in the same livery as the loco.

So I take it that they've finally figured out a way to fit those things into York Mills (8100's or the SuperLo's?) Hang on, weren't the SuperLos designed to fit into York Mills in the first place?

For the past couple of weeks I was part of a team on contract delivering Metrolinx's Crosstown newsletter to businesses and residences along Eglinton East in Scarborough. Everyone has been working at a feverish pace and covered lots of ground every day. I don't want to reveal too much detail, but today I was responsible for topping it off by delivering to just a small section of the commercial area southwest of Eglinton/Victoria Park. After collecting the newsletters to be delivered, I tapped on for the journey to the delivery site at 10:40, and was able to get there by 11:30 (in previous shifts, it took almost half an hour longer due to the long wait for the 34 at Kennedy). By the time I was done delivering, it was 12:10, and I was able to tap on for the return trip at 12:20 without paying another fare (where as I would have to with any other medium or if I had lingered for another twenty minutes). In short, $3 saved thanks to the TTC's two-hour transfer for PRESTO users!

I'd like to submit this image of Durham Region Transit 8523 at DC/UOIT stopped to pick up on Simcoe Street. Taken in October 2017 when the bus loop was closed for reconstruction.

I hope this photo of Flexity car 4473 makes the cut: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgqCsfFShZgBnuUBD-v5mRjO_mU7rg As does this of SRT car 3013: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgqCsfFShZgBnu52Ptqyxq1QbbLYxQ

Maybe because of the forecoming opening of McNicoll Garage which would facilitate mass transfers. I would not be surprised if McNicoll gets a significant proportion of the upcoming e-bus order if it ends up happening (did I say that before?). Still, I think that Malvern ought to begin installing VISION in its existing Orion fleet if this is true, to make sure there are enough vehicles to operate routes as they are gradually converted. Otherwise, I think the Nova hybrids would simply use Malvern as a temporary station and would not enter service until McNicoll opens (because McNicoll would certainly be so equipped from the outset).

Sooner or later all the NG HEVs without VISION will be at Malvern and those left at Mt. Dennis and Wilson will have it.

All the other Puget Sound transit agencies are looking into e-buses, but somehow CT wants to join Sound Transit in staying put with diesel. A sad story for an agency that was among those to pioneer double-deckers and has the second-largest such fleet in the US (not to add that Sound Transit wants to eventually go fully DD) and is well on its way to playing a "fun" game of catch-up.

Not to mention the countless stories of Londoners getting to ride lots of vintage Routemaster buses in revenue service during a one-day Tube strike...! https://www.google.ca/search?q=routemaster+strike&tbm=isch

GO Transit 560, one of the remaining F59PH's, was pushing a 6-car consist on the Stouffville line today. I saw it at Kennedy GO heading southbound at around 10:15 this morning.

On the first day of school, I saw this TTC Orion VII NG HEV on route 939 short turning at McCowan. When I saw it about to turn from Sandhurst westbound on Finch, I decided to try out burst mode on my phone and see how it went. Attaching all the photos here would be rather too much, but thankfully Google's Photos app created a (very brief) animation from it.

It is rather disappointing that M-B doesn't have a dedicated BRT solution for its Citaros, similar to Van Hool's EXQUICITY. Thought the eCitaro might be the perfect chance to launch that.

I was there on Thursday and the north side of the loop was still closed due to the nearby building (Highland Hall) still under construction. According to UTSC's construction website there still is no further info on when the loop would reopen; the fact sheet mentioned a Spring 2018 opening which has obviously been delayed indefinitely. I would not be surprised if this arrangement continues into the winter, so it makes sense for DRT to reconfigure the routing on its INIT system for the "temporary" stops to avoid having to consistently scheduling detours that disrupt the "normal" timetable.

Two days ago at around 4 PM, I tried a barbecued eel rice bowl from a university student centre's cafeteria. It was very oily, leading me to correctly predict that I would not have dinner that evening.

Probably of incompetency with the current drivers. That way they have a bunch of fresh, possibly more reliable, faces in preparation for the launch of rail. No possible way they would need to downsize especially in a city expected to expand together with the transit network. It would be highly unlikely, but still a possibility, that OC wants to keep the average age and/or lifespan of their operators relatively young. But this would definitely be a biased opinion.

Hang on, are people trying to use political discussion to derail this thread? If so, let's just wait to see how our government is elected before we speculate further.

Not fully autonomous optically guided buses though... https://www.curbed.com/2017/11/6/16614986/zhuzhou-china-art-rail-bus Perfect for BRT... unless one would have to consider obstacle detection.

If anyone hasn't picked up on this already, the MiWay voice sounds similar to the TTC's external speakers controlled from the Luminator (before VISION takes over). Therefore it is unlikely that the TTC would record someone's voice for the external route announcements especially when new interior stop announcements are synthesized.

All those fuel tank capacity concerns could be kicked aside thanks to this: https://www.sustainable-bus.com/news/first-electric-double-decker-buses-los-angeles-foothill-transit-alexander-dennis-Proterra/ A plug-in hybrid variant would probably be impractical without severely reducing interior capacity. But it could bring the best of both worlds around, especially for long-distance commuter transport.

I was visiting Montreal in a group. Just before we got on the Metro I tried to convince the rest of the group to take this direction but we ended up taking the other. And the run number displayed at the front of the Azur set we boarded was 888 (not kidding!)