Big CJ

I'm going to go a little off topic too and say this. DeSantis is on his way out the door no matter what he does now, cause term limits as written in the Florida Constitution. Any anti-transit bill or whatever damage he does to Disney from now until 2026, will only make it harder for his party to ever get elected again in Florida. As far as I see it, it's a minor setback for transit in Orlando and in the state in general. Any anti-transit bill he passes, will simply be repealed. Brightline also isn't losing sleep on not going to Tampa either. The Orlando to Miami route is over capacity now, especially in South Florida. It's bad enough, to the point Brightline is losing money, because they have to turn away riders due to the full trains. Thankfully, additional passenger cars will arrive this year, followed by more in 2025, which will increase the trains from 4 to 7 car sets by 2025. That's just the existing trainsets, there are rumors of additional passenger car orders in the works.

That's not bad for those CNG buses and glad more diesel buses are returning into service. Looks like 2026 is when they'll revist the sales tax. https://www.wftv.com/news/local/orange-county-commissioners-suspend-transportation-sales-tax-initiative/VBXSFMODNZEURHPKTJVKRQNTOQ/#:~:text=The Orange County Board of,Sales Tax initiative until 2026.&text=That would have given voters,a-penny for several years. By the time they get through that, I'll be leaving Florida permanently. My time in Orlando is running out fast.

Wow, that's wild. Just 10 years ago when I was last in the city, Orion VIIs were everywhere. 2012, I rode the 7000 series EPA10 Orion VIIs, that were part of the 90 bus evaluation. They were still new, having been delivered in late 2011. They rode nice and I believe that was the same series, where some of the buses were equipped with bike racks IIRC. That's going to be a shock to me when I return to the city late this year or early next year for a visit.

Well I didn't want to say this, but I'm going to be honest about this whole we need North American buses to be built in our country, and foreign makers need to stay away nonsense. I've been hearing it for the past number of years, and I'm tired of it. Like people posting in all caps on Facebook "BRING BACK GENERAL MOTORS" as one of the many posts I've seen. Many fans forget the fact that by the mid 1970s, GM wanted out of the bus industry. The quality of some of the 5307s built in the United States like the huge order for CTA was poor. Add deferred maintenance into the equation from CTA, it only made a bad situation worse. I won't get too detailed into CTA as this thread is for NYC, but that era of the fishbowl in Chicago is not fondly looked at by CTA fans. There were also a number of bus companies that owned GM parlor coaches like the 4905s, H8H-649s, etc., who wanted GM to upgrade those coaches, so they can stay with GM, but once again that's beyond the scope of this thread. To make that long story short, GM said no. Then we get to the RTS, the icon of New York City as some call it. The only reason GM even built that bus, was because of the government mandates coming into the industry at the time. None of the fans talk about the rough riding from the independent front suspension that never got addressed, until the last few years of GM in the industry. They went back to the straight beam front suspension, which was found on the fishbowls and made the RTS ride better. The rear wheelchair lifts was another source of issue with transit properties and the crappy air conditioning. While New York City and a number of cities went back for more RTS after their first order, many never bought an RTS ever again. Turning to Flxible, Gillig, or foreign bus builders to fill their needs. If there was any other reason for GM to leave, was because of how few the RTS sold compared to the fishbowl, which they were still selling in Canada through GMDD. So what makes anyone think GM will return now? It's been decades since they left, and just on the slight chance that GM announced next week they were returning to the industry. It won't be the GM of the 1950s and 1960s people are thinking of. The company today is a completely different animal, and who is to say many transit properties will actually put up with GM in 2024? Like what's going to be different today versus the 1970s or 1980s? With that said, going back to MTA, I wonder how many of the next generation Orion VIIs are left, following the retirement of the older Orion VIIs? I know those are also in the process of being phased out as well.

Awesome news, I'm glad this is happening. Unlike some people, I'd like to see the bus industry in both Canada and the United States be competitive, instead of relying on just two bus builders with long backlogs. This is just a small start yes, but let's wait and see how they perform before we judge.

You have to take into consideration of the possibility, that some of these accidents may have been fatal. Plus it's a legal issue too that likely gets settled out of court, and personally, I don't want to dig up information on how bad these accidents were to the point they led to the buses being totaled. That's going beyond the scope of this hobby and into something else, which is where I draw the line in the sand. Lynx trying to cover up the accident with 132 was stupid, because it happened in Downtown Orlando and everyone could see it. Thankfully no one got hurt badly as far as I know.

Florida being Florida lol, best way I could describe that one. I don't know how many BRTs have been lost due to accidents caused by motorists, as it's very extensive. Quite a number of buses Lynx lost that I can recall or was told about. Lynx lost the original 625 in an accident. The Flxible Metro was on the 20 when it was T boned by a semi and retired in late 1998. I recalled seeing an Orlando Sentinel newspaper article about that accident. The original 236 and 281 were also involved in accidents, hence their early retirement. 381 caught fire, which I suspect was caused by the EGR overheating, 381 was also auctioned the same year 554 had it's accident. I also suspect that fire led to the entire 2001 Phantom fleet (381-394) being pulled out of service in 2009. A 1999 Phantom was also lost due to a fire, and I suspect it may have been an EGR fire too. Note, I don't know the whole details of why 381 and that 99 Phantom caught fire. I'm guessing it's a possible EGR fire, due to the fact I've been told by some in the industry that EGRs, if not maintained properly can catch fire. It doesn't help that when Lynx got those 2001 Phantoms, they wound up having to replace all the ZF transmissions in them not long after they entered service. Good luck getting any information from Lynx about those fires, Lynx is very touchy on subjects that leads to bad publicity on them, even though it's possibly available via public records. Funny I mention 381-394, 385 was "destroyed" by negligence from a driver. It was on the 4 and the bus had transmission issues. The driver for whatever reason kept pushing it despite the issue. By the time it got to Lynx Central Station, it basically limped into the station. On a board report from 2009 (September 24), it is mentioned as a bus that had severe internal damage done to the transmission, the repair of which would've costed Lynx $17,000. 132-613 being struck by a train in Downtown Orlando about 9-10 years ago. The incident with 132 happened on the KnightLynx 209 route I think it was. Lynx tried to cover that up, but photos of it online still popped up, so that was an epic fail. The original 272 was wrecked in the yard (very likely at South Street). I have yet to find out what replaced 272, but I heard it was a demo bus that replaced 272. What demo bus, has not been made clear to me, but 272 was the last 200 series Phantom to operate is one thing I do know. That's just an example of accidents happening over the last 26 years that I know of. I do know one 1982 Grumman was written off in an accident years ago. Plus a 1980 RTS, think 502 was also involved in an accident during the Tri-County Transit era, but for those two, I've got little to no data on what happened.

I was just informed all of the 2015 diesel Gilligs are being rehabbed. It includes new rims, engines, seat upgrades, and other stuff being repaired. No word on whether any buses older than the 2015s will get a similar rehab, but that's something new. Before anyone asks, no I don't know why Lynx is doing this. Also, a number of Mears' 1997 NABIs are now owned by Escot Bus Lines. Two have been spotted running by someone, and I have a feeling Escot has more thin just two buses as it wouldn't make sense to get just two buses. Going back to Lynx, a Nova artic was spotted running on OBT yesterday, I presume it was 189?

I wonder what they're planning to do with it? I guess the Novas have been out of service due to all the issues they've had with the hybrid buses, but the Novas, Lynx has had issues getting parts from Nova, which doesn't make sense. So I hope that means further use for those buses.

In other news, come December, the new Pine Hills Transfer Center will open. Here is an article Lynx has on it. I'm glad there will be an area for the bus drivers to be able to use the bathroom and have some time away from the passengers. https://www.golynx.com/news-events/pine-hills-transfer-center.stml

I think they're going to do it. It's not odd for buses in Osceola to find their way to routes coming out of LOC and vice versa. When I use to actively fan, 353 (1998 Gillig Phantom) got around, despite being a 14 year old bus in 2012. On some days it would run on the 38, but I've seen it and ridden it on routes like 54, 7, and even 56 on several occasions. Right around the time the BRTs started showing up for Lynx in 2006, buses like 268 and 271, were often in the same situation. One day on the 38, the next week or so out there on the 10 or 26. Buses were not always assigned to one place back then, something to remember. So I guess Lynx maybe willing to do it, despite the mileage on the CNG buses getting higher that way.

Here is a very interesting situation. Lynx has been hinting in some of the board reports, that they plan to phase out diesel buses come next year. Are they realistically going to deadhead buses from LOC to Osceola? IDK if they're planning to build a new facility between now and 2025, but even then, that's ambitious for even this region. I've been scratching my head about this for a bit now.

The Grummans had that mileage when they were 14 years old, and in their last year of service for Lynx, maybe a little more, but there is a reason why many of them got sold off. About 6-8 Grummans went to Transit Sales, where the exteriors were repainted and they were used as shuttles at Grand Canyon, a number of them stayed here in Orlando, and some went out of state. I wonder what Lynx plans to do as the CNG fleet ages? That's going to be a very interesting case there, as a diesel bus needs little to be pressed back into service for another bus company. CNG buses are a different, but I assume if the tanks are recertified they should be good, since the buses I assume have 20 year tanks in them. In a couple years, it'll get even more interesting when the X10 engine becomes available for buses, discontinuing the L9 engine, and I assume it's CNG variation.

As for everything from 3516 and up, I have no idea. I do know some XD40s that were rejected by Mears are operating for Yankee Line up north. The rejects are 2021 units. As for the D40LFs, I think more maybe on the way from Georgia (not Atlanta), but I need more confirmation on that, based on a Facebook post I just saw. As for Mears using those D40LFs, I'm not surprised. They're finding work elsewhere, as Academy Bus has taken over a lot of the contracts Mears had. Mears still have their 1997 NABI 416s on their property, but I heard from a friend they're about to be or in the process of disposing those. He's hoping to get at least one of those buses saved, so far I haven't heard back from that friend on what's going on with them. All were parked running when COVID happened. Reason why Lynx doesn't have XN40s, they've had some reliability issues with the XN60s. The XN60s have caught on fire numerous times last year. Not sure how many have been retired due to fires, but it's been getting out of control. I hope Lynx has had a conversation with New Flyer about it. Page 19 of this thread, I explain to everyone I've never seen this happen with any other bus in this city before. Even when the diesel Gillig BRTs were new, they weren't this bad, and they had a more drama filled entry into revenue service than any other bus Orlando has had in its entire 52 years as a public transit property. Despite that, the oldest XN60s are now in their eighth year of service, so the new bus problem can't be used anymore, along with the units built in 2019. The CNG Gilligs have their issues too, but I think Lynx is confident they can make them work, despite the issues they have. Lynx has seemed to have abandoned electric buses, cause nothing is mentioned about further acquisitions of them. Just more CNG buses being acquired to eliminate diesel buses by 2025, which is dumb on their part.

Well I can answer the 3500s. They were purchased new by Mears for a contract Universal had for their properties. 3501-3515 built in 2016. As for the 3900 series Gilligs, those might have come from HART in Tampa, but I'm not sure. A lot of HART's buses seem to end up in the Orlando area, as Maingate Transit and Empire Coach have former HART Gilligs. In addition to Lynx's older diesel buses being purchased by shuttle companies, you also have those New Flyer D40LFs from Marta too that are around. Empire Coach also has some of those too. Discover USA Tours has a few former Lynx buses, one of them being a Phantom (567).

I just saw 50-410 heading to OIA on the 436S, so the 2010s are still running around. Despite Lynx placing that order for 25 buses, it's going to be interesting when they show up. I can imagine with just two bus builders in the US, that's going to create a huge backlog. With that said, here is a couple of photos from my collection back when Lynx was treated with respect in the city, and when we had many bus builders around. Most of these shots were taken by A.J. Reinschmidt on Saturday, May 6, 1995, except for the second shot. That shot was taken in 1994.

I've ridden 289 a few times when it was the newest bus in the fleet. Since my interest has tanked, I would've never knew the difference between Voith or ZF Ecolife (if that's what is being used on 289).

Well that's interesting. I guess I'll change it then.

Some interesting things are going to be happening with Links 37 and 40. Lynx also hinted something in December could be happening, no clue what it is. https://www.golynx.com/core/fileparse.php/97315/urlt/2-15-2024-Finance-Audit-Committee-Pkg.pdf

I wonder how hybrid coaches would on longer runs? I never asked about those, especially since Lynx has used its hybrid transit buses on routes that do travel on I-4 (doesn't mean I'm suggesting Lynx get motorcoaches yet).

Okay folks, we have gotta talk about the upcoming changes on April 21st. When I saw these, it woke me up lol. Links 21, 37, 42, 436S are getting Sunday frequencies increased to every 30 minutes. 436S will only get the frequency increase between Orlando International Airport and University Blvd. Link 111 is being discontinued and replaced by Link 311, which is probably the biggest show stealer of these changes. Link 311 will be the Orlando International Airport to Disney Springs express route, with intermediate stops at the Destination Parkway stop, the Convention Center, Florida Mall, and Sand Lake Road Sunrail station. This routing duplicates the original Link 111 route. https://www.golynx.com/news-events/208239-lynx-to-hold-information-sessions-and-public-workshop-and-hearing-for-april-2024-service-proposal.stml Just to point this out, many bus companies in the Orlando area, such as Mears and others, have balked for many years at Lynx running an express route from Disney to the airport. Now this route could very well be a reality in a mere two months. This a big deal unlike anything else that has happened in Lynx's entire existence, and we're not even in Summer yet. Who wants to place bets that the 311 will be Lynx's busiest route before Summer?

I've lived here going on 29 years, and I've heard these same promises proposed time and time again. Dennings just happens to be very stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat over the city's transportation, which I praise him for not throwing in the towel and giving up. Using a sales tax to fund transit in addition to road improvements in Orlando, believe it or not predates Lynx. They've also been trying to relieve traffic on I-Drive, which was being proposed as far back as the mid 1980s too. Sunrail could be the solution to that, whenever the Sunshine Corridor gets built, hopefully by the end of this decade it's under construction. My personal opinion on trying this again, let's see what happens as I'm not really confident it may pass. The same group that opposed the sales tax in 2022, is also looking to rally against it again, so it'll be a tough battle. It doesn't help the price of goods are going up too.

So round two anyone on a sales tax? https://www.wesh.com/article/orange-county-sales-tax-transportation/46663053

I don't know what happened in 2023 or before, but Orlando is still open. A friend screenshotted these scheduled buses that were at the terminal today. Even then, good luck to the city trying to redevelop the area the Orlando Greyhound station is at. That area is VERY sketchy, take it from someone who has lived in Orlando for nearly 30 years.

Some throwbacks of Lynx, via these old commercials. I apologize for the huge videos, I can't code this any smaller.