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The U of MN Parking and Transportation Services department recently redesigned the campus shuttle network. In addition to adding some service and changing routing for the existing lines, their contractor First Transit has also apparently added some new units. There is now another 30' LF/BRT Hybrid, I'm guessing it replaced one of the cutaways. Additionally some secondhand D40LF were added. I saw units 3333 and 4438. I have no idea where they're from. Both have flip dot destination signs and I believe ISC or ISL engines. I'll try to ride one the next time I get the chance to transitfan. Of course the Van Hool AG300 artics, A300L, and Gillig 40' Hybrid units are still the backbone of the Campus Shuttle fleet. I haven't seen either of the 2002 Gillig LF, 624 or 625 recently. If they aren't still spares for the PTS fleet then I'm guessing they were transferred to the DELTA Airlines/MSP campus fleet. I see former U of MN shuttles 622 or 623 on the runway shuttles at the airport constantly.

In 2019 a new service was launched out of MSP, Landline. Landline is basically an airport connector shuttle. Major connections in the MSP market are MSP - Duluth DLH, MSP - St. Cloud STC, and MSP - Mankato MKT. Additionally they have expanded into the Colorado market, connecting Denver International DEN with Loveland FNL. Unlike the typical airport shuttles one feature of Landline is a partnership with airlines to allow for thru booking. Currently the have an agreement with Sun Country Airlines. A Sun Country flyer can book a ticket from or to Duluth for example, to any of the Sun Country destinations. That ticket will include the Landline service to/from Duluth to MSP Terminal 2 in the ticket price. It appears United may have a similar setup with the Denver-Loveland line. Initially when Landline started, motorcoach operations were contracted with Lorenz Bus Service. As part of the deal Lorenz brought in some new Van Hool CX-45 liveried in the grey Landline scheme. They also wrapped a couple of their existing coaches in the Landline scheme. I was able to get a couple snaps but unfortunately never really captured most of the fleet. During the 2020 C-19 Pandemic situation, Landline cut back on services a bit due to decreased demand, and also assumed operations internally. Currently their motorcoach fleet consists of Prevost H3-45 and MCI J3500. I suspect the Prevost fleet is at least 6 units 2818-2823, plus potentially another recent addition, however I've only been able to confirm 4 so far based on sightings at MSP and two (2818, 2823) in a Loveland news video on Youtube. The J3500 fleet seems to just be two units, through there could be more. Website: https://landline.com/landline/ From what I've noticed, the service seems to be getting a decent amount of passengers. I regularly see the Landline coaches dropping off and picking up at both MSP terminals. I've also seen their vans and limo SUVs regularly, those seem to be run on the Mankato and St. Cloud services currently and are individually scheduled. I've also added a Landline page in the Wiki, this includes the VINs I've tracked down: https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/Landline

General discussion about any of the popular chassis and cabs used by cutaway transit buses, shuttle buses, or motorcoaches: Ford E-Series, Ford Transit, Ford Super Duty, Chevy Express, Freightliner etc. I'll start off with the 2017 Ford Super Duty. For 2016 and before, the Super Duty cab chassis variants (including buses) have been stuck at 300hp and 660lb*ft for the 6.7 diesel, while the pickup version's torque and horsepower have continued to increase. However, for 2017, the all new Super Duty will be revealed, and Ford claims upgraded powertrains for both the pickup and chassis cab. Ford's Super Duty is very popular with cutaways; for example, the Eldorado Aero Elite. The Super Duty chassis already makes for a very powerful bus, so it would be exciting seeing an even more powerful chassis.

Since there isn't a thread about these already, I thought I'd start one. First of all, I have a few questions about these buses. 1. What type of LED sign was used on the E550/GCII 5500 shuttles S003 and S004? 2. What happened to S005 (did it even exist?) 3. One of the E550s appears to be in Whistler right now. Does anyone know what it's being used for? Also, since many of these buses were sold to private owners at retirement and are still on the road today, why not post any sightings of these buses here as well?

If anyone has information on bus models, years, unit numbers and ranges, engines, transmissions, etc. for Hertz, Avis, National/Alamo, Enterprise, or other car rental companies that operate buses for shuttle service, please share! Here is what I have collected for Hertz from various photos online: http://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Hertz_Corporation