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Metro Transit Route and Schedule changes


calamin

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I saw that too although it was not 967 thatg bus had gone to a better place lol. 7 having a classic on it happens more then you think, it generaly happens when the 7 runs a double hitter either in the am or pm peak. They will through a classic on it sometimes because all the bus does is start by hosiptal in the pm and goes to richmond manor then is done. In the am they do they will some times go from manor to manor.

Shows you how good my eyesight and memory currently is :lol:. Mind you, I didn't post this immediately after I saw it, so the number of the bus may have gotten jumbled in my mind. All I know is that it started with a 9 and has a 6 or a 7 in the fleet number (I think). Now if I see an artic on the 3, I'll know that I'm being overworked too much in the IT program at NSCC <_<.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Usually when there's a Classic on the 7 it's running right behind a D40LF. Used to see 'em all the time on the 7 Gottingen when I went to NSCC (doing the IT program too, I might add :P)

Small world :D . That's where I see the 7 all the time too. And according to this, there will still be two routes going past the NSCC, as the 3 will not be cancelled :o . I'm wondering why the 3 isn't being cancelled as the Annual Service Report and 5-Year Plan have it being cancelled :) . Also, the link I posted has all the other changes in effect on November 22nd.

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Hmm. I wonder why...

Well, Council approved the service plan, and then when they realized that they were cutting an "essential" route for seniors, it appears they didn't like the optics. I present for your reading interest:

http://www.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/doc.../101109cai5.pdf

...from last week's council meeting. There's also a similar document on route 88.

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Hopefully these reductions in service will result in no longer seeing MetroX/MetroLink buses on conventional routes. Today I saw a MetroX bus on the 16 Parkland going to the MacKay Bridge Halifax bound in the afternoon :rolleyes:. I've seen the 16 a fair bit during rush hour and it's usually very busy. With a MetroX bus on that route, that could be a problem in terms of crowding.

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Another strange bus sighting today, as I saw a new Nova artic on the 60 Eastern Passage today. Considering the fact that the 60 is not low floor only, I thought I would have seen a classic artic on that route, even though artics rarely appear on the 60 (mind you, they should, especially during rush hour). As well, despite the service reductions, I still see MetroLink buses on conventional routes, like the 7 today. I'm wondering if this is because of many break-downs, or are there other reasons for what I said above.

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Another strange bus sighting today, as I saw a new Nova artic on the 60 Eastern Passage today. Considering the fact that the 60 is not low floor only, I thought I would have seen a classic artic on that route, even though artics rarely appear on the 60 (mind you, they should, especially during rush hour). As well, despite the service reductions, I still see MetroLink buses on conventional routes, like the 7 today. I'm wondering if this is because of many break-downs, or are there other reasons for what I said above.

The reason why you would see at Nova lfs artic on the 60 is because about 90% of all 60's are sent out of the Ilsley garage and the only artics they have there are Nova's. Also too right now because of the shortage of buses at both garages they are sending out what ever they get to do routes trying to make sure Alf routes have Alf buses. The X buses that are out there are mainly on short pieces of work. The one that you saw on the 7 would have been a helper bus and another 7 was very nearby.

They do have a lot of buses awaiting mechanical work and that is some of the reason for the shortage. The other is that although they reduced service by over 10 percent at the end of Nov. In August they increased service by 40 percent so the net increase is still over 25 percent. They only put 15 new buses into service in Aug all Nova Lfs Artics so if you consider them 30 standard buses because of the size ( even though they aren’t) that is only roughly a increase of 10-12 percent of the fleet. The fleet as it was before August was almost at Max Utilization when you considered buses being held by the mechanical department. Very seldom did I see extra buses and when I did it was only 1-3 at the most. Plus maybe an extra 3-4 x buses and a couple of links. You will see this type of shortage till at least April I am guessing. There are 10 new Nova Artics coming any day but from what I have heard they are only to be used for the Canada games for the 2 weeks in Feb. Once the games are done those 10 are supposed to be sit idle until the binging of April as that is the start of the Fiscal year for the city I believe and the city and Nova worked out a deal that they would be allowed to get them early for the games before payment was rendered.

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The reason why you would see at Nova lfs artic on the 60 is because about 90% of all 60's are sent out of the Ilsley garage and the only artics they have there are Nova's. Also too right now because of the shortage of buses at both garages they are sending out what ever they get to do routes trying to make sure Alf routes have Alf buses. The X buses that are out there are mainly on short pieces of work. The one that you saw on the 7 would have been a helper bus and another 7 was very nearby.

They do have a lot of buses awaiting mechanical work and that is some of the reason for the shortage. The other is that although they reduced service by over 10 percent at the end of Nov. In August they increased service by 40 percent so the net increase is still over 25 percent. They only put 15 new buses into service in Aug all Nova Lfs Artics so if you consider them 30 standard buses because of the size ( even though they aren’t) that is only roughly a increase of 10-12 percent of the fleet. The fleet as it was before August was almost at Max Utilization when you considered buses being held by the mechanical department. Very seldom did I see extra buses and when I did it was only 1-3 at the most. Plus maybe an extra 3-4 x buses and a couple of links. You will see this type of shortage till at least April I am guessing. There are 10 new Nova Artics coming any day but from what I have heard they are only to be used for the Canada games for the 2 weeks in Feb. Once the games are done those 10 are supposed to be sit idle until the binging of April as that is the start of the Fiscal year for the city I believe and the city and Nova worked out a deal that they would be allowed to get them early for the games before payment was rendered.

I agree with the 7 as there was another 7 right on its heels. Hopefully the buses that need work will be back in service ASAP. I also hope that the shortage will end ASAP, as some of these route assignments can be truly unusual. Hopefully, I don't see another MetroX bus on the 16, or any other busy route, like I did about a week ago.

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I agree with the 7 as there was another 7 right on its heels. Hopefully the buses that need work will be back in service ASAP. I also hope that the shortage will end ASAP, as some of these route assignments can be truly unusual. Hopefully, I don't see another MetroX bus on the 16, or any other busy route, like I did about a week ago.

I am not sure about this scheduling change but the last one which would have been just over a week ago. There was one shift that did a 16 that would get a x bus every day, the reason it did from what I remember is that the shift did a 18(non peak) 16 (non peak) then a 35 can’t remember if it was two trips of the 35. The one that I was shocked as is when they put a X bus on the 20 its not fun to drive them on a regular route but a route like the 20 is hell. You can’t take any strollers and if you get a standing load and the person in the back of the bus wants off every one standing has to get off to let them off. Not to mention that on regular buses when you ring the bell we get a indication on the dash to let us drivers know that someone wants off at the next stop. Not on the x buses all we have is the same sign that lights up and the passengers can see so the amount of times one would miss a stop is increased. The only good thing is we get a radio to listen to but that is nowhere near enough to make me want to get them on a conventional route ever.

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I am not sure about this scheduling change but the last one which would have been just over a week ago. There was one shift that did a 16 that would get a x bus every day, the reason it did from what I remember is that the shift did a 18(non peak) 16 (non peak) then a 35 can’t remember if it was two trips of the 35. The one that I was shocked as is when they put a X bus on the 20 its not fun to drive them on a regular route but a route like the 20 is hell. You can’t take any strollers and if you get a standing load and the person in the back of the bus wants off every one standing has to get off to let them off. Not to mention that on regular buses when you ring the bell we get a indication on the dash to let us drivers know that someone wants off at the next stop. Not on the x buses all we have is the same sign that lights up and the passengers can see so the amount of times one would miss a stop is increased. The only good thing is we get a radio to listen to but that is nowhere near enough to make me want to get them on a conventional route ever.

I've seen the 20, and it usually full to overflowing even with an artic. I can see why that would be bad. Why would they put one on the 20?:) The only conventional route I have any chance of being able to justify receiving a MetroX bus might be the 3.

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The fleet as it was before August was almost at Max Utilization when you considered buses being held by the mechanical department. Very seldom did I see extra buses and when I did it was only 1-3 at the most. Plus maybe an extra 3-4 x buses and a couple of links.

There don't seem to be many spares out on the road either. I've heard control tell drivers of buses with defects (minor, mind you) that they just don't have anything to change them off with, and to keep going. It's crazy.

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There don't seem to be many spares out on the road either. I've heard control tell drivers of buses with defects (minor, mind you) that they just don't have anything to change them off with, and to keep going. It's crazy.

That could be a safety concern. As well as a major inconvenience if a bus breaks down and there's no bus to replace it.

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That could be a safety concern. As well as a major inconvenience if a bus breaks down and there's no bus to replace it.

How is it a safety concern when the defect is a minor one and not something that warrants immediate "out of service" status? As a bus driver I routinely drive vehicles that have minor defects (ie. burnt out lights, slow closing/opening of doors, engine injector issues) and don't have a problem doing so, but I'll write up and refuse any vehicle that has safety-related issues such as questionable tires, not holding air pressure, etc.

And just wondering, since you've been whining about MetroX buses showing on conventional routes - would you prefer they not run that particular trip if the only thing available for a change-off is a MetroX bus?

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How is it a safety concern when the defect is a minor one and not something that warrants immediate "out of service" status? As a bus driver I routinely drive vehicles that have minor defects (ie. burnt out lights, slow closing/opening of doors, engine injector issues) and don't have a problem doing so, but I'll write up and refuse any vehicle that has safety-related issues such as questionable tires, not holding air pressure, etc.

And just wondering, since you've been whining about MetroX buses showing on conventional routes - would you prefer they not run that particular trip if the only thing available for a change-off is a MetroX bus?

I didn't understand what was meant when the issues stated were "minor". I was thinking minor issues meant things like the tires not performing well, but that was a misunderstanding on my part, which I apologize for that. As for the MetroX bus, I will only be able to understand the change-off to a MetroX bus if it is the only type of bus left. Same thing with assigning MetroX buses to a particular conventional route.

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