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Orion V

By Orion V
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George L.

George L.

Posted
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My observations as of this week:

-Spotted #4617 on Line 53 at Flower and 6th Street yesterday at 6:30 pm

-Spotted #4725 at Terminal 31 near LA Union Station yesterday at 8:40 am

-A bunch of 4500/4600/4700 units are currently being stored at CMF as Training Buses

-Spotted New Flyer C40 #5052 on Line 2 with orange LED destination signs at 11:26 am yesterday at the Vermont/Sunset Metro Red Line Station

-I also spotted #8000 as mentioned by Robert on Line 780 north of Hollywood Boulevard/Vermont Avenue at around 12:00 pm or so...

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George L.

George L.

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Spotted #4768 on Limited Stop Line 353 at the North Hollywood Station today at around 5:30 pm

In addition, I also spotted a 4600 Series unit on the 170 Freeway as I was passing by on Santa Clarita Transit Express Line 757 today. I didn't catch the exact number...

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George L.

George L.

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Spotted #4744 on Line 83 at York/Eagle Rock this morning.

Yeah, I got that one on Line 251 back in September. Recorded it, but the video file is somewhere on my external hard drive... My contact at Division 3, who normally operates the 780, tells me that they've been using it as a Training Bus as of late. Glad to hear it's back in service instead of being shipped off to its death like all older training buses when LACMTA is done with them for that purpose...

Speaking of Training Buses, I hear that #7991 and 7992 (NABI 40C-LFW's) are at Terminal 31 and CMF as Training Buses as well.

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George L.

George L.

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Yes, since the budget gap and the blue ribbon committee, they have two goals -- abandon territories that have municipal operators...

If that's the case, then here's what I foresee what could happen:

-Lines 190 and 194 could be turned over to Foothill Transit as mostly everything east of Santa Anita Avenue and Peck Road in the San Gabriel Valley is Foothill's territory.

-Line 181 could be cancelled and be turned over to Pasadena ARTS.

-Metro is already considering dumping Line 177 on either Pasadena ARTS or Glendale Beeline. The San Gabriel Valley Governance Council has decided to hold on to the 177 for a while longer until they find someone else to operate it.

-Line 161 could be turned over to Thousand Oaks Transit if they are willing to operate a somewhat more frequent service than their own current service, and do it with regular 40 foot vehicles.

-Line 534 could be turned over to Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus. They already operate service in pretty much 70% of the line, and they could operate the service if they are willing to hold on to their 1997 D40LF's a little longer as their other orders come in.

-Line 33 service north of Venice Beach reduced to night time hours in favor of regular Big Blue Bus service and Rapid Line 733 service operating to Santa Monica during the daylight hours, much like Lines 4/704 and 20/720.

-Line 460 could by shortened to only serve as far south as Fullerton Park & Ride. Service between there and Anaheim could be covered by an extension of OCTA Line 83.

-Line 270 service south of El Monte Station could be turned over to Norwalk Transit. Line 270 service north of El Monte Station could be turned over to Foothill Transit since they already operate service along the current 270 routing on Peck Road/Myrtle Avenue (sort of).

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sora21

sora21

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I think the 108/110 west of Fox Hills could be given to Culver CityBus, the 2/302 west of UCLA to Big Blue Bus, and maybe the 232 east of Willmington to LBT.

Would this be wise for Metro to give up all these lines to the municipal operators and rely on the 45ft all the time?

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R. McConnell

R. McConnell

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-Line 181 could be cancelled and be turned over to Pasadena ARTS.

Only if you do something about the portion of Line 181 on Yosemite Drive in Eagle Rock -- that corridor serves two major schools and shouldn't go without bus service. Perhaps you could extend Line 83 up Eagle Rock Boulevard and Yosemite Drive and end it at the Figueroa/La Loma terminus.

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ieko

ieko

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lol you guys took that too literally.

Most munis are not in a position to expand, what I mean is that if Metro can, they will pull out. So for example, look at the South Bay notice how many of the lines are contracted and that over they've been pulling back towards I-105. Things like that.

They want 45ft+ services, including rail. But they can't pull out if they can't prove there is an alternative or no riders.

Munis are hurting too, they got a lot of their pie from Metro.

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LosAngeles7

LosAngeles7

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-Line 161 could be turned over to Thousand Oaks Transit if they are willing to operate a somewhat more frequent service than their own current service, and do it with regular 40 foot vehicles.

Line 161 was previously proposed to be replaced by all-day and weekend bidirectional service on Commuter Express Line 422. This would have reduced service duplication. Here's the link to Kymberleigh Richards' excellent San Fernando Valley Transit Insider site: http://www.transit-insider.org/connections/161-422.htm. The SFV Transit Restructuring Study from 1994 also is detailed on the site and is an interesting read for the study's contribution to history and potential future service change concepts.

Another candidate I can think of is VISTA, which has two commuter runs per day in each direction to Warner Center, though their service is much more commuter-oriented and limited in stops than service on Metro, TOT, or even Commuter Express. Also, Ventura County agencies, like TOT and VISTA, would naturally be reluctant to expand service on their routes or acquire new ones because Ventura County does not have a county-wide sales tax to fund transportation projects.

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bzcat

bzcat

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Hi everyone, I just find this website... some very good photos and discussions :rolleyes:

With the retirement of Neoplan, I believe the 200 or so New Flyer C40HF will be the only remaining high floor bus left in Metro's mainline fleet - ie not including those operated by contractors.

Does anyone know what is going to happen with these buses? Is Metro keeping them for the long haul (due to drivetrain commonality with NABI 40LFW) or getting rid of them soon to standardize on all LF fleet?

Los_Angeles_MTA_5031.jpg

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George L.

George L.

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Hi everyone, I just find this website... some very good photos and discussions :rolleyes:

With the retirement of Neoplan, I believe the 200 or so New Flyer C40HF will be the only remaining high floor bus left in Metro's mainline fleet - ie not including those operated by contractors.

Does anyone know what is going to happen with these buses? Is Metro keeping them for the long haul (due to drivetrain commonality with NABI 40LFW) or getting rid of them soon to standardize on all LF fleet?

The 1997/1998 6400-6600 Series Neoplans and the 1999 6700 Series Neoplans will also be around for a few more years since they are currently receiving their last rehabs as we speak. Some 6300 Series units have been retired lately though, so for now I can't speak with certainty about those units' future...

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George L.

George L.

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By the way, my final observations before I depart to Calgary in a few hours for the weekend...

-Spotted #4679 parked in front of the Division 1 yard in Downtown LA at Central/6th while I was riding Line 720.

-I also spotted a 2nd Gen NovaBus LFS painted in an orange and silver scheme that looked very similar to the Metro Local livery, though it wasn't done right. It was heading east on 7th Street from Grand Avenue when I spotted it.

-#7694 has been repowered to a Cummins ISL-G engine, spotted it on Line 53 a couple of days ago at 6th/Flower...

My next post on Saturday afternoon will include my latest round of observations for repowered NABI 40-LFW and New Flyer C40LF units.

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R. McConnell

R. McConnell

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Speaking of those signs...

3128.jpg

I finally was able to get a picture of 3128, the 31-LFW with the white LED signs. I have to say that the sign looks better in bright daylight, though. The rear of the bus has a traditional orange sign.

Also saw 8401, one of the newest Metro 45Cs, on the 91. 3011 (D40LF) was also spotted on the 20 near MacArthur Park.

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George L.

George L.

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A LFS? In Los Angeles?

Won't be the first time we've spotted one here. There's a private company that owns a 2nd Gen LFS that's used on the Hollywood Bowl shuttles, mainly from the San Gabriel Valley since Foothill Transit stopped operating most of the shuttles. It's to my understanding that Foothill still has the route from Rowland Heights to Hollywood. That same company also operates a few shuttle routes from the Los Angeles area that has also been abandoned by Metro.

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George L.

George L.

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My latest round of repowered unit observations as of Thursday November 18th, 2010

With this round, I've pretty much covered all of Division 3's NABI 40-LFW units, which usually operate on Lines 81, 251, 252, and 485, as well as most of Division 9's oddball 1st-Gen NABI 40-LFW's.

Current List (All observations to date):

CL = Unit in Current Livery, color indicates Livery color

YS = Unit in Double Yellow Stripe Livery

Bold = New observations

NABI 40-LFW units remaining with Series 50G engines

#7000 (CL), 7021 (CL) 7057 (CL), 7140 (YS), 7179 (CL), 7182 (CL), 7187 (CL)

NABI 40-LFW units now with ISL-G engines

#7019 (CL), 7028 (CL), 7094 (CL), 7131 (CL), 7156 (CL), 7175 (CL), 7176 (CL), 7183 (CL), 7184 (CL), 7186 (CL), 7189 (CL), 7190 (CL), 7192 (CL), 7193 (CL), 7195 (CL), 7196 (CL), 7197 (CL), 7199 (CL), 7200 (CL), 7201 (CL), 7204 (CL), 7205 (CL), 7208 (CL), 7209 (CL), 7623 (CL), 7643 (CL), 7694 (CL)

NABI 40-LFW units now with MAN E2876 Natural Gas engines

#7540 (CL), 7615 (CL)

New Flyer C40LF units remaining with Series 50G engines

#5300 (CL), 5314 (CL), 5324 (CL), 5331 (CL), 5332 (CL), 5358 (CL), 5361 (CL), 5379 (CL), 5383 (CL), 5389 (CL), 5402 (CL), 5409 (CL), 5428 (YS), 5431 (YS), 5437 (CL), 5453 (CL), 5470 (CL), 5475 (CL), 5481 (CL), 5487 (CL), 5493 (CL), 5499 (CL), 5511 (CL), 5520 (CL)

New Flyer C40LF units now with ISL-G engines

#5311 (CL), 5325 (CL), 5334 (CL), 5338 (CL), 5354 (CL), 5359 (CL), 5362 (CL), 5376 (CL), 5391 (YS), 5393 (CL), 5395 (CL), 5396 (CL), 5400 (CL), 5416 (CL), 5427 (CL), 5440 (CL), 5441 (CL), 5443 (CL), 5344 (CL), 5446 (CL), 5447 (YS), 5448 (CL), 5452 (CL), 5459 (CL), 5472 (CL), 5476 (CL), 5477 (CL), 5483 (CL), 5484 (CL), 5486 (CL), 5491 (CL), 5494 (CL), 5497 (CL) 5503 (YS)

My C40LF observation points for those who want to help me out with observations ^_^ :

-Downtown LA @ 7th and Flower (This is THE best point as almost every route that passes through there uses C40LF's)

-Gardena @ Artesia Transit Center

-Downtown LA @ 6th and Flower

Also, I'm seeking help from those who fan out in the San Fernando Valley often to track the 7000-7200 Series NABI 40-LFW's. Divisions 8 and 15 also use some 1st Gen NABI 40-LFW's and unfortunately I'm not up there very often (like only once every 4 months to busfan...). In addition, my fanning coverage doesn't cover the Westside too well, so if anyone could help out there as well, that would be totally awesome. Thanks :)

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