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Orion V

By Orion V
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LJ7006

LJ7006

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In the last few days I've noticed many of the 7200s showing up on division 9 routes. Division 9 has always had a few 7200s, but it seems like there are more around now. I'm thinking they must have almost all of 7200-7214 now. I know some of these used to be at division 15.

From what I have noticed is many 40LFWs from other divisions went to div9 before they do their midlife and they took the ones from div9 then after the midlife is done(especially the repowered 7000s) they will stay in div9 for a while to test(i guess since div9 is close to CMF and over 90% of their buses are 40LFWs) then they will switch back.

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Jon11

Jon11

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Yesterday I saw a NABI 40-LFW CNG 7613 on route 207(Western Blvd) at around 4:00pm. And today at around 3:00pm I saw bus #7591, 2005 NABI 40-LFW CNG on the same route. Is weird seeing NABI's on route 207 because there's always New Flyer NFI C40 or a Neoplan bus passing by.

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George L.

George L.

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Yesterday I saw a NABI 40-LFW CNG 7613 on route 207(Western Blvd) at around 4:00pm. And today at around 3:00pm I saw bus #7591, 2005 NABI 40-LFW CNG on the same route. Is weird seeing NABI's on route 207 because there's always New Flyer NFI C40 or a Neoplan bus passing by.

(sighs) Unfortunately, since the latest service shakeup, I have no idea of which buses are assigned where, except for Division 9. I'm seeing a lot of weird bus assignments all over the place... I don't know what else to say...

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Jon11

Jon11

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(sighs) Unfortunately, since the latest service shakeup, I have no idea of which buses are assigned where, except for Division 9. I'm seeing a lot of weird bus assignments all over the place... I don't know what else to say...

What division operates Line 207?

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codedude

codedude

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Will anyone on here be able to get bus rosters once things settle down? There has been lots of bus reassignments since the June shake-up as we all know.

Also, does anyone know if the 4500/4600 neoplans were assigned to the valley (div 8 and 15) for their entire service life or were they once assigned to other parts of the metro system? I never knew these buses existed until I was out in the valley. It really is weird to find these buses in service outside the valley.

How is it determined which of these buses are retired and which remain in service. Does it go by maintanance records or which ones break down first?

Pardon my limited knowledge of the LACMTA - LA Metro workings but I'm curious, does Metro seem to specifically assign older buses to ghetto/high crime areas? I know crime and vandalism of buses is much better now than it was 10-20 years ago (i.e:
) but I also assume there are still some rough spots in LA. For example I heard that the waste cart replacement program* was not going to be done in certain areas due to concerns for worker safety. I've also seen recent clips of LA ghetto areas.

*Where for whatever reason the LA sanitation dept. is completely replacing all their trash/greens/recycle barrels in all areas with new barrels, regardless of the condition/usability of the current ones, so there's a uniform look or something.

That might be the case. I definitely notice that buses from divisions 5 and 18 (south los angeles for the most part) are the most vandalized. The 6300 series neoplans are the worst I think and most of those operate out of division 18. Line 210 uses all neoplans and they're filthy inside. The 60 foot NABIS out of division 5 are becoming really torn up too.

The San Gabriel divisions (3 and 9) have the cleanest buses in my opinion. Even the 6700 series neoplans from division 3 are in very good condition. It's hard to find a bus from these divisions that have scratched windows and graffitti. It makes me think of those 7600s that have spent all their life at division 9 and now they were just recently moved to divisions 7 and 18. They WERE in good shape. A poster mentioned that 7613 was spotted on line 207 recently. I bet that bus will have scratched windows in no time.

Does Division 5 and 18 have NABI's 7613 and 7591????

7613 and 7591 are divsion 18 buses. The upper 7500s (7590?? to 7599) are division 18. These are the newest of the 7000 NABIs. The rest of the 7500s are scattered around. I know division 9 has many of the 7500s as well as division 7.

BTW, I continue to notice more and more of 7200-7214 showing up on division 9 routes...and they've obviously been rehabbed very recently. I know 7360 was at division 9 and just spotted it in the process of getting rehabbed...wonder if it will be returned to division 9 or go elsewhere?

One final note...I found a picture of a neoplan (6512) on line 79 (division 9 a long time ago). I guess division 9 used to have some neoplans.

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R. McConnell

R. McConnell

Posted
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Also, does anyone know if the 4500/4600 neoplans were assigned to the valley (div 8 and 15) for their entire service life or were they once assigned to other parts of the metro system? I never knew these buses existed until I was out in the valley. It really is weird to find these buses in service outside the valley.

I saw a 4600-series on the 84 in April 2009 -- quite surprising to see. (That same day I saw a C40 on the 81, so I'm wondering if the two sightings are somehow related...)

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codedude

codedude

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Does anyone know about how many LACMTA buses are operated by southland transit? I notice more and more 40 ft NABIs on line 266 than there used to be and they all have the southland transit decal down by the driver's side rear tirewell. Many of these buses are newly rehabbed too. It's ashamed these newly rehabbed buses are going to southland instead of being used on routes operated by LACMTA. I've noticed 7937-7940 (at least) being used for the Dodger's Express Shuttle and I know there are more. I wonder if these buses will be given back to LACMTA to operate once baseball season ends.

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George L.

George L.

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So, some fleet observations, answered questions (to the best of my ability), and some photos...

- Metro is now mothballing the remaining 1995-1998 Neoplan AN440's as most of the 4600/4700's and the 6300-6500's are now in terrible condition. The 4500's have now completely disappeared...

- Division 3 is rehabbing the 6700-Series Neoplans, I've spotted #6712 and #6714 with brand new windows, fresh new coat of paint, and clean interiors

Does anyone have the fleet numbers and years for RTD's Flxible New Looks?

It's quite impossible to track down exact fleet number for those. In fact, until recently, I wasn't even aware of their existence. I'll try my best to compile some fleet numbers for the LACMTA fleet roster on the Wiki but it could be some time...

(That same day I saw a C40 on the 81, so I'm wondering if the two sightings are somehow related...)

Division 3 has always had a few C40's, but I'm also spotting weird fleet assignments with Division 3's lines, particularly with Lines 68/84 and 251/252.

Pardon my limited knowledge of the LACMTA - LA Metro workings but I'm curious, does Metro seem to specifically assign older buses to ghetto/high crime areas? I know crime and vandalism of buses is much better now than it was 10-20 years ago (i.e:
) but I also assume there are still some rough spots in LA. For example I heard that the waste cart replacement program* was not going to be done in certain areas due to concerns for worker safety. I've also seen recent clips of LA ghetto areas.

From a passenger's perspective, I can tell you that you are both right and wrong about that. My school is in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, in what I guess you can call a "ghetto" area, and often there are a lot of crappy buses that are assigned to the lines that travel through there, and most often they are the older models. However, I can tell you that our formerly pristine-condition hybrid 2008 NABI 42-BRT's have been assigned to Line 252 which is travels through several less than favorable neighborhoods along its line. Before that assignment, those brand new buses were assigned to Express Line 485 which travels through the "good neighborhoods". During the time they were assigned to that line, it was very rare to spot any vandalism on them. If there was any, they were promptly removed like Foothill Transit does with their buses. Now, they are VERY HEAVILY vandalized with no attempts made to remove it, just like the regular fleet... So, I guess you can say it's both true and false that Metro assigns the older buses to the "ghetto" routes...

So, on to photos, these were shot over the past two weeks, all taken right outside of my school in the afternoon:

LACMTA 2001 New Flyer C40LF #5400 on Line 18

4936434584_2a26acc61d_z.jpg

LACMTA 2001 New Flyer C40LF #5400 (rear) and #5500 (front) on Line 18

4936276040_94d865ed77_z.jpg

LACMTA 1995 Neoplan AN440 #4617 on Line 18

4936387122_7fd82039e8_z.jpg

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R. McConnell

R. McConnell

Posted
Posted
It's quite impossible to track down exact fleet number for those. In fact, until recently, I wasn't even aware of their existence. I'll try my best to compile some fleet numbers for the LACMTA fleet roster on the Wiki but it could be some time...

From Wikipedia (not sure about the accuracy but it's better than nothing):

1962 Flxible (5800-5899)

1963 Flxible (5900-5999)

1966 Flxible Suburban (5600-5624)

1968 Flxible (6100-6274)

1968 Flxible (4200-4224)

1970 Flxible (7000-7099)

1971 Flxible (7100-7199)

1973 Flxible (7200-7276)

1973 Flxible (4300-4341)

1975 Flxible (7300-7399)

1975 Flxible (7400-7499)

for a total of 944 Flxible New Looks operated by RTD.

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codedude

codedude

Posted
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From a passenger's perspective, I can tell you that you are both right and wrong about that. My school is in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, in what I guess you can call a "ghetto" area, and often there are a lot of crappy buses that are assigned to the lines that travel through there, and most often they are the older models. However, I can tell you that our formerly pristine-condition hybrid 2008 NABI 42-BRT's have been assigned to Line 252 which is travels through several less than favorable neighborhoods along its line. Before that assignment, those brand new buses were assigned to Express Line 485 which travels through the "good neighborhoods". During the time they were assigned to that line, it was very rare to spot any vandalism on them. If there was any, they were promptly removed like Foothill Transit does with their buses. Now, they are VERY HEAVILY vandalized with no attempts made to remove it, just like the regular fleet... So, I guess you can say it's both true and false that Metro assigns the older buses to the "ghetto" routes...

I noticed that line 252 usually used neoplans until recently. Any word yet as to if LACMTA plans to order more of the NABI 42-BRT's? Or will they continue to order the 45 footer NABIs?

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ieko

ieko

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I doubt they'll get any 42-BRT's that are gasoline-hybrids, ISE is in bankruptcy so if they do get any I'd put my money on them being CNG. I think that they're pretty pleased with the 45C's though and if they like the 31LFW's they'll perhaps get some more for their internal fleet and not just contractors. It's frankly hard to say what they will do right now, I know the CEO prefers smaller buses so that Metro can provide more frequent service rather than using large buses to provide less frequent service.

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LosAngeles7

LosAngeles7

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Smaller buses and more frequent service are probably ideal from our perspective but may not make great financial sense. More buses of any size means, of course, a need for more operators, which would be very expensive for a large, unionized system like LACMTA. As part of its "Blue Ribbon" restructuring campaign, the LACMTA has expressed a strong preference to continue to spin-off its lesser used (and less frequent) services to regional carriers with lower labor costs. Labor cost considerations were a great factor behind contracting routes and the transfer of many Commuter Express routes to LADOT, too. And to improve operating efficiencies, LACMTA's most recent fleet acquisition plans show that the agency actually wants to phase out traditional 40-foot buses in the long-term.

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