MatthewGr Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 36 minutes ago, ns8401 said: From my understanding most charter operators and interline companies run a 24/7 clock and there are always people coming and going... if you are on the extra board (where most places including Greyhound start you) you’re up for a call as needed as long as you have the legal hours off under your belt... something to think about if that’s where you head... this fatigue issue will become very real for you... I’m kept crackers mountain dews monsters 5 hr energy’s and didn’t eat much didn’t want to fall tired from a full stomach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 There was a multiple building fire in downtown Brandon, Manitoba, on Saturday. Wind blew embers from site to site and four buildings were burned. This is a snap from the CBC news coverage, obviously taken from the loading platform of the Brandon Greyhound terminal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transit 20 Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 looks like greyhound will be returning to Sarnia Ontario. http://www.theobserver.ca/2018/05/14/sarnia-strathroy-caradoc-and-london-planning-a-five-year-land-based-transportation-program Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Articulated Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 21 hours ago, Transit 20 said: looks like greyhound will be returning to Sarnia Ontario. http://www.theobserver.ca/2018/05/14/sarnia-strathroy-caradoc-and-london-planning-a-five-year-land-based-transportation-program The article says that an operator for the route has not been chosen, and the route will be going out to tender. Greyhound will probably try to bid on it, but they are not the only coach company who would do so. An intercity coach link to Sarnia is sorely needed. It's almost amazing that a city that size has had no scheduled bus service, and only one daily train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 6 hours ago, Articulated said: The article says that an operator for the route has not been chosen, and the route will be going out to tender. Greyhound will probably try to bid on it, but they are not the only coach company who would do so. An intercity coach link to Sarnia is sorely needed. It's almost amazing that a city that size has had no scheduled bus service, and only one daily train. Oddly there is quite a network just the other side of the bridge on the US side... it’s too bad it’s so hard to do the cross border stuff though this would be a great place to do it without too much trouble. Looks like Robert Q. Airbus is in the mix for the contract as well and they already coordinate with VIA for a Sarnia to Toronto connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yrt1000 Posted May 23, 2018 Report Share Posted May 23, 2018 11 hours ago, ns8401 said: Oddly there is quite a network just the other side of the bridge on the US side... it’s too bad it’s so hard to do the cross border stuff though this would be a great place to do it without too much trouble. Looks like Robert Q. Airbus is in the mix for the contract as well and they already coordinate with VIA for a Sarnia to Toronto connection. How much sense would Robert Q make though? I don’t think they have any large buses, only their 10-seater vans and I think ~20 seater Cutaways. I guess it’d depend on the demand for this service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uwe Posted May 24, 2018 Report Share Posted May 24, 2018 Considering Robert Q has been the only consistent carrier on the corridor for the past 41 years, I would say their operation makes alot of sense. Greyhound could not make it work and neither could Aboutown a few years ago. The Intercommunity Transportation Grant only requires an accessible minimum 10-seater be used. Uwe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traildriver Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 On 4/17/2018 at 7:43 PM, ns8401 said: From my understanding most charter operators and interline companies run a 24/7 clock and there are always people coming and going... if you are on the extra board (where most places including Greyhound start you) you’re up for a call as needed as long as you have the legal hours off under your belt... something to think about if that’s where you head... this fatigue issue will become very real for you... This is a real problem, that is mostly unique to Greyhound....extra board operator's sometimes being off duty, and up all day, and then, for whatever reason, getting a two hour call to come in and drive an all night long schedule. Many other companies that if they know of such an open assignment in advance, will assign an extra board driver to it well enough in advance to have time to try to get some rest before coming to work. This isn't always true, but at least it minimizes those occurrences... One way to improve the rested state of driver's on overnight, straightaway type trips, is to try to always have regular driver's do the overnight runs, on return trips....that is after going to a hotel for their rest...not doing the overnight trip coming from home. That might require changes in home terminals, or lengthen layovers in some cases...but should improve safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roeco Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 It looks like A new operation called BC Bus North will begin service June,4th on several of the cancelled BC Greyhound routes. Operated by Pacific Western and operating between Prince George and Prince Rupert(2 times/week), Prince George to Dawson Creek and Fort St John ( 2 x week) And once a week Dawson Creek to Ft Nelson. It looks like they will have 4 x 44 passenger highway coaches and the service will operate as a interm project for 12 months until a more permanent solution is found. Also Prince George to Valmeount twice a week. Its a partnership between BC transit and Pacific Western. I'm thinkin they are using the model of the Northern Health Connections bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traildriver Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 Too bad they don't extend to Whitehorse...I guess there is now no service whatsoever between Whitehorse and BC? There is still some sort of van service between Whitehorse and Alaska... Back in 1970, I rode Coachways all the way from Edmonton to Fairbanks, in a WF "Bruck", north of Dawson Creek... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swadian Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 12 hours ago, traildriver said: Too bad they don't extend to Whitehorse...I guess there is now no service whatsoever between Whitehorse and BC? There is still some sort of van service between Whitehorse and Alaska... Back in 1970, I rode Coachways all the way from Edmonton to Fairbanks, in a WF "Bruck", north of Dawson Creek... I believe the van service is defunct or operates very "irregularly". 13 hours ago, roeco said: It looks like A new operation called BC Bus North will begin service June,4th on several of the cancelled BC Greyhound routes. Operated by Pacific Western and operating between Prince George and Prince Rupert(2 times/week), Prince George to Dawson Creek and Fort St John ( 2 x week) And once a week Dawson Creek to Ft Nelson. It looks like they will have 4 x 44 passenger highway coaches and the service will operate as a interm project for 12 months until a more permanent solution is found. Also Prince George to Valmeount twice a week. Its a partnership between BC transit and Pacific Western. I'm thinkin they are using the model of the Northern Health Connections bus. What kind of coach seats 44 passengers? Prevost H3-40? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck600 Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 Pictures I've seen don't show the entire coach but it looks a XLII or X series Prevost, it's possible they removed a seats for more legroom or there was a mistake made in the press releases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 On 5/30/2018 at 1:22 PM, canuck600 said: Pictures I've seen don't show the entire coach but it looks a XLII or X series Prevost, it's possible they removed a seats for more legroom or there was a mistake made in the press releases. I think it’s a typo... x3-45 with lavatory is 55 seats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted May 31, 2018 Report Share Posted May 31, 2018 Greyhound caused First Group to swing to a loss for the year... it’s under full external review of its business model and prospects for possible sale as Firsts CEO resigned today... they said they had to take a $369 million asset impairment and goodwill write down on Greyhound. They also blamed severe weather in the U.S, driver shortages, competition from low cost airlines which have expanded to more secondary cities and crimped the long haul business as part of Greyhounds woes and a significant contributor to their losses. https://m.nasdaq.com/article/firstgroup-replaces-ceo-could-sell-greyhound-bus-business-20180531-00088 Why they’ve kept it this long is anybody’s guess but these are not happy times at the hound... my bet it’s that it’s sold by this time next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traildriver Posted June 3, 2018 Report Share Posted June 3, 2018 But the question remains...who is going to want to buy it? From my understanding of FirstGroup's original purchase of Laidlaw, was that they wanted the school bus business, and only took Greyhound since it was included...they would try to make a go of it, and did indeed buy much needed new equipment. I can't say if it is overall in better shape than when FirstGroup acquired it, or not.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roeco Posted June 12, 2018 Report Share Posted June 12, 2018 I wonder if Pacific Western would be interested in the Canadian operations?? Especially Greyhound itself, the company has so much potential under a different business model smaller vehicles, not always full size coaches and a very good marketing team. Also steal away Freight customers from other companies And think outside the box...Grow the business in leaps and bounds....Greyhound can compete and they can do it well if given the chance...and it will grow. Promote the corridors and appeal to more passengers...newer equipment would help to. On 5/30/2018 at 11:01 AM, Swadian said: I believe the van service is defunct or operates very "irregularly". What kind of coach seats 44 passengers? Prevost H3-40? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRT_BMT_IND Posted June 13, 2018 Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 4 hours ago, roeco said: I wonder if Pacific Western would be interested in the Canadian operations??. They've expressed interest in the busy intercity lines in the Montreal-Windsor Corridor (and I wouldn't be surprised if the PC government deregulates intercity bus service). I can't imagine them being interested in anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
translink fan Posted June 13, 2018 Report Share Posted June 13, 2018 6 hours ago, roeco said: I wonder if Pacific Western would be interested in the Canadian operations?? Especially Greyhound itself, the company has so much potential under a different business model smaller vehicles, not always full size coaches and a very good marketing team. Also steal away Freight customers from other companies And think outside the box...Grow the business in leaps and bounds....Greyhound can compete and they can do it well if given the chance...and it will grow. Promote the corridors and appeal to more passengers...newer equipment would help to. . I'll be pretty honest, I don't see a future in Greyhound. In my short time working there, I've never seen such a big company go so far downhill from what it used to be. It's sad to see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted June 15, 2018 Report Share Posted June 15, 2018 Greyhound (US) 6477 is no more after burning up in New Jersey this morning injuring 1: http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2018/06/greyhound_bus_fire_new_york_philadelphia_new_jerse.html Meanwhile 6472 rear ended a semi in Maryland this morning sending 30 of the 46 passengers to the hospital and the driver had to be cut out of the bus... http://wjla.com/news/local/officials-interstate-70-shut-down-for-greyhound-bus-tractor-trailer-crash-in-maryland Not such a good day for the Hound... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck600 Posted June 16, 2018 Report Share Posted June 16, 2018 Not a good day for the driver of 6472 since he's also going lose his job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted June 16, 2018 Report Share Posted June 16, 2018 1 hour ago, canuck600 said: Not a good day for the driver of 6472 since he's also going lose his job. Yeah and he’ll likely never have another CDL job again (if he even wants one)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swadian Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 Did they figure out why #6477 burned and why #6472 rear-ended a truck? #86536, #86538, and #86558 have been retired following accidents. #86536 rear-ended a truck, #86538 was run off the road by a degenerate passenger, and #86558 crashed into the median of US 101 near San Jose at high speed. All of these were LAD-based D4505s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted June 19, 2018 Report Share Posted June 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Swadian said: Did they figure out why #6477 burned and why #6472 rear-ended a truck? #86536, #86538, and #86558 have been retired following accidents. #86536 rear-ended a truck, #86538 was run off the road by a degenerate passenger, and #86558 crashed into the median of US 101 near San Jose at high speed. All of these were LAD-based D4505s. Could be any number of things to cause a fire on a 20 year old bus... brakes, tires, wheel seals, belts, hoses etc... with Greyhounds less than adequate bare minimum maintenance your odds of a serious issue increase. Almost without fail a passenger is telling me “my bus broke down on the way here” and that’s more than once a week... not so good. It gets my company compliments on how nice our buses are though (a mix of x3’s and 4505’s)... Rear ending a semi is more than likely driver error... I’ve come closer than I would like to admit to cars before. It’s a shame because with the millions of decisions you have to make in a 10 hour run you are bound to get distracted with something else while moving. That’s when that sort of thing tends to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swadian Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 On 6/18/2018 at 9:14 PM, ns8401 said: Could be any number of things to cause a fire on a 20 year old bus... brakes, tires, wheel seals, belts, hoses etc... with Greyhounds less than adequate bare minimum maintenance your odds of a serious issue increase. Almost without fail a passenger is telling me “my bus broke down on the way here” and that’s more than once a week... not so good. It gets my company compliments on how nice our buses are though (a mix of x3’s and 4505’s)... Rear ending a semi is more than likely driver error... I’ve come closer than I would like to admit to cars before. It’s a shame because with the millions of decisions you have to make in a 10 hour run you are bound to get distracted with something else while moving. That’s when that sort of thing tends to happen. Let's not jump to conclusions. #6477 was 18 years old, not 20 years old. You don't know what model of bus was involved in each of those breakdowns. Do any of us know what actually caused the fire? It could have nothing to do with the age of the coach. If it was driver error and the driver was indeed incompetent, then he deserves to be fired. Unless you know the driver and have his Motor Vehicle Record and Driver Qualification File, it is unreasonable to defend him. I know many drivers who have driven 30+ years without such an accident. It is unfair to those drivers if this driver made a mistake and gets a pass. Also, he was on a 5-hour run, not a 10-hour run. Yes, he could have been on duty before, but it is no excuse when passengers' lives are in his hands. Until an investigation is completed into these accidents, the suspect persons should be furloughed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ns8401 Posted June 20, 2018 Report Share Posted June 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Swadian said: Let's not jump to conclusions. #6477 was 18 years old, not 20 years old. You don't know what model of bus was involved in each of those breakdowns. Do any of us know what actually caused the fire? It could have nothing to do with the age of the coach. If it was driver error and the driver was indeed incompetent, then he deserves to be fired. Unless you know the driver and have his Motor Vehicle Record and Driver Qualification File, it is unreasonable to defend him. I know many drivers who have driven 30+ years without such an accident. It is unfair to those drivers if this driver made a mistake and gets a pass. Also, he was on a 5-hour run, not a 10-hour run. Yes, he could have been on duty before, but it is no excuse when passengers' lives are in his hands. Until an investigation is completed into these accidents, the suspect persons should be furloughed. Does it really matter if it was 18 or 20? That’s a rounding error at that point in a coach’s life. Who cares? Both were 102DL3’s... I see their siblings every single day at work... plus there are numerous pictures of both. No big secret. Also let me be clear: while I was not defending the drivers actions or whatever you think I was doing, these sorts of things unfortunately happen. It could be as simple as reaching for something and looking away while traffic suddenly stops. That’s not incompetence... it’s a mistake and it’s a mistake that could send the person to jail. That’s why it’s a shame. It could very well be a life ruiner. One small mistake out here and you could be toast. Unless you drive one of these beasts for a living like I do then you don’t have a clue what you are talking about. Yes some folks make it 30 years in the business, most don’t and what gets them much of the time is stress and or hitting stuff. You want to furlough a driver that had a bus catch fire? Are you kidding? Do you have any real experience in buses or do you just spout random ideas about how you think it works? There isn’t anything you can do about an engine or tire fire except evacuate the bus... there’s nothing to discipline for unless you fail at that and by all accounts the driver did as trained. If you didn’t do a pretrip and missed something I suppose there could be some minor discipline but the driver isn’t a suspect in that one... the burned out MCI is... Meanwhile in Texas #6400 stranded 50 people when it started leaking fuel: http://www.cbs7.com/content/news/Broken-bus-strands-dozens-of-passengers-for-hours-486007531.html In Missouri a Greyhound driver blew some windows out when he backed into a tree. The solution? Move the passengers away from the broken glass and keep on busin’... https://www.ksdk.com/mobile/article/news/local/greyhound-bus-damaged-on-way-from-st-louis-to-kc/63-565815790 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now