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I just wanted to say I was on 9734 today and it is in incredibly good condition. Pain on the inside walls is unscratched and still shiny, the paint is still vibrant, none of the plastic is faded and the seat leather is still sound right up to the edges. Just curious, speaking of the seat leather, has anyone kept track of the fabric patterns used on BC Transit buses? There is one particular pattern I saw on an older model yesterday looks like the 90's exploded all over the seat (loud, flashy colorful rainbow splashes and an alternating background of an orange, red and pink stripe using negative space) and I don't recall seeing that pattern before. Anyone keeping track of this?

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10 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

I just wanted to say I was on 9734 today and it is in incredibly good condition. Pain on the inside walls is unscratched and still shiny, the paint is still vibrant, none of the plastic is faded and the seat leather is still sound right up to the edges. Just curious, speaking of the seat leather, has anyone kept track of the fabric patterns used on BC Transit buses? There is one particular pattern I saw on an older model yesterday looks like the 90's exploded all over the seat (loud, flashy colorful rainbow splashes and an alternating background of an orange, red and pink stripe using negative space) and I don't recall seeing that pattern before. Anyone keeping track of this?

20200131_114454.jpg

I'm sure I've rode 9734 and it's a good bus too. Not original to Victoria but whichever community had it took good care of it. Almost every bus type has a different seat type and pattern. I'm guessing you're thinking of the seats in the Hybrid Flyers and 9200 series Novas? The plush cloth seats with the weird design? 

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There was an idea floated about five years ago that would have seen regional routes (50, 61, 70-72, 75) terminate at Uptown with frequent service between Uptown and Downtown (either the LRT or rapid bus).
I think most people like the regional routes as they are though - a thru-ride to Downtown with no need to change buses at a central hub (unless your destination isn't Downtown).

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23 hours ago, SidneyTransitfan said:

There was an idea floated about five years ago that would have seen regional routes (50, 61, 70-72, 75) terminate at Uptown with frequent service between Uptown and Downtown (either the LRT or rapid bus).
I think most people like the regional routes as they are though - a thru-ride to Downtown with no need to change buses at a central hub (unless your destination isn't Downtown).

I think the issue with this is that the desirability of transit decreases with the number of transfers necessary. There is this myth that people (including transit planners) have bought into that fancy infrastructure will attract riders. I would rather ride a rickety old community shuttle all the way downtown than have to transfer three times on a state-of-the-art LRT. 

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1 hour ago, InfiNorth said:

I think the issue with this is that the desirability of transit decreases with the number of transfers necessary. There is this myth that people (including transit planners) have bought into that fancy infrastructure will attract riders. I would rather ride a rickety old community shuttle all the way downtown than have to transfer three times on a state-of-the-art LRT. 

On the subject of transferring:  I don't mind transferring so much if (1) it is easy to transfer, example, transferring at an exchange, at the same stop or at least at the same intersection, and (2) that the wait between connections is reasonable, preferable under 10 minutes.

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Hi folks, another general all-call. I'm volunteering with the Royal BC Museum and I am helping develop a special program on transportation history in British Columbia that will be presented in March. One of the parts of the program is highlighting significant points in BC Transportation history, most of which is pretty obvious (first streetcar, first train, CPR completion, so on). I know that Victoria was the first city in BC with a streetcar (and No. 3 in Canada), so that will be pointed out, but there are a few things I don't know that are a bit more recent. Somewhere in the back of my mind I want to say that Victoria was the first city in North America with double-decker buses, and also that Victoria had a significant benchmark in terms of passenger accessibility and low-floor buses. Anyways, this is a program for the general public so obscure moments aren't as impactful for them as they are for us. I would love to know what you consider significant (as in a major change) in our transportation history that might be less well-known. That you ahead of time and this is my first time working with a Museum in relation to transportation so, as you probably guessed, I'm super stoked about this. 

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On 2/2/2020 at 11:01 AM, InfiNorth said:

I think the issue with this is that the desirability of transit decreases with the number of transfers necessary. There is this myth that people (including transit planners) have bought into that fancy infrastructure will attract riders. I would rather ride a rickety old community shuttle all the way downtown than have to transfer three times on a state-of-the-art LRT. 

Not only that, but for one-way riders requiring a transfer of vehicles (say you get a ride to work in the morning) it will cost two fares

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2 hours ago, Matt Dunlop said:

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What hurts most is that some of those routes (actually a lot of them) are rural-ish or suburban routes that are infrequent. Canceling trips on those routes decreases peoples' ability to rely on transit, which in turn will affect future ridership. Not a cool move. Also, yeah, considering that the shops on the island here are used to working on the old D40LFs, maybe they should make some short term compromises to ensure service is maintained while they're waiting for the new buses. Also, considering how many trips are being canceled lately, I'm pretty worried that the eight new buses aren't going to be enough to fix this... especially if they plan on doing any service increases on top of just managing to get these trips un-canceled. The fact that many of these trips also depart at a close time also suggests that they either they are really short of buses or really short of drivers. Which one is it this time?

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31 minutes ago, InfiNorth said:

What hurts most is that some of those routes (actually a lot of them) are rural-ish or suburban routes that are infrequent. Canceling trips on those routes decreases peoples' ability to rely on transit, which in turn will affect future ridership. Not a cool move. Also, yeah, considering that the shops on the island here are used to working on the old D40LFs, maybe they should make some short term compromises to ensure service is maintained while they're waiting for the new buses. Also, considering how many trips are being canceled lately, I'm pretty worried that the eight new buses aren't going to be enough to fix this... especially if they plan on doing any service increases on top of just managing to get these trips un-canceled. The fact that many of these trips also depart at a close time also suggests that they either they are really short of buses or really short of drivers. Which one is it this time?

A good percentage of the fleet right now are old (1996-1998) Flyers from out of town or original to Victoria. 

I was actually waiting for that 59 listed to head over to a friend's house this morning (8:22am). It was a Royal Bay school tripper but still went through most of the regular Triangle Mountain area. I noticed a few people at the exchange waiting for it, and then when I caught the #60 20 minutes later, people asked the driver "has the 59 gone by". Of course, he said "I don't know". Then when I caught the 60, alot of people, school kids and an elderly woman, were waiting on Latoria for that missing bus. The driver of the 60 was nice enough to stop and say "Do you want to take my bus? I'm heading to Langford" but they all decided to still wait after waiting upwards of 30 minutes alreasdy. 

The 35 is a "school tripper" more or less, just goes up to Claremont and back down. I know between 8 to 8:45am they have alot of them running, like every 10 minutes or so, either with a shuttle or conventional bus. 

And then a few runs were short-turned according to the bulletins. The 52 only did 1% of its route (Royal Roads to Colwood, which is only 3 stops). The 8 and 15 were short-turned and only did a portion of their regular route. 

Right now we have 3 or 4 buses from Fraser Valley and 3 buses from Kelowna. 9463-9466 and 6001-6003. However they could be short on mechanics, or mechanics may not be wanting to work OT, or short on drivers, or drivers not wanting to work OT. There are lots of reasons something could be cancelled. 

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On top of the cancelled trips, the last 54 and last 60 keep leaving the exchange early. Fun times being in a slightly late 50 that pulls up to Jacklin/Dunford as the 54 speeds away multiple minutes before it should have left the exchange. Like being late? Fair enough, but leaving early? Just wait 3 minutes! That 50 was also supposeI have a lot of rage over overcrowding on the 54, horribly timed transfers between the 59/60 and 39, the poor span of service on local service, the 4-5 times time difference crossing Colwood by bus vs car, and infrequency, already so honestly I think my patience with this transit system is about done. It used to be good enough, then the April 2018 service change destroyed some transfers I relied on, and it's otherwise been an unreliable mess since McKenzie construction started and especially since September. Any one issue in isolation is understandable, but combined I've had to get rides from my parents more often than I've been able to complete a trip home by transit. I could leave earlier sure but it's already at best an hour 10, I don't want to waste an extra 20 minutes stringing transfers from UVic especially when certain times of day are already a 1.5 hour one way journey. And then the City of Victoria keeps pushing for free youth passes which yeah has some merit, but is there really any spare cash to do that when the system can't really even keep up with current ridership? When local routes cost people employment? McDonald's wouldn't hire me in high school because the last bus is too early. My mom works in Belmont Market and sometimes starts at 7am which is before transit can get there. Got a 7pm Saturday final exam at UVic that runs till 10pm and live on Happy Valley rd? Too bad the last bus is 7:30pm! Or 9:45pm if you're on the 59/60 loop! ARGH!!

I have already brought these complaints up to every politician in the Transit Commission. I have yet to receive any real response past just "we passed it onto BC Transit" as if I haven't already spammed the likely stressed planners enough

Also I don't bring up complaints about the system to job fair people, but half the time BC Transit runs a booth at UVic the people running it are very rude. Like once I asked if they had any similar Co-Op positions to one Translink posted and before I could finish the sentence I was getting shut down for mentioning them. A friend commented on the rudeness too. I asked if they had software jobs today since on the info thing some miscommunication had them flagged as wanting every field. Fair, these things happen. Didn't expect much but it was a rather dismissive reply. Not exactly a good face to recruit employees, and it's not a one off.

Hello hi hope my rants aren't too bad. I just wish BC Transit would actually be dependable. I hate needing local routes, They're almost entirely just trash, I can't say anything good about them past one really nice driver who has been shuffled to trips I don't normally take. I can't afford to buy a car or move out. I want transit to be good, or at least as good as it was when I was in first year. Shifting the 59/60 off by a half hour really destroyed a lot for me. No more 10 minute wait at Kelly and Sooke between the 59 and 39 midday, heck the 59 that leaves the exchange at 8ish gets to Kelly and Sooke just in time to watch it turn taunting anyone headed to UVic or especially Interurban with a massively shortened commute. No more option of leaving UVic at 8pm, now the 2nd last trip on the loop is 5 minutes before the last 54 meaning my options are leave UVic at 7:40 or 9. It used to be leave 7:30ish for the 54 (the 26 expansion in the fall moved it a bit), 8 or 9. Less options, less reliable. Again like every issue would be manageable alone, but combined it's a mess and ridership already seems to have dropped tbh. There is only 1 other person I still see riding the 54/55/59/60 I did this time 2 years ago. 1! I hope to bail on them too sooner than later.

Oh an in a less ranting note, I saw a XN40 out testing yesterday with one of them new white signs. Looked pretty cool. Quieter buses would be nice. The D40LF's interior has a charm to it, and the whine of the engine has a cool sound when I'm in the right mood, but aside from the maintenance issues, they're pretty loud and having to run after them is not exactly pleasant. Goodbye nice cushion couch seats, you will be missed. Same with on the Trident double deckers when they go.

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6 hours ago, Matt Dunlop said:

 makes me wonder why we can't just grab some of CMBC's retired D40LFs and use them here? Don't even bother painting them. Just program the sign, use the existing farebox, and go. Better than having no bus at all. 

Hopefully we are only a few days away from the XN40s being in service. Any idea how many are on the Island right now? 

The state of BC Transit in Victoria is developing into the perfect example of why buying new buses and keeping fleets refreshed is important. It's really unfortunate the level of cancellations that have been noted over the last six months or so. And even with borrowed buses we are still struggling! I wonder if the 6000 series Novas from the Mainland will stay here? 

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10 hours ago, SomeIslandKid said:

Oh an in a less ranting note, I saw a XN40 out testing yesterday with one of them new white signs. Looked pretty cool. Quieter buses would be nice. The D40LF's interior has a charm to it, and the whine of the engine has a cool sound when I'm in the right mood, but aside from the maintenance issues, they're pretty loud and having to run after them is not exactly pleasant. Goodbye nice cushion couch seats, you will be missed. Same with on the Trident double deckers when they go.

Whereabouts did you see the XN40? I'd love to see them in operation soon, I'm quite excited as that's what we had in Kamloops... four years ago. And absolutely, I agree. The old D40LFs have the best seats of any bus, but I have a feeling that they were a maintenance nightmare for both cleaning and replacing, particularly the fuzzy ones. Nothing will ever beat sitting down on the explosive rainbow-coloured seats that you sink three inches into at the end of a long day. 

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12 hours ago, Dane said:

Hopefully we are only a few days away from the XN40s being in service. Any idea how many are on the Island right now? 

The state of BC Transit in Victoria is developing into the perfect example of why buying new buses and keeping fleets refreshed is important. It's really unfortunate the level of cancellations that have been noted over the last six months or so. And even with borrowed buses we are still struggling! I wonder if the 6000 series Novas from the Mainland will stay here? 

Try a few months before the XN40s arrive... not all operators are trained yet and the fueling station isn't ready yet at LTC. I'd imagine CFV and Kelowna would get their buses back when the XN40s arrive. 

2 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

Whereabouts did you see the XN40? I'd love to see them in operation soon, I'm quite excited as that's what we had in Kamloops... four years ago. And absolutely, I agree. The old D40LFs have the best seats of any bus, but I have a feeling that they were a maintenance nightmare for both cleaning and replacing, particularly the fuzzy ones. Nothing will ever beat sitting down on the explosive rainbow-coloured seats that you sink three inches into at the end of a long day. 

Yes, in 5 years time, I'm sure there will be NO buses left with soft seats. The Novas/Enviros have the same hard seats, the Vicinitys have better seats albeit not as wide. The Hybrids with the rainbow seats will be missed... they were a curse and a blessing. Apparently the newer Novas get the same fuel efficiency as the New Flyer hybrids. I've rode the XN40s in Nanaimo and they were really nice but did sway a bit in the corners. 

2 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

Whereabouts did you see the XN40? I'd love to see them in operation soon, I'm quite excited as that's what we had in Kamloops... four years ago. And absolutely, I agree. The old D40LFs have the best seats of any bus, but I have a feeling that they were a maintenance nightmare for both cleaning and replacing, particularly the fuzzy ones. Nothing will ever beat sitting down on the explosive rainbow-coloured seats that you sink three inches into at the end of a long day. 

Yes, in 5 years time, I'm sure there will be NO buses left with soft seats. The Novas/Enviros have the same hard seats, the Vicinitys have better seats albeit not as wide. The Hybrids with the rainbow seats will be missed... they were a curse and a blessing. Apparently the newer Novas get the same fuel efficiency as the New Flyer hybrids. I've rode the XN40s in Nanaimo and they were really nice but did sway a bit in the corners. 

In response to SomeIslandKid, the operators SHOULD NEVER leave early, but sometimes they do, I have missed a Thetis Heights bus due to them leaving early, nothing you can really do but complain. If you don't live on the 52 route, the service is basically non-existant. Every hour or so. I can't say if it's 100% true but I feel that Langford gets the short end of the stick and Victoria gets the best service... in general. Even the Peninsula gets better service. 

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27 minutes ago, InfiNorth said:

Don't they have their fuel tanks on the roof? 

Yes. They're quite top heavy. 

 

On a different topic, the first generation double deckers are turning 20 years old this summer! They were delivered (from what I read) in June/July 2000! Makes me hope new ones are coming soon. In an article from 2000, they even said the deckers will last up to 20 years. 

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Update: 

At least 12 trips were canceled today (Friday, Feb 7 2020) 

R-4 UVIC from Fairfield and Blanshard at 7:59am to UVIC Exchange at 8:30am

R-4 UVIC from Fairfield and Blanshard at 9:06am to UVIC Exchange at 9:37am

 

R-14 UVIC from Victoria General Hospital at 7:21am to UCIV Exchange at 8:22am

 

R-15 Esquimalt from Yates and Broad at 7:49am to HMC Dockyard at 8:08am

R-15 UVIC from HMC Dockyard at 8:15am to UVIC Exchange at 9:02am

R-15 Esquimalt from UVIC Exchange at 8:23am to HMC Dockyard at 9:06am

R-15 Esquimalt from UVIC Exchange at 8:38am to HMC Dockyard at 9:21am

 

R-26 UVIC from HMC Dockyard at 7:30am to UVIC Exchange at 8:16am

 

R-30 Downtown from Royal Oak Exchange at 7:35am to Government and Superior at 8:09am

R-30 Downtown from Royal Oak Exchange at 8:05am to Douglas and Hillside at 8:29am

 

R-31 Downtown from Royal Oak Exchange at 7:04am to Government and Superior at 7:35am

 

R-50 Downtown from Langford Exchange at 6:54am to Government and Superior at 7:41am

R-50 Downtown from Langford Exchange at 7:56am to Government and Superior at 8:45am

R-50 Langford from Government and Superior at 7:56am to Langford Exchange at 9:03am

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Drove past the Victoria depot today and caught a glimpse of an XN40 fired up with a bunch of staff on board parked outside the garage. Sign said "training bus," so I'm curious if it went out and about a bit. The only reason I noticed it was because of the white sign - that made me look closer and I realized it an XN40.

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Yeah I had heard somewhere, and I wish I could remember where, that a few  XN40s are going into service imminently. But I really do recall feeling like it was a good source. 

I'll try and clarify this weekend at work if I run into anyone from BC Transit. 

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