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Transit 20

By Transit 20
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Chris W

Chris W

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Transit 20 said:

they work i guess but also i heard not alot of drivers have been trained yet so there not putting them on the road till everybody has been trained

Ball park figure? Say April?

19 hours ago, Transit 20 said:

the issue with the fare box there bigger then the ones there using now.

They have to work out how they're going to fit a farebox in such a small space as well. Not just training. They may have to move the INIT screen to make room.

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Transit 20

Transit 20

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Posted

2017 Expansion has been approved here is a list of what will happen from  April to September.

April 24.Route 110 30 Minute Service during peak hour spring-summer

September 4.increase service for the 110 from 30 minutes to 15 minutes for peak hour.

September 4.Routes 9-13 to service the new UW transit plaza.

June 26.Route 27 to resume midday service-30 minute.

September 4 Route 10.increase service from 30 minutes to 15 minutes during peak hour.

increase midday service from 60 minutes to 30 minutes sunday and holiday.

increase morning and evening service from 60 minutes to 30 minutes.

September 4.57 Blair 30 minute midday service.

September 4.Routes 201-202 increase service from 15 minutes to 10 minutes peak hour.

April 1 Route 77 continues service as part of gets regular Route network.

Route 205 will start early 2018.

 

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TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

Posted
Posted
Just now, 2281 said:

tfw ION buses will feature "regular" seats. Like, what's the point? :rolleyes:

It's not a GO bus so why have anything else? :^

On 26/01/2017 at 7:20 PM, Transit 20 said:

just got word that the region is looking for bidders for the 9 Ion buses head of fleet wants novas no more new flyers after this order and bidding closes tommorow.

Why not?

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2281

2281

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Comfort. It's the little things. It's the very least they could do to entice customers seeing as ION aBRT actually takes longer than the route it replaced.

Speaking of the "little things", I certainly hope we don't get Nova's. It's the little things, such as those stupid tripping hazards sticking out of the rear wheel wells that turn me off those atrocious vehicles. What does Nova Bus put in there that... everyone else never did? :rolleyes:

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TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, 2281 said:

Comfort. It's the little things. It's the very least they could do to entice customers seeing as ION aBRT actually takes longer than the route it replaced.

Speaking of the "little things", I certainly hope we don't get Nova's. It's the little things, such as those stupid tripping hazards sticking out of the rear wheel wells that turn me off those atrocious vehicles. What does Nova Bus put in there that... everyone else never did? :rolleyes:

Which route did it replace?  Or do you mean 200 is slower than 7 and 52/51?

Its the shocks for the suspension that stick out. But dang, I might be a New Flyer guy, I don't think Novas are atrocious! :P

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shivers

shivers

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On 1/27/2017 at 11:34 PM, 2281 said:

tfw ION buses will feature "regular" seats. Like, what's the point? :rolleyes:

I disagree that they should have different seats. It doesn't make sense because in both short-term and long-term planning, these buses will be used predominantly for short-haul trips.

If they follow the business plan, the 206 launches in 2019 - essentially an express version of the 52. Probably the same travel time if you're starting right at Ainslie, but since it will pick up in West Galt and Preston, people won't have to transfer, and the 206 will suddenly pull a lot of the Fairview-bound traffic off of Hespeler. Excepting East Galt to Fairview trips, I predict that the Ion will mostly become an Ainslie to Camb. Center, and CC to Fairview bus. With an average trip time of 15 minutes, comfort won't be as big an issue as it is on, say, a GO bus. Now, if they were intending to keep the 200 as BRT, the entire 90 minute length, I'd agree with you.

Down the line, once the LRT is extended to Cambridge - likely in the early to mid '20s (As per this article and this one, preliminary routes have been chosen and public consultations start next month) these buses will only be halfway into their lifespan. Presumably, they'll rebrand them, probably into regular service buses. At that point, coach seating would reduce capacity, limiting where they could send these buses, and potentially even leaving more people behind in the cold if the bus fills up.

 

On 1/27/2017 at 8:26 PM, Transit 20 said:

yep and it dont start till march 2018 lol

99% sure I saw a notice saying it was coming this summer/fall... I'll double check later.

 

On 1/27/2017 at 11:48 PM, 2281 said:

I certainly hope we don't get Nova's. It's the little things, such as those stupid tripping hazards sticking out of the rear wheel wells that turn me off those atrocious vehicles. What does Nova Bus put in there that... everyone else never did? :rolleyes:

I think you might be getting that impression based off of the buses with the exterior bench seating instead of row seating? At the least, I don't think that they stick out any further than other models, though the rounded shape instead of just a hard-edged square might be more of a foot magnet. Never thought about it.

On a related thought, given a choice between Novas and NFs, I wholeheartedly hope for Novas. Before I drove NFs on a regular basis, I thought the design of Novas was dreadful for reasons of ergonomics and driver comfort, but in almost every respect the ergonomics and comfort of the NFs are worse. NFs are smoother on bumpy roads, to be sure, and I love the silent electronic doors, but the placement of all the controls is ridiculous (IE, the windshield wiper control and kneeling toggles are both lower and further away than my knees, and blocked by the steering wheel), there's no actual direct heating for the driver, just the windshield defroster, and the passenger compartment heater is right above your head adding a pile of white noise all day long while blowing cold air at you; I presume the heater must be facing the other way. Add to that that you can't feather-off the retarder and coast to reduce your speed... if you're not accelerating, the retarder kicks the bus like a mule. I don't know the comparison on the mechanical aspects and roadworthiness - I presume that's the Head of Fleet that was mentioned - but I'd bet that that would be a far bigger deciding factor than driver comfort. Regardless, if they asked me, I would have no hesitation. Now, if Orion were still around, I would take third-gen O7s over either one of them...

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TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

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2 hours ago, shivers said:

I disagree that they should have different seats. It doesn't make sense because in both short-term and long-term planning, these buses will be used predominantly for short-haul trips.

If they follow the business plan, the 206 launches in 2019 - essentially an express version of the 52. Probably the same travel time if you're starting right at Ainslie, but since it will pick up in West Galt and Preston, people won't have to transfer, and the 206 will suddenly pull a lot of the Fairview-bound traffic off of Hespeler. Excepting East Galt to Fairview trips, I predict that the Ion will mostly become an Ainslie to Camb. Center, and CC to Fairview bus. With an average trip time of 15 minutes, comfort won't be as big an issue as it is on, say, a GO bus. Now, if they were intending to keep the 200 as BRT, the entire 90 minute length, I'd agree with you.

Down the line, once the LRT is extended to Cambridge - likely in the early to mid '20s (As per this article and this one, preliminary routes have been chosen and public consultations start next month) these buses will only be halfway into their lifespan. Presumably, they'll rebrand them, probably into regular service buses. At that point, coach seating would reduce capacity, limiting where they could send these buses, and potentially even leaving more people behind in the cold if the bus fills up.

 

99% sure I saw a notice saying it was coming this summer/fall... I'll double check later.

 

I think you might be getting that impression based off of the buses with the exterior bench seating instead of row seating? At the least, I don't think that they stick out any further than other models, though the rounded shape instead of just a hard-edged square might be more of a foot magnet. Never thought about it.

On a related thought, given a choice between Novas and NFs, I wholeheartedly hope for Novas. Before I drove NFs on a regular basis, I thought the design of Novas was dreadful for reasons of ergonomics and driver comfort, but in almost every respect the ergonomics and comfort of the NFs are worse. NFs are smoother on bumpy roads, to be sure, and I love the silent electronic doors, but the placement of all the controls is ridiculous (IE, the windshield wiper control and kneeling toggles are both lower and further away than my knees, and blocked by the steering wheel), there's no actual direct heating for the driver, just the windshield defroster, and the passenger compartment heater is right above your head adding a pile of white noise all day long while blowing cold air at you; I presume the heater must be facing the other way. Add to that that you can't feather-off the retarder and coast to reduce your speed... if you're not accelerating, the retarder kicks the bus like a mule. I don't know the comparison on the mechanical aspects and roadworthiness - I presume that's the Head of Fleet that was mentioned - but I'd bet that that would be a far bigger deciding factor than driver comfort. Regardless, if they asked me, I would have no hesitation. Now, if Orion were still around, I would take third-gen O7s over either one of them...

When it comes to the seats, there is also the issue of maintenance. Unfortunately GRT riders aren't exactly the same clientele as GO riders, and all the time I see gum, boot marks, and garbage stains on the seats....and not to mention lighter burns and dents in the backs of the seats. I feel it would be a pain to keep GO bus style coach seats in good repair. People dont have enough respect for city-buses.

Third generation Orion VII (Orion 7 Next Gen) are always on the side of the highway broken down here in Mississauga area. I dont think they would make any better a BRT bus for KW. And in Ottawa, NFI Inveros and New Flyers dominate the BRT trunk routes. There just seems to be something about accelerating and breaking and highway speeds that disagree with the Orions.

And in Oakville, drivers seem to be 50/50 on the Novas saying that Novas are not ergonomic. But what I have noticed is that shorter or smaller drivers like the Novas, but taller bigger drivers like the Flyers. Also, newer drivers dont complain much at all, where older drivers like the Flyers. I think these observations are partially based on experience, and everyone will get used to or favour a bus at some point. As for Orions, they are overall well received by drivers, except for the window types that I hear are always broken during the winter and letting in cold air (but there is driver heating to compensate).

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kt808

kt808

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On 1/27/2017 at 11:58 PM, TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM said:

I was just on the 200 last night Fairview to Ainsley. How is it slower than iXpress?

Transit times were better when the 200 used Conestoga Blvd vs Hespeler Rd between the Smart Centre/Pinebush and the Cambridge Centre Mall. That and two extra stops were added at Canamera Parkway and the delta. The more stops they add, the less of an express it is. That and those stops force the 200 to use Hespeler Rd / Water St to Ainslie Terminal. Whenever there was an accident at the delta in the past (which happens often, it is Waterloo Region's busiest intersection) the 200 could detour via Beverly / Elgin / Munch to avoid it (with no loss of time). Now it can't.

A few isolated jump lights can only help so much. Hespeler Rd is not a good BRT route unless a transit-only lane is provided with proper bus-priority traffic lights. For that matter, the 401 needs a bus lane between Hespeler Rd and Hwy 8.

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TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

TRENT_TRANSIT_SYSTEM

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2 hours ago, kt808 said:

Transit times were better when the 200 used Conestoga Blvd vs Hespeler Rd between the Smart Centre/Pinebush and the Cambridge Centre Mall. That and two extra stops were added at Canamera Parkway and the delta. The more stops they add, the less of an express it is. That and those stops force the 200 to use Hespeler Rd / Water St to Ainslie Terminal. Whenever there was an accident at the delta in the past (which happens often, it is Waterloo Region's busiest intersection) the 200 could detour via Beverly / Elgin / Munch to avoid it (with no loss of time). Now it can't.

A few isolated jump lights can only help so much. Hespeler Rd is not a good BRT route unless a transit-only lane is provided with proper bus-priority traffic lights. For that matter, the 401 needs a bus lane between Hespeler Rd and Hwy 8.

I heard the province has included shoulder bus lanes on the 401 as part of the expansion. Youll get that. As for the new stops on Hespeler....I didnt even notice... But I do know that a left turn into the terminal is stupid. It takes 1 to 2 minutes just take make that left. There really should AT LEAST be a bus controlled left turn light. All bus controlled lights down Hespeler with a bus lane is something I would much desire.

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Josh

Josh

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Posted

The automated voices on the bus have been switched up a bit. They have the different voices, as previously mentioned, but now no longer say "next stop" before announcing the stop. Also, when the bus arrives at a terminal, it will now say, "Welcome to, (Forest Glen, Charles terminal, etc)"

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