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21 minutes ago, kona404 said:

Here are 9159 and 9171 at Aurora Village TC serving Swift on February 4. Also saw 9158, 9164, 9165, 9166, and 9169.

Also have some pictures of 40-foots serving UW, but I'm in need of a better place to host images now that Flickr has changed their business model...

 

Bravo, bravo. ?

Excellent documentation of a rare occurrence!

The pic of 9171 is especially nice. That New Flyer exudes a quiet confidence in the snow. Don't worry, I got this. (Of course, a skilled operator always helps, too...) For some reason I can't see a Gillig projecting the same reassuring presence.

Plus, Community Transit's colors look really nice to a winter backdrop!

How many D40LFs is Community Transit still running? I know they're fast disappearing; these photos remind me that I'll miss 'em.

 

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7 minutes ago, Border City Transit said:

Bravo, bravo. ?

Excellent documentation of a rare occurrence!

The pic of 9171 is especially nice. That New Flyer exudes a quiet confidence in the snow. Don't worry, I got this. (Of course, a skilled operator always helps, too...) For some reason I can't see a Gillig projecting the same reassuring presence.

Plus, Community Transit's colors look really nice to a winter backdrop!

How many D40LFs is Community Transit still running? I know they're fast disappearing; these photos remind me that I'll miss 'em.

 

Thanks! The colors look much better before being compressed here. ? But I agree, it was pretty stunning! 

According to the Wiki, CT has 9152 through 9171 still. Photos have been updated over the last week for almost all of them, so I'd bet that all 20 are running.

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On 3/4/2020 at 10:11 PM, 118 Vashon via EXPRESS said:

All of the Invero coaches will be gone by the next shakeup (later this month), so the new buses will probably be in service then.

Thanks for the info. I'm guessing that'll be happening when the spring schedule goes into effect on March 22nd?

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On 3/14/2020 at 8:03 AM, bnsf27 said:

Thanks for the info. I'm guessing that'll be happening when the spring schedule goes into effect on March 22nd?

That’s what I’ve heard, although I thought only the 2004 Inveros were going out. 

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50 minutes ago, kona404 said:

That’s what I’ve heard, although I thought only the 2004 Inveros were going out. 

Yeah that's what I heard too. I was planning on going out and riding on some of the new buses on their first day but with everything happening right now I don't know if I'll be able to.

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6 hours ago, coordinator47 said:

30' coaches have been parked until further notice because operation is rear door only (no rear door).  There are all sorts of strange coach assignments right now, including artics on night local service and 9164 on trippers.

I noticed 9170 was out today as well

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2 hours ago, bnsf27 said:

some of the 2004 Inveros are being sold? I'll miss them... 

Ha - it's brave to admit that! Not many kind words out there about the Invero.

For all their flaws on the maintenance side, they actually were/are pretty nice buses to ride. New Flyer obviously missed the mark on many, many components of this product -- but I recall they placed unusually high emphasis on the rider experience. And it was noticeable. So, in that sense, I will miss them too!

For Community Transit specifically, the Invero fleet got knocked around a lot. I recall they were detailed heavily to commuter service when they first arrived (i.e. First Transit at Kasch Park) -- and they gradually migrated to Merrill Creek where they ran mostly local or Boeing service. Anyone have more info on the lifetime assignments of these unique beasts?

 

 

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On 6/6/2020 at 8:36 PM, Border City Transit said:

Ha - it's brave to admit that! Not many kind words out there about the Invero.

For all their flaws on the maintenance side, they actually were/are pretty nice buses to ride. New Flyer obviously missed the mark on many, many components of this product -- but I recall they placed unusually high emphasis on the rider experience. And it was noticeable. So, in that sense, I will miss them too!

For Community Transit specifically, the Invero fleet got knocked around a lot. I recall they were detailed heavily to commuter service when they first arrived (i.e. First Transit at Kasch Park) -- and they gradually migrated to Merrill Creek where they ran mostly local or Boeing service. Anyone have more info on the lifetime assignments of these unique beasts?

 

 

In my three years of taking the bus home from school, I almost always got an Invero on the 112. They were pretty comfortable buses to ride, and I loved how they sounded too. Their looks weren't the best, but they're still good buses in my opinion.

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2 hours ago, bnsf27 said:

In my three years of taking the bus home from school, I almost always got an Invero on the 112. They were pretty comfortable buses to ride, and I loved how they sounded too. Their looks weren't the best, but they're still good buses in my opinion.

Well, here.

While we're talking of New Flyers "moving on" from Community Transit, I stumbled across these photos of the 1995 D60 artics. These workhorses came and went -- not too much reminiscing about them.

I believe this order also began a decade-long campaign to standardize the fleet. Well into the 90s, Community Transit's fleet was something of a hodge-podge. They had a lot of demos, small lots of artics from multiple manufacturers, along with other oddities and one-offs. The '95 artics represented a large order -- the Wiki tells me (and I believe it!) it comprised 24 units.

Theses photos won't win any awards, but they give this forgotten fleet an overdue salute --

Here is 5814 leading a pack of commuter buses northbound on the I-5 HOV lanes. On the southbound side, notice the D60LF barrelling Downtown en route to another afternoon outbound trip:

CTK5814.thumb.jpg.6c495f924779c8b7f9e062e59a764b28.jpg

This bus happened to be running the 402 -- which pretty much hasn't changed since. At the time, there was also a 401 that continued beyond Lynnwood TC to serve residential neighborhoods.

Customers board 5835 for their afternoon trip on the since-discontinued route 870 (I'd guess this route went further into Edmonds, where today's 871 goes only as far as Edmonds P+R):

CTM_U.thumb.jpg.89677922534a3d7d5e78d740f4127349.jpg

Also love that Metro Phantom winking from behind -- as though to confirm that this photo dates to 2008. Almost like it's quietly judging 5835, thinking to itself, "you brat, you get to cruise at high speeds up to SnoCo then pull in, while I gotta battle stop-and-go traffic until midnight!"

An unspecified D60 shakes its rear end while leaving the UW campus -- on yet another defunct U District route (812). I never did ride these buses, but they look like they offered a solid, comfortable experience:

CTM_58UU.thumb.jpg.ad13e74d3f72ed5d896d3006f7d3a984.jpg

The absence of the sloped rear offers a reminder: Community Transit ran New Flyer artics 2-3 years before Metro did. One must wonder if these would have sported "the Metro slope" if they had come second -- though maybe not, since Metro's had Cummins engines and these had Detroits. Thinking of Everett Transit's D60s that did echo Metro's slope and engine specs...

Enjoy the ride -- past, present and future!

 

 

 

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The new ferry terminal in Mukilteo recently opened on December 29th, and a new bus station with it. I think it's kinda cool that the bus stop is now right on the waterfront. Offers some nice views, though would be better if the weather was nicer at the time I went down there.

IMG_1750.jpg

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