SilentSpades Posted April 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2019 On 4/18/2019 at 7:39 PM, neoartic7101 said: Oh I will. Thank you for that. Also wanted to share, the KCATA division of RideKC won't go all CNG. Also while training, I also seen construction on the new Prospect MAX. This route will get leveled stops along most of the line with heated platforms for the winter. When at 32° or below, if during a winter storm, the heated ingredients will keep snow/ice from forming for passengers. If I'm correct we are getting some electric buses for the prospect line right? Also let me know what all goes into driver training?. I'm looking to become one when I am 21 and while I'm still in college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted April 24, 2019 Report Share Posted April 24, 2019 On 4/22/2019 at 4:42 PM, SilentSpades said: If I'm correct we are getting some electric buses for the prospect line right? Also let me know what all goes into driver training?. I'm looking to become one when I am 21 and while I'm still in college. Nothing on electric buses for the Prospect MAX. Yet. But most, if not all, stops will be level boarding. Aslo with driver training, first three weeks consist of CDL Pre-trip training, prepping for testing by the state highway patrol in Lee's Summit. You have to know your parts. And make sure you let them know that everything is SECURE. A lot of stuff to prep you in those first three weeks. Tomorrow, as of 4/23/2019, we will learn alley docking, plus going over the inside of the bus including the air brake test. Fail ANY part of the air brake test, you fail, PERIOD. Good thing about this test, we will do these tests in our 30 footers, mainly S183-S193. Our trainers have not been wrong about ANYTHING yet, so when you do get here, listen to them, they are excellent trainers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted May 4, 2019 Report Share Posted May 4, 2019 Sometime soon, we will have new Gillig buses on the property, the next batch may be all CNG or a mix of CNG and diesel buses, and they will retire the remaining 2006 Gilligs, which right now are contingency vehicles, used for training and for extras. And I will graduate bus driver training with the KCATA division of RideKC May 17th. Then I will be driving on my own. I am also sharing pictures of my CDL testing from last Thursday along with highway training on the 535 Shoal Creek-Liberty Express. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted May 11, 2019 Report Share Posted May 11, 2019 I will say this: I HATE DRIVING our 4800 series Gilligs. That new B3400xFE transmission sucks. And that bus sucks on hills, prefer the B400R5 transmission. Drove 4804 yesterday in the 101 State Avenue. His looks good, but that transmission limits the power in that L9N. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted May 19, 2019 Report Share Posted May 19, 2019 A little info.... nothing big... but.... Did you know that the KCATA/RideKC is a licensed used Gillig dealer and has a federal gov't partnership with them? O found that out in training. Also, I graduated Friday and i am now driving on my own. @SilentSpades PM me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Small update (Neoartic can confirm any of this) - The Johnson County branch of RideKC has been testing out an MCI D45 CRT LE on express routes (spotted on Route #519 today). Maybe testing them for the #510 K-10 Connector, but possible they could end up on regular express routes. - Also found out why there wasn't a #300-#303 in the Johnson County fleet. #300-#303 was the spot taken by 4 NABI buses that Johnson County purchased from Oakland. Those buses were retired in 2013. Also of note, the Breast Cancer Awareness bus from the KCATA branch is now bus #4101, instead of #2704. Not sure why they changed it, unless they're planning to retire the 2700 fleet soon. Speaking of, most of, if not all of the 2600 buses have been taken out of service; I'm assuming either they have new buses in, or they are just downsizing slightly. Edited June 4, 2019 by SilentSpades new info gathered 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasw Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 On 5/19/2019 at 7:20 AM, neoartic7101 said: A little info.... nothing big... but.... Did you know that the KCATA/RideKC is a licensed used Gillig dealer and has a federal gov't partnership with them? O found that out in training. Also, I graduated Friday and i am now driving on my own. @SilentSpades PM me. So I was looking on google maps and I saw that there were quite a few cutaways. One of them being numbered 1421 which I believe was on an International body. I also saw a few ford cutaways. Would you care to share some insights about these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 3 hours ago, SilentSpades said: Small update (Neoartic can confirm any of this) - The Johnson County branch of RideKC has been testing out an MCI D45 CRT LE on express routes (spotted on Route #519 today). Maybe testing them for the #510 K-10 Connector, but possible they could end up on regular express routes. - Also found out why there wasn't a #300-#303 in the Johnson County fleet. #300-#303 was the spot taken by 4 NABI buses that Johnson County purchased from Atlanta. Those buses were retired in 2013. Also of note, the Breast Cancer Awareness bus from the KCATA branch is now bus #4101, instead of #2704. Not sure why they changed it, unless they're planning to retire the 2700 fleet soon. Speaking of, most of, if not all of the 2600 buses have been taken out of service; I'm assuming either they have new buses in, or they are just downsizing slightly. The NABIs were ex Alameda County Transit buses, from Oakland, CA. I also didn't know about the new MCI, since the Johnson County division is still operated by First Student, it may be used for the 510 to Lawrence. That mssu change after the union meeting that i have heard (operations standpoint). 4100 is also the pride month bus as well. I'll get pictures while I can. The 2700s aren't going to be retired just yet, 2612 and 2618 are still running, saw 2612 out todayand fir 3 days straight. 2612 is the veteran wrapped bus. 3549 is the newest RideKC MAX bus on property. It just arrived today. That means 3500-3512 will be retired, since the 71 Prospect will now become the Prospect MAX by the end of the year. 3510 and 3511 wil be kept as contingency vehicles ( for training and extras). 2601, 2608, 2610 and 2618 are contingency vehicles as well, and they are running very well, I actually like tuten better than our 2018 CBGs (4800-4819), I'm not a fan of those new Allison B3400XFE transmissions in our 2018 buses (S211-S228 30ft, 4800-4819 40ft and 3537-3547 MAX buses). 40 minutes ago, Thomasw said: So I was looking on google maps and I saw that there were quite a few cutaways. One of them being numbered 1421 which I believe was on an International body. I also saw a few ford cutaways. Would you care to share some insights about these Our Ford cutaways are older El Dorado Aerotech buses and they are still kicking. We have others that are newer; 1421 is from a different company, don't know, I don't drive them, those are CNG cutaway buses used for our Flex service and for routes that don't get as much ridership as our 30 and 40ft routes, I E. 10 Woodland-Brooklyn, 340 TMC Lee's Summit and the 75 75th Street on Sundays. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 @Thomasw We had a fleet of 21 2009 Ford cutaways (1400-1421), as @neoartic7101 eluded to, some are still kicking. We have a whole new fleet, 1423-1435 of CNG Cutaways, along with an older fleet of 2 cutaways (1421-1422) Also @neoartic7101, to my knowledge KCATA is going all CNG, so any buses income will be CNG. I do however know KCATA is supposed to get maybe 5 electric buses, they might be large or small, not completely sure yet. If I'm speculating right, the rest of the 2600s and the remaining 3 of the original MAX fleet are getting replaced by the incoming Prospect MAX fleet, I don't think there will be many if any other 40 footers put into service this year, I'd say the 2700s are gone by next year though, maybe even with the single door 29 footers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasw Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 22 hours ago, SilentSpades said: @Thomasw We had a fleet of 21 2009 Ford cutaways (1400-1421), as @neoartic7101 eluded to, some are still kicking. We have a whole new fleet, 1423-1435 of CNG Cutaways, along with an older fleet of 2 cutaways (1421-1422) -snip- Do you know which 2009 ford cutaways are still active? Do you know what type of body they have? Do you have any images of the buses? Do you know the engine these buses may have? Do you know their transmissions? Do you know their capacity? Do you know if they have a destination sign? If, so what destination sign? Do you have any additional info about these buses? Do you know what year, make and model 1421-1422 are? Do you know what type of body they have? Do you have any images of the buses? Do you know the engine these buses may have? Do you know their transmissions? Do you know their capacity? Do you know if they have a destination sign? If, so what destination sign? Do you have any additional info about these buses? Do you know what year, make and model 1423-1435 are? Do you know what type of body they have? Do you have any images of the buses? Do you know the engine these buses may have? Do you know their transmissions? Do you know their capacity? Do you know if they have a destination sign? If, so what destination sign? Do you have any additional info about these buses? Do you have any other information about these cutaways? Do you have any information about any retires cutaways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 23 hours ago, SilentSpades said: @Thomasw We had a fleet of 21 2009 Ford cutaways (1400-1421), as @neoartic7101 eluded to, some are still kicking. We have a whole new fleet, 1423-1435 of CNG Cutaways, along with an older fleet of 2 cutaways (1421-1422) Also @neoartic7101, to my knowledge KCATA is going all CNG, so any buses income will be CNG. I do however know KCATA is supposed to get maybe 5 electric buses, they might be large or small, not completely sure yet. If I'm speculating right, the rest of the 2600s and the remaining 3 of the original MAX fleet are getting replaced by the incoming Prospect MAX fleet, I don't think there will be many if any other 40 footers put into service this year, I'd say the 2700s are gone by next year though, maybe even with the single door 29 footers. We were going all CNG. But, we will get some more diesels according to a few sources. The ATA has a fear of the price of natural gas going up, so they will get a few more diesels. As far as the incoming MAX buses, 2 are on property, 3548 and 3549, and the windows open and are frameless. They may get a nice amount of MAX buses, I am guessing around 15-20, because we have been having a little but of a shortage, and that shows with sime 2600s still running. I PRAY TO GAWD WE AREN'T GETTING ANYMORE OF THOSE 1 DOORS!!! Everyone here hates them. And I still haven't heard anything about electric buses, a couple of sources said that they were too expensive, depends on the feds, they give us the $$$ to purchase buses. Here is 2612 the vet wrapped bus still in service, along with 4100, our pride month wrapped bus, 4101 oyr hreast cancer bus and 3511, our MAX training bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 13 hours ago, Thomasw said: Do you know which 2009 ford cutaways are still active? Do you know what type of body they have? Do you have any images of the buses? Do you know the engine these buses may have? Do you know their transmissions? Do you know their capacity? Do you know if they have a destination sign? If, so what destination sign? Do you have any additional info about these buses? Do you know what year, make and model 1421-1422 are? Do you know what type of body they have? Do you have any images of the buses? Do you know the engine these buses may have? Do you know their transmissions? Do you know their capacity? Do you know if they have a destination sign? If, so what destination sign? Do you have any additional info about these buses? Do you know what year, make and model 1423-1435 are? Do you know what type of body they have? Do you have any images of the buses? Do you know the engine these buses may have? Do you know their transmissions? Do you know their capacity? Do you know if they have a destination sign? If, so what destination sign? Do you have any additional info about these buses? Do you have any other information about these cutaways? Do you have any information about any retires cutaways? @Thomasw The 2009 Cutaways are by Eldorado, and I think at least half are still running. 1421-1422 are 2016 models from an unknown company. 1423-1435 are I think from Eldorado but that might be wrong. I don't have much info outside of that. @neoartic7101 Do you have any idea if the diesels are second-hand, or newly purchased? It seems weird that they would retire the 2600s so soon, just to buy some new diesels. Then again, I'm not surprised. Also I wonder why they didn't keep a few of the original MAX fleet in service to hold them over, unless they hit a certain mileage and aren't allowed to be used anymore. Also, here's what I was referring to, ATA had approved the purchase of 2 electric, and applied for 5 more, then again things could've changed Outside of JoCo getting those single door buses, I doubt the ATA will be getting anymore of them, since these ones have been nothing but trouble lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 6, 2019 Report Share Posted June 6, 2019 (edited) Startrans makes the newer cutaways. Just seen 1432 come out of the wash. More than likely has a Ford V8 or v10 CNG engine with the Ford transmissions. And that's big we are getting electric buses. Senority will probably get to drive them. Probably may be Gillig since we are married to them lol. Oh yeah, the KCATA does not purchase ANY secondhand buses, diesel or CNG. I just know the next batch of buses coming in from Gillig will be a mix of CNG and diesel. Edited June 7, 2019 by neoartic7101 Forgot to add in a response to a question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 7, 2019 Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 3548-3550 on property, and 3552 on property. A better view of 4100, the pride minth bus. And 206, a JCT division bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2019 22 hours ago, neoartic7101 said: Startrans makes the newer cutaways. Just seen 1432 come out of the wash. More than likely has a Ford V8 or v10 CNG engine with the Ford transmissions. And that's big we are getting electric buses. Senority will probably get to drive them. Probably may be Gillig since we are married to them lol. Oh yeah, the KCATA does not purchase ANY secondhand buses, diesel or CNG. I just know the next batch of buses coming in from Gillig will be a mix of CNG and diesel. You have any clue if we're getting any other buses this year besides the new MAX fleet? I would think they'd need a few more buses to have enough for regular use and some extras. And yeah, I don't doubt it being a Gillig, I'm excited to see it when it comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 8, 2019 Report Share Posted June 8, 2019 4 hours ago, SilentSpades said: You have any clue if we're getting any other buses this year besides the new MAX fleet? I would think they'd need a few more buses to have enough for regular use and some extras. And yeah, I don't doubt it being a Gillig, I'm excited to see it when it comes. Actually, I don't know, i will have to ak if those are the only buses we are getting in. I will have to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 (edited) 3553 and 3557 are both on property. That may be the death of the 2600's, unfortunately, once the other MAX buses arrive, bringing the total MAX buses probably to 37 (3520-3557). The 1 doors (S137-S159) can't require fast enough, the majority hate them, minus the fact when you hit the kneel switch going up, the bus can move. Also included is a picture of 3550 and 3557 parked by the bodyshop. Edited June 10, 2019 by neoartic7101 Included picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 2 hours ago, neoartic7101 said: 3553 and 3557 are both on property. That may be the death of the 2600's, unfortunately, once the other MAX buses arrive, bringing the total MAX buses probably to 37 (3520-3557). The 1 doors (S137-S159) can't require fast enough, the majority hate them, minus the fact when you hit the kneel switch going up, the bus can move. Also included is a picture of 3550 and 3557 parked by the bodyshop. Makes sense if the MAX fleet replaces the rest of the 2600s, considering there won't be as much large bus demand after PMAX gets up and running. I'm guessing that these will be the only buses this year? (unless you heard otherwise) The MAX order looks like it'll be at least 12-13 for PMAX and retiring the final two of the original fleet, so it's a sizeable order to say the least. I guess it's possible to see more this year. Regarding the 1 doors, those are next for small bus replacements, 2020-2021 is likely when those will be gone for good. 13 years too long. Also, are the MAX buses 35 or 40 foot? I've heard debate on the length of them. I assumed it was 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoartic7101 Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 8 minutes ago, SilentSpades said: Makes sense if the MAX fleet replaces the rest of the 2600s, considering there won't be as much large bus demand after PMAX gets up and running. I'm guessing that these will be the only buses this year? (unless you heard otherwise) The MAX order looks like it'll be at least 12-13 for PMAX and retiring the final two of the original fleet, so it's a sizeable order to say the least. I guess it's possible to see more this year. Regarding the 1 doors, those are next for small bus replacements, 2020-2021 is likely when those will be gone for good. 13 years too long. Also, are the MAX buses 35 or 40 foot? I've heard debate on the length of them. I assumed it was 40. They may hold on to 3510 and 3511 for a little while longer, and maybe afew 2600s, for training purposes and for back-ups, 2612, 2615, 2617 (which was on the 71 tonight) and 2618 are still good buses, along with all 12 of the 2700s, but the operators absolutely love those buses out of all of them, they get up and go and have a lot of torque and handle hills the best. The Gillig BRT/BRT+ are actually around 42ft. And I'm not sure when S137-S159 will be gone, but they will be next to go, and it could be as soon as this year. Remember, the next batch of 30ft buses could be a mix of diesel and CNG, that is the word going around. Tomorrow, i will have to get pics of the bus in our graveyard. S120 and 9627 are still in the graveyard, along with the ISM MAX buses, 3500-3509 & 3512. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 7 minutes ago, neoartic7101 said: They may hold on to 3510 and 3511 for a little while longer, and maybe afew 2600s, for training purposes and for back-ups, 2612, 2615, 2617 (which was on the 71 tonight) and 2618 are still good buses, along with all 12 of the 2700s, but the operators absolutely love those buses out of all of them, they get up and go and have a lot of torque and handle hills the best. The Gillig BRT/BRT+ are actually around 42ft. And I'm not sure when S137-S159 will be gone, but they will be next to go, and it could be as soon as this year. Remember, the next batch of 30ft buses could be a mix of diesel and CNG, that is the word going around. Tomorrow, i will have to get pics of the bus in our graveyard. S120 and 9627 are still in the graveyard, along with the ISM MAX buses, 3500-3509 & 3512. Well in terms of regular service buses, they would need to be replaced with the 2600s. I know they tend to keep a few older units around for those purposes. And you can't beat the get up the 2600s, 2700s have (4000s and 4100s also seem like the have some jump to them) Those are my favorite buses to ride on and fan when I have the chance, sad to see them go. Also, whatever happened with the 2400s? Those just disappeared overnight seemingly. The 30 footers will be diesel? Makes sense, but I assumed they'd use diesel on the large buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanB_69 Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 1400-1420 are the Ford E450/ Eldorado Aerotech. They have the 6.2L V8 EFI motor and 5 spd automatic transmission. Seats 12 with 1 wheelchair capacity. 1421-1422 are the Ford E450/ Elkhart Coach ECII. They have the Triton V10 gas motor and 6 spd automatic transmission. Seats 15 with 2 wheelchair capacity. The newest installment of the flex fleet is 1423-1435, Ford E450/ Startrans Senator II. They have the Triton V10 CNG motor. I haven't rode on them yet, but I was driving behind one a while ago and noticed the name on the back of it. When I first started riding the bus, it was on a flex bus, 1106 was it's number. So I've watched these little ones more closely over the years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 11 hours ago, RyanB_69 said: 1400-1420 are the Ford E450/ Eldorado Aerotech. They have the 6.2L V8 EFI motor and 5 spd automatic transmission. Seats 12 with 1 wheelchair capacity. 1421-1422 are the Ford E450/ Elkhart Coach ECII. They have the Triton V10 gas motor and 6 spd automatic transmission. Seats 15 with 2 wheelchair capacity. The newest installment of the flex fleet is 1423-1435, Ford E450/ Startrans Senator II. They have the Triton V10 CNG motor. I haven't rode on them yet, but I was driving behind one a while ago and noticed the name on the back of it. When I first started riding the bus, it was on a flex bus, 1106 was it's number. So I've watched these little ones more closely over the years. Thank you @Thomasw Here's the info for the mini-buses. I'll assume you'll be adding those to the wiki? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasw Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 1 hour ago, SilentSpades said: Thank you @Thomasw Here's the info for the mini-buses. I'll assume you'll be adding those to the wiki? Yes I will within the next hour or so. While i'm at it is there anything else I should add to the wiki? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentSpades Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 34 minutes ago, Thomasw said: Yes I will within the next hour or so. While i'm at it is there anything else I should add to the wiki? @Thomasw S127-S136 2300-2325, 2400-2418 are all retired and need to be added to the retired list. 2600 the only buses left are (2601, 2604, 2608, 2610, 2612, 2617, 2618) 3500, only buses left are (3510, 3511) Outside of that under transit centers, add 3-Trails Crossing and it's good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomasw Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 (edited) 13 minutes ago, SilentSpades said: @Thomasw S127-S136 2300-2325, 2400-2418 are all retired and need to be added to the retired list. 2600 the only buses left are (2601, 2604, 2608, 2610, 2612, 2617, 2618) 3500, only buses left are (3510, 3511) Outside of that under transit centers, add 3-Trails Crossing and it's good. The wiki has been edited to include these changes and the changes about the Flex buses @SilentSpades Do you know when 1423-1435 were built and do you have any info about any retired shuttle buses Edited June 11, 2019 by Thomasw I updated the wiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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