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2018 Standard 40' Bus Procurement


Express691

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The RFP for the first buses of the 2018 Standard Bus Procurement was released on January 13th. This is in relation to the 10 year transportation plan.

So far:

93 CNG 40' Buses.

  • First buses arrive no later than March 31, 2018
  • Rest of the buses to arrive in August of that year

Known Options (There are diagrams pertaining to such). Quantities are to be determined.

  • Diesel
  • Diesel-Electric Hybrid
    Low Floor Highway Coach
  • Diesel (West Vancouver)

Few of the specs found across the initial order and the 4 possible options

  • ZF Transmission
  • Morbern Inc. Freestyle Vinyl seat fabric (Even on the express bus option)
  • USSC Aries 4MA seating

I also want to highlight that Translink awarded a Tender to Bird Construction Group for the installation of CNG facilities at STC.
 

END RESULT: (From 

, 1:35.03) 
106 CNG 40 foot replacements
94 Hybrid 40 foot expansions
47 more CNG replacements (reflected in September 2017 Board meeting)
12 more hybrid replacements (reflected in September 2017 Board meeting)
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2 minutes ago, cleowin said:

Interesting, the diagram for the hybrid is a Nova LFS HEV with the charcol livery. Not sure if that means anything.

the diesel option is a d40lfr,

cng is a c40lf?

It means nothing; Translink needs to provide an example to work for related to aesthetics and equipment placement. Using existing equipment is, generally, the best way to do this. The actual bus shown is irrelevant as an RFP allows anyone to apply assuming certain pre-conditions are met. It's an open competition. 

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8 minutes ago, cleowin said:

So the option NovaBus LFS Suburban

 

4 minutes ago, Express691 said:

More like XD40 suburban. I have never seen an option where it was given to a different manufacturer.

I agree that will be either XD40 or XN40 Surburban.

I could see Nova LFS Suburban come to TransLink if TransLink and BC Transit do a joint order for Nova LFS suburban.

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1 minute ago, Blue Bus Fan said:

I agree that will be either XD40 or XN40 Surburban.

I could see Nova LFS Suburban come to TransLink if TransLink and BC Transit do a joint order for Nova LFS suburban.

Speaking of which, Translink is just labelling their buses with ExpressBus stickers on the left and right windows. No traces of the Suburban scheme that our Orions currently have.

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Just now, Dane said:

Have BC Transit and Translink ever ordered vehicles together? Given the recent concurrent funding from the Feds for expansion it would seem like a great time to do it (again?). 

Although not entirely sure, but was this the case when they ordered their D40LF or even their novas?

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For the D40LFs - Up to the 7300s were ordered by BC Transit, because it was still BC Transit in Vancouver at the time. I'm not sure if the 7300 / 7400 series were an option on the earlier purchase or a new order. 

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11 minutes ago, Express691 said:

Speaking of which, Translink is just labelling their buses with ExpressBus stickers on the left and right windows.

 I know exactly why. TransLink is going to put those low-floor highway buses for the 555, so they can free up the Orions for RTC improvements. Also this makes sense for the 555 as these low-floor highway buses will fit more people than the Orions, because TransLink said the minimum of passengers is 77, so that's a benefit for the 555 as there is a lot of people during rush hour. Why else would they put the ExpressBus stickers on? 

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30 minutes ago, Meraki said:

West Van option has extra foam padding in the seats. Spoiled brats. :lol:

Also:

  • Shiny Alcoa rims
  • Two turn signals per side only
  • It appears the handicapped ramp switch is at a different location than on other TransLink buses...
  • The batteries are different, apparently.
  • Tires are to be purchased by the contractor directly vs through CMBC's supplier
  • They apparently like their capacitive touch bars, which is interesting...
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5 minutes ago, Dr. BusFreak said:

 I know exactly why. TransLink is going to put those low-floor highway buses for the 555, so they can free up the Orions for RTC improvements. Also this makes sense for the 555 as these low-floor highway buses will fit more people than the Orions, because TransLink said the minimum of passengers is 77, so that's a benefit for the 555 as there is a lot of people during rush hour. Why else would they put the ExpressBus stickers on? 

Where did you get that logic? Some of Orion V at PCTC don't have the ExpressBus sticker like the 9201, 9203, 9205 to 9207, 9209, 9211.

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For reference:

An XD40 in suburban configuration, for Leduc Transit.
(Photo courtesy of A. Wong and from the attached Wiki. Copyright infringements not intended.)

Leduc_Transit_11-100-a.jpg

The aforementioned LFS Suburban in BC Transit service.
(Wiki photo courtesy of Blue Bus Fan. Copyright infringements not intended.)

Cowichan_Valley_Regional_Transit_System_

Frankly they both look the same to me and I couldn't care less what we choose... The only difference between these and their urban counterparts is one less door...

Now, I was hoping that maybe there'd be an RFP for double-deck buses to replace the highway buses at some point... but alas, that may not end up happening at all even if we are going this way. But who knows, maybe they might change their minds at the last minute and re-negotiate some of the options to make them fit within the overall procurement strategy.

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10 minutes ago, Blue Bus Fan said:

Where did you get that logic? Some of Orion V at PCTC don't have the ExpressBus sticker like the 9201, 9203, 9205 to 9207, 9209, 9211.

I don't think TransLink bothered putting ExpressBus stickers on them as they didn't have them when they were transfered. Look at S9218, S9219, and S9220. They all have ExpressBus stickers, so it proves what I'm saying, TransLink sometimes doesn't bother putting on or taking off stickers. I really doubt that those new highway buses are going to be for RTC and STC. Why would they ask for ExpressBus stickers for the 601, 351, 301, and 503? Only possible answer to them putting ExpressBus stickers is that they're for the 555, because that's the only route that has buses that has ExpressBus stickers. (Except for S9218, S9219, and S9220 which were transferred from PCTC, and STC didn't bother taking of the ExpressBus stickers.)

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I'm pretty sure the ExpressBus stickers were only put on the original Orions that ran the route 555 as a direct consequence of the Port Mann widening that was carried out by the province... Improved transit connections was meant to be one of the project's key promises, and what better way to highlight and advertise it than to slap a bunch of stickers and a new brand on what was already a highway bus route?

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15 minutes ago, Dr. BusFreak said:

I don't think TransLink bothered putting ExpressBus stickers on them as they didn't have them when they were transfered. Look at S9218, S9219, and S9220. They all have ExpressBus stickers, so it proves what I'm saying, TransLink sometimes doesn't bother putting on or taking off stickers. I really doubt that those new highway buses are going to be for RTC and STC. Why would they ask for ExpressBus stickers for the 601, 351, 301, and 503? Only possible answer to them putting ExpressBus stickers is that they're for the 555, because that's the only route that has buses that has ExpressBus stickers. (Except for S9218, S9219, and S9220 which were transferred from PCTC, and STC didn't bother taking of the ExpressBus stickers.)

I personally think STC will loose the Orion V to RTC and PCTC in favour of the low floor highway coach because the 301, 503 service more of local settings on extreme long route. Hell maybe they could go to Burnaby to service the 209, 210, 211, 214 peak hours only, 240, 241, 242, 246, and 247 due the long routes that head into Vancouver.

2 minutes ago, Millennium2002 said:

I'm pretty sure the ExpressBus stickers were only put on the original Orions that ran the route 555 as a direct consequence of the Port Mann widening that was carried out by the province... Improved transit connections was meant to be one of the project's key promises, and what better way to highlight and advertise it than to slap a bunch of stickers and a new brand on what was already a highway bus route?

That is valid point. The ExpressBus stickers mean nothing in my opinion.

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Keep in mind, any suburban low floor buses are options at this point, meaning that they are at least two years away if Translink chooses to exercise the option.  It is far too early to be speculating/guessing where these buses will wind up and what fleet reallocation will occur if and when they arrive.

And no, the presence of an "Express Bus" decal in the diagram is not sufficient evidence to say with any certainty where they will go. 

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55 minutes ago, Blue Bus Fan said:

I assume if NFI wins and West Vancouver decides to get more bus with this order, I assume the interior layout will be similar to the 2012 and 2016 order of XD40 for West Vancouver.

The Option states as many forward as possible, pretty much.

"The Bus seating layout shall have a minimum of 37 seats with only one (1) side-facing seat per side on the upper deck. Perimeter seating on the upper deck is not to be provided and as many forward facing seats as possible shall be fitted"

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9 minutes ago, Meraki said:

The Option states as many forward as possible, pretty much.

"The Bus seating layout shall have a minimum of 37 seats with only one (1) side-facing seat per side on the upper deck. Perimeter seating on the upper deck is not to be provided and as many forward facing seats as possible shall be fitted"

That single seat is very likely to be on top of the wheel well. 

Also: any word on luggage racks?

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