Jump to content

Gainesville Regional Transit System, Florida


alexb320

Recommended Posts

Starting this because I don't see a general thread for Gainesville RTS other than the one for their second-hand buses.

 

RTS's 2016 have finally entered service after being delivered late November to early December 2016.

These buses are 40ft in length and are powered by a Cummins ISL/B400R

1601- 15GGD2714G1188886

1602- 15GGD2716G1188887

1603- 15GGD2718G1188888

1604- 15GGD271XG1188889

1605- 15GGD2716G1188890

1606- 15GGD2718G1188891

1607- 15GGD271XG1188892

With these buses going into service, RTS finally removed all of the Ex-Lynx 1997 Gillig Phantoms from service(315-322, 330)

Also, RTS has retired some 2001 Nova RTS-06's. Currently I know of 501, 504, 505, & 509 are officially retired with the possibility of others.(Pictures to come)

A big thank you El Guajiro from Flickr(an RTS employee) who provided the information.

Some pictures of the new 2016s I was able to get earlier this month:

 

2016 Gillig LowFloor 40ft #1601

 

2016 Gillig LowFloor 40ft #1603

 

2016 Gillig LowFloor 40ft #1605

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

 Gainesville RTS has retired 13 buses and are slowly being put up for auction.

Buses include all the 1997 Gillig Phantom's which were purchased from Lynx in 2009 (315-322, & 330) and 4 2001 Nova RTS-06's (501, 504-505, & 509).

Here's a few pictures off my Flickr account:

Retired Gainesville RTS BusesRetired Gainesville RTS BusesRetired Gainesville RTS Buses

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Some shots I was able to get during the 2017 RTS Bus Roadeo in March

#2572(Ex-Lynx #572) waiting to be put into service:

2006 Gillig LowFloor BRT #2572

#0019(Ex-Palm Tran) sporting a brand new paint job:

2001 Gillig LowFloor #0019

#2504(Ex-Lynx #504):

2002 Gillig Phantom #2504

#1301:

2013 Gillig LowFloor BRT Hybrid #1301

#1011:

2010 Gillig LowFloor #1011

#514:

2001 Nova RTS-06 #514

#559:

2004 Gillig Phantom #559

 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/19/2017 at 2:40 PM, GojiMet86 said:

I was surprised that an agency in Florida was still running RTS. I know Gilligs are king down there.

Gainesville and Jacksonville are the only two agencies in Florida to have RTS' still running.

Jacksonville had 24 2000's but I'm not sure how many are still running.

 

Turns out 3 of the 1995 Gillig Phantoms (249, 254, and one other unknown unit) were purchased by a party bus company in Omaha, Nebraska. These units are now up for sale on Ebay. 244-255 were sold between 2010-2011 after the arrival of 1001-1017.

Two of the buses are still sporting RTS' original livery and the buses still have the original seating setup as they did when they were in service.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Party-Bus-1995-Gillig-/142360954858?hash=item21255fc7ea:g:eWcAAOSwzqFY~oNG&vxp=mtr

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/28/2017 at 10:48 AM, alexb320 said:

Gainesville and Jacksonville are the only two agencies in Florida to have RTS' still running.

Jacksonville had 24 2000's but I'm not sure how many are still running.

 

Turns out 3 of the 1995 Gillig Phantoms (249, 254, and one other unknown unit) were purchased by a party bus company in Omaha, Nebraska. These units are now up for sale on Ebay. 244-255 were sold between 2010-2011 after the arrival of 1001-1017.

Two of the buses are still sporting RTS' original livery and the buses still have the original seating setup as they did when they were in service.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Party-Bus-1995-Gillig-/142360954858?hash=item21255fc7ea:g:eWcAAOSwzqFY~oNG&vxp=mtr

Great find. Escot Bus Lines in Orlando has 3408, also a former Gainesville bus. It was used on the Shades of Green service until the 2014 Gilligs arrived and replaced it, so now it runs elsewhere in Orlando.

On 4/19/2017 at 2:40 PM, GojiMet86 said:

I was surprised that an agency in Florida was still running RTS. I know Gilligs are king down there.

I have seen RTS being used as shuttle buses around here in Orlando, but RTS for the most part aren't as numerous as New Flyers or NABIs in the state.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Recently while I was at depot park, I spotted the retired Nova's still at the old RTS facility and no Lynx buses. I guess they've been auction off somewhere. Here are some photos

SAM_0650.JPG

SAM_0652.JPG

SAM_0653.JPG

SAM_0654.JPG

SAM_0662.JPG

Edited by SKWROM
Reuploading the photos
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/18/2017 at 9:57 PM, SKWROM said:

Recently while I was at depot park, I spotted the retired Nova's still at the old RTS facility and no Lynx buses. I guess they've been auction off somewhere. Here are some photos

SAM_0650.JPG

SAM_0652.JPG

SAM_0653.JPG

SAM_0654.JPG

SAM_0662.JPG

I'm not real sure why they are still there. They weren't auctioned off with the 97 Phantoms. My first thought was that they would be part of the contingency fleet, but the license plates and some cameras have been removed so they aren't legally allowed on the road. 

Hopefully RTS doesn't let them just sit and rot away because they are all running and driving buses. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/18/2017 at 9:57 PM, SKWROM said:

Recently while I was at depot park, I spotted the retired Nova's still at the old RTS facility and no Lynx buses. I guess they've been auction off somewhere. Here are some photos

SAM_0650.JPG

SAM_0652.JPG

SAM_0653.JPG

SAM_0654.JPG

SAM_0662.JPG

Looks like I spoke too soon...

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=842&acctid=4740

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=843&acctid=4740

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, alexb320 said:

Seeing the 2001 Nova's being sold makes me surprised that the ex-LYNX buses bought in 09 haven't been retired yet despite hearing they had problems with the transmission.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/1/2017 at 3:06 PM, SKWROM said:

Seeing the 2001 Nova's being sold makes me surprised that the ex-LYNX buses bought in 09 haven't been retired yet despite hearing they had problems with the transmission.

I'm not really sure what the deal is with that. Those 2001 Phantoms are pretty bad. I can only assume they are pushing for an all Gillig fleet which would make maintenance and part orders easier for the mechanics. 

22 hours ago, SKWROM said:

The auction has closed and #505 has been sold for $1,422.

It's pretty sad to see that one go for such a low price. A running and driving bus is worth much more than that. I just hope this wasn't picked up by a scrapper. 

But, this gives me hope that I might be able to actually afford one when the next batch goes for auction. Haha

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, alexb320 said:

I'm not really sure what the deal is with that. Those 2001 Phantoms are pretty bad. I can only assume they are pushing for an all Gillig fleet which would make maintenance and part orders easier for the mechanics. 

It's pretty sad to see that one go for such a low price. A running and driving bus is worth much more than that. I just hope this wasn't picked up by a scrapper. 

But, this gives me hope that I might be able to actually afford one when the next batch goes for auction. Haha

It does make sense since the ratio for Phantoms to RTSs is 43 to 11 which works out well when it comes to the factors you pointed out.

 

I expected the Nova's to cost up to around $4,000 for the condition they're in. But seeing them being sold for these prices makes the dream of owning one more realistic. Get one if you can! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are so many used buses out there, the market is full of them. That's why prices are so low for used buses. Some buses out west have gone to scrap in running condition. By the way, I've spotted 321 still running around here. It still has it's destination signs working for Gainesville routes, lol. I'll be on the look out for any Ex-Gainesville RTS around here.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/27/2017 at 1:17 AM, Big CJ said:

There are so many used buses out there, the market is full of them. That's why prices are so low for used buses. Some buses out west have gone to scrap in running condition. By the way, I've spotted 321 still running around here. It still has it's destination signs working for Gainesville routes, lol. I'll be on the look out for any Ex-Gainesville RTS around here.

I sure hope they do get a second life in Orlando. All thing considered, they're in decent shape. Just a little TLC and some paint. Same goes for the 97 Phantoms. Those ran better than the majority of Gainesvilles fleet.

I was also hoping you'd see the Jacksonville RTS' in Orlando too, but with their condition and a reserve price of $2,000, they just aren't selling. Seems like JTA will scrap them before lowering the reserve price. Haha

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Gainesville RTS is rolling out a new design for some of the older second hand buses in clouding all the 2006 BRTs and the 2002/2004 Phantoms acquired from Lynx. 

Not sure if this design will be issues for the whole fleet. 

Here's an example. Photo copyright of El Guajiro from Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chacajaba/35294307385/

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In addition to all the changes happening this fall, the fall schedule preview has been released on RTS's website. 

Here are some routes that are new, have no changes, returning, and/or have new alignments and service times:

Routes with no changes: Route 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 23, 26, 34, 46, 711

Routes that have new alignments: Route 9, 16, 20, 25, 28, 36, 37, 62, 117, 121, 125, 126

Routes back from summer break: Route 19, 27, 28, 29, 36, 37, 39, 40, 62, 76, 77, 118, 121, Later Gator D, F

New Routes: Route 21(A returning route), 33
 

 

http://go-rts.com/schedule-fall/pdf/entire-schedule-fall.pdf

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...