alexb320 Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 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: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiamiDRGuy Posted January 25, 2017 Report Share Posted January 25, 2017 To track their bus live in real time, they have it can be found at: http://rts.transloc.com Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX BRT Posted January 26, 2017 Report Share Posted January 26, 2017 Hey, Alex thanks for starting this thread! Way to represent out there in Gainesville. Your shot of 1603 is really great. I like the way the white wheels match the livery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 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: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted April 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 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: #0019(Ex-Palm Tran) sporting a brand new paint job: #2504(Ex-Lynx #504): #1301: #1011: #514: #559: 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted April 19, 2017 Report Share Posted April 19, 2017 Thanks for making this thread. I was surprised to find that no threads about RTS were up until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted April 19, 2017 Report Share Posted April 19, 2017 I was surprised that an agency in Florida was still running RTS. I know Gilligs are king down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted April 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2017 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 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted April 28, 2017 Report Share Posted April 28, 2017 Here are some sound recordings of #558 and #2502 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big CJ Posted May 1, 2017 Report Share Posted May 1, 2017 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 More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted May 19, 2017 Report Share Posted May 19, 2017 (edited) 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 Edited May 19, 2017 by SKWROM Reuploading the photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted May 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 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 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 More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 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 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 More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 7 hours ago, alexb320 said: 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 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 More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted June 8, 2017 Report Share Posted June 8, 2017 On 6/1/2017 at 1:56 PM, alexb320 said: 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 The auction has closed and #505 has been sold for $1,422. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted June 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2017 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 More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted June 9, 2017 Report Share Posted June 9, 2017 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 More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted June 17, 2017 Report Share Posted June 17, 2017 #504 has been put up for auction once more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted June 20, 2017 Report Share Posted June 20, 2017 #504 has been sold for $983.55. They really want these buses gone for sure since these are being sold for such a low price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 The last two RTSs #501 and #509 are up for purchase on GovDeals. https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=883&acctid=4740 https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=881&acctid=4740 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big CJ Posted June 27, 2017 Report Share Posted June 27, 2017 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted June 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2017 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 More sharing options...
alexb320 Posted July 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 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/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 This fall, RTS will service a new route at the Butler Plaza Transfer Station along with Rt. 28, Rt. 37, and RT. 62. The announcement is shown here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/147606590@N03/35821495992/in/dateposted/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKWROM Posted July 30, 2017 Report Share Posted July 30, 2017 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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