Gainesville Regional Transit System, Florida

[alexb320]

On 10/21/2018 at 1:35 PM, SKWROM said:

That’s an Ex-Gainesville RTS for sure. I asked the poster about the fleet number as it’s hard to see it due to the way it was taken. I’m glad that they have a new life somewhere else.

Edit: After looking at a few of the shots I took earlier this year, this unit is #513. 

If that is indeed 513, that means he same buyer got 510. Glad they are getting more time instead of going to the scrap yard.

On 10/22/2018 at 1:44 PM, GojiMet86 said:

I am still hoping for an RTS to go to Guatemala. They have many second-hand Gilligs, New Flyers, and some other stuff.

Chances may be slim now. I don't know of many other agencies that still have some in service.

 

I also got an update on 0102 & 0117. Per El Guajiro, the buyer has been waiting to get new DOT approved tires installed and then they will be driven to California.

[SKWROM]

Along with the 800X being introduced this year, RTS will be adding an addition 2 new express routes 901X which will go from Lake City thru Alachua and Butler Plaza Transfer Station along with 902X from Trenton thru Newberry to Butler Plaza TS. 

[alexb320]

The city of Gainesville will put to vote on January 3rd whether to approve the purchase of (2) fully electric Gillig 40ft buses and necessary charging equipment. I'm guessing there was a delay in getting these buses approved. I was told by an RTS employee that the buses were supposed to be delivered by the end of 2018. Depending on the production lead-time, they likely won't arrive until late 2019. An interesting note off of the proposal from Gillig, each bus (including necessary charging equipment) will cost roughly $1,093,000 per bus. All the documents can be viewed on the City Commission Meeting Agenda: https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3780506&GUID=E97C039A-5E0E-4EA4-A86C-DF369594D221&Options=&Search=

 

On the 3rd, the City will vote to approve the contract to the company that will provide the 5-year major update to the current TDP. @SKWROM, just incase you are interested, one of your pictures made it on to the proposal submitted by WSP USA. https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3766428&GUID=554C7B60-0BA3-4615-93D6-E0F3837AF7AC&Options=&Search=

 

Finally, on the 3rd the city will vote to approve the RTS Transit Asset Management Plan (TAM) for FY 18/19. Lots of good information in here including that #0108 is technically retired even though it is still sitting with the other Ex-Palm Tran buses as well as some interesting maintenance information. https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3785895&GUID=C5E1D2EC-310F-4DED-A988-3714F45A8B5F&Options=&Search=     @SKWROM

 

On 12/10/2018 at 8:37 PM, SKWROM said:

Along with the 800X being introduced this year, RTS will be adding an addition 2 new express routes 901X which will go from Lake City thru Alachua and Butler Plaza Transfer Station along with 902X from Trenton thru Newberry to Butler Plaza TS.

I'll be interested to see how this project fairs. I'm also guessing this is what the new Ford E-350 cutaways are for? They have (4) that have been sitting on the main property for a few months now.

[SKWROM]

On 12/28/2018 at 11:01 AM, alexb320 said:

The city of Gainesville will put to vote on January 3rd whether to approve the purchase of (2) fully electric Gillig 40ft buses and necessary charging equipment. I'm guessing there was a delay in getting these buses approved. I was told by an RTS employee that the buses were supposed to be delivered by the end of 2018. Depending on the production lead-time, they likely won't arrive until late 2019. An interesting note off of the proposal from Gillig, each bus (including necessary charging equipment) will cost roughly $1,093,000 per bus. All the documents can be viewed on the City Commission Meeting Agenda: https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3780506&GUID=E97C039A-5E0E-4EA4-A86C-DF369594D221&Options=&Search=

 

On the 3rd, the City will vote to approve the contract to the company that will provide the 5-year major update to the current TDP. @SKWROM, just incase you are interested, one of your pictures made it on to the proposal submitted by WSP USA. https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3766428&GUID=554C7B60-0BA3-4615-93D6-E0F3837AF7AC&Options=&Search=

 

Finally, on the 3rd the city will vote to approve the RTS Transit Asset Management Plan (TAM) for FY 18/19. Lots of good information in here including that #0108 is technically retired even though it is still sitting with the other Ex-Palm Tran buses as well as some interesting maintenance information. https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3785895&GUID=C5E1D2EC-310F-4DED-A988-3714F45A8B5F&Options=&Search=     @SKWROM

 

I'll be interested to see how this project fairs. I'm also guessing this is what the new Ford E-350 cutaways are for? They have (4) that have been sitting on the main property for a few months now.

Thank you for the excellent breakdown of the material and events to occur soon, @alexb320 I didn't know RTS had a preference for retiring older units at 14 years of age and grades the performance of existing vehicles in service. My guess is that they'll install the electric chargers around or close to UF test out the vehicles performance. As for the photo, I'm flattered that they used mine for something important.
 

[alexb320]

So, as I suspected, the (4) new 2018 Ford E350 cutaway buses (Numbered #4269-4272) are what are being used on the new Express routes and Microtransit routes. I believe they are Starcraft bodies, but I haven't been close enough to one to confirm.

[SKWROM]

On 1/14/2019 at 9:39 PM, alexb320 said:

So, as I suspected, the (4) new 2018 Ford E350 cutaway buses (Numbered #4269-4272) are what are being used on the new Express routes and Microtransit routes. I believe they are Starcraft bodies, but I haven't been close enough to one to confirm.

That's correct as they are used on route 901X & 902X. Likewise, cutaways are used 600 & 601 Microbus to Eastwood meadows in morning and evening times. Here's a photo as an example:

[Buzz2kb]

Hi!  While I don't have as an extensive collection of Gainesville RTS pictures as some posters here, I do have a few pictures feature extinct sub-fleets:

Bus 963 was a former Palm Tran 1995 Flixible Metro "E" 40ft. pictured in April 2009.  These and pictures of Gillig Phantom 577 (more on that later) were the only pictures I've taken on RTS's extensive UF campus bus network

Of the same vintage as bus 963 were buses 245 and 248.  They were Gillig Phantoms spotted at the downtown Rosa Parks Transfer Station and the UF campus in April and August 2009 respectively.

One of the most amazing facts for RTS was that it operated a fleet of 2001 Novabus RTS buses until last year.  Bus 507 was pictured in June 2009 on one of the 400-series Sunday routes operated at the time, while bus 515 was the agency's final RTS bus pictured in August 2009.

On the other hand, the agency's fleet of 27 Gillig Phantoms bought new between 2001 and 2007 is still staying strong.  2001 Bus 554 is pictured in June 2009 on another Sunday route duty.  Meanwhile, 2005 buses 567 and 568 are pictured in June and August 2009 respectively.  There are the final and first deliveries of their respective batches.  Finally, buses 572 and 577 are the agency's final 2006 and 2007 Phantoms pictured in June 2009 and October 2008 respectively.  Bus 577 is also the agency's final high-floor bus bought new.  They are since supplemented by 20 similar buses purchased second-hand from LYNX.

By the time of my fanning trips, the Gillig Low Floor invasion at the agency has begun n the earnest.  Buses 0701, 0712, 0801 and 0804 are the first and final buses of the 2007-08 batches of 16 buses (12+4). All but 0712 (October 2008) were pictured in August 2009.  They have pioneered the current livery carried by the buses bough new by the agency.  There are since supplemented by 52 more similar EPA-2010 buses dating from every single year since 2010 through 2018 (no 2017 buses), 5 BRT hybrids (2 X 2012, 3 X 2013) and at least 11 ex-LYNX BRT diesel buses.  

Here is my Gainesville RTS gallery:

Gainesville Regional Transit System

 

[alexb320]

Some Updates for RTS. I was able to confirm that #4269-4272 are in fact Champion bodies and not Starcraft like I had originally thought.

 

Also, #1901 a 2019 Gillig LowFloor 40ft was delivered earlier this month.

*Photo credit to El Guajiro on Flickr

 

Two more buses are expected to be delivered in October. Those are likely to be the two new All-Electric Gilligs. 

[Border City Transit]

11 hours ago, alexb320 said:

 

Also, #1901 a 2019 Gillig LowFloor 40ft was delivered earlier this month.

 

*Photo credit to El Guajiro on Flickr

 

Good find. Great picture. Tragic bus.

It's 2019... and that vehicle is what our industry has to offer.

Kudos to RTS for a halfway decent paint scheme. Thumbs down to Gillig... for pretty much everything else.

Does anyone see -any- kind of correlation between sagging transit ridership and buses that look outdated fresh from the factory?

Certainly, other factors are also affecting ridership... but we're gonna have to do a lot better than that if we want to attract customers to our service...

 

[GrandeWest_B35G]

11 minutes ago, Border City Transit said:

Good find. Great picture. Tragic bus.

It's 2019... and that vehicle is what our industry has to offer.

Kudos to RTS for a halfway decent paint scheme. Thumbs down to Gillig... for pretty much everything else.

Does anyone see -any- kind of correlation between sagging transit ridership and buses that look outdated fresh from the factory?

Certainly, other factors are also affecting ridership... but we're gonna have to do a lot better than that if we want to attract customers to our service...

 

When I was just a customer, all I saw was a box with wheels. I didn't care at all what the paint looks like, or what the layout was.

[Buzz2kb]

 

2 hours ago, Border City Transit said:

Good find. Great picture. Tragic bus.

It's 2019... and that vehicle is what our industry has to offer.

Kudos to RTS for a halfway decent paint scheme. Thumbs down to Gillig... for pretty much everything else.

Does anyone see -any- kind of correlation between sagging transit ridership and buses that look outdated fresh from the factory?

Certainly, other factors are also affecting ridership... but we're gonna have to do a lot better than that if we want to attract customers to our service...

 

 

2 hours ago, Imgursdownvote4love said:

When I was just a customer, all I saw was a box with wheels. I didn't care at all what the paint looks like, or what the layout was.

I afraid this has much to do North America (especially mid-size US agencies and below) has some of the most conservative transit agencies in terms of bus functionality over style.  The prevalent mentality regarding public transit as a social obligation rather than a mean of achieving higher common good might also contribute to the persistence of such conservative bus designs approaching the 2020's.  In fact, I bet the best Gillig will do discontinue the traditional front some point in the 2020s like Eldorado National has possibly done with the EZ-Rider II's and Axcess, as much of its customer base is this conservative.

[alexb320]

On 4/19/2019 at 11:23 PM, Border City Transit said:

Good find. Great picture. Tragic bus.

It's 2019... and that vehicle is what our industry has to offer.

Kudos to RTS for a halfway decent paint scheme. Thumbs down to Gillig... for pretty much everything else.

Does anyone see -any- kind of correlation between sagging transit ridership and buses that look outdated fresh from the factory?

Certainly, other factors are also affecting ridership... but we're gonna have to do a lot better than that if we want to attract customers to our service...

 

I can't speak for other agencies, but for Gainesville, there are two reasons they buy the same buses they have been since 2007. 1) Its what they know best and mechanics know how to work on them. 2) It's a cheap bus. Gainesville is a liberal city which means public transportation gets the bottom of the barrel funding. Its why we currently have 58 active buses that are 12 years or older. Theres no funding to replace buses when they need to and when we do get new buses, they are the same as what is purchased in previous years. Also, ridership in Gainesville has been on the decline. New development around UF has allowed students to be within walking distance of classes and Uber/Lyft are very popular. Unfortunately, it is all about money. I will say though, Gainesville has made some strides to increase public transportation which includes microtransit that is designed to meet transit needs in lower income areas and also connect nearby cities. 

Again, I can't say much for other agencies, but that is just what I have noticed where I live.

In regards to Gillig styling, I do agree they are way overdue for a facelift. Even the BRT style is going on 14 years now.

[Big CJ]

This was on sale 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gillig-/323796670130?oid=192476317375&nma=true&si=3Xcvo9k5Cqdj0w8ztIc2soBG1VQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

On 4/25/2019 at 5:09 PM, alexb320 said:

I can't speak for other agencies, but for Gainesville, there are two reasons they buy the same buses they have been since 2007. 1) Its what they know best and mechanics know how to work on them. 2) It's a cheap bus. Gainesville is a liberal city which means public transportation gets the bottom of the barrel funding. Its why we currently have 58 active buses that are 12 years or older. Theres no funding to replace buses when they need to and when we do get new buses, they are the same as what is purchased in previous years. Also, ridership in Gainesville has been on the decline. New development around UF has allowed students to be within walking distance of classes and Uber/Lyft are very popular. Unfortunately, it is all about money. I will say though, Gainesville has made some strides to increase public transportation which includes microtransit that is designed to meet transit needs in lower income areas and also connect nearby cities. 

Again, I can't say much for other agencies, but that is just what I have noticed where I live.

In regards to Gillig styling, I do agree they are way overdue for a facelift. Even the BRT style is going on 14 years now.

Gillig and Nova are both overdue for a facelift, but glad they still offer these old style low floors.

[Buzz2kb]

Er

8 hours ago, Big CJ said:

This was on sale 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gillig-/323796670130?oid=192476317375&nma=true&si=3Xcvo9k5Cqdj0w8ztIc2soBG1VQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

Gillig and Nova are both overdue for a facelift, but glad they still offer these old style low floors.

So what's your issues with newer designs like the New Flyer Xcelsior and a host of electric buses?

[alexb320]

Two new 2019 Gillig LowFloor 40ft Diesel buses were added to the fleet back in November. These are 1902-1903 and are the exact same spec as 1901.

The all electric Gilligs are expected to be delivered in early 2020.

*Photo credit to El Guajiro on Flickr

[alexb320]

Hasn't been much to report from Gainesville. Still waiting on the all electric Gilligs which are expected late this year and two additional diesel buses.

They did just put up two buses for sale:

• 0110 - Ex-Palm Tran bus that hasn't been moved in over a year. https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=2891&acctid=4740
• 553 - Suffered an engine failure and has been parted out. https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=2890&acctid=4740

[alexb320]

Two new diesel Gilligs are on property. Since these are numbered 2004 & 2005, I assume the electric Gilligs will be numbered 2001-2003. They are supposed to be delivered by November, but who knows at this point.

*Photo credit to El Guajiro on Flickr

[SKWROM]

@alexb320 It’s been awhile since last commenting here and I hope all is well. I checked on GovDeals recently and #562 was retired due to getting in a accident which caused enough damage for it to put out of service. Is it possible for you to update the roster?

Here’s the link:

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3913&acctid=4740

 

[BroncoFan623]

8 minutes ago, SKWROM said:

@alexb320 It’s been awhile since last commenting here and I hope all is well. I checked on GovDeals recently and #562 was retired due to getting in a accident which caused enough damage for it to put out of service. Is it possible for you to update the roster?

Here’s the link:

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3913&acctid=4740

 

It's already updated. Back in May.

[alexb320]

22 hours ago, SKWROM said:

@alexb320 It’s been awhile since last commenting here and I hope all is well. I checked on GovDeals recently and #562 was retired due to getting in a accident which caused enough damage for it to put out of service. Is it possible for you to update the roster?

Here’s the link:

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3913&acctid=4740

 

Good to hear from you again! Hope you're doing good as well. Someone else beat me to it, but here's all the buses that were auctioned off on May 31st:

0004 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3903&acctid=4740

0019 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3904&acctid=4740

543 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3912&acctid=4740

0105 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3905&acctid=4740

0107 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3906&acctid=4740

0108 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3907&acctid=4740

0111 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3910&acctid=4740

2502 - https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=3914&acctid=4740

 

2502 was listed for sale in Ocala on Facebook Marketplace.

[SKWROM]

On 6/6/2021 at 11:38 PM, BroncoFan623 said:

It's already updated. Back in May.

I wasn’t able to see it properly as I was on mobile, but now I see it. Thanks for the correction.

@alexb320

I wonder if they’ll be getting more electric vehicles from here on out as the 01 Phantoms are now 20 years of age. 

[alexb320]

On 6/11/2021 at 7:00 PM, SKWROM said:

I wasn’t able to see it properly as I was on mobile, but now I see it. Thanks for the correction.

@alexb320

I wonder if they’ll be getting more electric vehicles from here on out as the 01 Phantoms are now 20 years of age. 

In May, Gainesville approved the purchase one more electric Gillig 40ft bus. Not sure if it will come at the end of this year or early 2022. Depends on what Gilligs lead-time is on these buses. I think buying only electric buses from now on would depend on how these are able to perform and hold up.

https://gainesville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4898270&GUID=94E146EC-34FF-4BB9-8EF5-34FCCD30A08B&Options=&Search=

 

I also expect RTS to purchase more BRTs from Lynx. They've been wanting to do that for the last few years.

[alexb320]

New 40ft Diesel Gilligs are currently being delivered to Gainesville. There is a total of 14 for this order numbered 2101-2114. These will replace the 2001 Ex-Lynx Phantoms and likely some of the other 2001 Phantoms.

*Photo Credit to El Guajiro on Flickr

[H4 5600]

Gillig phantoms 548 and 549 have been posted for sale on govdeals.

https://www.govdeals.ca/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=4620&acctid=4740

https://www.govdeals.ca/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=4609&acctid=4740

[alexb320]

On 12/20/2021 at 10:03 PM, H4 5600 said:

Gillig phantoms 548 and 549 have been posted for sale on govdeals.

https://www.govdeals.ca/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=4620&acctid=4740

https://www.govdeals.ca/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=4609&acctid=4740

I spoke with an RTS employee and he said the rest of these will be auctioned off early this year. The 2002/2004 Ex-Lynx Phantoms are now being used as spares and for training.