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Transit in Vancouver: Questions and Answers

Enviro 500

By Enviro 500
in Metro Vancouver

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Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, Translink69 said:

Well if the 98' standard was 20 years, then how were the CNG tanks about to expire in 2008?

What is everyone's favourite Engine/Transmission combo?

Mine has to be Cummins C Gas + / Voith D863.3 or Series 50 / B500R

 

I wonder if Meraki was talking about models built after '98. Not just for that year.  Like I said, I was going with what I was told.

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maege

maege

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Express691 said:

How do "special service" (NW-VC) trains start their runs? Just saw a train leave for VCC Clark from Waterfront. 

I would think that some of them would be normal Waterfront - Production Way trains that get extended to VCC, which could be what you saw. Then coming back they would be VCC-NW then NW-VCC. 

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Stormscape

Stormscape

Posted
Posted

Can somebody please explain the 112's insane scheduling to me? The early morning trips from Boundary, the seemingly random routes around Metrotown Station early in the morning and late at night, the fact it routes different on Saturday and Sunday morning around Metrotown compared to Monday to Friday, why does it even extend to Metrotown? Is this just kind of institutional inertia from 30 years ago when the 112 operated into Vancouver?

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maege

maege

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Stormscape said:

Can somebody please explain the 112's insane scheduling to me? The early morning trips from Boundary, the seemingly random routes around Metrotown Station early in the morning and late at night, the fact it routes different on Saturday and Sunday morning around Metrotown compared to Monday to Friday, why does it even extend to Metrotown? Is this just kind of institutional inertia from 30 years ago when the 112 operated into Vancouver?

The 112 runs to Metrotown instead of Edmonds when the Skytrain isn't running. The reason for this is that Metrotown is a central exchange where people can transfer to other buses when, but Edmonds isn't used by buses when there is no Skytrain operating. As for Boundary, my only guess would be that the 112 comes from HTC via Marine and Boundary so they thought, why not start there instead of Metrotown to provide early service on Kingsway?

As for different routes around Metrotown (it looks like one goes to Patterson Station), I'm not sure the reason for that.

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Brando737

Brando737

Posted
Posted
45 minutes ago, Stormscape said:

Can somebody please explain the 112's insane scheduling to me? The early morning trips from Boundary, the seemingly random routes around Metrotown Station early in the morning and late at night, the fact it routes different on Saturday and Sunday morning around Metrotown compared to Monday to Friday, why does it even extend to Metrotown? Is this just kind of institutional inertia from 30 years ago when the 112 operated into Vancouver?

Like maege mentioned, those 112 trips are when SkyTrain is not operating.  The trip starting at Boundary has probably been the same for a long time as it would enter service the same way from BTC.

The trip that loops around Patterson Stn meets with the N19 Metrotown at EB Kingsway @ Wilson Ave and takes those passengers further east while the N19 bus goes NIS back downtown for another trip.  That 112 trip used to become an N19 to Surrey at New West, but I think it's changed.

Also want to add about another odd trip early AM on Saturday's.  There is a 27 that starts service WB Kingsway at Boundary.

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MCW Metrobus

MCW Metrobus

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Brando737 said:

Like maege mentioned, those 112 trips are when SkyTrain is not operating.  The trip starting at Boundary has probably been the same for a long time as it would enter service the same way from BTC.

On a similar note, there are also at least one or two 106s on weekday mornings that enter service WB Edmonds at Canada Way (going towards Metrotown). This is likely also a relic from the BTC era, when buses would come out NIS likely via Highway 1, Kensington, Canada Way to Edmonds. From HTC, however, the routing from the Queensborough Bridge is via EB 6th Avenue, left on 8th St, then up Canada Way and left on Edmonds. For a bus coming into service, this makes absolutely no sense, but to start the trip in service from New West Station would require adding service hours, and the one time I drove that particular 106 there were actually quite a few riders at that hour (it was about 5:30 am or so), so it likely couldn't be cut back to Edmonds Station.

Regarding that last 112 from Metrotown, it meets up with the last 19 that comes into the loop. The 19 is due in (and out) at 26:25, and the 112 is due out at 26:30. The 19 turns around and runs in service to Kingsway and Joyce (and then, like the few before it, continues from there as a 41 to Oak), and has a meet out on Kingsway with the N19 for any passengers who need to get downtown, since the regular 19 doesn't go all the way. 

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Express691

Express691

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, MCW Metrobus said:

The 19 turns around and runs in service to Kingsway and Joyce (and then, like the few before it, continues from there as a 41 to Oak), and has a meet out on Kingsway with the N19 for any passengers who need to get downtown, since the regular 19 doesn't go all the way. 

One such meetup between the 19 and N19 was when I was with our STC driver one friday night on the N19. The incoming 19 was 15 minutes late. The paddle on our run had instructed us to wait for it. So we were stuck at Kingsway at Willingdon for 15-20 or so minutes as the driver for that 19 STILL took his break at metrotown loop before coming back up Kingsway.

They could have at least sent us into Metrotown loop, but we managed to make up for lost time. Ended up only (-3) going downtown.

Speaking of which, some paddles instruct drivers to "wait" or "watch for", both of which have VERY different meanings.

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captaintrolley

captaintrolley

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Express691 said:

Speaking of which, some paddles instruct drivers to "wait" or "watch for", both of which have VERY different meanings.

To be even more particular, the directives should be to 'wait for passenger connections'.  Just waiting for the the bus still does not imply waiting for the passengers on board. :lol:

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captaintrolley

captaintrolley

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, Stormscape said:

So if a paddle instructs "wait" you can't leave until the other bus shows up unless Tcomm advises otherwise?

Pretty much. Within reason.  At ETS most of the 'wait for' instructions include a set amount of time.  For example : Wait three minutes past your board time for incoming route X due in at XX:XX hrs.  Such directives are actually quite common here because of poor scheduling and lack of frequency.

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Marlow1331

Marlow1331

Posted
Posted

In regards to the 112 New West via Patterson Stn from Metrotown running weekday nights. That run as far as i know doesnt meet any nightbus services anymore, as there is a N19 trip that operates just slightly before, being the same N19 trip that overtook  the N19 Metrotown & the 112/N19 surrey central interline, leaving the 112 trip simply on its own.

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MCW Metrobus

MCW Metrobus

Posted
Posted
On 6/17/2017 at 2:54 AM, Express691 said:

Speaking of which, some paddles instruct drivers to "wait" or "watch for", both of which have VERY different meanings.

Those are two of the three, the third being "meet". If the comment says "meet", the bus which arrives first must wait for the other bus, except in extenuating circumstances (such as, if all service is running unpredictably late due to weather conditions). "Wait" is simply a less imperative version of a "meet" - if it looks like the other bus is nearby, wait for it to arrive and exchange passengers. "Watch" carries must less weight, and can often be seen in places where the timing points are close enough together that connections could be made without the necessity of a meet (for example, Bus A is supposed to arrive in a transit exchange three or four minutes before Bus B departs, and Bus B would normally take connecting passengers from Bus A, but because it's in a loop, Bus B will likely already be waiting there anyway).

There have been instances in the past of "impossible meets". The N16, for example, had several meets, like most of the other Nightbuses. The third northbound trip had a meet with the N35 at Hastings and Renfrew, to allow passengers from Renfrew to make their way downtown. Usually both buses arrived around the same time. Heading southbound though, there was a meet with the N9 at Broadway, and this meet was impossible to make, because the N9 never got there on time. I remember speculating that the timing could have been a relic from when the N9 ran once every half hour from downtown at :09 and :39, and that the meet with the N16 was compromised when the N9's frequency was bumped up to 20 minutes, with trips leaving downtown at :09, :29 and :49, because I didn't have any issues with the N9 meet when I did the fourth and final N16, which met at Broadway with the N9 that left downtown at 27:09.

Any time I did the third N16, I'd arrive at Broadway up to 7 minutes early, but when I monitored the progress of the N9 I was supposed to meet, by the time I was supposed to be leaving, the N9 would only be at Broadway and Cambie. Waaaay too far away to be worth waiting for. I don't think I ever made that meet even once.

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maege

maege

Posted
Posted
28 minutes ago, owo transit fan said:

If and when the Arbutus streetcar line is built, what will happen to the 16? Will it be serving local stops along W Blvd and Arbutus or be shortened to just serve Downtown-29th Ave?

I imagine the 16 will be split into two routes, Arbutus-Downtown and Downtown-29th, possibly even before Arbutus line is built. As for whether the Arbutus portion will continue to exist after the Arbutus tram is built, I can see it happening either way. If the stops are spaced a little further apart (800m+ between each), they could run the 16 similar to how the 15 is on Cambie with the Canada line. If the stops are mainly 400-700m apart, I think they would remove the Arbutus portion of the 16 and just let the tram serve it instead.

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neil.f

neil.f

Posted
Posted

Does anyone know what the cleaning regimen is for transit buses in the Vancouver area?

I've always been interested in transit systems, although I now only ride buses perhaps four times a year. My daughter rides daily for work, and she was mentioning today riding a brand new bus, and being happy that aside from AC, it also didn't have fabric covered seats. I've noticed in the past fabric seats on some buses- particularly where the seats were reasonably plush- and wondering what kind of bacterial load might build up from, shall we say, less hygenic passengers. I can't imagine that seats are ever shampooed or given more than the most cursory cleaning, which seems to mandate that they should be covered in non-absorbent material. Why fabric would ever be used is beyond me.

So... obviously, they clear debris from under the seats and in the aisles, but what is done to the actual seating, and how often?

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buizelbus

buizelbus

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, neil.f said:

Does anyone know what the cleaning regimen is for transit buses in the Vancouver area?

I've always been interested in transit systems, although I now only ride buses perhaps four times a year. My daughter rides daily for work, and she was mentioning today riding a brand new bus, and being happy that aside from AC, it also didn't have fabric covered seats. I've noticed in the past fabric seats on some buses- particularly where the seats were reasonably plush- and wondering what kind of bacterial load might build up from, shall we say, less hygenic passengers. I can't imagine that seats are ever shampooed or given more than the most cursory cleaning, which seems to mandate that they should be covered in non-absorbent material. Why fabric would ever be used is beyond me.

So... obviously, they clear debris from under the seats and in the aisles, but what is done to the actual seating, and how often?

Back then in before around 2006, most transit systems used fabric. All newer buses use vinyl.

 

Sometimes when the refurbish the buses they add new seating. Actually, I don't think this has been ever done, someone inform me on this. But they do throughly clean them.

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