Buzz2kb Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 There are 3 transit agencies operating in this country, one each in Flagstaff, Arizona; Missoula, Montana and Morgantown, West Virginia; with the first one is being showcased here. The Mountain Line in Flagstaff is the operating name of Northern Arizona Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority. It's fleet is dominated by Gillig BRT's dating between 2007 to 2016, with all but 2 among the 25 buses being hybrids and all but 3 buses being EPA 2010 buses. Illustrated here is 2015 bus 5363 (The 2015 and 2016 buses are the only ones featuring revised battery covers, and I'm unable to spot the sole 2014 bus), 2013 bus 5372, 2012 bus 5376, 2011 bus 5379 and 2007 bus 5385 (the only non-EPA 2010 bus I've spotted on my visit). However, it also operates 6 New Flyer XDE60 buses on its busiest route. They are the only hybrid Xcelsiors in Arizona, as well as the only Xcelsiors and possible only artics outside Valley Metro in Arizona. Illustrated here is 2017 bus 5360. All pictures are taken at or near the Downtown Connection Center (Mountain Line's speak for a Transit Center) Bonus pictures: Flagstaff is the home of Northern Arizona University (NAU), and NAU operates its own shuttle service known as the AXExpress. While some of its buses are modified school buses, it also operates some of the first Arboc Spirit of Liberty bargain low-floor buses in the country, as shown by buses 530 and 535. Here is my Mountain Line (Arizona) gallery: Mountain Line (Arizona) And my NAU AXExpress gallery: NAU AXExpress 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Border City Transit Posted September 24, 2018 Report Share Posted September 24, 2018 On 9/22/2018 at 12:01 PM, Buzz2kb said: However, it also operates 6 New Flyer XDE60 buses on its busiest route. They are the only hybrid Xcelsiors in Arizona, as well as the only Xcelsiors and possible only artics outside Valley Metro in Arizona. Illustrated here is 2017 bus 5360. Great stuff! Wow -- that's gotta make Mountain Line/NAIPTA one of the smallest agencies to operate artics. They look really nice! Incidentally, good on them for using the name Mountain Line rather than their clunky official name, NAIPTA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQ RIDE Posted October 6, 2018 Report Share Posted October 6, 2018 On 9/24/2018 at 1:41 PM, Border City Transit said: Great stuff! Wow -- that's gotta make Mountain Line/NAIPTA one of the smallest agencies to operate artics. They look really nice! Incidentally, good on them for using the name Mountain Line rather than their clunky official name, NAIPTA. From what I read, Mountain Line actually has the highest ridership per capita in Arizona, ahead of both Sun Tran and Valley Metro (Valley Metro actually ranks third in the state in terms of ridership per capita). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drum118 Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 Look at visiting the city in March on the weekend and how often do they run on Sat? Will shot photos at the downtown terminal based on the 60 minutes for weekend by a lot of systems. Are the artics out on the weekends? Will move on to Phoenix, Tucson and El Paso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz2kb Posted January 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 13 hours ago, drum118 said: Look at visiting the city in March on the weekend and how often do they run on Sat? Will shot photos at the downtown terminal based on the 60 minutes for weekend by a lot of systems. Are the artics out on the weekends? Will move on to Phoenix, Tucson and El Paso. Most routes have hourly frequency on Saturdays, but route 2 has 30 minute mid-day frequency, route 14 is every 30 minutes all-day, while route 4 has a rather odd 40-minute frequency. Route 10, where the artics are used, runs every 20 minutes on weekends; and yes, artics are also used on weekends too! I strongly recommend you consult the downloadable system guide at the agency's website before your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drum118 Posted January 11, 2019 Report Share Posted January 11, 2019 3 hours ago, Buzz2kb said: Most routes have hourly frequency on Saturdays, but route 2 has 30 minute mid-day frequency, route 14 is every 30 minutes all-day, while route 4 has a rather odd 40-minute frequency. Route 10, where the artics are used, runs every 20 minutes on weekends; and yes, artics are also used on weekends too! I strongly recommend you consult the downloadable system guide at the agency's website before your trip. Thanks. Not sure when we will arrive, as we will be coming from doing the Grand Canyon first. Plan on spending the night in Willams before doing the Canyon the next day and then stopping in Flagstaff for the night. I have already check the schedule and to be on the safe side asking questions before hand on small systems. Want to shoot the Amtrak, but too late at night to catch it. Want to get some rail fan shots on our trip as well. Most small systems have 60 plus service on the weekend that I have visited over the years to the point no Sunday service. Other than our being day and end day of our trip, everything is not set in stone that we can either add a day or drop a day to our stops. Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso and one other place are 3 days stay at each place at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Border City Transit Posted February 26, 2020 Report Share Posted February 26, 2020 Quick visit to Flag yielded ample sightings of the New Flyer artics. Still weird (and welcome!) to see artics at work for such a tiny system: Yep, it sure does articulate: A small city and a Gillig: a far more typical pairing. NAIPTA gets the most from theirs, with the sharp paint scheme, BRT enhancements and wide rear door: Will make it there to actually ride Mountain Line one of these days. Looks like a friendly, effective little operation! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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