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Airdrie Intercity Commuter Express & Local Service


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14 minutes ago, R. Meu said:

Seems like 3714 is missing its bike rack and its panel by the drivers side has been replaced (being white instead of blue). I wonder if this bus got into a collision more recently because I recall seeing it with the bike rack from a few months ago.

A73649BC-B713-42A1-9C79-0BCEC47B2212.jpeg

I don't know about any collisions but I do know for a fact this bus used to have a bike rack.

It appears as though the front bumper has been replaced too

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5 hours ago, Blake M said:

I don't know about any collisions but I do know for a fact this bus used to have a bike rack.

It appears as though the front bumper has been replaced too

5 hours ago, R. Meu said:

Seems like 3714 is missing its bike rack and its panel by the drivers side has been replaced (being white instead of blue). I wonder if this bus got into a collision more recently because I recall seeing it with the bike rack from a few months ago.

A73649BC-B713-42A1-9C79-0BCEC47B2212.jpeg

Looking at the photo it does look it was involved. Part of the decal was removed to inspect for damages to the panels and the front cap along the point of impact.

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  • 2 months later...
6 hours ago, R. Meu said:

Seems like the white nova (3723) has also had its bike rack gone missing recently. Just spotted it about an hour and a half ago leaving Rundle Station.

Oddly enough a driver actually let a guy with a bike on the bus as it was 3714 (no rack) and their control just said yeah whatever let him on. I honestly thought Airdries bike racks would be redundant but there's at least one person out there who uses them.

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15 hours ago, Blake M said:

Found this bus sitting at the South Terminal. No decals no nothing. Only the faintest "Southland" is all I could see on the back

Edit: appears to be an OnDemand vehicle

2616 is a former Southland Access Calgary unit.  I believe it was retired sometime in 2017 or 2018.

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  • 2 months later...

Two updates: 

1) 3714 has a new bike rack.

2) a next stop announcement board has been installed on 3717

Also, from talking to a driver, it sounds like Airdrie wants to purchase Vicinity's to replace the Arbocs within the next 2-3 years.

20190611_130459_HDR.jpg

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I'm surprised they just want Vicinity's only... considering Airdrie's rapid growth, employment areas growing immensely, plus being close to Calgary - that they wouldn't just get the 40-foot buses right off the bat, invest more money initially and have the extra capacity in future years. Especially with, what was that number... 61,082 residents, as of the 2016 Census? The thousands employed just south of the city, and thousands more in Calgary itself? Seems like short-gap planning, compared to what might be needed in the years and decades ahead. 

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2 minutes ago, armorand said:

I'm surprised they just want Vicinity's only... considering Airdrie's rapid growth, employment areas growing immensely, plus being close to Calgary - that they wouldn't just get the 40-foot buses right off the bat, invest more money initially and have the extra capacity in future years. Especially with, what was that number... 61,082 residents, as of the 2016 Census? The thousands employed just south of the city, and thousands more in Calgary itself? Seems like short-gap planning, compared to what might be needed in the years and decades ahead. 

The local routes seem to be fairly low ridership, so the Vicinities seem like an upgrade anyways

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7 minutes ago, Imgursdownvote4love said:

The local routes seem to be fairly low ridership, so the Vicinities seem like an upgrade anyways

Maybe more Crossiron/far north Calgary connections might help - direct, A to B, single seat, transfer-less trips. Might help with ridership in the future. I have friends in Airdrie, they're dissuaded from taking transit because it's not direct enough in-town. I mean, keep the circular routes yes, but an extra route to Crossiron/Amazon/etc would probably increase ridership significantly - especially if it were to connect to Saddletowne or Sandstone. I could see a route like that being used & generating ridership very well.  

As for upgrades, literally any physical bus with seats is an upgrade over those transit vans. :P

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2 minutes ago, Imgursdownvote4love said:

Hey, their seats are fairly comfortable

True - ride-wise though, the roads around the Calgary area are actually decent (compared to Winnipeg's/previous experience before I left MB), so it's hard to find out most of the time unless the driver slams the gas/brakes... but on rough roads, those Arboc's are a nightmare haha

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38 minutes ago, Imgursdownvote4love said:

The local routes seem to be fairly low ridership, so the Vicinities seem like an upgrade anyways

An upgrade from the Arboc's yes. Remember they use to run Fishbowl's, Blue Bird All Canadian's along with a Flyer D900 & a few Mitsubishi Fuso's.

 

10 minutes ago, Paratransit Fellow said:

I would be surprised if they bought vicinity's, Airdrie had a vicinity demonstrator... And the wiring caught fire...

That Vicinity was shipped from China. Salt water damaged the wiring. The Vicinity is now built in the States.

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20 minutes ago, Paratransit Fellow said:

I would be surprised if they bought vicinity's, Airdrie had a vicinity demonstrator... And the wiring caught fire...

Well put.

As for the source, remember the drivers are contracted and the buses are owned by the City. Food for thought. 

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58 minutes ago, armorand said:

True - ride-wise though, the roads around the Calgary area are actually decent (compared to Winnipeg's/previous experience before I left MB), so it's hard to find out most of the time unless the driver slams the gas/brakes... but on rough roads, those Arboc's are a nightmare haha

Oh, I was talking about the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. I have nothing nice to say about the Arbocs

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
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Opens up a few Arbocs for route services, though. Would they be finally pulling a St. Albert/Sherwood/Leduc with this move, like a normal 50,000 population city does right next to a behemoth? Or are they going to pull a Winnipeg, and just start slashing?

Also, first time I've noticed or ever seen these, but Airdrie Transit sure seems to like to emulate CT's signwork...

Couldn't they try something a little different? Maybe some neons, or black with red text, or something? :P

g7STZ4ls_400x400.jpg

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6 hours ago, armorand said:

Opens up a few Arbocs for route services, though. Would they be finally pulling a St. Albert/Sherwood/Leduc with this move, like a normal 50,000 population city does right next to a behemoth? Or are they going to pull a Winnipeg, and just start slashing?

Also, first time I've noticed or ever seen these, but Airdrie Transit sure seems to like to emulate CT's signwork...

Couldn't they try something a little different? Maybe some neons, or black with red text, or something? :P

g7STZ4ls_400x400.jpg

It appears they're just slashing. From what I recall though, they don't use the arbocs for OnDemand, they use a couple of old Southland shuttles. 

 

As for the sign, I swear it has something to do with the region/manufacturers. Cause St.Albert, Sherwood Park, and Leduc all use the same signage as ETS

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