Saskatoon Updates

[Persona non grata]

Would that be on the NFI D40 high floor (730-735 series) or the much older D800/D900 series (702-729).

The NFI D40's. I saw 733 this morning working as #5 extra, although he had #13's route number. The rear area looks pretty beat up, i.e. re-ear-ended more then once.

Oct 10 2007 821 on an Extra

Oct 11 2007 821 on an Extra

Oct 11 2007 380 on Route # 5

Oct 11 2007 383 on Route # 13

Oct 11 2007 382 on Route # 3

Oct 11 2007 378 on an Extra

Oct 11 2007 392 on Route # 13

Oct 11 2007 822 on an Extra

Oct 12 2007 380 on Route # 3

Oct 12 2007 821 on an Extra

Oct 13 2007 518 on Route # 5 in Regina

Oct 13 2007 516 on an Extra in Regina

Oct 15 2007 382 on an Extra

Oct 15 2007 401 on unknown

Oct 15 2007 392 on unknown

Oct 15 2007 393 on Route # 21

Oct 15 2007 383 on Route # 1/2

Oct 15 2007 386 on Charter

Oct 16 2007 391 on an Extra

Oct 16 2007 372 on Route # 13

Oct 16 2007 392 on Route # 13

Oct 16 2007 371 on Route # 6

Oct 16 2007 379 on Route # 13

Oct 16 2007 398 on Route # 5

Oct 16 2007 386 on unknown

Oct 17 2007 401 on Route # 5

Oct 17 2007 383 on unknown

Oct 17 2007 391 on an Extra

Oct 17 2007 398 on an Extra

Oct 17 2007 381 on an Extra

Oct 17 2007 405 on an Extra

Oct 17 2007 821 on unknown

Oct 17 2007 822 on unknown

Oct 18 2007 826 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 378 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 371 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 400 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 822 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 391 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 383 on an Extra

Oct 18 2007 380 on Route # 4

Oct 19 2007 371 on an Extra

Oct 19 2007 821 on unknown

Oct 19 2007 383 on an Extra

Oct 19 2007 403 on Route # 13

Oct 19 2007 400 on Route # 3

Oct 19 2007 398 on an Extra

Oct 19 2007 372 on an Extra

Oct 19 2007 392 on Route # 13

Oct 22 2007 398 on unknown

Oct 22 2007 371 on unknown

Oct 22 2007 392 on unknown

Oct 22 2007 821 on Route # 5

Oct 22 2007 382 on an Extra

Oct 22 2007 386 on Route # 13

Oct 22 2007 379 on an Extra

Oct 22 2007 391 on Route # 21

Oct 23 2007 380 on Route # 13

Oct 23 2007 387 on an Extra

Oct 23 2007 403 on an Extra

Oct 23 2007 821 on Route # 3

Oct 23 2007 379 on Route # 21

Oct 24 2007 384 on Route # 6

Oct 24 2007 403 on Route # 13

Oct 24 2007 377 on Route # 3

Oct 24 2007 394 on an Extra

Oct 24 2007 371 on Route # 13

Oct 24 2007 382 on an Extra

Oct 25 2007 393 on an Extra 60

Oct 25 2007 372 on an Extra

Oct 25 2007 391 on an Extra

Oct 25 2007 371 on an Extra

Oct 25 2007 826 on Route # 3

Oct 25 2007 381 on Route # 6

Oct 25 2007 398 on Route # 3

Oct 25 2007 382 on Route # 5

Oct 25 2007 392 on an Extra

Oct 25 2007 377 on Route # 1

Oct 25 2007 402 on Route # 13

Oct 25 2007 821 on Route # 4

Oct 25 2007 401 on a Charter

Oct 26 2007 372 on Route # 13

Oct 26 2007 394 on Route # 5

Oct 26 2007 403 on Route # 13

Oct 26 2007 391 on Route # 21

Oct 26 2007 393 on Route # 4

Oct 26 2007 378 on Route # 3

Oct 26 2007 826 on an Extra

Oct 26 2007 821 on Route # 1/2

Oct 26 2007 402 on Route # 4

[madsad]

Has anyone else noticed the inherent danger of the bus-only left turn from College Dr eastbound across College Drive westbound and into the U of S campus? After what kind of spoiled Tim Horton's was this idea conjured?

The buses have to drive right into oncoming traffic and then turn left, frequently crossing the paths of pedestrians who have the right-of-way. I've witnessed pedestrians nearly get creamed several times.

Any thoughts? What is the history of this bizarre turn lane?

[Mark Walton]

Has anyone else noticed the inherent danger of the bus-only left turn from College Dr eastbound across College Drive westbound and into the U of S campus? After what kind of spoiled Tim Horton's was this idea conjured?

The buses have to drive right into oncoming traffic and then turn left, frequently crossing the paths of pedestrians who have the right-of-way. I've witnessed pedestrians nearly get creamed several times.

Any thoughts? What is the history of this bizarre turn lane?

College Drive EB into College drive WB? That would be a 180° turn.

[Persona non grata]

madsad, I know what you mean, its pretty bad out there.

Oct 29 2007 391 on an Extra

Oct 29 2007 381 on an Extra

Oct 29 2007 371 on an Extra

Oct 29 2007 383 on Route # 21

Oct 29 2007 826 on an Extra

Oct 29 2007 387 on Route # 21

Oct 29 2007 398 on an Extra

Oct 30 2007 398 on an Extra 60

Oct 30 2007 383 on an Extra

Oct 30 2007 371 on an Extra

Oct 30 2007 381 on Route # 13

Oct 30 2007 401 on Route # 13

Oct 30 2007 382 on Route # 6

Oct 30 2007 380 on an Extra

Oct 30 2007 384 on an Extra

Oct 30 2007 393 on an Extra

Oct 31 2007 394 on Route # 4

Oct 31 2007 380 on an Extra

Oct 31 2007 382 on Route # 13

Oct 31 2007 401 on Route # 6

Oct 31 2007 381 on an Extra

Oct 31 2007 383 on Route # 13

Oct 31 2007 371 on an Extra

Oct 31 2007 822 on Route # 3

[madsad]

College Drive EB into Clooege drive WB? That would be a 180° turn.

No, College Drive eastbound, across College Drive westbound and onto Campus Drive. It is a left hand turn bay that is mis-aligned with Campus Drive, so it forces buses to cross a pedestrian crosswalk, and drive into oncoming traffic (College Dr westbound) before turning left onto Campus Dr.

I don't believe there is a transit only signal phase here either, so when traffic on College westbound gets a red, buses waiting to turn left begin moving straight towards that westbound traffic. Meanwhile, at this time pedestrians crossing College from Bottomley have a walk light, so buses nearly run over pedestrians who have the right-of-way. It is truly a bizarre scene.

[Persona non grata]

Nov 1 2007 394 on Route # 21

Nov 1 2007 398 on Route # 13

Nov 1 2007 378 on an Extra

Nov 1 2007 379 on an Extra

Nov 1 2007 401 on Route # 13

Nov 1 2007 824 on Route # 4

Nov 1 2007 391 on an Extra

Nov 1 2007 402 on an Extra

[Guest]

Hey Guys, just wondering, did Saskatoon get any new busses delivered this year,as I can't recall seeing anything tendered since that 17 bus order a couple of years ago.

And have you heard much about how those hybrids performed during the winter?

[Persona non grata]

muike from edmonton, I'm not usre on that.

madsad, looks like STS is reading this board! As today there are no busses running through campus thanks to the labour strike! No running over of pedestrians...

Nov 2 2007 391 on Route # 21

Nov 2 2007 377 on Route # 21

Nov 2 2007 402 on an Extra

Nov 2 2007 382 on Route # 3

Nov 2 2007 394 on an Extra

[madsad]

If the strike is resolved, I'm sure Stoon Transit drivers will return to nearly turning pedestrians into road pizza at that intersection. But it isn't the buses or drivers that are the problem, it is the intersection geometry.

I believe 12 D40LFRs were delivered early this year. The 13 diesels and 4 hybrids were the 2006 deliveries. I don't know anything about Stoon Transit's opinions about hybrid performance.

[Persona non grata]

Nov 2 2007 387 on Route # 21

Nov 5 2007 382 on Route # 21

Nov 5 2007 378 on an Extra

Nov 5 2007 384 on an Extra

Nov 5 2007 822 on an Extra

Nov 5 2007 380 on Route # 21

PS. I saw #13 cross the picket line! It was a fishbowl as usual.

Nov 6 2007 382 on Route # 5

Nov 6 2007 403 on Route # 3

Nov 6 2007 394 on Route # 6

Nov 6 2007 400 on an Extra 60

Nov 6 2007 392 on Route # 5

Nov 7 2007 378 on Route # 21

Nov 7 2007 371 on Route # 3

Nov 7 2007 821 on Route # 21

Nov 8 2007 381 on an Extra 60

Nov 8 2007 400 on Route # 5

Nov 8 2007 824 on Route # 3

Nov 8 2007 386 on Route # 1

Nov 9 2007 386 on Route # 21

[M. Parsons]

I have recieved word that ETS 983 and 992 are running in Saskatoon, in ETS colours.

Explains why I haven't seen 992 in awhile, and in retrospect 983 as well.

[Persona non grata]

ETS? What are they? New New Flyer's?

That remind me, I keep seing this one blue fishbowl, but am unable to get its number...

[A. Wong]

Nope, those two buses would be blue Edmonton Transit System Fishbowls. And probably that one you are seeing is one of them!

(1980 GMDD T6H-5307Ns)

[Persona non grata]

That's them alright. See them quite often on Route #21. It's odd IMHO that Saskatoon is leassing other city's fishbowls, weren't we getting rid of them in favor of new New Flyer busses? Too bad the city didn't pick up Winnipeg's vast fleet when it was retired.

[Guest]

Can't see Saskatoon leasing them, probably bought the best jimmies of the litter (remember where our manager came from), and at a good price. Probably need more busses fast, and we could help them out

So that is 2 that were not scrapped, wonder where the other 80 or so AWOL jimmies are off to? Might be some more out there in their second lives

[Persona non grata]

Nov 13 2007 378 on an Extra 60

Nov 13 2007 392 on an Extra 5

Nov 13 2007 402 on Route # 5

Nov 15 2007 371 on Route # 6

Nov 15 2007 402 on Route # 3

Nov 16 2007 392 on Route # 6

Nov 16 2007 372 on Charter

Nov 16 2007 822 on Route # 13

Nov 18 2007 403 on Route # 5

First time I've seen a fishbowl on a weekend shift. There must be an MCI shortage or something...

Nov 19 2007 378 on an Extra

Nov 19 2007 372 on unknown

Nov 20 2007 386 on Route # 4

Nov 20 2007 383 on Route # 6

Nov 20 2007 394 on Route # 13

Nov 20 2007 377 on Route # 13

Nov 20 2007 824 on an Extra

Nov 21 2007 371 on an Extra 60

Nov 21 2007 401 on Route # 1

Nov 22 2007 398 on an Extra 60

Nov 22 2007 382 on Route # 3

Nov 22 2007 372 on an Extra

Nov 22 2007 380 on Route # 5

Nov 22 2007 378 on Route # 22

Nov 22 2007 992 on an Extra

Nov 22 2007 387 on an Extra

Nov 23 2007 398 on Route # 13

Nov 23 2007 393 on Route # 6

Nov 23 2007 391 on Route # 21

Nov 24 2007 377 on Route # 5

Nov 24 2007 398 on Route # 4

Nov 27 2007 822 on an Extra 60

Nov 28 2007 992 on an Extra

Nov 29 2007 377 on Route # 3

Nov 30 2007 383 on Route # 3

Nov 30 2007 384 on unknown

Nov 30 2007 821 on Route # 3

Dec 3 2007 378 on Route # 5

Dec 3 2007 394 on unknown

Dec 3 2007 403 on Route # 13

Dec 6 2007 401 on Route # 5

Dec 6 2007 383 on Route # 6

Dec 7 2007 822 on Route # 6

Dec 10 2007 402 on Route # 6

Dec 11 2007 821 on Route # 13

Dec 15 2007 824 on Route # 5

Route 13 was all fishbowl's today!

Dec 18 2007 382 on Route # 13

Dec 18 2007 821 on Route # 13

Dec 18 2007 401 on Route # 13

Dec 18 2007 400 on unknown

Dec 18 2007 822 on Route # 13

Dec 19 2007 824 on Route # 21

Dec 20 2007 824 on Route # 3

Dec 21 2007 372 on Route # 21

Dec 28 2007 824 on Route # 13

[madsad]

We need some kind of activity in here.

Shuttle bus service a waste: councillor

Neault proposes transferring budget to Access Transit

Matthew Kruchak, The StarPhoenix

Published: Monday, December 31, 2007

City Coun. Maurice Neault has a plan to pack the Crescent Shuttle buses with passengers -- drop the shuttle service and move the vehicles to the Access Transit fleet.

The Crescent Shuttle offers free rides between the downtown, Broadway and Riversdale business districts, but ridership numbers are low.

"The thing is running around empty all the time," the Ward 3 councillor said. "Let's take that equipment and let's take those dollars that we're spending on operating that and let's put them where it's needed."

Access Transit has a definite need for more buses, said Neault, who sits on its advisory committee. The service provides rides to people unable to use regular transit due to mobility issues.

At the next city council meeting in mid-January, Neault will present a motion to transfer the operating budget of the free shuttle and its two buses to Access Transit, which provides more than 110,000 rides per year.

Currently, Access Transit is unable to provide 60 people with rides to and from work or school, he said.

"I want to make sure those people get to work, get to school, get to university and get back home Monday to Friday -- that's what it's all about."

Coun. Pat Lorje doesn't deny that need, but said stopping the service doesn't make sense.

"They are totally different kinds of busses. We would have to retrofit them and it would make more sense to order new ones that are specifically designed for Access Transit," said Lorje, who is pushing for a free city-wide service. "I think that having a transit service that is free is very progressive and I want us to keep that."

The free shuttle service began as a pilot project in 2005 with buses stopping whenever a pedestrian flagged the driver for a ride. The intent was to give tourists a practical way to get around and to give seniors and downtown dwellers access to grocery stores.

But the need just isn't there for the service, which costs about $100,000 to operate yearly, Neault said.

"It becomes the difference between a want and a need," Neault said. "Why are we giving free rides to anybody when we have a need here."

But the need is environmental too, Lorje said.

"The planet is now increasingly at risk because of the large ecological footprint that we have and we have to do everything we can do to reduce our reliance on hydrocarbons, and decreasing private transportation and increasing public transportation is a good step," she said. "Hopefully we'll get more people riding the buses and leaving their cars at home."

Terry Scaddan, executive director of The Partnership, Saskatoon's downtown business association, said he'd also like to see the service continue.

"I think the shuttle performs a service in keeping the centre of city accessible for people who live downtown."

It's convenient for those who live and work downtown, but if the city does get rid of the shuttle it shouldn't affect downtown businesses or people's desire to live there, he said.

mkruchak@sp.canwest.com

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

[Persona non grata]

Good to see someone still paying attention to this thread. Thanks!

I managed to ride in an ex-ETS 951 today on a 60 extra. All decals have been changed to Saskatoon Transit system, so I guess we own it. The double-wide rear doors are kinda weird...

Jan 3 2008 951 on an Extra 60

Jan 3 2008 824 on Route # 13

Jan 3 2008 402 on Route # 1

Jan 3 2008 377 on an Extra

Jan 3 2008 382 on Route # 6

Jan 3 2008 400 on Route # 5

Jan 3 2008 826 on Route # 1

Jan 3 2008 371 on Route # 11

[Guest]

Good to see someone still paying attention to this thread. Thanks!

I managed to ride in an ex-ETS 951 today on a 60 extra. All decals have been changed to Saskatoon Transit system, so I guess we own it. The double-wide rear doors are kinda weird...

Jan 3 2008 951 on an Extra 60

Jan 3 2008 824 on Route # 13

Jan 3 2008 402 on Route # 1

Jan 3 2008 377 on an Extra

Jan 3 2008 382 on Route # 6

Jan 3 2008 400 on Route # 5

Jan 3 2008 826 on Route # 1

Jan 3 2008 371 on Route # 11

951, well that's interesting, wonder how many are going to Saskatoon. At least they are being used are going to a good home rather than the scrappers!

The double rear doors are supposed to function this way.

Passengers from the rear seats to the rear rear doors exit there

Passengers from the front door to the first set of rear doors exit there, and all new pasengers enter at the front.

In theory great, never seems to work that way

Persona, if you get a chance, can you take a look around the body shop and the garage and see if you can spot anymore of our ex Jimmies.

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

I can't wait to get out to Saskatoon at the end of February this year! :-)

[Guest]

I can't wait to get out to Saskatoon at the end of February this year! :-)

Martin and I were thinking about late March or early April, then again, it may be time for another Regina visit!

[Persona non grata]

If you guys are driving between Saskatoon and Regina, keep an eye out for an old fishbowl on the side of the road, covered with advertising signs. It's in one of the first towns outside of Saskatoon, Bladworth or something like that me thinks...

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

If you guys are driving between Saskatoon and Regina, keep an eye out for an old fishbowl on the side of the road, covered with advertising signs. It's in one of the first towns outside of Saskatoon, Bladworth or something like that me thinks...

I asume you mean this one? See Photos below:

I have had this one on my website for some time now at http://www.busdrawings.com in the St. Albert Transit Photo Gallery! Not sure if U know about it or not.

http://www.busdrawings.com/Transit/alberta...5307n/index.htm

The bus is Ex-St. Albert Transit #818 (1976 GM T6H-5307N) These were taken on October 10, 2006.

[Persona non grata]

Thanks for posting the photos. I was wondering about its heritage. Did it come directly from Alberta, or Saskatoon Transit? Either way quite a trip. I'll have an eye for those ex-ETS busses (as always!) next time I'm downtown, which is this Saturday.

Jan 4 2008 372 on unknown

Jan 4 2008 387 on Route # 13

Jan 4 2008 377 on Route # 13

Jan 4 2008 401 on Route # 6

[Guest]

Thanks for posting the photos. I was wondering about its heritage. Did it come directly from Alberta, or Saskatoon Transit? Either way quite a trip. I'll have an eye for those ex-ETS busses (as always!) next time I'm downtown, which is this Saturday.

She was actually delivered to ETS Westwood Garage in 1976 in the old cream with blue band colour scheme. ETS was running St Alberts system for them at the time until the early/mid 80's

When St Albert set up it's own system/garage etc. all of their equipment moved over (811-830, 401-403) and 401-403 became 831-833, and were eventually repainted into the new St Albert scheme as illustrated in Peters pics

It appears that 816 was retired/sold off in 1994, but I do not know how she ended up outside Saskatoon

And a few more years down the road in 1996, St Albert sold off 821, 822, 824 - 826 to Saskatoon

Appreciate your trip downtown to the barns (just are not the same since they knocked down the old north wing, where they park the hulks)

Do you know where the body shop is located (I know I have the address around here someplace)