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Cimon8000

Cimon8000

Posted
Posted

ex oc 9729 nova lfs is painted pretty much the same as the ex montreal novas, its parked in garage but was boxed in by other buses at the time i saw it, thats probably the way the ex oc novas will be painted.

i don't get it how come they have to paint them into STM scheme?!?!?!?!.........or is that a scheme for all the used buses? in that way probably the D60LF would be in that scheme as well........

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saskmatt7

saskmatt7

Posted
Posted

If I were you Matt, I'd drive only the New Looks ;) That's exciting!!!

i used to drive bowls all the time when i was on spareboard, i since singned 11 to 7 shifts cause i got tired of doing split shifts, i always watch for them though! :)

Good stuff, cell phone camera or not. I shall be up there late next month, I would have a field day shooting all that good stuff. I shall also be heading to Regina as well to shoot some of their stuff.

good stuff, you should pm me when you figure out a day.

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Opal

Opal

Posted
Posted

Wanted to bring up a topic that I have been discussing on the Vancouver forum recently.

When I lived in Saskatoon in 2008, I noticed that there is little to no layover (recovery) time for the drivers at each end of the route. When I discussed it with a driver, he mentioned that it was because they wanted 10 hour shifts, 4 days a week, and a Christmas bonus -- break time didn't matter too much. He also said that since many routes have one-way loops on the ends, there would be layover in front of NIMBYs houses. When I noted on the Vancouver forum that the break time should be decreased on a particular route to allow for a route extension without the use of a second bus, I got shat on because they said that there isn't near enough break. Many routes (but not all) have 10-15 minutes ON EACH END, so 10-15 minutes every hour which is much more than I get at my work, and I have a good job.

I am wondering what people think about that here, and if any of the drivers on here could comment on this (it is possible I was speaking to a maverick driver who was going against union wishes for more breaks, I don't know).

On an unrelated point, I know there are small "shuttle" buses now. Are these being used on a specific route, or spread around the numerous low-ridership routes? Are they low floor? Are they easy to drive? Are there more coming?

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armorand

armorand

Posted
Posted

Wanted to bring up a topic that I have been discussing on the Vancouver forum recently.

When I lived in Saskatoon in 2008, I noticed that there is little to no layover (recovery) time for the drivers at each end of the route. When I discussed it with a driver, he mentioned that it was because they wanted 10 hour shifts, 4 days a week, and a Christmas bonus -- break time didn't matter too much. He also said that since many routes have one-way loops on the ends, there would be layover in front of NIMBYs houses. When I noted on the Vancouver forum that the break time should be decreased on a particular route to allow for a route extension without the use of a second bus, I got shat on because they said that there isn't near enough break. Many routes (but not all) have 10-15 minutes ON EACH END, so 10-15 minutes every hour which is much more than I get at my work, and I have a good job.

I am wondering what people think about that here, and if any of the drivers on here could comment on this (it is possible I was speaking to a maverick driver who was going against union wishes for more breaks, I don't know).

On an unrelated point, I know there are small "shuttle" buses now. Are these being used on a specific route, or spread around the numerous low-ridership routes? Are they low floor? Are they easy to drive? Are there more coming?

Seems everything is low-floor these days, due to accessibility concerns...

And hows ridership in Saskatoon? I have no idea how good/bad it is

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Opal

Opal

Posted
Posted

A couple of questions for the Saskatoon enthusiasts and drivers again. I don't mean these in a bad way, I'm just wondering if anyone knows the answers for curiosity purposes:

  • I noticed that Route 6 was split a couple years ago into 6 and 16 to avoid confusion on College Drive and at the University. What happened to this? The website shows it as Route 6 for both Broadway and Clarence again.
  • The 23 was routed to the Airport for a while, and then removed. Was this done because of timing purposes or low ridership? I know it still goes to the industrial area during the peak hours and on Saturday peak, but there is currently no easy way to get to the Airport from the west side without backtracking and going downtown first. The link with the 40 allowed for a connection to the industrial area and Mayfair.
  • Do you think the 14 could be done differently with all trips going from the Airport to Lawson Mall except for one or two in both the AM and PM peak from Downtown? This would allow connections from the 40 at the Airport, and from the DARTs or the 12 at Lawson Mall.
  • Is there really a need for a 21 and a 28? Couldn't this be all one route number with all trips to/from the University but trips to Reid Rd in the peak hours and Willowgrove in the off-peak? Maybe the route numbers could remain the same as current (since it could be confusing like the 6), but all trips could run both directions to/from the University and they could more or less interline with each other like they are all one schedule.
  • Was the link between the 13 and the 11 removed for timing purposes or low ridership? This seemed to make sense while it lasted.
  • Why did they decide to run the 11s north on Lorne instead of Sask Cres. after the split? The buses are already going into a loop at the Western Development Museum and could turn back along Ruth, etc. and back to Sask Cres.

Thanks in advance for any responses to the above.

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Bus Driver

Bus Driver

Posted
Posted

Opal I might be able to shed some light on your questions.

1.) It was changed back to avoid confusion from the D.T.T. It was a change made by the former Supervisor of Planning to go from just the 6 to the 6 & 16.

2.) Ridership is the answer, the ridership off peak just didn't make sense to have the 23 go there off peak, the #23 connects with the #40 in the industrial area.

3.) In order to do that we would have to add 1/2 hrs to the run and add a bus. If you remember there was the #31 that did just this, it was interline with the 23 & 40. That may have worked if the added more time on that interline.

4.) There is a need for this because of the ridership out of the Southerland ares. Most of the buses are full at peak times.

5.) It was changed to due timing issues. It just could not be done. However, I think that the #13 should go back to the way it was when they first changed the system in 2006 there was more than enough time on there, you had layover time on that it was a great run.

6.) There was some backlash from the ppl on Lorne because since Transit began in Saskatoon there was always a bus that went down Broadway Ave. from Lorne. It serves Lorne very well to have 15min service from the 11&12. The ridership is low on Sask. Cres..

I hope this helps.

Wanted to bring up a topic that I have been discussing on the Vancouver forum recently.

When I lived in Saskatoon in 2008, I noticed that there is little to no layover (recovery) time for the drivers at each end of the route. When I discussed it with a driver, he mentioned that it was because they wanted 10 hour shifts, 4 days a week, and a Christmas bonus -- break time didn't matter too much. He also said that since many routes have one-way loops on the ends, there would be layover in front of NIMBYs houses. When I noted on the Vancouver forum that the break time should be decreased on a particular route to allow for a route extension without the use of a second bus, I got shat on because they said that there isn't near enough break. Many routes (but not all) have 10-15 minutes ON EACH END, so 10-15 minutes every hour which is much more than I get at my work, and I have a good job.

I am wondering what people think about that here, and if any of the drivers on here could comment on this (it is possible I was speaking to a maverick driver who was going against union wishes for more breaks, I don't know).

On an unrelated point, I know there are small "shuttle" buses now. Are these being used on a specific route, or spread around the numerous low-ridership routes? Are they low floor? Are they easy to drive? Are there more coming?

Opal,

Saskatoon Transit is working on getting more time on routes that are "tight for time". If you loo at the 1 & 2 there was trouble keeping schedule so we added time. The 50 & 60 had schedule issues as well and we added time. We are looking at adding time on other routes however, it all comes down to $$$. The Operations Manager would like to add time to the routes to have layover time but like I said that it all comes down to $$$.

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Seashore_518203

Seashore_518203

Posted
Posted

Could you get the VIN please.

Yes I agree. VIN numbers would be very helpful.

The bus looks really sharp and it is interesting that they painted it in the normal Saskatoon scheme as opposed to the Novas that are in the DART scheme.

What are the Saskatoon fleet numbers of the ex-OC buses?

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