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BC Transit Fleet/General Notes


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According to the Wiki, there are two active Orions I's in Prince Rupert. 6713 & 6729.

I wouldn't believe that for a second...

Someone's been going around on the Wiki readding Orion Is to some of the rosters. I don't know exactly why they've been doing this, but none of the recent rosters I've gotten from BC Transit show any Orion Is listed in service for any property.

Also please note that BC Transit most recently purchased Orion Is in 1992, and that last year they retired most of the buses from 1994-1995.

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I added 6713 and 6729 back to the wiki. They were transferred there in 2011 to replace even older GM Fishbowls that were used for extra duties in the summer season for Cruise Ship passengers.

The last Google streetview of the Prince Rupert Garage from 2012 shows them as still being there, and the last time anyone was up there was in 2013.

I've intended to take a trip up there myself these past two summers to check on them, but I haven't had the chance.

Until someone confirms them as retired, please leave them as they are on the wiki.

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I added 6713 and 6729 back to the wiki. They were transferred there in 2011 to replace even older GM Fishbowls that were used for extra duties in the summer season for Cruise Ship passengers.

The last Google streetview of the Prince Rupert Garage from 2012 shows them as still being there, and the last time anyone was up there was in 2013.

I've intended to take a trip up there myself these past two summers to check on them, but I haven't had the chance.

Until someone confirms them as retired, please leave them as they are on the wiki.

But are they actually rostered as BC Transit vehicles?

The consensus was that all Fishbowls were gone from BC Transit by 2005ish.

MCW Metrobus noted on another forum, in 2008, that it was reported to him that 802 (?) and 864 were operating in Prince Rupert. On that same forum, it was noted that these Fishbowls were officially off the BC Transit roster.

Here's what I'm getting at. BC Small Systems are mostly (entirely) run by subcontractors. Some of these contractor could have other businesses on the side (charters, school buses, etc) operating the with the same drivers, out of the same facility. On transit runs, they charge transit. On other jobs, they charge the other customers. If they have a small contract for shuttle passengers to/from the cruise pier for the handful of calls a season that Prince Rupert sees, it would be very simple for them to get first opportunity to purchase a couple of used coaches from BCT for this service.

As Articulated noted up thread, recent BC Transit rosters he has received do not note any active Orion Is. And 7 years ago, despite the report of Fishbowls in Prince Rupert, the rosters did not indicate there were any on property.

Using a little deductive reasoning, I believe there is a strong possibility that IF these two Orions are present at the Prince Rupert facility, they are owned by the operating company at that location and used in non-BC Transit service.

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Those Orions were purchased by First in 2010 when they were retired from Nelson.

As of February 2015 when I visited there, First had 6711, 6713 and 6729 in Rupert. Of these, 6729 was the only one that was still operational (as mentioned above, not for transit service). 6711 and 6713 had been collecting dust for quite some time.If someone really wants to know whats still running I'm sure you could call them and ask.

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'Midlife' refurbishment of the 92XX series has begun. 9201 left Kamloops yesterday and should be in Victoria now. While it's gone, 8084 has been reactivated, and is just waiting for insurance so it can go back out on the road.

It did arrive yesterday...snapped this pic

20160119_161839.jpg

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Re. midlife rebuild - I'm curious to see what they'll do with Sunshine Coast Transit's buses. They might be doing that in house in West Sechelt, as they have a fleet of eight buses (9224-9231). The most 40' buses on the road at any given time on the Coast is around five or six (at shift changes, the schedule shows 4 weekdays, two on weekends).

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I'm curious if they are going to refurbish the interior of them, and install new seating cushions. Since the 2006 Novas have same seats as the older flyers. And install the new cushion design as the 1998 D40LF got in their refurbs.

Most likely they will get the new cushion because all other reburbishments had the new cushion installed on the buses.
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9105 re-entered service last week, first of the hybrids to receive it's mid-life refurb. Upgraded interior and headlights as per standard. The old Luminator sign was replaced by the company-standard Axion, something that was not done on the first few 2004 E500s.

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