BC Transit Fleet/General Notes

[Busmanic92]

11 hours ago, Express691 said:

9820 is in Whistler.

I thought it was in storage there. Maybe somewhere else or a different unit. Glad to see Whistler going with em again.

[Cathay 888]

On 12/17/2019 at 7:47 PM, Rd320 said:

XN40 1142 has returned to Whistler. Also to Whistler is their first new XN40 1148. A newspaper article in the local paper says this order of buses has the new white LED destination signs, driver barriers already installed, aswell as newer bike racks which will eventually be rolled out province wide to accommodate bikes with larger wheels. D40LF 9846 has also been transfered to Whister for storage

I think that white LED signs provided by Luminator as possible~~

[Rd320]

1 hour ago, Cathay 888 said:

I think that white LED signs provided by Luminator as possible~~

Yes they are indeed Luminator signs. I was actually reading up on that last night as i was in Victoria over Christmas and saw 9437 several times. I came across a post on the Luminator twitter page

[Thomasw]

Spotted 5 XN40s at Detroit Diesel in Surrey  this morning.

[KINGSTER200]

36 minutes ago, Thomasw said:

Spotted 5 XN40s at Detroit Diesel in Surrey  this morning.

There’s 8 at Cullen, and all of them have the BCT Victoria phone number.

[Busmanic92]

Got this photo  from Western Canadian Transportation Lounge.

1159 i see will be Victoria. Does that mean the firsts are whistler (3) and 21 for Vic after that? 

*Photo is not my take but i might just go to Victoria to check this out*

3 hours ago, KINGSTER200 said:

There’s 8 at Cullen, and all of them have the BCT Victoria phone number.

21 for vic. 3 for whistler. 4 for cfv. And there's 68(?) in total? Where are the rest?

[Matt Dunlop]

On 12/29/2019 at 9:36 PM, Busmanic92 said:

Got this photo  from Western Canadian Transportation Lounge.

1159 i see will be Victoria. Does that mean the firsts are whistler (3) and 21 for Vic after that? 

*Photo is not my take but i might just go to Victoria to check this out*

21 for vic. 3 for whistler. 4 for cfv. And there's 68(?) in total? Where are the rest?

The CNG tanks were being put in yesterday at LTC. 

[Rd320]

XN40s 1148 and 1149 have entered service in Whistler. D40LF 9750 has joined the other D40LFs and Darts i previously mentioned at the scrap yard in Squamish

[Articulated]

BC Transit is taking delivery of new high-floor cutaways with Girardin Micro Bird/G5 bodies for HandyDART service. The first 13 units will be delivered to Victoria, while the next 15 will replace all of Nanaimo's fleet (Wiki lists 14 HandyDART vehicles, with the news article listing an extra "light duty bus temporarily activated in January" that will be replaced). I'm assuming some of the newer Arbocs in Nanaimo's fleet will get shifted to other communities, as they have a couple of newer ones that shouldn't be up for replacement quite yet.

2590, 2597-2598 have been spotted being delivered, assuming they are for Victoria.

https://www.bctransit.com/nanaimo/news?nid=1529709626854

[Rd320]

Driving on the highway past Port Kells today i saw a few plain white Grande West Vicinity CNGs. I‘m guessing these might be for BC Transit?

[Orion6784]

7 hours ago, Rd320 said:

Driving on the highway past Port Kells today i saw a few plain white Grande West Vicinity CNGs. I‘m guessing these might be for BC Transit?

I had a good look at them driving past them on 192nd street and they are the CNG versions, so yeah, they are most likely for BC transit.

[Articulated]

Couple of fleet updates from BC Transit media articles:

• Two new Girardin Micro Bird/G5 high-floor cutaways for handyDART have entered service for Shuswap (Salmon Arm), while six low-floor Arboc buses for conventional service will enter service later this year. This will be enough to swap out Shuswap's entire fleet.
• Cowichan Valley has also taken delivery of five high-floor Micro Bird/G5 units, which should replace the five diesel Arbocs in their fleet. I would presume 2671, their only gas Arboc, will stick around. The five conventional units operating for Ladysmith and Youbou will also be replaced with five low-floor Arboc buses, giving Cowichan Valley a fully gasoline light-duty fleet.

In total, there will be "approximately" 70 light-duty buses delivered to BC Transit this year (so likely 69 or less units). Unfortunately there is no breakdown between high-floor buses for handyDART and low-floor conventional units, but based on recent media releases 36 high-floor and 11 low-floor units have been accounted for.

[Matt Dunlop]

15 hours ago, Articulated said:

Couple of fleet updates from BC Transit media articles:

• Two new Girardin Micro Bird/G5 high-floor cutaways for handyDART have entered service for Shuswap (Salmon Arm), while six low-floor Arboc buses for conventional service will enter service later this year. This will be enough to swap out Shuswap's entire fleet.
• Cowichan Valley has also taken delivery of five high-floor Micro Bird/G5 units, which should replace the five diesel Arbocs in their fleet. I would presume 2671, their only gas Arboc, will stick around. The five conventional units operating for Ladysmith and Youbou will also be replaced with five low-floor Arboc buses, giving Cowichan Valley a fully gasoline light-duty fleet.

In total, there will be "approximately" 70 light-duty buses delivered to BC Transit this year (so likely 69 or less units). Unfortunately there is no breakdown between high-floor buses for handyDART and low-floor conventional units, but based on recent media releases 36 high-floor and 11 low-floor units have been accounted for.

Any idea why BC Transit is replacing the low-floor Arboc shuttles with high-floor SHORTER G5 shuttles? I mean, it seems like going backwards. BC Transit HAD high-floor Polar shuttles before the Arbocs, which are basically the same as the G5's. Then they'll get passengers whining about the three steps to get into the bus. 

[Articulated]

7 hours ago, Matt Dunlop said:

Any idea why BC Transit is replacing the low-floor Arboc shuttles with high-floor SHORTER G5 shuttles? I mean, it seems like going backwards. BC Transit HAD high-floor Polar shuttles before the Arbocs, which are basically the same as the G5's. Then they'll get passengers whining about the three steps to get into the bus. 

I'll preface this by saying I'm not affiliated with BC Transit, nor do I communicate with any employees on a regular basis; so the rest of this post will be speculation or repeating what I've heard elsewhere. High-floor buses have a flat floor, without the intrusion of wheel wells and other equipment, which leaves a lot more space to tie down and maneuver mobility devices. The Arbocs, while IMO the best low-floor cutaway on the market, has a bit of a slope up to the rear axle, an angled ramp at the front, and wheel wells intruding into the passenger cabin. Drivers also need to deploy the ramp and push wheelchairs up the slope on Arbocs. For handyDART, most passengers are likely using mobility devices, and walkers would likely need the ramp deployed on a low floor anyway, so deploying the lift isn't much worse.

The high-floor G5 buses will only be used for handyDART service, and they are still ordering low-floor shuttles that will be used for regular, scheduled service, which is why both Shuswap and Cowichan Valley are getting a mix of both models this year. Out of the 300 Arbocs that BC Transit has ordered over the past 10 years, I think only a small handful of units were ever switched from primarily conventional to primarily handyDART (or vice-versa). So it's not going to be a big deal if you have some high-floor cutaways that are better equipped for one mode; it's pretty unlikely they'll get used for the other. But in case they need to, the G5s have seats and destination signs that will allow them to be used on regular routes in a pinch.

[Matt Dunlop]

Does anyone know if BC Transit will have riders guides in PRINT for next schedule change? I'm tired of looking either at the transit app or their clunky website. 

[InfiNorth]

16 hours ago, Matt Dunlop said:

Does anyone know if BC Transit will have riders guides in PRINT for next schedule change? I'm tired of looking either at the transit app or their clunky website. 

I have the schedule saved on my phone at this point as a PDF because it's a waste of data to be constantly checking it. At this point, Victoria is pretty much at the upper limit of how big a system can be and still have a complete, single-book print schedule. I will be surprised if they restart distribution of a printed schedule, though it will indeed sadden me to see them go. I've mentioned accessibility issues for the schedules in the past, but BC Transit in Victoria may need to start doing what most major transit systems have been doing for years - either regional print schedules or have print schedules for individual routes/corridors. 

[Matt Dunlop]

1 hour ago, InfiNorth said:

I have the schedule saved on my phone at this point as a PDF because it's a waste of data to be constantly checking it. At this point, Victoria is pretty much at the upper limit of how big a system can be and still have a complete, single-book print schedule. I will be surprised if they restart distribution of a printed schedule, though it will indeed sadden me to see them go. I've mentioned accessibility issues for the schedules in the past, but BC Transit in Victoria may need to start doing what most major transit systems have been doing for years - either regional print schedules or have print schedules for individual routes/corridors. 

I would be saddened to see the printed schedule go away - I have collected them since the late 90s and keep them so I can compare routes and timings. Having everything "online" or an an app doesn't help for historic purposes or for people without access to a computer or phone, say seniors for example. 

[InfiNorth]

59 minutes ago, Matt Dunlop said:

or for people without access to a computer or phone, say seniors for example. 

Collectors... well, that's not BC Transit's focus. Those without access to a computer, as in the more vulnerable in our society... that is supposed to be what transit is there for and easily accessible to. I agree completely, it makes it harder to use buses.

And yeah, it sucks for a collectors and it will be even harder to track down historical timetables in the future (and historical everything) now that so much is becoming purely digital.

[Matt Dunlop]

On 8/26/2020 at 1:39 PM, InfiNorth said:

Collectors... well, that's not BC Transit's focus. Those without access to a computer, as in the more vulnerable in our society... that is supposed to be what transit is there for and easily accessible to. I agree completely, it makes it harder to use buses.

And yeah, it sucks for a collectors and it will be even harder to track down historical timetables in the future (and historical everything) now that so much is becoming purely digital.

I know the schedule is available for download online (PDF). Wish there was some way to get it printed then, maybe Staples could do it. 

[Matt Dunlop]

New order of Arbocs must have appeared. 2723 is shown in this PR video, with Cranbrook's phone number on the side. White destination sign and CCTV cameras inside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWEWmmakjlY&t=3s

[Articulated]

This Facebook post from BC Transit indicates that Nanaimo will be getting 4 new Arboc buses for use in Parksville (88) and Qualicum Beach (97/98). They will replace the current well-worn Arbocs, some of which were transferred from 100 Mile House when its fleet was replaced by gasoline-powered Arbocs back in 2017. No idea if the newest unit (2589, a 2015 unit) will go onto its 3rd home or just be part of the contingency fleet.

 

[Matt Dunlop]

7 hours ago, Articulated said:

This Facebook post from BC Transit indicates that Nanaimo will be getting 4 new Arboc buses for use in Parksville (88) and Qualicum Beach (97/98). They will replace the current well-worn Arbocs, some of which were transferred from 100 Mile House when its fleet was replaced by gasoline-powered Arbocs back in 2017. No idea if the newest unit (2589, a 2015 unit) will go onto its 3rd home or just be part of the contingency fleet.

 

Nanaimo should get CNG Vicinitys, but unfortunately I hear that BC Transit won't be buying from Grande West anymore. 

[Dane]

I hope that's true, from just a general public perspective those Grande West CNG buses are awful. I find them quite loud (I live next to a bus stop) & can hear them quite clearly. The display sign angles are cut off as well - it just doesn't seem refined. 

[SidneyTransitfan]

Most likely because the fleet replacement of the Dennis Darts is almost complete, just a few spare contingency units left.

[Matt Dunlop]

15 hours ago, Dane said:

I hope that's true, from just a general public perspective those Grande West CNG buses are awful. I find them quite loud (I live next to a bus stop) & can hear them quite clearly. The display sign angles are cut off as well - it just doesn't seem refined. 

I can tell you they struggle up hills!