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exo/contractor bus sightings (was: CIT Sightings)


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On 6/28/2022 at 6:49 AM, Frozen Yogurt said:

I then took 1243 on the 732 back to Longueuil. 

badpic1243.thumb.jpeg.863506b8a7908430b10c1585b52e01d9.jpeg

I tried to catch 1243 today on the 16:30 731 departure from Longueuil, but 382 (which is normally assigned to Exo LA Presqu'Île!) showed up instead with a paper indicating the route. It was quite the disappointment.

I took 1232 and 1217 on the 700 yesterday. Neither had a farebox but 1217 was still tracking and had stop announcements. 1217 is probably one of the last XD40's to run on the 700 with the contract change tomorrow. 

1201 was on the 721 today with the new card reader installed. 

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Today was the first day of operation of Transdev on the Sorel corridor on exoSV, here are what we know so far based on field sighting and Transit Tracker VIN matching (via the VIN form).

Confirmed (field sighting)
803014 - VIN 2PCG33494EC735497 - ex CRC
801711 - VIN 2PCG33499BC729965 - ex CRC / exx MTA Demo

Probable (TransitTracker VIN)

811512 - VIN 2PCG33492CC735253 - ex Rousillon
805316 - VIN 2PCG33498GC735943 - ex Rousillon
805015 - VIN 2PCG3349XFC735781 - ex CRC
804515 - VIN 2PCG33496FC735793 - ex Richelain
804715 - VIN 2PCG33497FC735799 - ex Richelain
804615 - VIN 2PCG33491FC735796 - ex Richelain

 

 

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23 hours ago, eclair14 said:

Today was the first day of operation of Transdev on the Sorel corridor on exoSV, here are what we know so far based on field sighting and Transit Tracker VIN matching (via the VIN form).

Confirmed (field sighting)
803014 - VIN 2PCG33494EC735497 - ex CRC
801711 - VIN 2PCG33499BC729965 - ex CRC / exx MTA Demo

Probable (TransitTracker VIN)

811512 - VIN 2PCG33492CC735253 - ex Rousillon
805316 - VIN 2PCG33498GC735943 - ex Rousillon
805015 - VIN 2PCG3349XFC735781 - ex CRC
804515 - VIN 2PCG33496FC735793 - ex Richelain
804715 - VIN 2PCG33497FC735799 - ex Richelain
804615 - VIN 2PCG33491FC735796 - ex Richelain

 

 

Added all to the tracker under Sorel-Varennes.

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exo SV operated by Transdev seems like a complete disaster based on their first weekday. I went through their twitter and counted the cancellations on the 700. The 707/709/710 also had cancellations.

It comes to a total of 26 cancellations, 14 eastbound and 12 westbound. The service in this state seems borderline unusable. Hopefully exo has mitigation measures like they did for Transdev in Ste. Julie last time this happened (although the mitigation measures ended and SJU is still riddled with cancellations).

 

image_2022-07-04_210501686.png

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On 7/4/2022 at 9:06 PM, Gerbil said:

exo SV operated by Transdev seems like a complete disaster based on their first weekday. I went through their twitter and counted the cancellations on the 700. The 707/709/710 also had cancellations.

It comes to a total of 26 cancellations, 14 eastbound and 12 westbound. The service in this state seems borderline unusable. Hopefully exo has mitigation measures like they did for Transdev in Ste. Julie last time this happened (although the mitigation measures ended and SJU is still riddled with cancellations).

 

image_2022-07-04_210501686.png

The problem is that when the situation happened in Sainte-Julie, it was in the spring so many coach drivers variable to do that job. Now it's July, coach drivers are everywhere transporting tourist and people, not a lot of buses avaliable for mitigation mesures

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On 7/4/2022 at 10:26 PM, West Island Transit Fan said:

La Presqu'île:

Caught 1233 on the 40 and 362 on the 51 this PM rush. 

Minibus 367 was on the 40. 

I thought Transbus would have an excess of coaches now that they lost all the coach lines in Sorel-Varennes. 

Do you have a photo of the interior of 1233 or a description? Always was curious about that one.

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8 hours ago, eclair14 said:

The problem is that when the situation happened in Sainte-Julie, it was in the spring so many coach drivers variable to do that job. Now it's July, coach drivers are everywhere transporting tourist and people, not a lot of buses avaliable for mitigation mesures

You're right. At the very least, they should temporarily reduce the schedules to match what they are able to consistently provide. That way, passengers aren't left with the uncertainty of whether their trips will be cancelled on any given day.

Obviously, the long term solution is to increase the drivers' pay. It just isn't a strategy to win the contract since they need to have the lowest bid. My cursory research indicates that the STM starts at $25.72/hr  for drivers, versus $19-21/hr for most exo contractors. Not to mention that you have no job security in the event that they lose the contract next time. It really does not seem appealing given the level of skill and training required for the job.

Related to this, I've noticed that some of the contractors (Paquette, Transcobec, Dufresne) do not have these staffing issues. Are their working conditions/pay that much better?

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3 hours ago, West Island Transit Fan said:

Yup. 

c4WPXxUZCHDMKKsydauMHF_fZGxa2xi5a9OD1OmB49sdqqaQPZiXXhj6jHx5UMKY7r8ug8q-gzceSEFg9OX3Whp7_z-tb42O0R8oiNVYXKKjlqO1qXT3fB1h90rlXWtX_tvy-00oN5h823luUzTU7-DEGm51w15Rx1mK-ktlWEFenvr9cpvo4RYccnkDqZkcKB6Wm883MTSfWmlKwCfzme4F-TKKctkhaA4H5bFJXcVekmnO-RUZiH49Utk2S_pL6jUpBtuBUHTYa2C6PoTTM6fzSrwS2cFbo2saxIY4oVfgIS8ZHopRHJn6jTpdjD495ROErohwEpm3ct9mHBYE4V2O3uJI9XeaNUG4YhSCb1KUgtnzT3NkAfbfgYIx-MmXNcyUKzblBj4H12fua8BQBmwRhpvMAR5ukPBUP1CDfhDhE4vbFuWS0qL5nKB6X0DFFll8lmN3Dk2MW-Yv8BrD_oUr276MptGGPu89y6RBA4a1JyXEuQL4caXGbJjFv_xlChZ4NT5gzQhtSVdmx_lu1ZGah20N_ZKrE0W_ypxunlRgOwhABj_KXZxmvr_mAaIWQJTnEvivO1M2k0mdQPgywolL-g83eMkkI_IcrW-E0IzDSWAyMnKkd4sIiwVqB7LIO4xoEpeAFGH4QWAorptDLRn8kPvaS1a8uFg0DC93nIJKtiI7c3tGBJpich2fGh-hmhLTPJB9eRdzqIlbO2I8PbUhlFkhDBGbzuERfT62h0vYn-S_oTMUwwcy9On1IHI=w1204-h903-no?authuser=0PyTz-pdVBpDk3FS4dvbILqGxAH1kqxITUCCOHkZfaPz0p2mJstaElKiYOfwChH1s0ZFDka69o5TgqGrpMfNn8vK1rxzHGfHkTW_aVkZAQzrELj1rvadOu-jZ_VaC6zOGfJpXt2hwWfgRkRlP7lCvvdtVhTSm3gxvRddDPLoWlh3khvcalQvngdq5eBvpAFj4hnDRZM4BUZwXNMTxuSzcjIKKUSkFEWMMISrhcpzI4Mb1GKEeHeWWlhJOHL5GycKW9C5taJvmXIi2tskf33z1Ua8BYSiG_DFa976DpKOj5TKPKu-lwl9-5QaQTXInTB1myw6IXK-DdoFFgDhhUM-sIq80oLw8ul2996alWHaUUdHiig-w2sCEWvULSn43e0tSyaW-QCwdsfWDi--aic5su6ZAOKKBZtb5zdcVyjdZ2aVRYkoxj66LjrqYPawzIU3h9B1WEDZC0iMnCC9ptslfBvKu2rdq3wpj7OCSMzre1b3lijSvzMkNvipNJmvUVUJYMRfikmyEK77iVpjrHpW92O1rmV6peS79fsLqHXv7jjejnsXfWAAhrNgYwZbDNVIF6y2xKgH3QbyUOcV2H0HwnMBh0Avfr4VrcdClwpNa8FK6bYSqKPegzYij6YiDdYOh2gcLEcxAl3InBBHNnfqf-SbjXrszWHHK724peEdNSRKjhFW8H_k4kv2FWWrMiYu7Ax7W-6DMfOIDZRi_iyd-LoXGwFIbYMTvQ1jIGQlTxIiP3_Qex89oVsllAvRER8A=w1204-h903-no?authuser=0

---

I've noticed that Paquette buses are still displaying the mask mandatory message on their buses. Here's their oldest bus, 608, displaying it yesterday. 

iT5cE0U1y-nOho-CTph0At1lmXoz06TySG-DANaVGfj-0EsFf6V1tXKNUlmQg8cVsyhfN5RM3ke8bZY-VMTqDq0NkxIy7A753ucSOUhdbW_phobVrK7hln-RHU1_7M7oRRWZYchxLKde6TVuNuW8qLPN6Uev7TSVoB2phtX9V-EY4Uge_3CTdYUmZ7b3yMA_NFz-Hy5h2NIYq8wCFOpYTYd1cia5GU3rd5axAia4DHf02RF9c18Ks-wcl9othuLb8MIFeHRpE2KIxtYibftLWUW24DY2rRx1s4v2Th5H3VmsLvUb6uTQcZEfPsUQXbqye-qumOeBjRUh_WrFQQF33iEAmcpCkPW-gzeECzDLdz4dMdYmrqP-UYCXNCn-7SqZNg0v_bDENlTbaFwrMPglXDYC1TEm_K6FUePQkwGZCKn175ySnQgFUD9YnjEjKznn8PEsSSec3y8vKc_LVauBVORn8C9nZuKwFFKBhnNUFEzNEX9t0Q1p1c3TDO6oQNRWUKU8qM5NoAvhPGArUdTt799xRQaYhKg64CFLk9aKa9jUiOVV8b9w-PpaOeQliysV7ovDdoY-AK8c2UBxqKa7zfXIUzwpVFjCC6PuNawSjGcNVJO-gd1bZoobw8GgmavOYjipnwxhDXtVLXbZXUZchjtmJec9VR6liZo4Hmu4zVW0GgUMURl3_h580LIbihFVZYT4YqF4fChMY6_OMWk0P6olbREaEzWFwiQeO86g_uZyHlBqifywRSKDaocxQP4=w1710-h903-no?authuser=0

Photos didn’t show up.

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On 7/4/2022 at 9:06 PM, Gerbil said:

exo SV operated by Transdev seems like a complete disaster based on their first weekday. I went through their twitter and counted the cancellations on the 700. The 707/709/710 also had cancellations.

Related to Transdev, here's Autobus Deux-Montagnes 20-3 tracking on Exo Laurentides 20 all the way in Lorraine. Is Transdev so short on drivers here that they need to borrow from Paquette and ADM? Or could it be a bug? Though I've seen Paquette buses on routes out of Ste-Thérèse such as the 23 and 73 in person before, but I don't have pictures. 

 

Screenshot_20220706-195825_Chrome.jpg

EDIT: Disregard, 20-3 is tracking at the garage now. So likely a bug.

Edited by West Island Transit Fan
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14 hours ago, Gerbil said:

You're right. At the very least, they should temporarily reduce the schedules to match what they are able to consistently provide. That way, passengers aren't left with the uncertainty of whether their trips will be cancelled on any given day.

Obviously, the long term solution is to increase the drivers' pay. It just isn't a strategy to win the contract since they need to have the lowest bid. My cursory research indicates that the STM starts at $25.72/hr  for drivers, versus $19-21/hr for most exo contractors. Not to mention that you have no job security in the event that they lose the contract next time. It really does not seem appealing given the level of skill and training required for the job.

Related to this, I've noticed that some of the contractors (Paquette, Transcobec, Dufresne) do not have these staffing issues. Are their working conditions/pay that much better?

Paquette and Transcobec actually pay their drivers a decent wage. The driver's at Transdev are being offered 24$/Hr as of January with the new contact, I assume the current drivers are simular. Paquette and Transcobec are owned by the same family.

Dufresne has a decent pay, around 22/H, but their micro manage their fleet and have spare buses (2) at GG to cover trips if needed. I was riding with a driver I knew there and he was supposed to do a 100 to TCV, he had a 20 minute layover. a 210 was running 12 behind, so they had him do the departure of the 210 to not have any late departures and the driver of the 210 would arrive in time to cover his 100 to TCV.

3 hours ago, West Island Transit Fan said:

Related to Transdev, here's Autobus Deux-Montagnes 20-3 tracking on Exo Laurentides 20 all the way in Lorraine. Is Transdev so short on drivers here that they need to borrow from Paquette and ADM? Or could it be a bug? Though I've seen Paquette buses on routes out of Ste-Thérèse such as the 23 and 73 in person before, but I don't have pictures. 

 

Screenshot_20220706-195825_Chrome.jpg

EDIT: Disregard, 20-3 is tracking at the garage now. So likely a bug.

Actually ADM does have departures on routes 17 and 20 during rush hour. I have a photo somewhere in my Flickr. The 20 is a Paquette run bus route BTW

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11 hours ago, MTL66 said:

Actually ADM does have departures on routes 17 and 20 during rush hour. I have a photo somewhere in my Flickr. The 20 is a Paquette run bus route BTW

3 hours ago, citfan2020 said:

For the 12/15/17/20 surf routes. It can either be transdev/Paquette or DMO

That's interesting. Do you know exactly which departures are done by ADM?

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3 hours ago, rgilmtl said:

302913 and 310421 on Sud-ouest 998 pow-wow shuttle.

Driver of 3104 said Transdev wanted to send minibuses. Yeah, minibus that!

Decided to check it out since the shuttle was free and I'd never been to Kahnawake before (aside from the parts along the 132 and 138). I wasn't expecting it to be so busy either! Ended up in the front next to the wheel well on the way back. The schedule is designed such that it could be done by one bus, I wonder if that was the original plan?

It was my first time on one of the Transdev 2021 LFS'. They seem identical to the La Québecoise ones inside (and those have consecutive VIN's with these ones).

302913.jpg

310421.jpg

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