Chestermere Commuter Service Discontinued

[Paratransit Fellow]

www.chestermerecommuter.com

The Management and Staff at Chestermere Commuter Service are very sorry to announce that as of July 01, 2009, we will be unable to continue offering our services to the residents of the Town of Chestermere. Due to recent decline of the economy, mechanical failures with our equipment, along with low revenues and ridership, the cost of operating the commuter service has become too large for us to continue offering this service. At this time we wish to thank all our riders for their patronage over the past 20 months.

mentions "mechanical failures,"

Have fishbowls become too mechanically needy for a small operation?

[M. Parsons]

Have fishbowls become too mechanically needy for a small operation?

They're still simpler to maintain than a lot of new stuff, but, if something expensive goes it can still become costly, and that is certainly an increasing risk the older the bus is.

[highfive]

They're still simpler to maintain than a lot of new stuff, but, if something expensive goes it can still become costly, and that is certainly an increasing risk the older the bus is.

Perhaps it would be best to start small... say a cutaway bus, then once ridership base is built, then upgrade. (?)

[M. Parsons]

Perhaps it would be best to start small... say a cutaway bus, then once ridership base is built, then upgrade. (?)

Perhaps not having the same appeal as a "big bus", it might have been better for starting out. Whether or not they're more reliable than a 27+ year old GM is one thing, but, I would see the advantage being that the mechanical components for the bus (engine parts etc) are readily avalible compared to a transit bus or highway coach.

I believe they were competeing with First Canada (ex Cardinal) in this corridor, whether or not that would have affected the type of vehicle being used.

[LRT]

Bunch of the Chestermere Commuter Service buses are at a Calgary auto wrecker (BUCKS) I would assume awaiting disposal. They are parked in the parking lot for now.

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

Bunch of the Chestermere Commuter Service buses are at a Calgary auto wrecker (BUCKS) I would assume awaiting disposal. They are parked in the parking lot for now.

Yes. This was mentioned a few days ago in following link. They are for sale as well. Got some bucks to lend me? http://www.cptdb.ca/index.php?showtopic=62...20&start=20

[tmx218]

www.chestermerecommuter.com

mentions "mechanical failures,"

Just found out where these 3 former Chestermere Cummuter buses are sitting now, they are at a place called Mikes Bikes off of Range Road 284, south of the Balzak highway. Apparently the person who owns the buses, he is planning on converting one to motorhome, keeping one bus for parts, and selling off the third bus. My assumption is that that person is keeping 127, parting out 126, and selling 330, just seeing how 126 and 127 are identical twins and 330 was the oddball. 126 was the one that they had troubles with getting it onto the road, 127 was operational on the road already, and 330 was their spare bus. If the buses are still suffering from mechanical failures, I feel sorry for the person who has the three buses, considering that he was asking $5000 for the one he was gonna sell off. BTW, this place where these buses are sitting at is an ATV/Dirt bike scrapyard.

Needless to say, although the asking price was $5000, the person who bought the buses ONLY paid $1000 each for the three buses from Buck's Auto Parts.

[Paratransit Fellow]

weirdest thing earlier this week. On monday ( oct 4)I saw one of the old Chestermere Jimmies in the parking lot of Executive Royal Inn, (2828 23 Street Ne, Calgary, AB). Decals removed but in the back part of the lot.

[M. Parsons]

weirdest thing earlier this week. On monday ( oct 4)I saw one of the old Chestermere Jimmies in the parking lot of Executive Royal Inn, (2828 23 Street Ne, Calgary, AB). Decals removed but in the back part of the lot.

There were 2 40' GM's operated by More Better Buses/ Canadian Premier Charters/ Chestermere commuter service. The Chestermere service was originally intended to be run by 2 ex Lethbridge 35' buses, but, due to mechanical issues I believe they started using a MBB/ CPC 40' GM. I believe it was 2 of the 35' buses and 1 of the 40' buses that were siezed/ impounded, leaving MBB/ CPC with 1 40' bus.

This is probably the bus you saw... the one that didn't end up at the wreckers/ auto parts place.

[BCT-3122-D800-10240]

weirdest thing earlier this week. On monday ( oct 4)I saw one of the old Chestermere Jimmies in the parking lot of Executive Royal Inn, (2828 23 Street Ne, Calgary, AB). Decals removed but in the back part of the lot.

Actually that bus has been stored there for quite some time. I recall seeing it parked there since at least March of this year. The More Better Buses decals were removed off the sides a good couple of years ago now IIRC. I believe the website address is still on the front and rear bumpers however.

[armorand]

Hey guys,

Just reading the 2011 census in the Winnipeg Free Press this morning, it mentions Chestermere grew by 49.4% to 14,824. I'm just wondering, would they bring back the commuter service or better yet, bring in their own public transit system?

[Paratransit Fellow]

Since the demise of the cochrane commuter bus, Cochrane has grown in physical area and so has Calgary. The geography has changed so that they now share a common border. In the Next few years, we will see the an extention of Calgary's BRT route out to chestermere. Chestermere has set aside the land for the bus stops... it's all about the regional transit effort via the calgary regional Partnership.

[armorand]

Since the demise of the cochrane commuter bus, Cochrane has grown in physical area and so has Calgary. The geography has changed so that they now share a common border. In the Next few years, we will see the an extention of Calgary's BRT route out to chestermere. Chestermere has set aside the land for the bus stops... it's all about the regional transit effort via the calgary regional Partnership.

Is Chestermere paying for it just like Leduc is to Edmonton? And thats awesome!

[armorand]

If anyones interested, I made a Google Maps idea for Chestermere Transit.

https://maps.google....061111,0.169086

Chestermere Express stops along 17th Avenue for CT connections, with a terminus at Franklin LRT, for frequency reasons. Also stops at a Garden Centre along the way. 30 peak, 60 mid-day.

The central commercial area (Windermere? Winnpeg reminder much? ) will host the transit mall/centre, with four local routes, and the express service. All are synchronized to meet there every 45 minutes. I barely remember my last trip there (2010), but I remember a few big-box stores developed there for sure.

Route 1 - Covers West Chestermere, commerce zone at Rainbow/Merganser

Route 2 - Covers lakefront. Can be extended into North Chestermere residential area upon completion of construction.

Route 3 - Feeder on West Chestermere, covers Cove Drive area, along with residential as well.

Route 4 - Jeeze, why would they build a high school in such an uncentralized location? Grr... anyways. SE Chestermere is covered, along with the high school. When school is out of session, the terminus moves to 241A/Lakeview. Expansion to Kinnburgh in future.

Buses:

- 6 Arbocs (33% spares, 4 active daily)

- 3 40ft buses (33% spares, 2 needed for peak express service).

Thoughts guys?

PS. Park and Ride near artificial lake, for Strathmore/rural transit riders. Lets say... 150 stalls. $5 fee should do the trick. 150 (5) = $750/day, which could either offset the express service, or route 4.

[vicinity]

It's an excellent idea to bad it won't happen cus planners are always for some reason less intelligent then the average joe lol

[armorand]

It's an excellent idea to bad it won't happen cus planners are always for some reason less intelligent then the average joe lol

If only every city could have our Bill Menzies

If I had the University degree to do this, I totally would!!!

Thanks Issack!

[vicinity]

No problem i had made many designes to change Calgary trainst and make it better but it makes too much sense we have to have people with degrees make stupid non sencical ideas lol

[armorand]

No problem i had made many designes to change Calgary trainst and make it better but it makes too much sense we have to have people with degrees make stupid non sencical ideas lol

Exactly! I once recommended to CT that there should be a West-NW bus link (with a good frequency), and I bet they didn't even bring it up to anybody

[vicinity]

I had always thought a crowfoot to Westbrook via Sarcee would be nice and a John Laurie/ McKnight cross town, and a 372,373 as an additional brt to the route 72/73 making it easier to get around at a faster rate

[armorand]

I had always thought a crowfoot to Westbrook via Sarcee would be nice and a John Laurie/ McKnight cross town, and a 372,373 as an additional brt to the route 72/73 making it easier to get around at a faster rate

Imagine how much people could be moved onto buse's doing crosstowns, if Calgary Transit actually did it! Then, trains might not be like sardine cans at 8am or 4pm

[LRT]

Planers need to do a half ass job, so they can go back and half ass fix it, over and over again.....job security..

[highfive]

I've heard that so many times with Calgary Transit, "so they can go back and half ass fix it." While it cannot be easy to run a bus route network in an ever changing city; Calgary does have some prioritization issues.

The lack of prioritization leads to tons of duplication on some routes with spotty service on other routes. An example of too much duplication might be in Montgomery where one finds route 1,10,40,305,407 and 408 all at the intersection of Bowness Road and Home Road. Market Mall might also be see too much duplication.

Duplication isn't the only the only issue as it is precipitated by feeder routes completing large one way loops. The feeder bus network seems to be set up to serve the smallest area possible while wasting as much time as possible. It seems that its set up to utilize smaller capacity buses. which is partly to blame for a somewhat inefficient route network.

Revisions should focus on point to point service minimizing and eliminating as many one way loops as possible. Instead of investing resources in route 118 in Hidden Valley, why not put those resources into a route more useful such as the route 8? Or even curtail the route 114 in the evenings and instead run the route 430 more often? The benefit is using service hours to the greatest extent to avoid routes covering a very short distance but through poor route design using alot of time.

An ideal route revision might be the route 2 out to Aspen Woods on a 60 min. frequency in the evenings assuming the circumstances are pre West LRT. (most route 2's short turned at Sirocco Terminal.

I know my advocation is based mostly on two routes in the same geographic area but there are many examples where there is greater benefit with running more direct service with a conventional bus rather than inefficient service with a community shuttle.

I will give Winnipeg Transit and "Bill Menzies" props as their route network and schedules work very well.

[armorand]

I've heard that so many times with Calgary Transit, "so they can go back and half ass fix it." While it cannot be easy to run a bus route network in an ever changing city; Calgary does have some prioritization issues.

The lack of prioritization leads to tons of duplication on some routes with spotty service on other routes. An example of too much duplication might be in Montgomery where one finds route 1,10,40,305,407 and 408 all at the intersection of Bowness Road and Home Road. Market Mall might also be see too much duplication.

Duplication isn't the only the only issue as it is precipitated by feeder routes completing large one way loops. The feeder bus network seems to be set up to serve the smallest area possible while wasting as much time as possible. It seems that its set up to utilize smaller capacity buses. which is partly to blame for a somewhat inefficient route network.

Revisions should focus on point to point service minimizing and eliminating as many one way loops as possible. Instead of investing resources in route 118 in Hidden Valley, why not put those resources into a route more useful such as the route 8? Or even curtail the route 114 in the evenings and instead run the route 430 more often? The benefit is using service hours to the greatest extent to avoid routes covering a very short distance but through poor route design using alot of time.

An ideal route revision might be the route 2 out to Aspen Woods on a 60 min. frequency in the evenings assuming the circumstances are pre West LRT. (most route 2's short turned at Sirocco Terminal.

I know my advocation is based mostly on two routes in the same geographic area but there are many examples where there is greater benefit with running more direct service with a conventional bus rather than inefficient service with a community shuttle.

I will give Winnipeg Transit and "Bill Menzies" props as their route network and schedules work very well.

Agreed. CT 137. Rode it once at 11pm, Crowfoot Station, just me and the driver. Winnipeg Transit Route 24, Polo Park, 11pm, about 6-7 passengers. They should start doing actual routes in the Northwest, it'd help out quite a bit! I just wish Calgary didn't sprawl out so much, so that transit planning could be a bit more efficient.

Our base routes do quite well. Route 14 piles up like crazy, especially since it's one of the fastest routes to Downtown. Route 26 (closest to my house) serves a college and acts as a link between the North End and Polo Park, so theres always people on it. Schedule might be early 5 minutes alot, but still good service!

Bill Menzies is our transit planner. Talked with him a few times, and he said if I have any ideas, I can send them to the transit planning department at WT! I already sent him a bunch on Rapid Transit, IKEA service, etc etc. Now to just wait for Winnipeg to develop some more, so that I can find areas that need service, then elaborate on Google Maps

[Paratransit Fellow]

If anyones interested, I made a Google Maps idea for Chestermere Transit.

https://maps.google....061111,0.169086

Chestermere Express stops along 17th Avenue for CT connections, with a terminus at Franklin LRT, for frequency reasons. Also stops at a Garden Centre along the way. 30 peak, 60 mid-day.

The central commercial area (Windermere? Winnpeg reminder much? ) will host the transit mall/centre, with four local routes, and the express service. All are synchronized to meet there every 45 minutes. I barely remember my last trip there (2010), but I remember a few big-box stores developed there for sure.

Route 1 - Covers West Chestermere, commerce zone at Rainbow/Merganser

Route 2 - Covers lakefront. Can be extended into North Chestermere residential area upon completion of construction.

Route 3 - Feeder on West Chestermere, covers Cove Drive area, along with residential as well.

Route 4 - Jeeze, why would they build a high school in such an uncentralized location? Grr... anyways. SE Chestermere is covered, along with the high school. When school is out of session, the terminus moves to 241A/Lakeview. Expansion to Kinnburgh in future.

Buses:

- 6 Arbocs (33% spares, 4 active daily)

- 3 40ft buses (33% spares, 2 needed for peak express service).

Thoughts guys?

PS. Park and Ride near artificial lake, for Strathmore/rural transit riders. Lets say... 150 stalls. $5 fee should do the trick. 150 (5) = $750/day, which could either offset the express service, or route 4.

I would forget about running out to the high school at all but loop to the south into Kinneburgh . A new health centre / urgent care centre is under construction in the kinniburgh area and it would sustain route 4. Meanwhile, the High School is in a different municipality and there is little support from the schoolboard to include travel on transit buses ( they get more transportation funding for Yellow bus)

[armorand]

I would forget about running out to the high school at all but loop to the south into Kinneburgh . A new health centre / urgent care centre is under construction in the kinniburgh area and it would sustain route 4. Meanwhile, the High School is in a different municipality and there is little support from the schoolboard to include travel on transit buses ( they get more transportation funding for Yellow bus)

Sadly, Google Maps does updates once in a blue moon for the Alberta region (Winnipeg had theirs updated twice in the past year, even though its 2/3 of Calgarys size and not expanding every day). I'm not even aware of what and what isn't developed

I did leave a layover spot for Route 4 using whatever I saw on the map that was developed, but yeah when its built, it can definitely be extended that way.

It is? Ah, had no idea. Wouldn't students want to go out for lunch though, or home/work during their spares? It'd be worth having the link from the high school to Chestermere. My high school (graduated last year), always had at least 5+ students waiting/getting off in front of the school via the bus while on spare (end of school/before school, I'd say 15-25%, 60-120 kids, used transit). I even used it to go get lunch down the street, or to drop by my work, during school hours! A bus link shouldn't interfere with the school bus service though unless Chestermere wants to run school charters using transit buse's as a promotion tool for public transportation (example: Calgary 7xx routes or Winnipeg 4xx routes), so mid-day school runs?