9623 replies to this topic

[talldude123]

Keep in mind most of the fleet is close to retirement. Would it really make sense to put GPS on a bus that might only be with BC Transit for ~4 years? I could understand adding GPS to the newer deckers and the Novabuses though, they still have a good 10 years left until retirement. 

[Mike K.]

The entire fleet is in a constant rotation of old and new buses. At any point in time there will be buses about to get scrapped and buses newly delivered. Let's just get this done already and bring us out of 1998.

[VicHockeyFan]

Keep in mind most of the fleet is close to retirement. Would it really make sense to put GPS on a bus that might only be with BC Transit for ~4 years? I could understand adding GPS to the newer deckers and the Novabuses though, they still have a good 10 years left until retirement. 

 

I think it's completely unnecessary.  But having said that, any system installed should be suitable to be removed and moved to other units as required.  I presume like they can remove the two-way radios now.

[Greg]

Keep in mind most of the fleet is close to retirement. Would it really make sense to put GPS on a bus that might only be with BC Transit for ~4 years? I could understand adding GPS to the newer deckers and the Novabuses though, they still have a good 10 years left until retirement. 

I "put GPS on" my road bike before I go out for a ride, then put it on my commuter bike when I'm done. I carry it around on my iPhone. I run with it on my wrist. I don't understand why we're making this seem like some huge infrastructure project.

[talldude123]

40-foot conventional buses (New Flyer, Nova) have a 20-year lifespan, which means the 1994s will be retiring at the end of this year. The latest buses BC Transit got, 9751, 9753, 9755 will be retired by the end of 2016. Community shuttle are different, they only have an 8-year lifespan, and no rebuilds allowed. 


Regarding the GPS', it would make sense to have GPS enabled on the Novas for sure. They're ready to go essentially. 

[Coreyburger]

40-foot conventional buses (New Flyer, Nova) have a 20-year lifespan, which means the 1994s will be retiring at the end of this year. The latest buses BC Transit got, 9751, 9753, 9755 will be retired by the end of 2016. Community shuttle are different, they only have an 8-year lifespan, and no rebuilds allowed.

 

Older 40' have a 20-year span, any new 40' are bought on a 12-year lifespan. This avoids a costly rebuild at about 15 years and is keeping with the newer thinking in purchasing transit buses (the US Federal Transit Administration now uses 12 years for all buses they fund).

[Mike K.]

Why is the life of a newer bus nearly 50% of older models? Doesn't that go against the whole environmental aspect of public transit?

[sebberry]

Keeps the bus industry happy? 

 

Same reason I'm waiting for my 30 year old electric dryer to crap out so I can replace it with one that will probably last 10 years? 

[Coreyburger]

Why is the life of a newer bus nearly 50% of older models? Doesn't that go against the whole environmental aspect of public transit?

 

Newer buses are built lighter than older buses and technology keeps changing. Plus they have found that it is cheaper to run newer buses, so economically it makes more sense.

Edited by Coreyburger, 26 April 2014 - 02:34 PM.

[CriticalMass]

As for the high cost per bus to install the automatic call system please remember you are dealing with a crown corporation. First there will need to be a year or two of studies to choose the right system (although this should have been done by now as this issue came to light two tears ago). Then instead of having the new order buses from the past several years come from the factory with a system installed an after market product will have to be fitted to the fleet. There could also be a delay to allow friends and relatives from the inner circle to get their fingers in the pie to make some money.

Looks like this corporation is run as a reactive entity rather than a proactive one. If ran proactively this system could have been introduced gradually over several years as buses are retired and new ones are added, instead of having to retrofit an entire fleet. I understand the initial human rights decision came down in Toronto in 2007. That's a 7 year head start they were given and squandered away.

[HB]

I was in Los Angeles for the past week and the transit buses there have the automatic system for calling out stops...nothing news worthy but what I did find interesting is that there is a speaker on the outside of the bus by the door which calls out where the bus is going to people standing at the bus stop

[Mike K.]

Very nice. Did you snap any photos of the system components in the bus?

[HB]

I tried but it is illegal to take photos inside any transit vehicles inluding the subway trains.

I have a short video and photo inside a subway station but was told by a Sherrif not to use the flash in the station that is illegal too.

[sebberry]

That's one way to ban selfies on busses. 

 

Sheesh. 

 

Hint to California lawmakers: Terrorists know what the inside of a bus looks like.  They don't have to photograph it to plan their attack.

[VicHockeyFan]

That's one way to ban selfies on busses. 

 

Sheesh. 

 

Hint to California lawmakers: Terrorists know what the inside of a bus looks like.  They don't have to photograph it to plan their attack.

 

No kidding eh.  Lame.

[HB]

its the same in Toronto
You are not allowed to take photos on the TTC rides
I was filming from inside a street car and was told that it is not allowed

[HB]

About 930pm tonight the red light camera at Shelbourne/Hillside flashed and took a photo of the BC Transit 27 bus running a red light as it sped throught the intersection.

 

I wonder if BC transit will get a ticket or if they are exempt from running red lights and exempt from these tickets

 

They do it all the time but this is the first time I saw the camera thing happen to one.

 

This will be concrete proof with a photo of teh bus in teh middle of teh intersection and a red light

[sebberry]

Did the bus enter the intersection on a yellow?

[HB]

It was in the middle must have entered on a red because I believe that is what trips the camera. Its a point of no return

[sebberry]

I think the camera is triggered by the vehicle leaving the sensor as it enters the intersection. 

 

At the same speed, it would take a bus about 3 times longer than a car to clear the sensor, so it could have entered on a late yellow, but the back of the bus wouldn't have cleared the sensor until the light went red.

 

Anyway, I remember a news story on Translink's red light tickets and recall that the drivers were never made to pay the tickets.