9628 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

I was on a bus yesterday heading into town that stopped annunciating for somer reason. I then looked at NextRide and it had disappeared from NextRide as well.

 

Then on the return leg the bus also didn't annunciate, and had a strange way of naming bus stops.

 

[lanforod]

lol. That's a loop back address. DHCP error probably.

[sebberry]

There's no place like 127.0.0.1

[Mattjvd]

CUPE 7000, which represents 900 SkyTrain workers, had threatened to walk off the job at 5 a.m. Tuesday for three days if they couldn’t reach a deal with TransLink subsidiary the BC Rapid Transity Company (BCRTC).
That proved to be unnecessary as the two sides reached a breakthrough after a marathon 18-hour bargaining session, just minutes before the strike would have taken effect.
CUPE 7000 president Tony Rebelo acknowledged that there would be some SkyTrain delays Tuesday morning as the system got up to speed.

https://globalnews.c...strike-averted/

Good on both sides for putting the time in at the table to get people moving again.

[Cats4Hire]

 

Getting off the trails from a ride and onto the bus with your bike will soon be a reality. This month, BC Transit will start phasing in new bike racks to accommodate bikes with tires up to three inches (75 millimeters) across the province.

The use of bike racks is increasing in popularity with transit riders across the province, who use them for a variety of reasons–as part of their commute, as a first mile and last mile solution to help connect them door to door, or as a convenient way to go home with their bike after a trail ride. However, bikes come in a number of sizes, and BC Transit’s customers expressed their need for a bike rack that could accommodate bikes with tires larger than the previous two inch (50.8 mm) maximum allowance.

“The results from our testing indicated that we can safely approve this wide tire bike rack for BC Transit’s customers”, says Jeff Coleman, supervisor, fleet engineering at BC Transit.

Many different bike racks were tested throughout the process and the model that best met BC Transit’s needs for safety and customer convenience was the Apex 2TM by Sportworks. Customers regularly ask about racks that can hold three bikes, and BC Transit tested various three-bike racks. However, the three-bike racks did not meet BC Transit’s safety expectations due to issues with the headlight obstruction. For accessibility and safety reasons, bikes cannot come on board, so bike racks are positioned on the front exterior of each bus.

Rolling out across B.C.

Currently, buses in Whistler, Nanaimo, Kamloops and Squamish are already operating with the bike racks. The bike racks in these communities are the Sportwork model with plastic holders for the bike tires. The new model that will be rolled out province wide, and eventually replace the Sportwork model in these four communities, will look more like our current bike rack with metal tire holders.

In these communities, customers are quick to give high fives and praise for the bike racks. Lewis McCormack, a new Whistler resident, explained that the bike racks on the buses in Whistler are much more accommodating than in his homeland of Scotland.

“I’ve had mechanical [issues] before and I can’t walk or pedal home, so I have to bus home [with my bike],” McCormack shared. “Back home, in Scotland, try to get a mountain bike on a carrier, it’s not good. Here, perfect. Easy peasy.”

The rollout in the rest of BC Transit’s communities will occur in two ways–new buses will be delivered to BC Transit with the new bike racks installed, while existing buses in the fleet will have the bike racks replaced as they are damaged. BC Transit’s fleet size includes 1080 buses and approximately 914 of those buses have bike racks. While nearly 200 new buses will be purchased with the bike rack installed over the next two years, it is likely to take several years before all buses are equipped with the new rack. According to Coleman, passengers may experience some inconsistency in sizes during the transition time and should plan their transit trips with their bikes accordingly.

The new bike racks are evidence of just how important customer feedback is to delivering the best possible experience. If you have feedback for BC Transit, connect online at https://www.bctransit.com.

https://www.bctransi...d=1529707301154

 

The current bike racks always seem kinda awkward to me. I regularly see people struggling with them too so hopefully these are easier. 

[Victoria Watcher]

oh ya that's neat.  see more and more bikes with those huge wide wheels nowadays.  i guess technology has made them lighter.

[Mike K.]

They’re usually electrically powered or assisted, no? With those huge tires?

[Nparker]

Does this mean that the rest of the passengers will have to wait for even more cyclists to load and unload their bikes? Perhaps others should lobby transit to accommodate their oversized cargo carrying needs, for the basic $2.50 fare.

[Cats4Hire]

Does this mean that the rest of the passengers will have to wait for even more cyclists to load and unload their bikes? Perhaps others should lobby transit to accommodate their oversized cargo carrying needs, for the basic $2.50 fare.

"No oversize cargo on top deck" for all those Swartz Bay trips

[Nparker]

"No oversize cargo on top deck" for all those Swartz Bay trips

Maybe just use the bike racks for that then.

[kenmuir]

Not that that policy ever stops people from carrying luggage up to the top deck, from my experience on the two times that I've taken the 70 back.

[Cats4Hire]

Since when can the 31 be double deck? Hopefully the 75 can so they can run those on 31/75 trips in May-June and September (I'm pretty sure Oakridge can't handle them since it can barely handle regular buses so I doubt the 30 has them)

[Victoria Watcher]

[Cats4Hire]

Both guesses for the number 1 ridden route are the 50. Interesting how other than that the guesses are completely different https://twitter.com/...361062640611329

[Brantastic]

I feel like I saw a list before the hand the 6 at #1 but the list was from over ten years ago.

[Brantastic]

https://www.bctransi...s/1507213421003

^ page 30 lists the busiest routes, with 6, 27/28, and 14 as the top three. However, it’s from 2011 and apparently the 6 used to go into Esquimalt which it no longer does. The 50 was in 7th place though with the amount of development in Langford, especially near Langford Exchange, and the bus lanes, I’d expect it to be a bit higher.

[Victoria Watcher]

i'm not sure why we call 27/28 different routes when 85% or more of their length before they diverge is along the same corridors.  now it's been this way since the 70's but still.

[Nparker]

... it's been this way since the 70's but still.

To be fair, in the 70s those routes were called 927 & 928. 

[Victoria Watcher]

were they always the 9 designation?  every run?  you might be right.  but also for some time the 28 did not go into town.  it just circled somewhere around the mackenzie and shelbourne area and just collected passengers from the 27 (927?).  then in rush only it went into / out of town.

 

douglas was also the 930 designation.   at least sometimes.  the yellow on this sign was used during the "9" designation.

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 December 2019 - 06:43 PM.

[Cats4Hire]

i'm not sure why we call 27/28 different routes when 85% or more of their length before they diverge is along the same corridors. now it's been this way since the 70's but still.

Probably same reason 30/31, 81/82 and 87/88 are. They seem to be getting rid of the "_A" routing for some reason (2 Willows, proposing 22 use A routing and add 23, etc) so I guess it's the only way to really distinguish them.