More Bus Moves

[Elkmn]

I think the extra artics for np might be because a lot of the 4300s were used up for the thorndale-howard red line shuttle which offset the amount of artics for service on the 22, 146, 147 and 151 so when they do the whole thing again next weekend they want more articulated buses available.

[Mr.NewFlyer1279]

2 hours ago, jajuan said:

So for K a shedding of excess after recent 8350s delivered and for NP a tradeoff of a few 40 footers in exchange for artics. Meanwhile, strangely enough FG got a bit more New Flyer in equipment.

these 1630’s we got at F are on their last leg some of em keep going down for weeks and come back while others just bite the dust, it’s about time F saw something under 1600 besides 1700 and 1735

[Elkmn]

I was on a 1500 on the 80 and it sounded like it wanted to die.

[jajuan]

On 4/15/2024 at 6:17 PM, Mr.NewFlyer1279 said:

these 1630’s we got at F are on their last leg some of em keep going down for weeks and come back while others just bite the dust, it’s about time F saw something under 1600 besides 1700 and 1735

Sounds like FG needs to get more Novas again. I never understood them giving up some of the 8350s they got in the first rounds of deliveries and never really getting them back or being made a majority NF garage again (even though I admit liking New Flyer buses in general better than Novas) after having become a majority Nova one. Maybe the next move after C is hitting FG again with 8350s in the interim while NP is still getting operators trained for the collision alert system that's equipped on 8350s. There's already history of bus operations bosses doing this with other garages that got 8350s during the period that K was still getting trained.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

3 hours ago, jajuan said:

Sounds like FG needs to get more Novas again. I never understood them giving up some of the 8350s they got in the first rounds of deliveries and never really getting them back or being made a majority NF garage again (even though I admit liking New Flyer buses in general better than Novas) after having become a majority Nova one. Maybe the next move after C is hitting FG again with 8350s in the interim while NP is still getting operators trained for the collision alert system that's equipped on 8350s. There's already history of bus operations bosses doing this with other garages that got 8350s during the period that K was still getting trained.

1744 is now forest glen. I prefer forest glen give their novas away to garages needing more buses like Kedzie. Give them 8240-8259 and we can get 1000-1015 back yet they’ll still have more novas than flyers they give us

[artthouwill]

3 hours ago, jajuan said:

Sounds like FG needs to get more Novas again. I never understood them giving up some of the 8350s they got in the first rounds of deliveries and never really getting them back or being made a majority NF garage again (even though I admit liking New Flyer buses in general better than Novas) after having become a majority Nova one. Maybe the next move after C is hitting FG again with 8350s in the interim while NP is still getting operators trained for the collision alert system that's equipped on 8350s. There's already history of bus operations bosses doing this with other garages that got 8350s during the period that K was still getting trained.

If any garage can prolong the life of a junnk bus, it's F.   It's a garage that can get away with not using any New Flyers on the weekends.   Artics excluded, I don't think K or 103rd can pull that feat off, and certainly not 77th,  74th, or C.   

While I suppose future deliveries of 8350s will wind up at 77th and 74th, perhaps one or both garages will send a mix of 1000s and 7900s to F, with some 1000s headed to North Park.  I think F will continue to see more option 3 and 4 1600s until they crap out or retire.

[Mr.NewFlyer1279]

9 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

I think F will continue to see more option 3 and 4 1600s until they crap out or retire.

this i can 100% agree on…….at the end of the day FG is a retirement garage😂😂😂 with C continuing to see uptick in 8350’s being delivered they’ll definitely send those flyers to another garage or the boneyard……103rd and K have the least amount of flyers at 60 something a piece…….near future i can see the rest of K’s 1600/1700’s winding up at F considering 1700 and 1735 are here we recently got back 1005, 1008 and 1016 from K so that’s a possible sign there might be another huge move between the novas and flyers for the 2 garages 

[jajuan]

17 hours ago, Mr.NewFlyer1279 said:

this i can 100% agree on…….at the end of the day FG is a retirement garage😂😂😂 with C continuing to see uptick in 8350’s being delivered they’ll definitely send those flyers to another garage or the boneyard……103rd and K have the least amount of flyers at 60 something a piece…….near future i can see the rest of K’s 1600/1700’s winding up at F considering 1700 and 1735 are here we recently got back 1005, 1008 and 1016 from K so that’s a possible sign there might be another huge move between the novas and flyers for the 2 garages 

I don't see that just yet, at least as far as I goes when 77th and NP still has such a high number of 1000s. Heck 77th still manages to have close to 180. If the overall goal is to get the 1000s down to 400 to maybe 430 at most based on CTA's past shared plans to do a second 1000s rehab, I don't see K realistically getting squeezed much further when 77th alone still sits on close to half of what they want to get the 1000s down to systemwide. 

 

18 hours ago, artthouwill said:

If any garage can prolong the life of a junnk bus, it's F.   It's a garage that can get away with not using any New Flyers on the weekends.   Artics excluded, I don't think K or 103rd can pull that feat off, and certainly not 77th,  74th, or C.   

While I suppose future deliveries of 8350s will wind up at 77th and 74th, perhaps one or both garages will send a mix of 1000s and 7900s to F, with some 1000s headed to North Park.  I think F will continue to see more option 3 and 4 1600s until they crap out or retire.

Yeah 77th especially needs to be evened out more looking at how it's still sitting on 177 1000s. NP may come before one of those in some capacity considering the reports that operators there are currently in training for the collision alert system. And FG probably could get by with resting the 1000s on weekends, but it doesn't. The typical routes that normally see them still get them on weekends among those routes that have weekend service.

[Elkmn]

On 4/19/2024 at 11:10 AM, jajuan said:

Sounds like FG needs to get more Novas again. 

I could not agree with this more. FG runs a lot of low use routes but some routes like the 77, 80 and 81 regularly run full capacity buses, and I'm not a mechanic or bus expert, but I dont think regularly packing up dying buses built with weak frames is a good idea, especially every day. I wouldn't care if fg lost the rest of their 7900s as long as they got at least half of the 8700s.

[Busjack]

On 4/19/2024 at 11:10 AM, jajuan said:

Sounds like FG needs to get more Novas again. I never understood them giving up some of the 8350s they got in the first rounds of deliveries and never really getting them back or being made a majority NF garage again ...

 

2 hours ago, Elkmn said:

I could not agree with this more....

@jajuan about made the point, and @Elkmn didn't quote that part. After FG got essentially 8233-8324 8342-8349, and then the first 8350s, someone sent 8260-8324 (65 buses) to K [all numbers approximate]. I don't know what the justification was or whether it can be undone. I also don't see the justification for packing the current deliveries at C, unless CTA has to get them out of SS and NPisn't ready to take them yet.

[YoungBusLover]

14 hours ago, Busjack said:

 

@jajuan about made the point, and @Elkmn didn't quote that part. After FG got essentially 8233-8324 8342-8349, and then the first 8350s, someone sent 8260-8324 (65 buses) to K [all numbers approximate]. I don't know what the justification was or whether it can be undone. I also don't see the justification for packing the current deliveries at C, unless CTA has to get them out of SS and NPisn't ready to take them yet.

That mystery was debunked last year in regards to K getting Novas. A combination of option 3-4 #1000s getting sidelined for structural integrity. Those 65 were just the tip of the Iceburg for what I call  familiarizing more operators at K with the difference of bus. C Also falls in the same boat with option 3-4 models getting sidelined for structural integrity. It's no secret as to why C and K received newer equipment the way they did. It's a supply demand thing going on as of late. C is just about even when it comes to #1000s and #8350s. There's about 98-99 New buses that out number the 94-95 Flyers left at the garage. NP being next in line doesn't surprise me one bit. I just wonder how many Flyers will get sidelined/ transfered from up there to other garages around the system excluding FG. 

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, YoungBusLover said:

That mystery was debunked last year in regards to K getting Novas. A combination of option 3-4 #1000s getting sidelined for structural integrity. Those 65 were just the tip of the Iceburg for what I call  familiarizing more operators at K with the difference of bus. C Also falls in the same boat with option 3-4 models getting sidelined for structural integrity. It's no secret as to why C and K received newer equipment the way they did. It's a supply demand thing going on as of late. C is just about even when it comes to #1000s and #8350s. There's about 98-99 New buses that out number the 94-95 Flyers left at the garage. NP being next in line doesn't surprise me one bit. I just wonder how many Flyers will get sidelined/ transfered from up there to other garages around the system excluding FG. 

I was commenting :

• only on that FG lost the 65 buses, not why K needed them.
• why C was now getting buses, when by saying "C is just about even when it comes to #1000s and #8350s" you left out that it also has 8100s.

[Elkmn]

Ss is probably overloaded with all the 8350s that have been sitting around for a while and the 4300 refurb, and because c runs a lot of routes through downtown/river north, they probably want those routes to have the nicest looking buses.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

On 3/1/2024 at 8:05 PM, YoungBusLover said:

Pretty much what has returned will stay for the long haul but quite a few have been deemed unusable due to the beams and suspension showing severe cases of rusting. #4002 and #4310 are among several artics that have been parked due to rusting issues. 

4310 has been placed back in service 

[jajuan]

On 4/22/2024 at 10:33 AM, Busjack said:

I was commenting :

• only on that FG lost the 65 buses, not why K needed them.
• why C was now getting buses, when by saying "C is just about even when it comes to #1000s and #8350s" you left out that it also has 8100s.

Though in a way, the 8100s being about 8 to 9 years old kind of makes that last part a bit meaningless especially when you factor in that they spent a good number of years being basically the only 40 footers used on the 53, 54 and 54B. As we've all pointed out, CTA is the position it's in on the bus side because it's gotten itself back into the pattern of holding on to buses when they've gotten past their retirement age  again when the big bosses had been saying they were going to break that pattern. Sure the 7900s aren't there yet, but the majority of the artics are, and adding that to the fact that CTA already said it was keeping about 400 of the 1000s and putting them through a second rehab says the 7900s will likely also stick around a good amount of time beyond retirement before we see their replacements come on scene.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

1107 and 1744 have returned to north park. 

[Busjack]

4 hours ago, jajuan said:

Though in a way, the 8100s being about 8 to 9 years old kind of makes that last part a bit meaningless

Not really, considering that 74th as only essentially had 8000s and NP had no Novas. Hence, your argument doesn't cover that essentially 9, X9, 49, X49, 55,62, and 63 have relied on older equipment than C has.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

On 4/29/2024 at 1:47 PM, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

1107 and 1744 have returned to north park. 

1798 is back there too

[jajuan]

On 4/29/2024 at 5:11 PM, Busjack said:

Not really, considering that 74th as only essentially had 8000s and NP had no Novas. Hence, your argument doesn't cover that essentially 9, X9, 49, X49, 55,62, and 63 have relied on older equipment than C has.

Well I'm speaking more in terms of average fleet age, and K still has artics which are the same the same age as the option 3 and 4 1000s. So my argument would actually apply to each of them as well based on the details you pointed out. Yeah the Novas got from the FG brought average fleet age down a bit more, but not to a level that's anything to jump up and down about. Plus it further increases the diminishing of gains FG had in receiving a higher number of 8350s. Which brings me back to my point that putting FG back where it started in terms of NF count still doesn't make sense especially when a good chunk of what was gained is worse in terms of the rust issue among the Option 3s and 4s. 

[Chammon Moore]

1904 C to F currently on the 85 possibly a loan

 

[busfan2847]

18 hours ago, Chammon Moore said:

1904 C to F currently on the 85 possibly a loan

 

Back at C today on 66

[Chammon Moore]

Loans as of today at FG 

8294 K to F currently on the 56

8634 K to F currently on the 76

8637 K to F currently on the 85

Also, another loan 

1006 K to 77th currently on the 3

1166 P to F currently on the 81W

1184 P to F currently on the 91

1587 P to F currently on the 76 

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

All of the following are now at 103rd

From Forest Glen: 1028, 1595

From 74th: 1114, 1115, 1473, 1504, 1525, 1564, 8057, 8192

From 77th: 1270, 1276, 1294, 1299, 1360, 7931, 7960, 7973, 7987, 7988, 7994, 7997, 8559

From Kedzie: 8307, 8317

It is not known why all these buses have moved from their garages to 103rd. This could be another pilot for new fareboxes? As none of the buses from Chicago have transferred yet. These are believed to be loans, and I will keep track of them.

On 5/6/2024 at 4:59 PM, Chammon Moore said:

Loans as of today at FG 

8294 K to F currently on the 56

8634 K to F currently on the 76

8637 K to F currently on the 85

Also, another loan 

1006 K to 77th currently on the 3

1166 P to F currently on the 81W

1184 P to F currently on the 91

1587 P to F currently on the 76 

8294, 8634, 8637 remain at Forest Glen.

1006 back at Kedzie and 1184 back at North Park.

1166 and 1587 have not run since 5/8 and 5/6, respectively.

8024 and 8198, at 77th on Monday, are back at 74th.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

Just now, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

All of the following are now at 103rd

From Forest Glen: 1028, 1595

From 74th: 1114, 1115, 1473, 1504, 1525, 1564, 8057, 8192

From 77th: 1270, 1276, 1294, 1299, 1360, 7931, 7960, 7973, 7987, 7988, 7994, 7997, 8559

From Kedzie: 8307, 8317

It is not known why all these buses have moved from their garages to 103rd. This could be another pilot for new fareboxes? As none of the buses from Chicago have transferred yet. These are believed to be loans, and I will keep track of them.

8294, 8634, 8637 remain at Forest Glen.

1006 back at Kedzie and 1184 back at North Park.

1166 and 1587 have not run since 5/8 and 5/6, respectively.

8024 and 8198, at 77th on Monday, are back at 74th.

Kedzie is having a bus shortage apparently, and some of these extra buses could be used at Kedzie to make up.

[renardo870]

4 hours ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

All of the following are now at 103rd

From Forest Glen: 1028, 1595

From 74th: 1114, 1115, 1473, 1504, 1525, 1564, 8057, 8192

From 77th: 1270, 1276, 1294, 1299, 1360, 7931, 7960, 7973, 7987, 7988, 7994, 7997, 8559

I saw 1028 today running SB OUT OF SERVICE along Doty Road as I was riding on I-94 and I saw 7997 as a 15 Jeffrey Local going NB at 91st. It was definitely interesting to see today.