New Express Routes Coming Soon.

[MetroShadow]

13 hours ago, Busjack said:

Tonight illustrates the problem. The SB Edens was packed (radio said travel time 1 hour) and i saw a 626 bus (6235) on Skokie Road in Wilmette.

Does dispatch send a message to the driver to get off the expressway, or did he decide the case was hopeless while approaching Exit 34A?

A combination of both - if the driver knows how bad the Edens is, they'll deviate and make best time to the Swift. This has been a thing for years.

[west towns]

Was at rosemont cta station and no sign of construction going on.  Wonder whats the issue the notice on paces website was up for over a month

[MetroShadow]

13 minutes ago, west towns said:

Was at rosemont cta station and no sign of construction going on.  Wonder whats the issue the notice on paces website was up for over a month

This process takes time.

[west towns]

Hope they get started soon the new I90 services are supposed to start later this year

[Busjack]

12 hours ago, west towns said:

Hope they get started soon the new I90 services are supposed to start later this year

The next bunch, not until the construction is done, including construction of park and irides, as well as the tollway itself.

[Busjack]

The link on the I-90 page now has a brochure on the new route structure.

New on the list of routes is "Route 603: Elgin Transit Center – Rosemont Express"

Other routes previously noted are:

605 Randall Road-Schaumburg

607 Ramdall Road-Rosemont

and connectors

604 Wheeling-Schaumburg (didn't this used to be Palatine-Schaumburg, but anyway, to Dundee Road--map seems to indicate to Buffalo Grove Road or Wheeling Road to Hintz; is short of the NCS station)

608 Roselle Schaumburg (local to Roselle Metra station)

Barrington Distributor

Schaumburg Distributor.

Query du jour: Is the upgrade to the Schaumburg Trolley related to the last?

600 and the routes above, all day 6 days a week.

 

 

[Pace831]

7 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Barrington Distributor

Schaumburg Distributor.

Query du jour: Is the upgrade to the Schaumburg Trolley related to the last?

The "distributors" were previously identified as Call-n-rides on the I-90 page you linked, though the Summer 2013 On Board Newsletter is the only reference I can find to that now.

On a related note, when I was riding the 606 after the service dog incident, I saw the digital signs for the "active traffic management system" alongside the road ready to be installed.

[Busjack]

4 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

The "distributors" were previously identified as Call-n-rides on the I-90 page you linked, though the Summer 2013 On Board Newsletter is the only reference I can find to that now.

They would be call and rides,but I raised the rhetorical question because it didn't seem worth it to advertise for 7 $480,000 buses just to replace the 3 or so trolleys now in Schaumburg. Unlike the current trolleys, the specs were the usual bus ones, including places for a fare box, Ventra reader, and IBS.

I can add the rhetorical question whether this would supersede the flex part of 895.

[Pace831]

Just now, Busjack said:

They would be call and rides,but I raised the rhetorical question because it didn't seem worth it to advertise for 7 $480,000 buses just to replace the 3 or so trolleys now in Schaumburg. Unlike the current trolleys, the specs were the usual bus ones, including places for a fare box, Ventra reader, and IBS.

The proposed call-n-rides are supposed to provide the last mile for workers using the I-90 routes, whereas the trolley is intended to serve visitors and shoppers. Since they serve different markets, Pace shouldn't be concerned about having both routes, especially since Schaumburg is paying for the trolley. It's a smart idea for Pace to procure buses that can be used for other services, especially in the hypothetical scenario that Schaumburg decides to stop subsidizing the trolley. What I still don't understand, and what you seem to be suggesting, is why they thought it was necessary to replace three buses with seven.

[Busjack]

33 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

What I still don't understand, and what you seem to be suggesting, is why they thought it was necessary to replace three buses with seven.

Basically when the 7 trolley replicas were obtained in 2000 (the budget says 6 are still on the roster), the trolley was run 7 days a week. When times got tough, Schaumburg cut it back. Now it runs every 20 to 30 minutes on F-Sa-Su, except during summer and the Christmas shopping season when it runs 7 days a week. Looks like 2 or 3 buses could cover the route,

I see your argument that it has timed stops at particular stores, but it could  also be like the Niles buses and make those stops while generally serving the area. Also, Schaumburg tried to get out from paying the fares by asking if fare boxes could be installed, and were told they could not. Although Schaumburg originally had to pay the entire cost, the deal now seems similar to Niles in that Pace picks up the usual 64%.

My point was that the systems seem to overlap, and I couldn't see why Pace advertised excessive specifications for just running the current trolley system.

 

 

 

[Busjack]

16 hours ago, Busjack said:

it didn't seem worth it to advertise for 7 $480,000 buses

Correction. I got confused late last night in using the cost of a CNG.

The correct number is $408,000 ($2.862 million/7), which, coincidentally, was the initial cost of a 40 foot Axess.

[Busjack]

Let me throw out these random hypothetical thoughts, based on the statement in the brochure "CMAQ...funding includes the cost of ... the purchase of new transit and distributor vehicles."

• Would a CMAQ grant obviate the observation that trolleys meeting bus specs would be too expensive?
• Could the usual 9 passenger community vehicle used for Call and Ride or shorty paratransit (used in Rosemont) really handle this load?
• Is it contemplated that there could be both a 905 Woodfield area trolley (existing route), and say a 904 distributor on a more flex route? After all, a 30 foot bus will have programmable signs.*
• I doubt that Pace would trust a contractor with the distributor service. Do  6 existing suburbans, 25 new ones, 7  trolleys and whatever is needed for the Barrington Rd. distributor make up the 40 buses for the Dundee garage?

_________

*Specification, page 75. Even the rear sign as on 6377 and up.

[west towns]

Does anyone know what vehicles the 190 cmaq grant is buying? 

[Busjack]

9 minutes ago, west towns said:

Does anyone know what vehicles the 190 cmaq grant is buying? 

Yes.

Why didn't you click on one of the many links here (such as the one I posted on Wednesday, above) or on the Pace I-90 page to get the brochure that said 25 Axess suburban buses? Then why don't you go to the New Eldorados topic and see that Pace831 saw them and took pictures of them?

[west towns]

Sorry about that. Way too many posts to keep track of

[MetroShadow]

9 hours ago, west towns said:

Sorry about that. Way too many posts to keep track of

The search functions on our glorious forum work. Here's a great cheat sheet.

[west towns]

On 8/7/2016 at 10:50 PM, MetroShadow said:

The search functions on our glorious forum work. Here's a great cheat sheet.

Thanks this helps

[BusHunter]

i took a tour of I-90 today and the toll road is getting closer to being done. There's no longer any deep excavations. there just seems to be a few bridge to do and some cement to lay and they are done. they have began the sign installations. The signs are going to be all digital. i took a shot of one

Then I was LMAO, they must be laying so much cement that they actually have a cement mill in the middle of the tollroad. I never seen that before. this was just east of Mount Prospect rd.

[Pace831]

10 hours ago, BusHunter said:

i took a tour of I-90 today and the toll road is getting closer to being done. There's no longer any deep excavations. there just seems to be a few bridge to do and some cement to lay and they are done. they have began the sign installations. The signs are going to be all digital. i took a shot of one

I saw another of those digital signs that hadn't been installed yet farther west. It was turned on as if they were testing it. The left (bus/flex) lane had a red X and the others said Speed Limit 50. I've seen a working example of this in Seattle where they change the speed limit based on traffic conditions. These signs are part of what Pace documents have called "Active Traffic Management System".

I also saw that the pedestrian tunnel under the Barrington Road ramp has been installed.

[west towns]

Wow this is exciting

  Glad Pace is finally moving up to the major leagues

[Busjack]

46 minutes ago, west towns said:

Glad Pace is finally moving up to the major leagues

Ir was either that or sit home with Tommy LaStella.

[BusHunter]

I'm still trying to figure out these 25 highway buses. If #6488 is on #610, then that says these buses might be going to River? Does River have the space? There is a slight chance that that was a NW bus as i saw a NW interline on the #610 the same day. Could be also that both garages will share the 25. I wonder if Pulse could work double duty out of that garage with the same buses? With the wraps they might have a problem as one's branded Express and the other Pulse. Probably it would have been smarter to brand the whole express network as Pulse and they could all share buses.

Then there's Dundee.... ???

[Busjack]

30 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

I'm still trying to figure out these 25 highway buses. If #6488 is on #610, then that says these buses might be going to River? Does River have the space? There is a slight chance that that was a NW bus as i saw a NW interline on the #610 the same day. Could be also that both garages will share the 25. I wonder if Pulse could work double duty out of that garage with the same buses? With the wraps they might have a problem as one's branded Express and the other Pulse. Probably it would have been smarter to brand the whole express network as Pulse and they could all share buses.

Then there's Dundee.... ???

610 is shared between R and NW. The 6440s on that route aren't from River.

And, as I mentioned earlier, they probably all go to Dundee at some point.

And Pulse can't use these buses because they don't have back doors. Aside from the original depiction* (buses had back doors and the Barney wraps, while these probably will need the Express wraps), consider the delay if a one door bus had to load and unload at Dempster, for instance.

____________

*FAQ 15 appears to have substituted a Photoshipped 6323 for the original drawing.

Embedded from the above.

[BusHunter]

3 hours ago, Busjack said:

610 is shared between R and NW. The 6440s on that route aren't from River.

And, as I mentioned earlier, they probably all go to Dundee at some point.

And Pulse can't use these buses because they don't have back doors. Aside from the original depiction* (buses had back doors and the Barney wraps, while these probably will need the Express wraps), consider the delay if a one door bus had to load and unload at Dempster, for instance.

____________

*FAQ 15 appears to have substituted a Photoshipped 6323 for the original drawing.

Embedded from the above.

Interesting, that sounds like maybe they will use existing Axess'. That's a pretty good photoshop. It almost makes me want to look up #6323 to see if it's real.

Also interesting in that none of the 25 Express Axess' don't yet have a wrap. You would think maybe they would just order them with an Express livery. Like #610 is not Express!!

I never could understand why #600 doesn't get the highway Axess' as it's a one stop ride on the highway. It probably will though soon enough. Question is will a route like #606 get them?

[Busjack]

10 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Also interesting in that none of the 25 Express Axess' don't yet have a wrap. You would think maybe they would just order them with an Express livery. Like #610 is not Express!!

That's a good question, as the MCI 6950s came with decals.

The only thing I figure is that the wraps came off 6377-8 when they went to North Shore. Maybe use of the "authorized to use the shoulder" legend is restricted as well as mandated by the State Police.

Question is will a route like #606 get them?

606 is not listed in the handout. More than likely, like 223, it is considered a local. 616 is listed.