New Express Routes Coming Soon.

[west towns]

At least it wasnt a double deck bus lol.   Would double decks be an optiom?  Guess if you havr a new garage built for them they might be

[Busjack]

1 minute ago, west towns said:

At least it wasnt a double deck bus lol.   Would double decks be an optiom?  Guess if you havr a new garage built for them they might be

When I was looking at Alexander Dennis, they say their bus is now down to 12'-10". Megabus ran on the Edens. However, passenger load wouldn't justify it, and it wouldn't unload quickly at Dempster.

[taxpayer]

Folks interested in the Pace express routes might want to attend OSA Friday night. Pace and Tollway staff will be speaking about the Pace routes using the I-90 Flexlane.  Meeting information OSA page. No charge to attend.

[west towns]

If anyone goes please providr an update. Thanks

[MetroShadow]

On 5/22/2017 at 5:55 PM, Busjack said:

 

While I'll stand on my prior answer, @west towns's comment did get me ruminating again.

Despite the old time CTA distinction (cited by @artthouwill) between Express and Limited, Pace seems to be using the following new nomenclature:

• Express: On expressway, direct to either transit centers or park and rides. Most likely to use OTR or express bus.
• Limited (such as 606, 616, and 626): On expressway, but local distribution on one end.
• Direct (672, 673, 675): No stops, but not on expressway.
• Pulse: Arterial rapid transit

Since 626 is now Skokie-Buffalo Grove Limited on the schedule (although the website still has references to Skokie Valley Limited), and the basic pattern will not be changed by this project (they aren't building a park and ride or transit center at Dundee Road and Skokie Blvd.), my guess is that the system stays Limited and uses transit buses. We thought that 6377-6378 were an omen, but they moved on to East Dundee.

895 is a strange bird: it is Express, but has a local component and uses EZ Riders. Maybe it will be something else, when the Central I-294 construction project is completed.

I tried, in my previous life, to enhance the distinction between limited/express and BOS/Premium services. Using the logic above, we have to distinguish between the levels of service, structure, and trips needed. 

With that said, I believe that the I-94 project could use any bus in the fleet, but that rides on what NS has (or will) get.

[BusHunter]

Damn just passed a pulse bus doing a cubs roundtripper. (#6521)

I got a video of it too in case no one believes me!! 

[Busjack]

18 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

I tried, in my previous life, to enhance the distinction between limited/express and BOS/Premium services. Using the logic above, we have to distinguish between the levels of service, structure, and trips needed. 

The Premium means $4, which appears to mean to the Loop, and of course there is Express Service to Popular Destinations, which is $4 unless solely paralleling a Pace route (222 to 221, and 387 to 386). All of the I-55 BOS routes have Express in their names.

 

[BusHunter]

2 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Damn just passed a pulse bus doing a cubs roundtripper. (#6521)

I got a video of it too in case no one believes me!! 

Here's the video on that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3KvIUlMkRI

[Pace831]

3 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Damn just passed a pulse bus doing a cubs roundtripper. (#6521)

I got a video of it too in case no one believes me!! 

I think South wrapped one of their highway buses for Guaranteed Rate Field express. At least I saw a wrapped bus on 361 last week,  it didn't have the roof fins so it wasn't a CNG, and wasn't a NABI either. So it does appear they are trying to use premium buses on event routes when possible. I wonder if SW uses the buses normally used for 856, although those are already wrapped for BOS and they have other wrapped buses.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

Here's the video on that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3KvIUlMkRI

 

40 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

I think South wrapped one of their highway buses for Guaranteed Rate Field express. At least I saw a wrapped bus on 361 last week,  it didn't have the roof fins so it wasn't a CNG, and wasn't a NABI either. So it does appear they are trying to use premium buses on event routes when possible. I wonder if SW uses the buses normally used for 856, although those are already wrapped for BOS and they have other wrapped buses.

Note that the bus in the video isn't wrapped.

[Pace831]

4 minutes ago, Busjack said:

 

Note that the bus in the video isn't wrapped.

True, but it will be when ready for Pulse service, so it doesn't make sense to put an express wrap on now. I only brought up wraps because Pace has a history of wrapping the event buses, like the one I saw on 361 which was a highway bus.

[BusHunter]

Well they can't wrap a Pulse bus for a Wrigley Field Express bus. The thought that comes to my mind, from riding the Pulse buses are they are branded Pulse buses inside as well as have the Pulse purple lighting. They very well can't show Cubs highlights on the Transit TV.

Interesting that South would wrap a highway bus for Gauranteed Rate Field because if they ever needed it for a highway bus and a Sox Express, it would most likely do the Sox Express.

[Busjack]

25 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Well they can't wrap a Pulse bus for a Wrigley Field Express bus. The thought that comes to my mind, from riding the Pulse buses are they are branded Pulse buses inside as well as have the Pulse purple lighting. They very well can't show Cubs highlights on the Transit TV.

I think both you and @Pace831 are making the wrong assumption about this. Wrapping apparently is cheap and is not permanent, these days. Even the local FastSigns has in its window that it will wrap your vehicle.

Note also, that the Axess buses do not have advertising frames on the outside of the bus. Those types of ads are now quarter wraps.

[BusHunter]

What is an interesting question is when the pulse buses get wrapped will they ever run anywhere besides the #270 or possibly the #250. 

You know how we said the other day that a I 90 bus cannot run anywhere else due to federal regulations. I wonder where Pace stands on Pulse equipment. Seems strange it can run somewhere else. I think only the fact that its not a Pulse bus officially yet is why we saw it, but it can still be argued that was its equipment.

[Busjack]

17 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

You know how we said the other day that a I 90 bus cannot run anywhere else due to federal regulations.

I don't think anyone said that or had any support for saying that. The best that can be said is that they were presumably purchased with that CMAQ grant. Unless someone does a FOIA, nobody here knows what the conditions of that CMAQ grant were. And if they were purchased out of general capital (as the I-55 buses were), you can't even say that.

[MetroShadow]

11 hours ago, Busjack said:

I don't think anyone said that or had any support for saying that. The best that can be said is that they were presumably purchased with that CMAQ grant. Unless someone does a FOIA, nobody here knows what the conditions of that CMAQ grant were. And if they were purchased out of general capital (as the I-55 buses were), you can't even say that.

I'll go a step further: any bus can be used at any time on any route. Will you see a MCI on a Heritage route on a Sunday? Heck no (even by default).

Would you have seen a 2390 on a West route? Heck yes.

it comes down to whether or not operations have the fleet to use, and whether you'd want the equipment on the road (but I'd defer to the agreement).

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

Would you have seen a 2390 on a West route? Heck yes.

Which brings up the closest analogy. Some of those buses were purchased for the NCS midday service (again presumably a grant),but when that was cancelled. they were on local NW routes until moved to S and W, and eventually NS.

[Pace831]

On 6/6/2017 at 11:00 AM, BusHunter said:

Interesting that South would wrap a highway bus for Gauranteed Rate Field because if they ever needed it for a highway bus and a Sox Express, it would most likely do the Sox Express.

Confirmed 6380 is wrapped. Saw it on the Tri State this morning.

[artthouwill]

3 hours ago, Pace831 said:

Confirmed 6380 is wrapped. Saw it on the Tri State this morning.

BOS service  on the TriState  is a ways off at best so it really  doesn't matter whether  they wrapped  an express bus.  Besides,  those bus can rack up a few more miles by being used  on the Sox Express. 

[Busjack]

7 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

BOS service  on the TriState  is a ways off at best

Related Daily Herald article on while AECOM was bounced in favor of WSP (formerly Parsons Brinckerhoff), AECOM got some contracts, including the Central Tri-State. As Mel Brooks would have said "it's good to be the consultant."

[BusHunter]

On 6/15/2017 at 2:26 PM, artthouwill said:

BOS service  on the TriState  is a ways off at best so it really  doesn't matter whether  they wrapped  an express bus.  Besides,  those bus can rack up a few more miles by being used  on the Sox Express. 

It could also be a matter of when South goes completely CNG, maybe they don't want to send a CNG to Sox park yet, because it could probably better serve the south side community staying closer to home base. They are still new and probably have a few kinks here and there. But really wrapping a highway bus takes it off it's intended service on the Tri state. I don't really see why they wrapped it. That would be like wrapping the Pulse bus for Wrigley I saw. They could have easily just nonchalantly put it in service for Sox park and no one would be the wiser. Now they have thrown up this red herring to HQ that hey maybe we don't need all these express buses in a time when the Edens BOS is coming soon. But leasing MCI's is probably easier even though it costs more in the long run than buying.

[Pace831]

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

It could also be a matter of when South goes completely CNG, maybe they don't want to send a CNG to Sox park yet, because it could probably better serve the south side community staying closer to home base. They are still new and probably have a few kinks here and there. But really wrapping a highway bus takes it off it's intended service on the Tri state. I don't really see why they wrapped it. That would be like wrapping the Pulse bus for Wrigley I saw. They could have easily just nonchalantly put it in service for Sox park and no one would be the wiser. Now they have thrown up this red herring to HQ that hey maybe we don't need all these express buses in a time when the Edens BOS is coming soon. But leasing MCI's is probably easier even though it costs more in the long run than buying.

Remember that South did get 6389 recently, presumably as a spare for the other 7. They can (and do) use a CNG or NABI as a spare for 877/888. I think all they're doing is trying to utilize all 8 express buses, probably the same reason they sometimes appear on 361. It's only one bus at issue so I don't think wrapping it implies anything about "too many express buses". As Busjack said, wraps can be done cheaply and easily. And this might also be a way to get the bus out on weekends when it would otherwise be stuck in the garage.

[Busjack]

13 hours ago, Pace831 said:

Remember that South did get 6389 recently, presumably as a spare for the other 7. They can (and do) use a CNG or NABI as a spare for 877/888. I think all they're doing is trying to utilize all 8 express buses, probably the same reason they sometimes appear on 361.

Until 6379-6385 were assigned, there were regularly 8 buses assigned (at least when the Nova Classics and 6900s were assigned). So, that got it back to the status quo ante, and, as you noted to cover 361.

13 hours ago, Pace831 said:

I don't think wrapping it implies anything about "too many express buses".

Correct. Wrigley Field Express wrap buses and Soldier Field Express buses run throughout the NW division all year long. The requirement is that a BOS bus must be identified as such. The converse isn't the case. Remember also when (while I-55 was short), a couple of 2760s were wrapped for BOS. That did not consign them to the junk heap when they were no longer so needed, and they ran on some local routes (such as 834) when they were wrapped.

14 hours ago, BusHunter said:

They are still new and probably have a few kinks here and there.

The 15500s have been in service for about a year, and Pace seems satisfied enough to take deliveries of the 17500s and put at least 20 on the street. More than likely, Pace hasn't gone to the effort to determine that all clearances exceed 11'6" on whatever route the Sox Park ones take (how are the railroad viaducts on either side of the Dan Ryan?).

[Pace831]

I got a better look at 6380. It actually isn't for Guaranteed Rate Field specifically. It just says "Express to Events" and shows silhouettes of a group of people on an orange and blue background.

[Busjack]

30 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

I got a better look at 6380. It actually isn't for Guaranteed Rate Field specifically. It just says "Express to Events" and shows silhouettes of a group of people on an orange and blue background.

GR must not have paid Pace.