New Eldorados?

[andrethebusman]

According to APTA's 2013 Fleet Inventory book, PACE Axxess's should be as follows:

54 2013's 6323-6376

15 2013's 6377-6391 suburbans

8 2013's 6392-6399

91 2014's on order 6400-6412,6414-6491

So apparently last 7 of 2014 6485-6491 order are still not delivered

 

[jajuan]

Makes you wonder how many are left total since at NW their numbers have dropped off enough that you see very close to none on 600, 606, 610 or 616. 

[BusHunter]

6 hours ago, jajuan said:

Makes you wonder how many are left total since at NW their numbers have dropped off enough that you see very close to none on 600, 606, 610 or 616. 

My Pace roster might help you on that front. (about 25 buses)

[andrethebusman]

6136 running last bus on 270 tonight 1/7

[Busjack]

On 1/6/2016 at 11:47 AM, andrethebusman said:

So apparently last 7 of 2014 6485-6491 order are still not delivered

Or things changed in 2 years or are incorrect,

[BusHunter]

On 1/6/2016 at 11:47 AM, andrethebusman said:

So apparently last 7 of 2014 6485-6491 order are still not delivered

Funny they sent the previous buses to NS. If true I'll go out on a limb and say these are going to River.

[jajuan]

13 hours ago, BusHunter said:

My Pace roster might help you on that front. (about 25 buses)

Thanks BH. They've gotten so spare on a lot of NW routes now that it feels like less sometimes. 

[BusHunter]

I finally got to ride one of these highway Eldorados yesterday on the #213. I first noticed it (#6378) was out last saturday, but I couldn't get over there, so I checked this week and sure enough it was on the tracker, same route maybe same run or slightly different. So if you want to check one out check the #213 on saturday's.

As far as my review, the seats in this bus really give the bus a different feel. It's way more comfortable than the regular seats. Seats are leather or imitation leather, they recline individually, they have the map lights that you can turn on just like the Nova classics, and you have the back door missing that you have to get used to. I like the bus, I just don't like the high seat backs it sort of blocks the windows in the rear, maybe the front is better. Then you have to get used to two sets of stairs in each third of the bus. With the back door missing and all these stairs to negotiate, it makes boarding a little slower as you have to watch more where you step.

Looking at this bus and thinking about Pulse and the I-90 express corridor improvements, I think these buses would work well with Pulse, but they would need a back door. They are highway buses, I understand and are not really mean't for stop and go loading, but more for terminal loading. But you can't stand to not enjoy the luxury. I don't see how they could put outlets on the bus unless they use something similar to this bus as each seat needs a console. Would they be better than MCI's on I-90? Maybe, they should at least try and split an order between both companies.

Are they superior to the MCI's? MCI's seem to me to be more for passengers with luggage traveling city to city, so in this respect I think these are better than the MCI's and maybe cheaper. I like how #6378 has luggage racks, now that could work on Pulse #250. I took some pictures that I'll share of my ride.

If you notice they have stairs just passed the handicapped position (yellow stripe) as well as the traditional spot 2/3 of the way to the rear of the bus. The handicapped seats even though they are flat are leather too.

I didn't really like the seat backs as it kept trying to pull my hat off on my coat, it has velcro adhesion.

Nice looking Pace logo

Here you can see the recliner knob, the triangle piece pulls up allowing you to recline the seat, plus there's seat arms that pull up. I couldn't get mine locked though.

Nice big luggage racks, great for an airport bus.

 

[Pace831]

2 hours ago, BusHunter said:

I finally got to ride one of these highway Eldorados yesterday on the #213. I first noticed it (#6378) was out last saturday, but I couldn't get over there, so I checked this week and sure enough it was on the tracker, same route maybe same run or slightly different. So if you want to check one out check the #213 on saturday's.

As far as my review, the seats in this bus really give the bus a different feel. It's way more comfortable than the regular seats. Seats are leather or imitation leather, they recline individually, they have the map lights that you can turn on just like the Nova classics, and you have the back door missing that you have to get used to. I like the bus, I just don't like the high seat backs it sort of blocks the windows in the rear, maybe the front is better. Then you have to get used to two sets of stairs in each third of the bus. With the back door missing and all these stairs to negotiate, it makes boarding a little slower as you have to watch more where you step.

Looking at this bus and thinking about Pulse and the I-90 express corridor improvements, I think these buses would work well with Pulse, but they would need a back door. They are highway buses, I understand and are not really mean't for stop and go loading, but more for terminal loading. But you can't stand to not enjoy the luxury. I don't see how they could put outlets on the bus unless they use something similar to this bus as each seat needs a console. Would they be better than MCI's on I-90? Maybe, they should at least try and split an order between both companies.

Are they superior to the MCI's? MCI's seem to me to be more for passengers with luggage traveling city to city, so in this respect I think these are better than the MCI's and maybe cheaper. I like how #6378 has luggage racks, now that could work on Pulse #250. I took some pictures that I'll share of my ride.

I was only on this bus once when it was at Heritage. They had it at the Joliet mall on a Saturday for a Ventra card handout and to advertise the I-55 bus on shoulder. Later I talked to a 755 operator who said he didn't like driving them, because they are slower to accelerate, harder to steer, and the doors take too long to open/close compared to an MCI. I bet he was glad to see them leave, but I wasn't because I never got to ride one on I-55. The seats look the same as those on the MCI's, and I agree they are comfortable.

[BusHunter]

Saw this weird blue light on the outside front of an eldorado, #6346 on #318. It's under the windshield on the right hand side just below the number decal. Wonder what that's for? Saw it on a pullin too. It's like a light you would see for a headlight on indication, but I have no idea why it's on the outside of the bus.

[Busjack]

55 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

Saw this weird blue light on the outside front of an eldorado, #6346 on #318. It's under the windshield on the right hand side just below the number decal. Wonder what that's for? Saw it on a pullin too. It's like a light you would see for a headlight on indication, but I have no idea why it's on the outside of the bus.

Jesi explained it here.

[Busjack]

Also, currently on the pacebus.com home page, you get an up close and personal view of the light.

http://www.pacebus.com/images/promos/boarding2.jpg

[geneking7320]

I thought I would ask a question:

Have any of you ridden an Eldorado 40 footer [in transit configuration] in other markets? I think the Pace seating is rather tight [I'm only 5'7"] and wonder

if anyone has encountered a roomier version of this bus.

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, geneking7320 said:

I thought I would ask a question:

Have any of you ridden an Eldorado 40 footer [in transit configuration] in other markets? I think the Pace seating is rather tight [I'm only 5'7"] and wonder

if anyone has encountered a roomier version of this bus.

Unless you are referring to some airport or college shuttle, there aren't that many.

However,the seats have nothing to do with ElDorado. They are the same 4One Aries seats as in some CTA artics and the 2 Pace hybrids.

[andrethebusman]

Saw 6485 running last week on 215. Maybe 6485-6491 are indeed coming in??

[geneking7320]

Hi Busjack;

In my post of 3/17/2016 I was referring to the seat spacing when I said tight.

I just feel these buses could use more legroom.

[Busjack]

33 minutes ago, geneking7320 said:

Hi Busjack;

In my post of 3/17/2016 I was referring to the seat spacing when I said tight.

I just feel these buses could use more legroom.

Pace uses the standard bus spec, which covers such things. The same diagram is in the spec for the 7 trolleys. Maybe that's something that can be altered in a particular order,  and the specs say that the final layout will be settled in the preproduction meeting, but Pace specs are Pace specs.

The other usual constraint is that a 40' bus is supposed to have ~38 seats.

[Busjack]

On 3/18/2016 at 0:29 AM, andrethebusman said:

Saw 6485 running last week on 215. Maybe 6485-6491 are indeed coming in??

Based on Webwatch and personal observation, this is a false positive.

[BusHunter]

Yeah I notice the seats are tight on the #6330's too. I guess they are trying to squeeze in as many as they can. I'm not a fan of that as I'm over 6 foot. I was also noticing that if one sits on a single transverse seat and one sits across from them that gives about a half foot of aisle space. In a weird way though maybe this works on Pace as alot of the buses have high loading/unloading terminals where most get off together. The suburban areas for the most part don't see as much moving around. If that were in a CTA spec they might have a problem as they serve more riders locally. The CTA #7900's on the other hand have the most comfort space, I guess with the wider seats they figure riders need more in front of them too. 

Weird though from my time with the #6377's, they feel more comfortable and have more space. Maybe the space is bigger? You know the back doors on the pace buses (especially the NABI's) take so long, I wonder if they could have just not had a rear door on all buses. It would add space and comfort.

[Busjack]

19 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

I guess they are trying to squeeze in as many as they can.

As I implied above, part of the standard spec is as many seats as possible, which usually turns out to be about 38.

19 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

You know the back doors on the pace buses (especially the NABI's) take so long, I wonder if they could have just not had a rear door on all buses. It would add space and comfort.

As it is, there is often contention between exiting and boarding passengers on the 2600s. Pace has to figure that it has terminals such as Harvey or Old Orchard, where both types of passengers are concentrated.

As illustrated by comparing the EZ Riders to the Optimas, all eliminating the back door does is put in 4 more seats. The more direct comparison is that a Pace 30 and 35 foot bus have about the same number of seats. Only advantage of the 35 foot bus is the rear door well.

[BusHunter]

At places like Rosemont or Harvey if the bus is terminating anyway I really don't see the harm in it. #270 now might have a problem but really if you think about it mostly riders board one way and exit the other way.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

At places like Rosemont or Harvey if the bus is terminating anyway I really don't see the harm in it. #270 now might have a problem but really if you think about it mostly riders board one way and exit the other way.

I hadn't mentioned Rosemont for that reason, but at Harvey the two heaviest lines (352 and 364) go through.

Some 270s go through, but even if they don't, there isn't enough layover time to unload a nearly full bus and load a packed platform in separate operations, not to mention what they are going to do with Pulse to keep it moving. Jeff Pk raises a similar issue. Similarly, I don't know how big a boarding area 95th will have, but I doubt you can keep the boarding passengers there until the bus unloads.

[BusHunter]

8 hours ago, Busjack said:

I hadn't mentioned Rosemont for that reason, but at Harvey the two heaviest lines (352 and 364) go through.

Some 270s go through, but even if they don't, there isn't enough layover time to unload a nearly full bus and load a packed platform in separate operations, not to mention what they are going to do with Pulse to keep it moving. Jeff Pk raises a similar issue. Similarly, I don't know how big a boarding area 95th will have, but I doubt you can keep the boarding passengers there until the bus unloads.

If 50 percent of riders are using the front door for egress already, then that's just 50 percent more riders to wait for. If the door is slow to open (takes 5 seconds on nabi) then that's 5 seconds of egress, 10 if you figure the closing of the door. While it wouldn't work in every circumstance like the #250 or #331 or #208 it might work with some others that would be candidates for terminal to terminal service or low ridership routes that just don't have the eldorkos to use. #319 comes to mind or some stuff at south that 6600's run on

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, BusHunter said:

If 50 percent of riders are using the front door for egress already, then that's just 50 percent more riders to wait for. If the door is slow to open (takes 5 seconds on nabi) then that's 5 seconds of egress, 10 if you figure the closing of the door. While it wouldn't work in every circumstance like the #250 or #331 or #208 it might work with some others that would be candidates for terminal to terminal service or low ridership routes that just don't have the eldorkos to use. #319 comes to mind or some stuff at south that 6600's run on

50% does means 50% doesn't, and supposedly the 6600s will be gone from South. It's also bad enough that NS, SW, and NW juggle big and small buses. now they would have to have a fleet with some buses they can't use on some routes.

Anyway,express routes are the only ones getting them.I'm no longer sure why you brought this up.

[BusHunter]

1 hour ago, Busjack said:

50% does means 50% doesn't, and supposedly the 6600s will be gone from South. It's also bad enough that NS, SW, and NW juggle big and small buses. now they would have to have a fleet with some buses they can't use on some routes.

Anyway,express routes are the only ones getting them.I'm no longer sure why you brought this up.

Just trying to make a point. It pertains to the subject of getting more seat room. If they had more room maybe the seats would be more comfortable. As far as not being able to use buses like that it sure doesn't stop them from running #215's and #213's with #6377's.