optimas

[Archer Driver]

optima buses now @ 77th seen them on 43rd and 39th 2-8-10

[Guest]

Heres a thought!! They should keep the Flxibles in service and lock up the Optimas inside Archer, never to be seen again!!! :lol:

[jajuan]

Heres a thought!! They should keep the Flxibles in service and lock up the Optimas inside Archer, never to be seen again!!!

Of course when the idea is to cut costs, that makes little sense.

[tryntogetthere]

Yes, the Optimas are on 43rd! Its funny because the Archer garage did not use them for long for that route. I do wonder what made the 77th garage use them for the 43? Well you did say for cutting cost but however, Archer used those for the 39 but when I saw a 39 Monday it was a flxible! I don't know but the 43 should have flxibles especially during the morning but hey, they are the ones that know what they are doing! I am just a cta fanatic!

[jajuan]

Yes, the Optimas are on 43rd! Its funny because the Archer garage did not use them for long for that route. I do wonder what made the 77th garage use them for the 43? Well you did say for cutting cost but however, Archer used those for the 39 but when I saw a 39 Monday it was a flxible! I don't know but the 43 should have flxibles especially during the morning but hey, they are the ones that know what they are doing! I am just a cta fanatic!

You sure it was a Flxible? 77th hasn't had any in years. Plus it's doubtful you'll see any on the 43 since they should all be inactive and stored at Archer, also inactive, at this point.

[mikeymc77]

just a guess , but maybe that flex on 39 was heading to the Archer garage for storage ????

[tryntogetthere]

No this bus was in service, it was on Cottage Grove going to lake park.

[wordguy]

If the past two evening rush hours are any indication, it looks as if the use and the distribution of the Optimas has a few glitches.

At 103rd Street, the Optimas seem to be underutilized. As far as I know, they have 20 (500-519). The U of C routes never seem to need more than 10 (though I'm not sure about the AM rush). Other than that, one Optima showed up on the #100 during the Monday PM rush and the #106 during the Tuesday evening rush.

77th St. appears to have just six (520-525) for Pershing and 43rd. If my memory serves me, all six were operating during the Tuesday PM rush along with a couple of Novas on Pershing. Seems as if three or four of 103rd St.'s Optimas could be reassigned to 77th.

Forest Glen! Ouch! They now have 19 Optimas on their roster (526-544). Prior to the service cuts, there were 15 and it seemed as if not more than eight or nine were on the street during peak periods. Also, with the exception of #54A, they were rarely used elsewhere other than the Blue Line feeder routes. Now they're showing up on fairly heavy routes, probably because that by the time they're dispatched there's nothing else left.

Well, Monday evening, Addison and Irving Park were assigned one Optima each. During the Tuesday PM rush, Bus Tracker showed one each on the following routes: Addison, Irving Park, Foster, Peterson, Narragansett (less rare than on the other routes), Harlem, and Lincoln(FG). At the same time, many of the Blue Line feeder routes were assigned 40-footers. (I would think that if there was any interlining involving the feeder routes that it would be with other feeders, but I don't really know.) I'm guessing that some of the old-timers assigned to the feeders studiously try to avoid the Optimas. So at some point during peak travel periods there's nothing else that's street-worthy* left in the yard --- except for the "runts-of-the-litter": the little Optimas.

*Maybe I should reconsider the use of the phrase "street-worthy" when referring the the Optimas. :rolleyes:

[tryntogetthere]

Correction, it was a Nova on the 39th.

[Busjack]

...

Forest Glen! Ouch! They now have 19 Optimas on their roster (526-544). Prior to the service cuts, there were 15 and it seemed as if not more than eight or nine were on the street during peak periods. Also, with the exception of #54A, they were rarely used elsewhere other than the Blue Line feeder routes. Now they're showing up on fairly heavy routes, probably because that by the time they're dispatched there's nothing else left.

Well, Monday evening, Addison and Irving Park were assigned one Optima each. During the Tuesday PM rush, Bus Tracker showed one each on the following routes: Addison, Irving Park, Foster, Peterson, Narragansett (less rare than on the other routes), Harlem, and Lincoln(FG). At the same time, many of the Blue Line feeder routes were assigned 40-footers. ... So at some point during peak travel periods there's nothing else that's street-worthy* left in the yard --- except for the "runts-of-the-litter": the little Optimas.

*Maybe I should reconsider the use of the phrase "street-worthy" when referring the the Optimas.

I gave you guys a plug on the CTA Tattler, but apparently goofed when I said Belmont. Subsequently corrected.

I still wonder what Kruesi was thinking, when the original contract had options to 125.

[chitowndude84]

Back in 2005,I was shocked to hear that the CTA bought this Optima GARBAGE,I remember being in Oklahoma city a few years ago on business and they had same ones we have,Just delivered BRAND NEW.I decided to take a tour of the city and talked to one of the drivers and he said one had already caught on fire on I-35 and he remember seeing a few disabled on street on many occasions,I guess its there version of the "NABI Disaster"

Last time I was there,I didn't see any (not surprised )just a bunch of NF D40's ,Giligs,Orions and para-transit vehicles

[pudgym29]

Back in June 2009, when riding with my dad to Resurrection Hospital on Talcott Ave.; it was not infrequent that the three buses running on route #88 Higgins (FG) were 1 Nova, 1 Flxible, & 1 Optima.

[busfan2847]

So what is happening to the Optimas?

The official allocations has 501-520 at 103rd and 521 upwards at Forest Glen.

Earlier this week 503, 504, 513 & 521-525 have been on 39 & 43 which are 77th routes, however, according to Bustracker, this morning only 504 & 513 are on these routes the rest being 40 footers. 503, 521 & 525 are on Univ of Chicago routes today (in fact all journeys this morning are Optimas - earlier in the week 40' were also being used). Are 501-525 at 103rd and the sightings on the 39 & 43 loans to 77th?

[jajuan]

So what is happening to the Optimas?

The official allocations has 501-520 at 103rd and 521 upwards at Forest Glen.

Earlier this week 503, 504, 513 & 521-525 have been on 39 & 43 which are 77th routes, however, according to Bustracker, this morning only 504 & 513 are on these routes the rest being 40 footers. 503, 521 & 525 are on Univ of Chicago routes today (in fact all journeys this morning are Optimas - earlier in the week 40' were also being used). Are 501-525 at 103rd and the sightings on the 39 & 43 loans to 77th?

May have been. Kevin has only Novas and 1000s listed as being assigned to 77th.

[wordguy]

It's weird; I don't know what to make of it either.

Earlier in the week, it seemed as if there was some numerical consistency, with the 520s concentrated on Pershing or 43rd and the lower numbers on the U of C routes in addition to the #100 and #106.

As of an hour ago, about 10:30 Friday evening, the only South Side Optima still on the street was 513, operating on 43rd.

[qwantae]

Last more than few times for last few years, I drove through Gary Indiana checkin out the remaining Nova RTS buses, I remembered that they had few of their Optima Opus (Chance) buses and I've never seen them on their streets since like late 2006, one of the GPTC told me that 1 or 2 of them retired due to engine out of commission. Few of them sitting at their back yard with their retired buses such as 1995 Flxibles, 1991 TMC RTS and Ford Cutaway buses. I also remembered that they used to have couple NYCMTA's GMC RTSes for secondhand back in years ago.

All I seen active are 4 of Ex Utah 1992 Orion Vs, about 6 Gillig Advantages and 30-35Ft Nova RTSes.