New Flyers (2006)

[busfan4022]

Yes, there should be a little shuffling due to the increased fleet. But i dont think there be any 6000's coming,until later on. Since the buses are getting rehabbed,and are fine.

[Busjack]

Ask Carole has the following:

Carole Brown said...

   The first 100 New Flyer buses will be assigned to the Archer garage, and the first bus is currently assigned to the 62 Archer. The 49 Western will also get a fair number of the new buses. As more are delivered, we will also replace the older 1991 series buses at the Chicago and Kedzie garages.

Carole should know, and I know there was a heated argument over this a couple of weeks ago, but the above probably is subject to several interpretations (we will replace some at Chicago garage, but with 1000s?). We do know that the first 10 or so are at Archer; I guess we will have to wait for the rest.

[sw4400]

Anyone know what the highest number is so far? Last I heard it was 1019.

[Kevin]

1020 is the highest I've seen.

[geneking7320]

I happened to see pics of WMATA's New Flyers (with restyled fronts) and noted that these buses have

rear windows. Now I wonder if the only reason CTA's doesn't is because of the hybrids in the order.

Hmm....

[RIPTA42]

It's because CTA opted for a rear-mounted air conditioning unit for this order.

[rmadisonwi]

Lots of transit systems spec New Flyers without rear windows, and many of these are diesel-only operators.

[Busjack]

Earlier we were told: "That was more of New Flyer's decision. With some rare exceptions, they no longer make D40LFs with the old configuration." Also, I had previously noted that going back to 1988, CTA preferred a bus with a rear window (thus getting M.A.N. 892s disqualified by the feds), and in fact ordered buses that originally had them (4400s, 5800s; also NovaBuses and Optimas probably all come that way). Now we are being told that CTA specified the rear air conditioners. Other than the battery pack issue with the hybrids, which is it?

[geneking7320]

Somehow I got a notion that CTA had a policy of requiring their buses to have rear windows. If that were true I'd guessed that theypurchased buses without rear windows when they did not have the option.

Anyway, I guess they bought what they wanted!

Gene

[jajuan]

Somehow I got a notion that CTA had a policy of requiring their buses to have rear windows. If that were true I'd guessed that theypurchased buses without rear windows when they did not have the option.

Anyway, I guess they bought what they wanted!

Gene

That couldn't have been too much of an issue otherwise CTA should have had Americanas with rear windows like Seattle did.

[rmadisonwi]

Not to mention Flxibles without rear windows (or the NABIs, more recently, or the RTSs post-overhaul).

If it was actually a "requirement" that CTA buy buses with rear windows, that's been violated as much as it has been observed in the last decade-plus.

[Busjack]

Not to mention Flxibles without rear windows (or the NABIs, more recently, or the RTSs post-overhaul).

If it was actually a "requirement" that CTA buy buses with rear windows, that's been violated as much as it has been observed in the last decade-plus.

I wouldn't say a requirement, but something CTA wanted if they could get it. That was one of the bases on which the other assemblers protested a specification in 1988 on which the MAN 892s were thought to be the only ones compliant, and the 4400s did have the rear windows. Obviously, with federal rules that the specifications had to be competitive, you couldn't force Flxible to bid on something it did not build.

[pace2322]

Saturday i saw 1388 and 1389 in Madison Wis.