4300/4330-series DE60LF/D60LF - Updates

[geneking7320]

Yesterday [4/1/2013] I rode 4358 (?) working #156 LaSalle around 4:30 from Madison to Chicago on LaSalle.

If a bus could have a "new car smell" this one did.

[jajuan]

Yesterday [4/1/2013] I rode 4358 (?) working #156 LaSalle around 4:30 from Madison to Chicago on LaSalle.

If a bus could have a "new car smell" this one did.

Just about all of those clean diesels Kedzie has is going to have that new car smell for a little while.

[BusHunter]

#4377 is on the #79 this morning

[renardo870]

4369, 4372 & 4383 are parked @ 77th Garage.

[busfan2847]

Caught 4358 on the 156 this morning. Rear display was switching from 156 > Hybrid > 156. Clearly wants people to beleive it is a hybrid even though it is only a clean diesel!

[BusHunter]

Caught 4358 on the 156 this morning. Rear display was switching from 156 > Hybrid > 156. Clearly wants people to beleive it is a hybrid even though it is only a clean diesel!

At least it was doing better than yesterday, when it had no working destination sign.

[Busjack]

At least it was doing better than yesterday, when it had no working destination sign.

Maybe it was on the run to LaSalle and Hybrid, near Lincoln Park.

[BusHunter]

Maybe it was on the run to LaSalle and Hybrid, near Lincoln Park.

#4332 also has that problem. (no working destination sign) Wasn't showing up all day on Bustracker either yesterday even though it was on the #4. (There were 4 artics on the #4 on 4/4)

[jajuan]

#4332 also has that problem. (no working destination sign) Wasn't showing up all day on Bustracker either yesterday even though it was on the #4. (There were 4 artics on the #4 on 4/4)

That's sounds almost like a sign to play the lottery if you were one of those lottery fans and had a system of playing when running into coincidences like that.

[Guest]

I just saw #4340 on the #82 Kimball/Homan NB. Does NP hve these new buses now?.

[jajuan]

I just saw #4340 on the #82 Kimball/Homan NB. Does NP hve these new buses now?.

That's Kedzie's bus. Kedzie has been running a few artics on the 82, mainly from among their 4300s, along with the forty footers they put on the route in recent days as part of further implementation of decrowd practices.

[BusHunter]

#4378 is on the #4 today.

[BusHunter]

#4381 and #4382 are on the #4 this morning and #4379 and #4383 are on the #79.

[RJL6000]

4375 is also on the #79 this morning.

[geneking7320]

Where are the 43xx's on the #3 or am I just missing them?

[RJL6000]

Where are the 43xx's on the #3 or am I just missing them?

77th has not yet designated the #3 as one of the routes to be using artics. That garage confirmed only the #4 and #79 as artic-assigned routes for now.

[geneking7320]

77th has not yet designated the #3 as one of the routes to be using artics. That garage confirmed only the #4 and #79 as artic-assigned routes for now.

Any ideas on their decision criteria?

Southbound #3 buses seem pretty full during evening rush periods.

[BusHunter]

Any ideas on their decision criteria?

Southbound #3 buses seem pretty full during evening rush periods.

You have no arguments from me, about half the #3's have full standing loads by the time they hit Washington. I can only imagine what people are doing south of there. The #4 artic buses on the other hand are quite roomy in the downtown area with about half the seats taken up between the loop and Mccormick Place. Someone did say further down the line they had bigger crowds on the #4. My guess is not enough of the operators are artic certified through 77th. Eventually the artic service will expand out to new 77th routes.

[jajuan]

You have no arguments from me, about half the #3's have full standing loads by the time they hit Washington. I can only imagine what people are doing south of there. The #4 artic buses on the other hand are quite roomy in the downtown area with about half the seats taken up between the loop and Mccormick Place. Someone did say further down the line they had bigger crowds on the #4. My guess is not enough of the operators are artic certified through 77th. Eventually the artic service will expand out to new 77th routes.

I'm surprised that the #2 wasn't among the first routes determined an artic assigned route given it's one of the downtown Lake Shore express routes on CTA's route list and after the December 16th changes all the rest of such routes get at least a few artics at some point in the service day with the heaviest used among them seeing almost all artics for long stretches of their service times.

[BusHunter]

I'm surprised that the #2 wasn't among the first routes determined an artic assigned route given it's one of the downtown Lake Shore express routes on CTA's route list and after the December 16th changes all the rest of such routes get at least a few artics at some point in the service day with the heaviest used among them seeing almost all artics for long stretches of their service times.

They really need to try to get some artics on the #8 too. The #8's get at least one standing load per trip.

[jajuan]

They really need to try to get some artics on the #8 too. The #8's get at least one standing load per trip.

Right. These routes don't have to be completely converted to artics since as I mentioned before that artics may not be assigned in garages in a way to make that realistic, but they do need at least a few to help with those heaviest of trips.

[BusHunter]

#4345 is on the #79 this morning.

[RJL6000]

#4372 was on the #79 this morning.

[BusHunter]

#4380 is on the #4 this afternoon.

[jajuan]

If I remember your count correctly from the table at the beginning of the thread BusHunter, that should mean 82 in service and 18 left to go. And from the looks of things they've been concentrating on 77th a lot more recently as it has more 4300s than Kedzie which has held steady at 15.