Random Pace

[Shannon CVPI]

56 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

The body style originated in 1985 as the MCI 96s and 102s.  The 96s were 96inches wide.  The 102s were 96 inches wide in the front and 102inches in the rear.   Both came in A models .  The 102s most popular model became the C model.  Around 1992 MCI introduced the D model.  The D3 was the 40' model  and the DL3 was the 45' model.  Around 2000, the models were renamed the D4000 (40') and the D4500 (45') to align with the renamed Renaissance EL3 which became the E4500.  MCI also introduced a J4500 and a G4500 (which was built primarily for Greyhound).  However. Greyhound seemed to prefer the Ds over the Gs. 

Since some charter companies and some transit agencies used the buses as commuters,  MCI  made some D4500s D4500CTs.  The only difference is the entrance doors, overhead signage, and lack of restroom.  

Minor tweaks have been made to the headlights, flushmounted windows, taillights,  but the base design has not changed for the D series buses,  excluding the D4500 CRTe commuter.

The only highway coach companies are MCI, Prevost ( which also builds the Volvo 9700), VanHool. and Setra.  Prevost also has commuter coaches based on its X3 -45 model.  NYMTA has a bunch of those.

Ok thanks putting me on that I didn't know that those buses just reminds me of greyhound buses 

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Shannon CVPI said:

Ok thanks putting me on that I didn't know that those buses just reminds me of greyhound buses 

For the longest time. Greyhound used MCI coaches.   At one time,Greyhound actually owned MCi from the late '50s to mid '80s.   MCI was sold in 1986.   Until recently,  all of Greyhound buses were MCI.  Now they are increasing their Prevost X3-45 fleet.  The state of Michigan also bought VanHools for Greyhound to use on routes operated in Michigan.

Greyhound used to have a competitor called Continental Trailways.   They operated an exclusive fleet of Eagle buses.  Greyhound bought Continental Trailways in 1987.  Some MCIs were painted in Trailways livery, and a few Eagles sported the Greyhound livery until Greyhound phased out the Eagles and the Trailways livery altogether.

Long story short,  I can see how you see the highway coaches as Greyhound buses.  

[Shannon CVPI]

4 hours ago, artthouwill said:

For the longest time. Greyhound used MCI coaches.   At one time,Greyhound actually owned MCi from the late '50s to mid '80s.   MCI was sold in 1986.   Until recently,  all of Greyhound buses were MCI.  Now they are increasing their Prevost X3-45 fleet.  The state of Michigan also bought VanHools for Greyhound to use on routes operated in Michigan.

Greyhound used to have a competitor called Continental Trailways.   They operated an exclusive fleet of Eagle buses.  Greyhound bought Continental Trailways in 1987.  Some MCIs were painted in Trailways livery, and a few Eagles sported the Greyhound livery until Greyhound phased out the Eagles and the Trailways livery altogether.

Long story short,  I can see how you see the highway coaches as Greyhound buses.  

 Thanks broham I fr thought that greyhound sold a few buses to pace & & I remember Continental Trailways do they also own Indian Trailways too or a part of it since it runs out of Greyhound station but yea I said that I could be wrong they could have came from another bus company

[MetroShadow]

10 hours ago, Shannon CVPI said:

Idk what pace file to put this ? In but the old Greyhound buses that pace brought to run on the 755 do they still have the bathroom in them or did pace take that out I have been wondering about that Everytime I see those buses 

Should be in Random Pace, and those buses were leased and replaced with the 6950's. 

[MetroShadow]

8 hours ago, Shannon CVPI said:

Yea those buses where once Greyhound buses running all across the country but they eventually ended up in pace hands 

One possible exception is the contracted services by Colonial, Pioneer, and Coach USA. I recalled the Colonial and Pioneer MCIs had bathrooms for their Prairie Stone services, at least. Unsure of the Coach USA buses for I-55. 

[artthouwill]

9 hours ago, Shannon CVPI said:

 Thanks broham I fr thought that greyhound sold a few buses to pace & & I remember Continental Trailways do they also own Indian Trailways too or a part of it since it runs out of Greyhound station but yea I said that I could be wrong they could have came from another bus company

Indian Trails (not Trailways) is a privately and family owned company based in Owosso Michigan.   They run service between Chicago and points in Michigan.  In exchange for using Greyhound facilities in some places,  Greyhound and Indian Trails share ticketing.  Greyhound does this with other companies like Burlington Trailways in Iowa and Jefferson Lines in Minneapolis. 

Remember Pace leased from MCI and not Greyhound. 

[Shannon CVPI]

17 hours ago, MetroShadow said:

One possible exception is the contracted services by Colonial, Pioneer, and Coach USA. I recalled the Colonial and Pioneer MCIs had bathrooms for their Prairie Stone services, at least. Unsure of the Coach USA buses for I-55. 

Oh ok I was just wondering if they still had the bathroom in them

[Shannon CVPI]

9 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Indian Trails (not Trailways) is a privately and family owned company based in Owosso Michigan.   They run service between Chicago and points in Michigan.  In exchange for using Greyhound facilities in some places,  Greyhound and Indian Trails share ticketing.  Greyhound does this with other companies like Burlington Trailways in Iowa and Jefferson Lines in Minneapolis. 

Remember Pace leased from MCI and not Greyhound. 

Aw ok but I just thought they where once Greyhound buses is what I was saying

[NewFlyerMCI]

Anyone have any insight as to what bus parts Pace is purchasing from Gillig when they have no Gillig buses? Seems to be a pretty regular thing.

[artthouwill]

6 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said:

Anyone have any insight as to what bus parts Pace is purchasing from Gillig when they have no Gillig buses? Seems to be a pretty regular thing.

I don't know,  but whatever parts they are purchasing don't seem to be specific to Gillig.   For example,  if Pace wanted DD engine parts,  their main suppliers may not have any or are backlogged,  but Gillig may have them in stock.  Most parts are not bus manufacturer specific. 

[artthouwill]

Interesting bus stop sign I saw today on Lake and Harlem. 

The bus stop lists the 309 and 313 with their destinations, similar to a multi route CTA bus stop sign.  At the bottom of the pile, there's a small schedule for both routes.  Also attached is a map detailing bus stop locations for the 90, 307, 308, 313, 318. 757, and 772.  It basically is a rail station like map with letters denoting where to board each bus.

[artthouwill]

Did I miss something?  This morning my EB 313 served the Harlem Green Line station via Harlem and North Blvd.  That seemed strange, but since al of the passengers exited at Harlem and Lae, I figured he was making a purchase stop.  But then I saw a WB 309 emerge from South Blvd turning right onto Harlem toward Lake St.  This wasn't the case about 3 weeks ago.   Since when did these routes str serving the station in both directions?

I know that once upon a time,  bot routes serves te station WB.  Then te 313 was rerouted to stay on Lake.   Eventually the 309 followed suit.

[Pace831]

39 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Did I miss something?

Yes.

[artthouwill]

30 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

Yes.

Ok.  This just started this week.   And its temporary through November. 

[artthouwill]

This coronavirus stuff is getting silly.  On Pace buses,there are signs posted on some seats to remain empty, including signs on the accessible seats.  On all 3 of my Pace rides, someone sat in the handicap seats.  Just one person on each bus sat there.  Two of the drivers had no issue (Male drivers).  The third driver did even though this passenger had a cane and told her he had a bad knee.  She wouldn't move bus untsoeone else gave up his seat to move to the rear.   He was trying to sit in the accessible seat furthest from the driver and he maintained the social distancing required.   I think she should've used some sense and let him stay where he was.

[chicagocubs6323]

9 hours ago, artthouwill said:

This coronavirus stuff is getting silly.  On Pace buses,there are signs posted on some seats to remain empty, including signs on the accessible seats.  On all 3 of my Pace rides, someone sat in the handicap seats.  Just one person on each bus sat there.  Two of the drivers had no issue (Male drivers).  The third driver did even though this passenger had a cane and told her he had a bad knee.  She wouldn't move bus untsoeone else gave up his seat to move to the rear.   He was trying to sit in the accessible seat furthest from the driver and he maintained the social distancing required.   I think she should've used some sense and let him stay where he was.

There's only one driver in West Division that makes a big deal out of everything and I've had various episodes with that woman.  Was she a million miler?

[twyztdmynd]

On 2/25/2020 at 9:57 PM, MetroShadow said:

One possible exception is the contracted services by Colonial, Pioneer, and Coach USA. I recalled the Colonial and Pioneer MCIs had bathrooms for their Prairie Stone services, at least. Unsure of the Coach USA buses for I-55. 

The coaches at Colonial and Pioneer bought were highway coaches. Not commuter. One day you could be driving Pace route 610 (or a subscription route) and the next day you could be doing a charter with the same bus.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

13 hours ago, chicagocubs6323 said:

There's only one driver in West Division that makes a big deal out of everything and I've had various episodes with that woman.  Was she a million miler?

Depending on how long she was working at, she could have been. Many of the older drivers I see are Million Milers and I think I know what operator you're talking about, because you told me about her last summer. 

[artthouwill]

6 hours ago, twyztdmynd said:

The coaches at Colonial and Pioneer bought we're highway coaches. Not commuter. One day you could be driving Pace route 610 (or a subscription route) and the next day you could be doing a charter with the same bus.

When Pace had contracts with Keeshin/Coach USA, Pioneer/Colonial, Greyhound,  and MidAmerica, those contracts required that those companies provided the equipment.   Each of those companies only  highway equipment with lavatories,  though Colonial did have older coaches without lavatories. Keeshin used to run the 626 and 691 with MC5C buses without lavatories,  but Pace switched that contract for Keeshin to run those routes with Pace provided transits. 

Greyhound ran the 855 first before Keeshin.   Keeshin then was under budded by Neal's Bus Service,  but due to their poor performance,  Keeshin/Coach USA finished out  that contract only to lose the bid to MidAnerica.  This was the first contract ( with MudAneeica) that Pace required the contracted party to provide lift equipped coaches.  Again, due to poor performance,  Coach USA finished that contract until Park implemented the Bus in Shoulder service which required Pace to purchase it's own commuter coaches.

I'd I recall correctly,  Colonial always had the 610.  I think they had the majority of the Pace Prairie Stone subscription service routes except  the three far south side and south suburban routes that Hammond Yellow had.  When INDOT restricted Hammond Yellow to intrastate service only, it effectively shut them down.   Obviously they lost the Pace contract,  but most of the company's income was generated with commuter service to Chicago and charter services primarily in Illinois. Due to poor equipment. they probably would've lost the Pace contract anyway.  Obviously all of the subscriptions service went away.

[twyztdmynd]

11 hours ago, artthouwill said:

When Pace had contracts with Keeshin/Coach USA, Pioneer/Colonial, Greyhound,  and MidAmerica, those contracts required that those companies provided the equipment.   Each of those companies only  highway equipment with lavatories,  though Colonial did have older coaches without lavatories. 

Just some FYI...When I started at Colonial in 1999, they ran five routes (610, 1006, 1012, 1015, 1017 .  When I was not out of town, I worked 1017 to Sears on 79th). We lost all subscription routes after 9/11 one at a time due to cuts at Sears headquarters. And, when I started, all motorcoaches were equipped with restrooms. Not sure the equipment before that. But we used equipment purchased both new (MCI DL3 12-units) and used (MCI B3 8-units purchased through Indian Trails) on Pace routes.

[MetroShadow]

On 4/2/2020 at 8:30 PM, twyztdmynd said:

Just some FYI...When I started at Colonial in 1999, they ran five routes (610, 1006, 1012, 1015, 1017 .  When I was not out of town, I worked 1017 to Sears on 79th). We lost all subscription routes after 9/11 one at a time due to cuts at Sears headquarters. And, when I started, all motorcoaches were equipped with restrooms. Not sure the equipment before that. But we used equipment purchased both new (MCI DL3 12-units) and used (MCI B3 8-units purchased through Indian Trails) on Pace routes.

You're right. I'll add that colonials MCIs had washrooms... They also bought DINAs which headsigns were programmed to run on PACE routes, but unsure if those ran on them...the charters for sure. 

[artthouwill]

On 4/2/2020 at 3:59 AM, twyztdmynd said:

The coaches at Colonial and Pioneer bought were highway coaches. Not commuter. One day you could be driving Pace route 610 (or a subscription route) and the next day you could be doing a charter with the same bus.

Pace used to require contractors to provide a dedicated fleet if buses.  Greyhound had the Pace ligo painted on their buses under the Americruiser 2 and U.S. flag.  Keeshin and Neal's had placards with the Pace logo.   I think Greyhound used their Pace assigned buses almost exclusively for Pace.  They may have used them on weekends for McCormick Place shuttles  

Keeshin usually tied their Pace runs in with other work,  which made the buses profitable.   Pace runs paid little on a per run basis.   All Keeshin drivers were trained on all contract runs including the 855.  That provided flexibility.  This included part time drivers as well.

MidAmerica won the contract that required the 855 to be run with ADA accessible buses.  They had to buy at least 5 to 7 ADA compliant coaches.  This was a money losing contract for them.  They didn't have work to tie in, plus they had significant deadheading between Elk Grove and Bolingbrook/Romeoville  and between Elk Grove and downtown.  The latter more than likely led to their poor performance as the Kennedy is always congested. 

By the time Keeshin/Coach USA resumed the 855 service,  it had lost (or gave away) the University of Chicago tie in work to Aries.  The University work eventually became CTA route 192.  Coach USA benefited from being close to I 55 and not having to purchase ADA equipment.  If they lacked any buses, they could pull from a nationwide pool of buses.

The O'Hare operation of Keeshin,  based in Des Plaines,  ran the 626 and 691 with  MCI MC5C coaches.  These had no lavatories but had front and rear doors.   When those buses reached 12 years old, Pace switched them to Pace provided Orions.  The 691 got eliminated not long after the opening of the Metra North Central service.   The 626 went to Pace North Shore. Coach USA sold the O'Hare operations to Colonial,  which rebranded as Academy 

 

[mel bernero]

Pace bus tracker appears to be down. Getting message "Unavailable".

[Shannoncvpi]

Seen this brand new pace bus today on 5th & North Ave this morning didn't even have real plates yet

[Mr.NewFlyer1051]

On 4/16/2020 at 2:59 PM, Shannoncvpi said:

Seen this brand new pace bus today on 5th & North Ave this morning didn't even have real plates yet

they allowed to drive with out plates? looks like it’s on route to