500's all out of service

[Busjack]

An ex-500 used as an Ice Cream truck? I can see that. Hopefully it will run down my street one day!

There's a good future for them in their current livery(minus the CTA logo) doing a little residential selling of a popular treat with this little tune...

Sort of same problem as with Fresh Moves--why buy a diesel guzzler when a panel truck will do the job, as in the video?

Looks like the #500 Optimas continue in use. Looks like the Cook County Sheriffs Dept. took an exCTA Optima bus for their fleet. As I left the city fuel shops at Pershing Rd./Iron, east of Western ave. today, I spotted the Optima bus in a yard that stores CCS vehicles. The yard is east, adjacent to the city fuel site. The bus still has the CTA "wave" stripes but now wears "Sheriff" decals on it. Not sure what bus number it was. Couldn't get close enough for a pic.

It was mentioned before that there was an ordinance that 2 were sold to the sheriff.

[Guest]

Sort of same problem as with Fresh Moves--why buy a diesel guzzler when a panel truck will do the job, as in the video?

It was mentioned before that there was an ordinance that 2 were sold to the sheriff.

Must have missed that post, Thanks! As for Fresh Moves, it was a good idea, but the fuel and the maintenance it took to keep that beat up Flxible bus running, the frequent waste of fruits and veggies and constant replenishment of food would kill the company! There are food deserts no doubt but demand just wasant there.

[Busjack]

Agenda for today's meeting includes intergovernmental agreements with certain public transit agencies in Illinois to transfer retired Optima buses. So, instead of all of them going to the shredder, apparently someone else wants them.

[sw4400]

Agenda for today's meeting includes intergovernmental agreements with certain public transit agencies in Illinois to transfer retired Optima buses. So, instead of all of them going to the shredder, apparently someone else wants them.

I'm surprised Pace won't take them. They run 30' buses.... aside from them being 99" in length, they might fit on routes that uses short Pace buses.

[jesi2282]

I just cant see Pace taking beat-up ex-CTA equipment, but anything's possible...

[trainman8119]

Agenda for today's meeting includes intergovernmental agreements with certain public transit agencies in Illinois to transfer retired Optima buses. So, instead of all of them going to the shredder, apparently someone else wants them.

Will they sell them with the fluid lines cut ?

[Guest]

Two of the exCTA #500s are sitting at a Cook Cty Sherriffs vehicle yard on Cermak rd. west of Kostner

[Busjack]

I'm surprised Pace won't take them. They run 30' buses.... aside from them being 99" in length, they might fit on routes that uses short Pace buses.

I just cant see Pace taking beat-up ex-CTA equipment, but anything's possible...

I agree with jesi on this one. Pace's attitude seems to be that it has enough 30 footers, and doesn't need CTA junk.

Anything is possible, but I bet somewhere downstate.

Update: Maybe we'll find out when the ordinance is posted.

Further update: This isn't on the Pace meeting agenda.

Will they sell them with the fluid lines cut ?

Update: checking the solicitation to scrap 220 buses, 20 are 30 foot Optimas.

Relevant to trainman's point, it says that the purchaser must remove the fluids and batteries and dispose of them.

So, one way or the other, 25 escaped this solicitation.

[MetroShadow]

I'm surprised Pace won't take them. They run 30' buses.... aside from them being 99" in length, they might fit on routes that uses short Pace buses.

The focus is on replacing the 40' buses. I feel as if there aren't as many of those as needed. That being said, pace likely has no desire for said junk.

[Busjack]

Sun-Times has the answer to this question: 5 buses to River Valley Metro in Kankakee.

[andrethebusman]

Sun-Times has the answer to this question: 5 buses to River Valley Metro in Kankakee.

Manteno to Midway Airport? I know there was a Kankakee to University Park Metra route, but this is something completely new. At a 2-dollar fare no less! And 7-days a week service. Now this is pretty good for a place that had nothing barely a dozen years ago.

[BusHunter]

Yeah i wonder when they run? They say in the article they were "thrilled" to get CTA's 5 Optima buses. But that was before I read they already have a fleet of Optimas. I'm surprised they wouldn't want to bid on the 20 scrap buses as the article implicates that they intend to use some of the buses for parts. Maybe they could take the 20 scrap buses and build 5 pretty good buses out of them. But the bid solicitation is for 220 buses so that may not be possible.

I looked River valley up and they have a schedule for the Midway service.

http://www.rivervalleymetro.com/?page_id=975

[MetroShadow]

Manteno to Midway Airport? I know there was a Kankakee to University Park Metra route, but this is something completely new. At a 2-dollar fare no less! And 7-days a week service. Now this is pretty good for a place that had nothing barely a dozen years ago.

True. But this service (to Midway) is about two years old now.

[rvwnsd]

Manteno to Midway Airport? I know there was a Kankakee to University Park Metra route, but this is something completely new. At a 2-dollar fare no less! And 7-days a week service. Now this is pretty good for a place that had nothing barely a dozen years ago.

The fare is double the regular fare!

According to their Wikipedia page, they are considering BRT up and down IL route 50 to serve the University Park Metra station.

[Busjack]

Home page has a link to a CBS article that a total of 30 buses are being given away, including to Springfield, RIDES, and Shawnee.

Given the two that went to the Sheriff, if all of these are Optimas, the solicitation to scrap up to 20 can't be more than 13.

But at least Illinois First money isn't being totally wasted. And I was correct that they would be going downstate.

[sw4400]

Home page has a link to a CBS article that a total of 30 buses are being given away, including to Springfield, RIDES, and Shawnee.

Given the two that went to the Sheriff, if all of these are Optimas, the solicitation to scrap up to 20 can't be more than 13.

But at least Illinois First money isn't being totally wasted. And I was correct that they would be going downstate.

IMO, all 45 should've been given away... they are only 8 years old, and definitely have a few more years of life, bus frame or whatever frame they have.

So if the solicitation is for 20, and 32 Optimas are being sent off to be used elsewhere(two for Cook County Sheriff, thirty to various downstate agencies), so what are the other seven to be scrapped? This leads me back to my previous possibilities...

• 5900,5901 & 5902(They are way overdue, sitting around since 2000)
• 1305, 1468 & 1482(They should be part of the rehabs, but I don't know if CTA just wrote them off or what)
• 4071(Again, I don't know what caused this bus to be retired so soon, but it's been sitting on the inactive roster for quite some time now and nobody has said why)
• 4333(Kind of early to say this one will be scrapped, but if not in this contract, it should be soon)

There might be some miscellaneous buses that need retiring(Fishbowls, other retired buses sitting around, perhaps some 5800's? The 6000's and 5300's should be pretty much all gone from the scrap line and I'm sure the 4400's are all gone). If anything, the first bullet group in the above list should be in this contract(again, IMO).

The ex-CFD and CPD buses should be scrapped by a city agency as the CTA should be clear of all responsibility of these vehicles.

[Busjack]

....

So if the solicitation is for 20, and 32 Optimas are being sent off to be used elsewhere(two for Cook County Sheriff, thirty to various downstate agencies), so what are the other seven to be scrapped? This leads me back to my previous possibilities...

....

Your math is bad. There were 45 Optimas. Apparently 32 are not being scrapped. 45-32=13. 13<20.

I explained in the 6400s retirement thread what "up to" meant in a contract.

You have been told several times before that the scrap solicitation is only for Optimas and Novas.

I also doubt that some scrapper would pay the same per ton to disassemble a fuel cell bus than to crush a small steel one. Also, it wouldn't have an engine to try to sell on the secondhand market.

[sw4400]

Your math is bad. There were 45 Optimas. Apparently 32 are not being scrapped. 45-32=13. 13<20.

I explained in the 6400s retirement thread what "up to" meant in a contract.

You have been told several times before that the scrap solicitation is only for Optimas and Novas.

I did say that.... follow my post here...

IMO, all 45 should've been given away... they are only 8 years old, and definitely have a few more years of life, bus frame or whatever frame they have.

So if the solicitation is for 20, and 32 Optimas are being sent off to be used elsewhere(two for Cook County Sheriff, thirty to various downstate agencies), so what are the other seven to be scrapped? This leads me back to my previous possibilities...

• 5900,5901 & 5902(They are way overdue, sitting around since 2000)
• 1305, 1468 & 1482(They should be part of the rehabs, but I don't know if CTA just wrote them off or what)
• 4071(Again, I don't know what caused this bus to be retired so soon, but it's been sitting on the inactive roster for quite some time now and nobody has said why)
• 4333(Kind of early to say this one will be scrapped, but if not in this contract, it should be soon)

There might be some miscellaneous buses that need retiring(Fishbowls, other retired buses sitting around, perhaps some 5800's? The 6000's and 5300's should be pretty much all gone from the scrap line and I'm sure the 4400's are all gone). If anything, the first bullet group in the above list should be in this contract(again, IMO).

The ex-CFD and CPD buses should be scrapped by a city agency as the CTA should be clear of all responsibility of these vehicles.

• 32 Optimas going to be reused.... 30 downstate, 2 for Cook County Sheriff's Dept.=32
• Contract for scrapped buses is for 20.
• 45 Optimas are currently retired, 32 are going to be reused(45-32=13) Contract for the scrap buses is 20(20-13=7). I did say seven if you reread my post inquiring about the difference between what remains(13) and the contract(20). What I may be incorrect about is what other seven are going to be scrapped. You say it's Optimas and Novas, which doesn't make sense to me(you gave your info to peek at the contract. I don't do that unless I intend to bid on it). But the bigger point I'm getting at here is you have Novas that are going to be scrapped in this small 20 bus scrap contract rather than some that have been sitting 10+ years(the 5900's for example, and there have been reports of GM Fishbowls marked "Scrap" down there too). The question to be asked there is why.... why put Novas ahead of long retired equipment that is just taking up space and should've been scrapped many years ago? A contract is going to be put out in 2015 for 200 Novas to be scrapped(roughly 40-45% of the fleet of 484). Why not start scrapping the wrecked, retired and picked clean Novas then? And also, how many more are going to be salvaged for Workbus duty? Some will no doubt be retained(I've seen a ex-4900 numbered WB-13, so they may have 13 Workbuses at any given time in the fleet, perhaps more... I don't know where the number ends).

[Busjack]

I...

• Contract for scrapped buses is for 20.
• ....

Wrong. Contract is for UP TO 20. Go back and read what that means.

[jajuan]

SW, the contract was for up to 20. So that means whomever got the contract would be responsible for crushing a final number of buses that can be less than or equal to 20. So if after CTA finishes sending off the 30 buses plus the 2 that were already slated to go elsewhere, the entity crushing the remaining 13 would still be within the bounds of the contract if all they crushed were that 13 buses because they wouldn't be crushing more than the 20 maximum specified in the contract.