"Zoo Bus" may be making a comeback...

[jajuan]

Hey south don't have any Orions!! So what will the ryan bus use? How many buses will get wrapped for this 3 or 4?

If South Division will be in fact doing the 772 route, it seems you might be taking that advertisement a bit too literally in terms of the model bus that might get used. The other special event/seasonal express routes that Pace does pretty much show that Orions aren't the other buses that do service on those types of routes because of the fact that some of them are assigned to Pace divisions that don't have or use Orions.

EDIT: I meant to type "Orions aren't the only buses that do service......" up above. I didn't type the correction directly into the post text since Jack happened to quote it in his response below mine.

Edited May 21, 2014 by jajuan

[Busjack]

If South Division will be in fact doing the 772 route, it seems you might be taking that advertisement a bit too literally in terms of the model bus that might get used. The other special event/seasonal express routes that Pace does pretty much show that Orions aren't the other buses that do service on those types of routes because of the fact that some of them are assigned to Pace divisions that don't have or use Orions.

Like the U.S. Cellular specials from Markham, for instance.

Also, it doesn't necessarily follow that because this is classified as ESPD that it will be wrapped.

[MetroShadow]

Hey south don't have any Orions!! So what will the ryan bus use? How many buses will get wrapped for this 3 or 4?

Southwest will be operating the route, so that answers the question.

[mel bernero]

Rode Pace 770 today from the Green Line to the Zoo. I was talking to the driver and he said that 770 and 771 interline at the Zoo; 770 turns into 771 and 771 turns into 770. There was one wrap bus on the route #6058 with the other being a blue NABI. Neither bus had an operating sign, 6058 had a blank sign while the blue NABI had a Not In Service sign. I was the only passenger on the trips I rode.

[artthouwill]

Looking at the 770 Saturday schedule, it mirrors the 305 schedule exactly leaving from the Green Line and stopping at the Blue Line.:

I really don't think adding stops along the 772 would hurt it. I could see stops along 95th at Ashland and Western, perhaps Cicero and Harlem,, but Midway seems too out of the way, especially when you can taike the 62H and transfer to the 330 at Harlem .

[Busjack]

Rode Pace 770 today from the Green Line to the Zoo. I was talking to the driver and he said that 770 and 771 interline at the Zoo; 770 turns into 771 and 771 turns into 770. There was one wrap bus on the route #6058 with the other being a blue NABI. Neither bus had an operating sign, 6058 had a blank sign while the blue NABI had a Not In Service sign. I was the only passenger on the trips I rode.

It may have been a moot point at the time you rode, but was there any way to communicate to a potential rider in Brookfield which bus was going to which station. One couldn't just tape a "770" sign to the windshield. The 763 run box sure doesn't communicate anything. Or was Miss Pace working?

[BusHunter]

Rode Pace 770 today from the Green Line to the Zoo. I was talking to the driver and he said that 770 and 771 interline at the Zoo; 770 turns into 771 and 771 turns into 770. There was one wrap bus on the route #6058 with the other being a blue NABI. Neither bus had an operating sign, 6058 had a blank sign while the blue NABI had a Not In Service sign. I was the only passenger on the trips I rode.

It would be interesting to see the blue NABI. Is it wrapped? Makes a little sense that the buses are out of West, On their downtime when service is not scheduled those could run the #304 or #331. So the other bus is out of SW for the #772?

[MetroShadow]

It would be interesting to see the blue NABI. Is it wrapped? Makes a little sense that the buses are out of West, On their downtime when service is not scheduled those could run the #304 or #331. So the other bus is out of SW for the #772?

Yes.

[BusHunter]

It would have been cool if I could've saw the guy in a monkey suit!!

[jesi2282]

It would be interesting to see the blue NABI. Is it wrapped? Makes a little sense that the buses are out of West, On their downtime when service is not scheduled those could run the #304 or #331. So the other bus is out of SW for the #772?

During weekdays, in Pace's eyes, a wrapped bus is just another bus, I can't speak for other divisions, but unless there a Cubs or Bears game, West does not assign curtain buses to curtain routes...

[mel bernero]

It may have been a moot point at the time you rode, but was there any way to communicate to a potential rider in Brookfield which bus was going to which station. One couldn't just tape a "770" sign to the windshield. The 763 run box sure doesn't communicate anything. Or was Miss Pace working?

If anyone was waiting for the bus at the designated stops, the driver would open the door and verbally tell the passenger where the bus was going. The only stops are at the Marion entrance of the Green Line, Forest Park Terminal of the Blue Line, 54th Terminal of the Pink Line and Brookfield Zoo.

[jajuan]

During weekdays, in Pace's eyes, a wrapped bus is just another bus, I can't speak for other divisions, but unless there a Cubs or Bears game, West does not assign curtain buses to curtain routes...

My having seen Wrigley Field wrapped Orions on Pace routes #250 and #290 on winter and nongame summer days pretty much confirms your point that outside of their services on ESPD routes, a wrapped bus for Pace is just another bus and used as such. Also if anyone saw a 772, they've seen them two weeks earlier than anyone else given the Pace website says only 770 and 771 started service so far, while 772 will begin June 7th.

[jesi2282]

Looks like Pace is expanding service again, new route 778 will serve Riis Park, Humboldt Park, and Kilbourne Park starting in the summer, this should be interesting...

http://www.pacebus.com/sub/espd/brookfield_zoo.asp

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, jesi2282 said:

Looks like Pace is expanding service again, new route 778 will serve Riis Park, Humboldt Park, and Kilbourne Park starting in the summer, this should be interesting...

http://www.pacebus.com/sub/espd/brookfield_zoo.asp

pdf only had 770, 771, 772, though.

[jajuan]

If the fare is only $1.75 on these routes, I'm a bit confused to why riders using regular Pace or CTA passes from their Ventra cards would need to pay a surcharge. But it also looks like the webpage has it reversed from what the pdf says. The pdf says the $1.75 fare applies if only you're using a Ventra card with cash fare being $2.

[Pace831]

1 hour ago, jajuan said:

If the fare is only $1.75 on these routes, I'm a bit confused to why riders using regular Pace or CTA passes from their Ventra cards would need to pay a surcharge. But it also looks like the webpage has it reversed from what the pdf says. The pdf says the $1.75 fare applies if only you're using a Ventra card with cash fare being $2.

Most special event buses are $4 premium fare, with a "surcharge" of $2.25 if you have a pass. It looks like they copied and pasted the info from one of those pages, but failed to remove the bit about the surcharge to reflect that the zoo routes are regular fare.

[jajuan]

1 minute ago, Pace831 said:

Most special event buses are $4 premium fare, with a "surcharge" of $2.25 if you have a pass. It looks like they copied and pasted the info from one of those pages, but failed to remove the bit about the surcharge to reflect that the zoo routes are regular fare.

Ah, a lack of proofreading as sometimes happens with CTA's online communications.