7900-series Nova LFS - Updates

[jajuan]

45 minutes ago, Busjack said:

That's an Orion I. Pace no longer uses it on its schedule pamphlet.

A fishbowl would have a rectangular sign.

I zoomed the pic on my phone and it's actually a fishbowl in the white space where route map and/or info would usually be. At any rate, it seems CTA's graphics department has done things like this for years. At the time that the former 3 King Drive Limited was first introduced, CTA pamphlets depicted an Americana on the cover when the route was wheelchair accessible.

[Busjack]

7 minutes ago, jajuan said:

I zoomed the pic on my phone and it's actually a fishbowl in the white space where route map and/or info would usually be. At any rate, it seems CTA's graphics department has done things like this for years. At the time that the former 3 King Drive Limited was first introduced, CTA pamphlets depicted an Americana on the cover when the route was wheelchair accessible.

We're in silly season anyway, but I suppose we could come up with 20 matches and differences.

I guess the real question is why CTA uses a silly sign like this. Some kind of ADA perceptual deficit issue? I doubt it.

[Pace831]

Quote

I guess the real question is why CTA uses a silly sign like this. Some kind of ADA perceptual deficit issue? I doubt it.

Probably as simple as the sign needed to be replaced and they didn't have one with the correct route information on hand, so they used a generic one instead.

There is another at Foster/Long.

 

[Busjack]

8 minutes ago, Pace831 said:

Probably as simple as the sign needed to be replaced and they didn't have one with the correct route information on hand, so they used a generic one instead.

There is another at Foster/Long.

 

The signs (in the sense of what is slapped onto the metal blank) are in the computer, so unlike the days depicted in the video when they had to tape changes onto an existing sign, it shouldn't be that hard to print up the correct one. In any event, they don't have to use anything that silly.

[jajuan]

8 hours ago, Pace831 said:

Probably as simple as the sign needed to be replaced and they didn't have one with the correct route information on hand, so they used a generic one instead.

There is another at Foster/Long.

 

That does tend to be exactly the case. I've noticed them do this when a street a route runs along undergoes some type of extensive construction that requires bus stop and city traffic signs to be temporarily removed. At some point the bus stop sign ends up lost, and CTA throws up a generic one as a placeholder until they get a permanent specific one in place.

[BusHunter]

Someone might have to slip Bruce Moffat a memo. He's in charge of signs at the CTA. I thought he did just rail until I saw his scrutinizing of the signs over at Belmont/Kimball's bus free pay area. Even so, he still may not have control over what they say only over where or how it's placed. Still though I think it's outdated, we're talking a 40 year old graphic here. Maybe a Nova or New Flyer one would modernize it.  It is true what someone said, someone could mistake that stop for being inaccessible to wheelchairs. 

[BusHunter]

On 7/20/2016 at 1:15 AM, sw4400 said:

Here's a pic of a cloth seat on #8250. Took it longways on the phone so not to arouse anyone's suspicion..... unfortunately, it came out sideways....

You have to do what Garmon did. (that sly fox) What he did was sit in the seat there in the front of the bus you photographed and just turned and shoot. You get the whole bus interior from the front perspective. i didn't realize he did that, as I was looking for a similar shot myself without standing in the aisle. You see that when you sit in that seat as I did last week for the first time.

#8229 was having a problem with it's ventra at central, the operator tried to sign it in but it just said not in service. She said to stand by while she gets it online. She never could get it online. We were at cicero and people were just being waved by so I gave up on her and sat down in the back.

[Busjack]

11 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

You have to do what Garmon did. (that sly fox)

Or just put it in your paint program and rotate it 90 degrees.

[BusHunter]

i forgot to mention last week, #8268 on it's first day had a paper taped to it's tank sneeze guard. It looked like a delivery paper or south shops paperwork paper. It had these green highlighted spots in it. I couldn't see the whole thing or take a picture of it (damn) but in walking past it tried to read it. It said something like input the vma number. Sounds like a vehicle registration paper as bus numbers have to be tagged to plates. Why it would still be on the bus I don't know. Possibly the numbers have yet to be put in the computer. Maybe they have this man working there

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=7075443&page=1

I can remember stuff too about buses, but ask me about my relatives birthdays or how old they are and I'm lost.

[BusHunter]

2 hours ago, BusOps said:

You guys do realize that the fare boxes that CTA uses on the new buses are not new boxes. They refurbish them , if needed, when they pull them off a retiring bus. Otherwise they just put the boxes straight on a new or another bus that is having a fare box problem.

What do they do when they have more buses coming in than retiring like for a service expansion? I think that happened with the #4300's order as they needed more buses for the Ryan closure. They go get some in back at south shops or go to the used farebox emporium? Do they have a cache of 100-200 fareboxes somewhere? All boneyard buses that have been decommissioned have there fareboxes removed unless you want to say the #7500's left them that cache, but you would think the #4000's got those.

[busfan2847]

6 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

What do they do when they have more buses coming in than retiring like for a service expansion? I think that happened with the #4300's order as they needed more buses for the Ryan closure. They go get some in back at south shops or go to the used farebox emporium? Do they have a cache of 100-200 fareboxes somewhere? All boneyard buses that have been decommissioned have there fareboxes removed unless you want to say the #7500's left them that cache, but you would think the #4000's got those.

They had a several hundred fareboxes removed from the 6000 Flxible Metros when they were withdrawn in Feb-2010.

[BusHunter]

Kudos to FG, they seem to be turning up the AC on the #8200's, I had two colder buses, shocking. Not freezing cold though as I think that's impossible on these new buses. Now if only Chicago would do something. A woman was fanning herself on the fullerton yesterday. i was like yeah I know how you feel. She was in the back too. Those rear seats too they are hot on the tush just like the fishbowls were. Not the place to sit on those buses for sure!! I just hope there isn't some kind of overheat issue cause a new bus shouldn't be doing that. I was enjoying the ac though as I embraced the back door. That's the best standing position by far. I sat down where someone was sitting and it was hot, kind of disgusting, but the AC was showing that person was still hot and had not cooled down their core temperature either and I know they were on the bus for a good clip at least western to cicero. 

[BusHunter]

19 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Or just put it in your paint program and rotate it 90 degrees.

yeah but he got the whole bus. just sitting in that seat your like wow what a view!!

[Busjack]

5 hours ago, BusHunter said:

yeah but he got the whole bus. just sitting in that seat your like wow what a view!!

I used an indefinite antecedent. I meant sw.

[jajuan]

7 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Someone might have to slip Bruce Moffat a memo. He's in charge of signs at the CTA. I thought he did just rail until I saw his scrutinizing of the signs over at Belmont/Kimball's bus free pay area. Even so, he still may not have control over what they say only over where or how it's placed. Still though I think it's outdated, we're talking a 40 year old graphic here. Maybe a Nova or New Flyer one would modernize it.  It is true what someone said, someone could mistake that stop for being inaccessible to wheelchairs. 

Nah I doubt anyone would think that bus stop is inaccessible to wheelchairs given there's nothing like some form of construction to make it a challenge for a bus to load/unload a wheelchair safely as well as how much CTA has touted bus operations being 100% accessible every chance they got for the last 12 years.

[Busjack]

23 hours ago, jajuan said:

... At any rate, it seems CTA's graphics department has done things like this for years. At the time that the former 3 King Drive Limited was first introduced, CTA pamphlets depicted an Americana on the cover when the route was wheelchair accessible.

 

21 hours ago, BusHunter said:

... Still though I think it's outdated, we're talking a 40 year old graphic here. Maybe a Nova or New Flyer one would modernize it.  It is true what someone said, someone could mistake that stop for being inaccessible to wheelchairs. 

 

14 hours ago, jajuan said:

Nah I doubt anyone would think that bus stop is inaccessible to wheelchairs given there's nothing like some form of construction to make it a challenge for a bus to load/unload a wheelchair safely as well as how much CTA has touted bus operations being 100% accessible every chance they got for the last 12 years.

Seriously, what probably happened is that someone used some icon in an Illustrator program to design the sign. Not much different than the airplane on the Luminator or Axion signs don't look like a real airplane. I don't think CTA made any effort to depict any particular type of bus.

[jajuan]

1 minute ago, Busjack said:

 

 

Seriously, what probably happened is that someone used some icon in an Illustrator program to design the sign. Not much different than the airplane on the Luminator and Axion signs don't look like a real airplane. I don't think CTA made any effort to depict any particular type of bus.

I don't think I implied that they did. Just observing that they really don't care what type of bus is shown a bus stop sign or paper and electronic media communication to riders as long as they accomplish their main goal of communicating the current state of bus operations (service times, marking the location of bus stops, detours, etc.) with this case being temporary generic sign to indicate that yes that spot is a bus stop.

[XE NewFlyer]

8207's ventra scanner was not working

i was on 8272 on the 76 today but i don't have a photo

[sw4400]

13 hours ago, Busjack said:

Or just put it in your paint program and rotate it 90 degrees.

I actually did that, Busjack. I saved it upright and uploaded it from my computer to here, but it would not upload in the saved, upright position, it just uploaded in the angled position.

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, sw4400 said:

I actually did that, Busjack. I saved it upright and uploaded it from my computer to here, but it would not upload in the saved, upright position, it just uploaded in the angled position.

Kevin did mention something like that before, so you should p.m. him.

[BusHunter]

Well well #8273 is on the #77. I guess the mailman delivers on sunday. Lol!!

[andrethebusman]

22 hours ago, BusHunter said:

#8229 was having a problem with it's ventra at central, the operator tried to sign it in but it just said not in service. She said to stand by while she gets it online. She never could get it online. We were at cicero and people were just being waved by so I gave up on her and sat down in the back.

The cure for that is you shut the bus off a second. This forces the Mobile Validator to reboot. Takes less than a minute, and most likely it will come up OK.

As for fareboxes, there are roughly 3000 farebox bodies out there, ranging from serials 0001 (have seen that one at FG) thru somewhere in the high 2900's, possibly 2999 though I have never seen that one. Normally the canister has same number as farebox body, with spare cannisters being in the 3200's (maybe 50 or so). Remember. all the innards, the bill acceptor, coin counter, motherboard, etc, are fully replaceable, and the only constants are the steel body and the canister.

[sw4400]

A lot of new Novas out on various routes today(probably because Belmont is using less buses today, being Sunday)

78: 8255,8253,8227,8231

80: 8218,8242,8221,8216

152: 8222,8239,8250,8224,8268,8264,8247

56: 8260,8205,8244

76: 8272,8246,8266,8204,8229

This break will allow FG Maintenance staff to do touch up work on the 2nd Gen Novas(6709-6883) that need it to keep them chugging along until they're pulled from service.

[sw4400]

7 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Well well #8273 is on the #77. I guess the mailman delivers on sunday. Lol!!

Still absent is #8249(the mystery seat bus..... blue plastic or black cloth). Must still be in Plattsburgh or at South Shops held for some reason.

[jajuan]

1 hour ago, sw4400 said:

A lot of new Novas out on various routes today(probably because Belmont is using less buses today, being Sunday)

78: 8255,8253,8227,8231

80: 8218,8242,8221,8216

152: 8222,8239,8250,8224,8268,8264,8247

56: 8260,8205,8244

76: 8272,8246,8266,8204,8229

This break will allow FG Maintenance staff to do touch up work on the 2nd Gen Novas(6709-6883) that need it to keep them chugging along until they're pulled from service.

Yeah that would still be a reason though new Novas have shown up on different routes other than Belmont during weekdays more consistently over the last week to week and a half at least.