700-series XE40 - Deliveries & Assignments

[Bflomike]

Of course right after I make my first post as a member of this site I got to catch my first ride on a 700 series. 701 to be exact. I must say I was impressed, and this is coming from a chronic gasoholic. Seriously though I'm excited to see where this technology leads us in the coming decade. So I took plenty of interior shots but I'm not going to post more of the same but I am going to post one shot because I'm curious what you guys think. I used the panorama feature from the back center seat and other than being a little dark I think it's a pretty cool shot. But sometimes these don't turn out well on computer screens but on mobile devices you can at least pinch to zoom and pan across it. Oh and another thing from the picture is a little camera magic with the motor coach in there. When did they start making 15' buses?

[garmon757]

Of course right after I make my first post as a member of this site I got to catch my first ride on a 700 series. 701 to be exact. I must say I was impressed, and this is coming from a chronic gasoholic. Seriously though I'm excited to see where this technology leads us in the coming decade. So I took plenty of interior shots but I'm not going to post more of the same but I am going to post one shot because I'm curious what you guys think. I used the panorama feature from the back center seat and other than being a little dark I think it's a pretty cool shot. But sometimes these don't turn out well on computer screens but on mobile devices you can at least pinch to zoom and pan across it. Oh and another thing from the picture is a little camera magic with the motor coach in there. When did they start making 15' buses?

I can't stop laughing about that special made coach bus! :lol:

[Busjack]

Of course right after I make my first post as a member of this site I got to catch my first ride on a 700 series. 701 to be exact. I must say I was impressed, and this is coming from a chronic gasoholic. Seriously though I'm excited to see where this technology leads us in the coming decade. So I took plenty of interior shots but I'm not going to post more of the same but I am going to post one shot because I'm curious what you guys think. I used the panorama feature from the back center seat and other than being a little dark I think it's a pretty cool shot. But sometimes these don't turn out well on computer screens but on mobile devices you can at least pinch to zoom and pan across it. Oh and another thing from the picture is a little camera magic with the motor coach in there. When did they start making 15' buses?

Picture looks good to me.

I can't stop laughing about that special made coach bus!

I'm assuming it is not a result of camera distortion, since the SUV looks o.k. in context.

My guess is that it is some sort of conversion of a Ford Transit Connect, Nissan NV or some similar vehicle. Looks neat, though.

[Juniorz]

Bflomike we want to see those other shots you worked hard to get those shots, don't be afraid to post and make sure you CREDIT YOUR WORK!!!!!

[Bflomike]

Picture looks good to me.

I'm assuming it is not a result of camera distortion, since the SUV looks o.k. in context.

My guess is that it is some sort of conversion of a Ford Transit Connect, Nissan NV or some similar vehicle. Looks neat, though.

It's actually a full size 45' mci coach. It was just a perfectly timed series of events. Everyone was stopped and as soon as I started the shot that bus started to move then we started to go and then the SUV. Just one of those weird timing deals that can happen with an elapsed exposure which is how the pano shots work on cell phones. With all the movement I thought the picture was going to be garbage and seeing that bus in there made my day... Well that and catching 701 in person.

[Busjack]

It's actually a full size 45' mci coach. It was just a perfectly timed series of events. Everyone was stopped and as soon as I started the shot that bus started to move then we started to go and then the SUV. Just one of those weird timing deals that can happen with an elapsed exposure which is how the pano shots work on cell phones....

Fooled me. Anything else freaky, other than that obviously the bus interior is not splayed at the back?

[Busjack]

New Flyer said where the others are being tested (Winnepeg). The release notes that those buses have the pantograph quick charging system. IIRC, it hasn't been said what CTA is using.

[geneking7320]

I'm curious, when will there be pics of the 700s in the Buses section of the site?

[BusHunter]

I don't know if you guys saw the news in review but there's a good look at the dash of the #700's. They have one of those new dashes with all backlit displays like the newer cars have. That's cool!! It's nice to see a bus manufacturer keep up with the auto industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT2KETxnKyU&list=TLZ0eexuFX8Ws

[Juniorz]

I'm curious, when will there be pics of the 700s in the Buses section of the site?

When there is a opportunity to catch them. They are very hard to catch because of the weekday rush period timeframe, most of us are usually going to destinations during that time frame, but i'm sure people will try to catch the bus

[Mr.cta85]

Saw bus 700 yesterday downtown. Haven't seen or heard of them for about a few weeks, I figured it must have been too cold to bring them out to play lol or it takes a really long time to charge them up lol.

[busfan2847]

Saw bus 700 yesterday downtown. Haven't seen or heard of them for about a few weeks, I figured it must have been too cold to bring them out to play lol or it takes a really long time to charge them up lol.

No they have been out most days on their regular workings. There was one day last week when 700 did not come out in the morning.

[MTRSP1900-CTA3200]

Almost had a little race with #701 on Halsted on my way home. If only both lanes were open by the Circle Interchange... We had to squeeze down into one lane and the bus ended up behind me.

[NewFlyerMCI]

So, will CTA be ordering more? And will they add charging stations at FG so that they can be relieved of their moldy-oldy Nova's?

Best garages for the 700's (IMO)

103rd (N5, 95's, 100, 103, 106, 108, 111, 115, 119, 128, 192)

Chicago (57)

74th (55A, 55N, 62H, 63W, 75, 165)

77th (1, 43, 51)

Forest Glen (All, until they redistribute/get rid of Novas)

Kedzie (already there, but 7, 10, 19, 37, 120, 121, 124, 125, 130, 156)

North Park (X98, 11, 49B, 93, 96, 97, 154 (did that get canceled?), 155, 201, 205, 206)

[RJL6000]

So, will CTA be ordering more? And will they add charging stations at FG so that they can be relieved of their moldy-oldy Nova's?

Best garages for the 700's (IMO)

103rd (N5, 95's, 100, 103, 106, 108, 111, 115, 119, 128, 192)

Chicago (57)

74th (55A, 55N, 62H, 63W, 75, 165)

77th (1, 43, 51)

Forest Glen (All, until they redistribute/get rid of Novas)

Kedzie (already there, but 7, 10, 19, 37, 120, 121, 124, 125, 130, 156)

North Park (X98, 11, 49B, 93, 96, 97, 154 (did that get canceled?), 155, 201, 205, 206)

You forgot that Kedzie no longer handles the 37. The 37 is now handled by the Chicago Garage.

[ChicagoNova]

So, will CTA be ordering more? And will they add charging stations at FG so that they can be relieved of their moldy-oldy Nova's?

Best garages for the 700's (IMO)

103rd (N5, 95's, 100, 103, 106, 108, 111, 115, 119, 128, 192)

Chicago (57)

74th (55A, 55N, 62H, 63W, 75, 165)

77th (1, 43, 51)

Forest Glen (All, until they redistribute/get rid of Novas)

Kedzie (already there, but 7, 10, 19, 37, 120, 121, 124, 125, 130, 156)

North Park (X98, 11, 49B, 93, 96, 97, 154 (did that get canceled?), 155, 201, 205, 206)

Forest Glen (not North Park) actually takes care of 205 & 206.

[NewFlyerMCI]

You forgot that Kedzie no longer handles the 37. The 37 is now handled by the Chicago Garage.

I was going by what this website says, so I thought that the 37 still ran out of Kedzie, my bad.

Forest Glen (not North Park) actually takes care of 205 & 206.

By the above quote and response, I am also going to assume that 56, 92, 205 and 206 are, as quoted, no longer shared between North Park and Forest Glen

[Busjack]

So, will CTA be ordering more? And will they add charging stations at FG so that they can be relieved of their moldy-oldy Nova's?

...

Getting back to the main question, it was as one time TIGGER grant of $2.5 million. So, unless ARRA is going to be reenacted (and it sure won't) the answer is no.

[garmon757]

So, will CTA be ordering more? And will they add charging stations at FG so that they can be relieved of their moldy-oldy Nova's?

Best garages for the 700's (IMO)

103rd (N5, 95's, 100, 103, 106, 108, 111, 115, 119, 128, 192)

Chicago (57)

74th (55A, 55N, 62H, 63W, 75, 165)

77th (1, 43, 51)

Forest Glen (All, until they redistribute/get rid of Novas)

Kedzie (already there, but 7, 10, 19, 37, 120, 121, 124, 125, 130, 156)

North Park (X98, 11, 49B, 93, 96, 97, 154 (did that get canceled?), 155, 201, 205, 206)

You're kidding me right? Do you have millions and millions of dollars that might lead up to billions for all that to take place? Like my goodness, all electric for all Forest Glen routes??? That'll be extremely ill-advised and inconvenient. Also, you have to be mindful of what you post because this post is really troubling me.

[NewFlyerMCI]

You're kidding me right? Do you have millions and millions of dollars that might lead up to billions for all that to take place? Like my goodness, all electric for all Forest Glen routes??? That'll be extremely ill-advised and inconvenient. Also, you have to be mindful of what you post because this post is really troubling me.

I could've have sworn I said IMO. And I believe that Busjack already sufficiently answered the real question here, which was "Is CTA ordering more?" I also stated (All, until they redistribute/get rid of Novas), since FG's fleet is all old buses, the newer ones would be bought in until an even distribution was reached. I understand that an entire fleet of electrics assigned to one garage for an extended period of time is somewhat foolhardy, it was meant to be temporary. Again, why an opinion troubles you so much is troubling in of in itself, seeing as I shouldn't have to censor myself just for you. The day when CTA brings me in as a consultant would be joyous indeed, but both Claypool and myself would need psych evals. Thank you to all who answered my question.

[sw4400]

So, will CTA be ordering more? And will they add charging stations at FG so that they can be relieved of their moldy-oldy Nova's?

Best garages for the 700's (IMO)

103rd (N5, 95's, 100, 103, 106, 108, 111, 115, 119, 128, 192)

Chicago (57)

74th (55A, 55N, 62H, 63W, 75, 165)

77th (1, 43, 51)

Forest Glen (All, until they redistribute/get rid of Novas)

Kedzie (already there, but 7, 10, 19, 37, 120, 121, 124, 125, 130, 156)

North Park (X98, 11, 49B, 93, 96, 97, 154 (did that get canceled?), 155, 201, 205, 206)

CTA will not be ordering anymore New Flyer XE40's for a very long time.... the all-electric bus fleet worldwide is in it's infancy stages. Canada is testing some XE40's in small quantities(4 or less). Nova Bus has an all electric LFS, or LFE if you will in their model types, but like the XE40's, it is being tested and refined. An all-electric fleet is still years away. For now, the best CTA can have is a Diesel-Electric Hybrid bus, which we know New Flyer makes and Nova Bus makes as well, in standard and artic versions.

[Busjack]

CTA will not be ordering anymore New Flyer XE40's for a very long time.... the all-electric bus fleet worldwide is in it's infancy stages. Canada is testing some XE40's in small quantities(4 or less). Nova Bus has an all electric LFS, or LFE if you will in their model types, but like the XE40's, it is being tested and refined. An all-electric fleet is still years away. For now, the best CTA can have is a Diesel-Electric Hybrid bus, which we know New Flyer makes and Nova Bus makes as well, in standard and artic versions.

Besides that, the recent cratering of oil prices makes them less economical, although diesel prices haven't come down as much, and I'll bet CTA is still stuck with bad contracts. See, for instance, this article on Tesla. In the meantime, if the rates for municipal aggregation indicate anything, electricity supply went up about 40% in 2014, although again I don't know if CTA has favorable contracts.

For that matter, I was somewhat surprised that after CTA said it was so environmentally friendly with hybrid buses, it basically gave up on them, only ordering 33 hybrid 4300s because they had a specific grant for hybrids. That added $200K per bus, not $620K. Also, while I correctly predicted that they would make sense only on downtown routes, I'm surprised that they were limited to 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. runs, the variation in routes only being because the trips were interlined.

If CTA really was going to convert FG to something else, they should have followed Pace with CNG, although obviously they won't. Probably can't get the roof tanks under the viaducts.

[sw4400]

Besides that, the recent cratering of oil prices makes them less economical, although diesel prices haven't come down as much, and I'll bet CTA is still stuck with bad contracts. See, for instance, this article on Tesla. In the meantime, if the rates for municipal aggregation indicate anything, electricity supply went up about 40% in 2014, although again I don't know if CTA has favorable contracts.

For that matter, I was somewhat surprised that after CTA said it was so environmentally friendly with hybrid buses, it basically gave up on them, only ordering 33 hybrid 4300s because they had a specific grant for hybrids. That added $200K per bus, not $620K. Also, while I correctly predicted that they would make sense only on downtown routes, I'm surprised that they were limited to 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. runs, the variation in routes only being because the trips were interlined.

If CTA really was going to convert FG to something else, they should have followed Pace with CNG, although obviously they won't. Probably can't get the roof tanks under the viaducts.

I thought CTA was stuck with that 100 bus order as is, since it was piggybacked from a Seattle option, which was probably locked as 33 hybrids and 67 clean diesel. There is an issue about the Hybrids though, as roof pods do have issues with certain viaducts.

I wonder if after a year, the 2 XE40's will be relegated to hopefully just being returned to St. Cloud, where perhaps they'll be converted back to clean diesel or hybrid buses and sent to a Transit Agency who can use a few used buses. I was still surprised that CTA had a sendoff in 2000 for the "Clean Machine" New Flyers at Navy Pier and instead of returning to Canada, they are in their 15th year in South Shops scrap line rusting away.

[Busjack]

I thought CTA was stuck with that 100 bus order as is, since it was piggybacked from a Seattle option, which was probably locked as 33 hybrids and 67 clean diesel. There is an issue about the Hybrids though, as roof pods do have issues with certain viaducts.

...

The only thing said was that they were assigned options, not that they were per Seattle specs. Internet rosters are sketchy, but indicate that Seattle, once it started purchasing hybrid artics, did not purchase any conventional diesels. This seems to be the press release on the Seattle order at issue (my reference is to the NFs in the article, not Orions, and the fleet at a glance at the bottom).

As I pointed out, there was no coincidence in Durbin announcing a grant for 33 hybrid buses and CTA getting 33 hybrid buses.

[BusHunter]

Damn #701 is doing a full trip on the #157.