755/855 Expansion Coming Forthwith.

[MetroShadow]

I'd be remiss if Pace couldn't pull a couple of trips off of the Southwest Extra Board to at least get them to Burr Ridge and Bolingbrook, vehicle availability pending.

There's also a South 361 that could be thrown into the mix too (from Joliet) or any of the 877/888/390/890 that could get to Bolingbrook after their runs (granted those are likely split shifts); if the schedulers REALLY want to get creative (and that bus isn't tied to any other runs), and even though they aren't OTRs, if you need added capacity, it is time to start thinking about borrowing from other garages to achieve coverage (temporarily).

And based on some of those trip start times, it is easier said than done.

it's a problem, but a good problem to have, especially if new Plainfield won't be done for at least a year.

[rotjohns]

1 hour ago, MetroShadow said:

I'd be remiss if Pace couldn't pull a couple of trips off of the Southwest Extra Board to at least get them to Burr Ridge and Bolingbrook, vehicle availability pending.

There's also a South 361 that could be thrown into the mix too (from Joliet) or any of the 877/888/390/890 that could get to Bolingbrook after their runs (granted those are likely split shifts); if the schedulers REALLY want to get creative (and that bus isn't tied to any other runs), and even though they aren't OTRs, if you need added capacity, it is time to start thinking about borrowing from other garages to achieve coverage (temporarily).

And based on some of those trip start times, it is easier said than done.

it's a problem, but a good problem to have, especially if new Plainfield won't be done for at least a year.

I haven't been to Joliet in a while and I've never seen the Joliet garage.  Does it have enough capacity to accommodate more buses with the current OTRs and Eldos?  

[west towns]

Now are all theae buses wrapped?   Or do they have bumper sticker on back authorized to use shoulder.   I still believe buses dont need to be wrapped.

[west towns]

What is the capacity of heritage?  Could the pulling of the midlife project and needing all the available space for buses are related?   

[west towns]

Training of drivers for bos service from other bus barns would be a big issue if looking for immediate relieve.    

[Busjack]

4 hours ago, west towns said:

Now are all theae buses wrapped?   Or do they have bumper sticker on back authorized to use shoulder.   I still believe buses dont need to be wrapped.

Your belief is still wrong. The fact that the 6510s they are using have flush windows indicates they have to be wrapped.

3 hours ago, west towns said:

Training of drivers for bos service from other bus barns would be a big issue if looking for immediate relieve.    

Again, I mentioned being at the meeting where Melissa Metzger said "our employees have to be trained." So, in that sense you are correct that whoever drives BOS needs to be trained.

Actual Pace drivers can better respond, but it appears that the union situation (some divisions represented by Teamsters, others by ATU) doesn't facilitate transfers between divisions, as opposed to all CTA drivers belonging to ATU 241. Usually Pace picks up the slack by hiring PTOs.As usual, all divisions are advertising for operators.

[MetroShadow]

18 hours ago, rotjohns said:

I haven't been to Joliet in a while and I've never seen the Joliet garage.  Does it have enough capacity to accommodate more buses with the current OTRs and Eldos?  

It's a tight squeeze.

16 hours ago, west towns said:

Now are all theae buses wrapped?   Or do they have bumper sticker on back authorized to use shoulder.   I still believe buses dont need to be wrapped.

I'll defer to Jack.

[Busjack]

17 minutes ago, MetroShadow said:

It's a tight squeeze.

I don't know the capacity, but I remember back when Heritage had part of 835 and Nova Classics, some were in the alley. Since then, the 23 or so local buses were converted from 40' and 35' to 30', saving some space, but Andre's inventory has 56 buses assigned there. Maybe the influx of 6510-11 is due to some 6900s being sent to South Yard 2 (scrap) since then, but as of Tuesday 6900 and 6902 were still on Webwatch.

[west towns]

Is the 6510 a pulse bus?

[Busjack]

2 hours ago, west towns said:

Is the 6510 a pulse bus?

It, and basically 6510-6521 x 13 are (see my and Pace831's posts, with photos.

[west towns]

So yes 6510 will be wrapped  for pulse question now is it wrapped as bos?

[jajuan]

On 3/18/2017 at 9:18 AM, west towns said:

So yes 6510 will be wrapped  for pulse question now is it wrapped as bos?

With the relative ease that TAs now have wrapping  buses or removing and changing wraps today compared to several years ago when a bus had to be out of service for about a month due to getting wrapped, there's no reason for it not to be. 

[garmon757]

By the way guys the capacity of the Heritage Garage is approximately 60 based off the garage is 55,000 square feet. 

[BusHunter]

On 3/18/2017 at 9:18 AM, west towns said:

So yes 6510 will be wrapped  for pulse question now is it wrapped as bos?

I bet it wasn't wrapped, seems funny I haven't seen it since the first day and I've been looking for it too. That's probably one reason why it's not out there. It's probably the most interesting bus in town right now, at least for me but I'm a busnut!! i wonder if possibly it's on another heritage route or has left the garage? 

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, BusHunter said:

i wonder if possibly it's on another heritage route or has left the garage? 

It was on Webwatch on 755 on a pull in before the p.m. rush hour, but I haven't seen it on Webwatch the past couple of days. Only ones I've seen on Webwatch have been in the 6950-6976 range.

[MetroShadow]

On 3/23/2017 at 7:52 AM, garmon757 said:

By the way guys the capacity of the Heritage Garage is approximately 60 based off the garage is 55,000 square feet. 

Thanks for the clarfication. Between the cutaways and abundance of eldorkos and OTR's...60 is possible. it's been awhile since I visited Heritage.

[Busjack]

37 minutes ago, MetroShadow said:

Thanks for the clarfication. Between the cutaways and abundance of eldorkos and OTR's...60 is possible. it's been awhile since I visited Heritage.

The main thing I can figure out is that it is about the same size as Fox Valley and a little smaller than River. However, it can be compared to other divisions having between 50-60 buses (North and North Shore), which are 81,500 sq. ft. Of course, NW is the same square footage, and Pace can't get off the schneid in replacing it.

So, Heritage seems possible, but tight. I also wonder how the old trolley barn type arrangement affects operations (building is long, but also has side doors).

[Busjack]

6511 shows up still on 755:

[Busjack]

Feb. 2017 Minutes reflect an intergovernmental agreement and amendment to the capital budget for the Plainfield parking lot.

[west towns]

sounds as if plainfield p%r

is a reality

[MetroShadow]

10 hours ago, west towns said:

sounds as if plainfield p%r

is a reality

Yes.

[BusHunter]

Hmm.... On Pace bus' front page on it's site, it claims the I-55 express' are running to full capacity. They even go as far as suggesting riders take earlier or later service to not be denied service. Now the question is are we talking standing loads (trips are over an hour) or seats to capacity? Interesting that's it's doing so well.

I wish I could say the same about the I-90 express'. I took a round trip on a midday #603 I only had myself and someone else going with me on the bus, coming back had 3 or 4 riders counting me. I hate to see what the #607 does for ridership. I don't know how much ridership a bus gets going down the highway to NWTC, as it's basically doing the same thing as Randall Rd. Is traffic that bad between the points? You know what would have been really intelligent, have the #605 stop at NWTC and then just go to rosemont or better yet install a beacon at nwtc that if it's tripped the bus will stop there or if someone wants off the bus it will stop there. Seems to me the #607 might be extending service a little. If buses used the shoulder, they should still beat the traffic which can be pretty ridiculous at times. 

While I was at Elgin transit center, I saw how River was scheduling it's operators. They all seem to do reliefs right there at the Elgin terminal. The #603 I came back on became a #600, so I bet then a #600 becomes a #603 for a relief. I remember when the start of service happened a #600 became a #607 at NWTC, so they got buses doing all sorts of interlines. 45 minutes commuting seemed kind of long for a #603, but I guess it beats a car which can probably take an hour plus in the rush. Still though without using the shoulder yet schedules must be late in the rush. Something else I need to eyeball for another day.

[renardo870]

Looks like there will be a few changes for the 755/850/851/855 I-55 express routes.

[Pace831]

1 hour ago, renardo870 said:

Looks like there will be a few changes for the 755/850/851/855 I-55 express routes.

Already discussed starting here, although this was probably the better topic for it.

[Busjack]

On the question on what's running on the expansion of service, so far 6511 on WebWatch this morning and afternoon and 6512 this afternoon. Will check back in an hour.

BTW, 6514-6521 are running on 250 and 270 at the moment, so that seems to account for the Pulse buses.