600-series Proterra BE40/ZX5 - Updates

[BusHunter]

2 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Summer is unofficially here and the 6400s aren't retired yet.  I wasn't advocating giving them away or selling them am.  It was more of a get prepared for CTA to use its drivers and those buses in a similar manner like 2 years ago when some drivers here were complaining about being used for police service instead of transit service.  Since LL has this curfew for teens in place, I expect defiance moreover than compliance.   She's going to need the National Guard here very soon.  I'm going to start looking to book a trip out of town 

Yeah with the casino coming, we have yet to see how bad it can get. Downtown is already a shoot em up, I doubt a casino will help. Basically Lightfoot just sold the city in a nicely wrapped bow. It's too bad she's not concerned about the cta which could use some of those proceeds. The buses are getting older and the electrics are unproven so far. NF could get them some buses Pronto but nobody wants to buy from them. Like they say on Planet of the apes, her destiny will await her. 

[Shannoncvpi]

On 5/27/2022 at 7:23 PM, BusHunter said:

Yeah with the casino coming, we have yet to see how bad it can get. Downtown is already a shoot em up, I doubt a casino will help. Basically Lightfoot just sold the city in a nicely wrapped bow. It's too bad she's not concerned about the cta which could use some of those proceeds. The buses are getting older and the electrics are unproven so far. NF could get them some buses Pronto but nobody wants to buy from them. Like they say on Planet of the apes, her destiny will await her. 

Downtown will be already they can figure it out just like we have to figure it out out here in the real chicago I like the 6400's are still kicking it the few thats still running idk why cta dont want to by from NF they most definitely can they have the money to do so & the electric buses are just junk 

[Busjack]

9 hours ago, Shannoncvpi said:

Downtown will be already they can figure it out just like we have to figure it out out here in the real chicago I like the 6400's are still kicking it the few thats still running idk why cta dont want to by from NF they most definitely can they have the money to do so & the electric buses are just junk 

That's been explained here MANY times.

• If bidders are equally qualified, they have to take the lowest bid.

I'm also sure you have the mechanical and engineering degrees to make the last determination. Heck, it took a structural engineering inspection to retire the NABIs. And, as stated in this article, your homies want diesels out of the hood.

[Shannoncvpi]

30 minutes ago, Busjack said:

That's been explained here MANY times.

• If bidders are equally qualified, they have to take the lowest bid.

I'm also sure you have the mechanical and engineering degrees to make the last determination. Heck, it took a structural engineering inspection to retire the NABIs. And, as stated in this article, your homies want diesels out of the hood.

The crooked goverment want diesels out & yea it good structural mechanics to down the nabis but at the same time when you go cheap thats when you have more problems like they have with the novas now always breaking down if you say your going to have a reliable fleet you have to spend that money not cheap out 

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Shannoncvpi said:

The crooked goverment want diesels out

As the linked article indicates, maybe you should talk to the "community activists."

[Busjack]

603 is apparently back in service:

[Policeman]

Surprisingly, there are 6 Proterra on the 66 today

[pudgym29]

On Wednesday, I was on the Jazz Institute of Chicago's Jazz Club Tour.

I wound up at Winter's Jazz Club on N. McClurg Ct. - although it is actually a 200-yard walk east from McClurg and Illinois St., facing the slip.
It closed down earlier than I expected. I guess other venues on the tour were open later, but I did not want to finish my evening there.
I did not need any more beers. [Winter's has a two-drink minimum. However, on the Jazz Club Tour, we were exempt from this rule. I had two 4 Hands Cast Iron canned beers [$9.00 each]. This was the best beer selection of the venues I did hit.]
I was completely nude as far as objects I typically carry go. My Panasonic DMC-LX3 camera is in the repair shop. My satchel, which holds my Windows® 8.1 laptop computer, was left at home. I forgot to put on my cheap digital watch. My jazz tour ticket was in a fanny pack.
I walked from Winter's to Grand Ave. & McClurg to catch a bus that would get me to the Blue Line “L”. There are a handful of buses even this late in the evening that would perform this.
What was the first bus to arrive? A route #66 Chicago bus. But not merely your typical 40-footer from either NovaBus or New Flyer, nor a 60-footer New Flyer hybrid. It was one of the 40-footer electric buses from Proterra (#603). This was my first ride on one of them. (I have gotten photographs of them in service.)
What was it like? I'll begin with the jaw-dropping facet. Merely a week after finally retiring Nova buses with a rearward-facing seat, these Proterra buses have two rearward-facing seats. ? They were unoccupied and unpopular.
They have both the red LED display at the front, and two color LCD sets at the front and middle of them. "Mr. CTA" announces the stops as well. The LCD sets have the correct data about upcoming stops, and their potential transfers. The area of the screen where the map tracking its location alternates with Authority messages [Don't put your bag on another seat - it might disappear. | Be careful exiting the bus, especially at night or in inclement weather.]. It has a window at the back.
This is in contrast to the entering-service 8350s Nova buses, in which the red LED display has been eliminated, but the route information data is still missing. ? (Hopefully, this was be remedied soon.)
The seats are the same as the 8350s. The rear exit door slides open left-right. Its air conditioning seemed to be fine. Granted, this was not one of the hottest summer nights. It was quite silent. Its acceleration rate was suitable.
It is a pretty good bus. But it needs to lose those rearward-facing seats. Longitudinal seats, although similarly discommended, would find more passengers occupying them.

Edited August 25, 2022 by pudgym29
Pasting in composed text is perplexing. Not having a preview mode is also disappointing. No wonder we get one-sentence 'replies' from other members.

[Policeman]

612 hit service on the 66

[Policeman]

Here's 612

[BusHunter]

2 hours ago, Policeman said:

Here's 612

Then we should be seeing then all soon. They finally have moved past the 2nd prototype trials. Plus chicago will be purging more buses. Novas to fg or 1000s to somewhere else. 

[YoungBusLover]

10 hours ago, BusHunter said:

Then we should be seeing then all soon. They finally have moved past the 2nd prototype trials. Plus chicago will be purging more buses. Novas to fg or 1000s to somewhere else. 

The mid to upper #600s were getting moved out of the bays yesterday to finally get washed and possibly moved to C and 74th. I was happy to see them active and moving around yesterday morning. 

[Mr.NewFlyer1051]

1 hour ago, YoungBusLover said:

The mid to upper #600s were getting moved out of the bays yesterday to finally get washed and possibly moved to C and 74th. I was happy to see them active and moving around yesterday morning. 

what numbers are left at SS like 608-622?

[YoungBusLover]

3 hours ago, Mr.NewFlyer1051 said:

what numbers are left at SS like 608-622?

Pretty much everything except #612. I'll double check though. 

[BusHunter]

Yesterday morning there were 7 #600's on the #66. That has to be a new record.  I think the only ones missing were #600 and #606 maybe #604 too.

[BusHunter]

#613 is now debuting on the #66

[Shannoncvpi]

618 on its way down to SS once again 

[artthouwill]

6 minutes ago, Shannoncvpi said:

618 on its way down to SS once again 

Is it me, or does it seem like the 700 series New Flyers have spent more time in service?  I know they've been sitting up lately too, but overall it seems like they've spent more time on the road than any Proterra. 

[BusHunter]

47 minutes ago, artthouwill said:

Is it me, or does it seem like the 700 series New Flyers have spent more time in service?  I know they've been sitting up lately too, but overall it seems like they've spent more time on the road than any Proterra. 

I'm starting to wonder if they are coming back they are 8 years old. A few more years and they can scrap them.

[NewFlyerMCI]

1 hour ago, artthouwill said:

Is it me, or does it seem like the 700 series New Flyers have spent more time in service?  I know they've been sitting up lately too, but overall it seems like they've spent more time on the road than any Proterra. 

 

1 hour ago, BusHunter said:

I'm starting to wonder if they are coming back they are 8 years old. A few more years and they can scrap them.

When was the last time either of them were in service? I can find info on some proterra's all the way back to early June (and maybe before that), but 700 & 701 won't have their history load when I check Maths22

[YoungBusLover]

58 minutes ago, BusHunter said:

I'm starting to wonder if they are coming back they are 8 years old. A few more years and they can scrap them.

One could argue that it wouldn't make much sense to scrap a low mileage electric bus. When they're in service they hardly had any hiccups so whatever the issue may be with then could be just as simple as updating electrical components. That's just my assumption though. The #700s should be active by at least 2023 if not then we can start raising concern. 

[YoungBusLover]

Just now, NewFlyerMCI said:

 

When was the last time either of them were in service? I can find info on some proterra's all the way back to early June (and maybe before that), but 700 & 701 won't have their history load when I check Maths22

2020 I remember  both 700s being active because they got wrapped into the current wrap they have no. 701 may have been active a few times in early 2021 for training purposes. 

[Shannoncvpi]

3 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Is it me, or does it seem like the 700 series New Flyers have spent more time in service?  I know they've been sitting up lately too, but overall it seems like they've spent more time on the road than any Proterra. 

Yea they been laying up lately last time I seen one out of like last winter or before when on of my homies still worked at CTA before he went to the railroad he had the green on out that day I think 

[Shannoncvpi]

1 hour ago, YoungBusLover said:

One could argue that it wouldn't make much sense to scrap a low mileage electric bus. When they're in service they hardly had any hiccups so whatever the issue may be with then could be just as simple as updating electrical components. That's just my assumption though. The #700s should be active by at least 2023 if not then we can start raising concern. 

Ever since one cause fire back in what 17 when it was still at K doing the 52 that day those haven't really ran like that 

[BusHunter]

31 minutes ago, Shannoncvpi said:

Ever since one cause fire back in what 17 when it was still at K doing the 52 that day those haven't really ran like that 

Yeah that would be my answer. The buses were sent for a rehab after that and never really went into service.  #701 had limited service bit I believe #700 has not been in service since the fire.