BusOps Posted June 12, 2023 Report Share Posted June 12, 2023 On 6/8/2023 at 3:07 PM, Busjack said: This was misclassified. It had something to do with electric buses, NOT Random CTA. If anything, it was to give Pace more time to put CNG buses in Wheeling Garage. Since CTA and Pace were going to do this anyway, it was just legislative posturing. Maybe to @artthouwill's point, it probably is meaningless, because the summary states: CNG buses are not zero emissions so your point is moot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 12, 2023 Report Share Posted June 12, 2023 1 hour ago, BusOps said: CNG buses are not zero emissions so your point is mute. I'm not that dumb. Did you read what I quoted from the law?* It said no new contracts for other than zero emission buses after 7/1/2026. For that matter, Pace already has a contract for CNG buses (or at least the board approved one). Also, if the term applied, it is "moot." ________________ *Or, for that matter, what you quoted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted June 22, 2023 Report Share Posted June 22, 2023 Based on the RTAMS PMO: Quote Current Status The contract was executed, and the vendor provided Pace with an updated production schedule due to previous supply chain issues and long lead time items. Deliveries of the buses were delayed and now expected to begin in Q1-2024. Pace is also in the process of increasing the order by two additional buses, bring the total to 22 electric buses. Last Updated 06.22.2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted September 27, 2023 Report Share Posted September 27, 2023 18 hours ago, artthouwill said: .. I haven't seen or heard anything about the Gillig electric that Pace has in its possession supposedly at Plainfield. ... You haven't kept up with posts above or links to the Pace Board videos. The Gillig is at SW, a contract was let to move a charger there, and the bus is supposed to go in service on 381. In the Proterra bankruptcy topic, there is a link to where Metzger said that Proterra will deliver the 22 buses, but they may be delayed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted October 18, 2023 Report Share Posted October 18, 2023 There's a picture of the Pace chairman at the APTA meeting in front of a Damera low-floor paratransit bus. Later discussion was that it was not yet Buy America Act certified, but that it appeared that battery paratransits are more available than battery transits. Brochure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted November 9, 2023 Report Share Posted November 9, 2023 1 hour ago, andrethebusman99 said: What do we know about Gillig 20700? From.November 2022. Demo? If you had posted in and looked at the correct topic (which is this one), you would have seen that Pace bought a 2-year-old demo from Gillig and is testing it. Present plan is to run it on 381. On a related note, it was explained at the Nov. Board Meeting, starting about here, that the single-source contract to purchase an electric paratransit bus ftom Coach and Equipment was a similar deal--C & E had a bus that some other agency didn't have the funds to complete the purchase, so Pace bought the bus to get experience with it, in this case on Pace paratransit routes operated by River Div. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted December 21, 2023 Report Share Posted December 21, 2023 Announcement around here that the electric bus will formally go into service on 95th on Jan. 19. See also the Proterra topic on still expecting the 22 buses. And a surprise here that Metzger said Pace was looking into making South a hydrogen facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busfan2847 Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 Just noticed that Maths22 bustracker run history shows that the Electric Gillig (20700) entered service on 95th St (381) on 12/15 and has been out every weekday from 3:10pm-3:30pm to between 5pm and 7pm since. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 6 Report Share Posted January 6 3 hours ago, busfan2847 said: Just noticed that Maths22 bustracker run history shows that the Electric Gillig (20700) entered service on 95th St (381) on 12/15 and has been out every weekday from 3:10pm-3:30pm to between 5pm and 7pm since. Good catch. I guess they're waiting until the 19th to get all the politicians out there, but have had the soft launch. Looks like a similar deal as the CTA 600s on 63rd, some kind of test on the same block each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 On 1/6/2024 at 1:26 PM, busfan2847 said: Just noticed that Maths22 bustracker run history shows that the Electric Gillig (20700) entered service on 95th St (381) on 12/15 and has been out every weekday from 3:10pm-3:30pm to between 5pm and 7pm since. On the official tracker: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Railguy Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Real test with the electric will be next week with the cold wave in temperatures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 18 Report Share Posted January 18 On 1/9/2024 at 10:31 PM, Railguy said: Real test with the electric will be next week with the cold wave in temperatures When asked at the January meeting if the electric bus would have run last Friday, Merzger said it did fine, but they "cheated" by storing the bus in the garage, and using the diesel heater to heat the interior. The main problem would be that electric heat would drain the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 6 hours ago, Busjack said: When asked at the January meeting if the electric bus would have run last Friday, Merzger said it did fine, but they "cheated" by storing the bus in the garage, and using the diesel heater to heat the interior. The main problem would be that electric heat would drain the battery. The whole purpose of testing is to see how the electric buses would perform. This bus is only out for two to three hours and runs a route that passes by the garage. Why the need for " cheating?" If this bus can't last two hours on a frigid day, what will Pace do with an entire fleet of electric buses that have to stay out eight or more hours? If this happens next winter, Pace North better have some diesel buses or Lake County won't have any service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 14 hours ago, artthouwill said: Why the need for " cheating?" If this bus can't last two hours on a frigid day, what will Pace do with an entire fleet of electric buses that have to stay out eight or more hours? Metzger explained that. Maybe I should have posted the link, but I assumed people could have found it on their own. Anyway: It's experimental technology, and Pace is trying to get experience with it. If the question is whether cold weather, by itself, depleted battery range, she said it was determined that it didn't. She said that storing the bus in the garage and running it on an afternoon trip made sure that it was adequately warmed. However, what could be done for one bus can't be done for an entire fleet unless the garage infrastructure is upgraded. Again, you seem to believe that after 2 weeks of testing, an experimental technology is ready for an 18-hour block under the most extreme weather conditions. Pace is not that unrealistic, and is taking a more measured approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artthouwill Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 8 minutes ago, Busjack said: Metzger explained that. Maybe I should have posted the link, but I assumed people could have found it on their own. Anyway: It's experimental technology, and Pace is trying to get experience with it. If the question is whether cold weather, by itself, depleted battery range, she said it was determined that it didn't. She said that storing the bus in the garage and running it on an afternoon trip made sure that it was adequately warmed. However, what could be done for one bus can't be done for an entire fleet unless the garage infrastructure is upgraded. Again, you seem to believe that after 2 weeks of testing, an experimental technology is ready for an 18-hour block under the most extreme weather conditions. Pace is not that unrealistic, and is taking a more measured approach. I'm not advocating for an 18 hr test. But since the extreme conditions existed, why not put it to the test? I'd much rather gather factual information from one bus than get a few buses later then discover problems that might have been able to have been addressed beforehand. The keyword is experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 8 minutes ago, artthouwill said: why not put it to the test Pace did, but how extreme of a test are you proposing? And at what risk of freezing the riders? Did you watch the video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 19 Report Share Posted January 19 At least Pace got its favorable publicity in all local print and` TV media. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Strange. The bus hasn't been on the tracker since the event (Jan. 19). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 On 1/25/2024 at 4:09 PM, Busjack said: Strange. The bus hasn't been on the tracker since the event (Jan. 19). After almost 2 weeks, it's back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewFlyerMCI Posted February 21 Report Share Posted February 21 20700 spotted in the wild. For Pace to be one of the only agencies with rear route & destination signs, interesting choice to procure buses with neither. Although, I'm not even seeing the indentation where one would usually be, but I think that might be exclusive to New Flyer. Pic not mine, source here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 21 Report Share Posted February 21 10 hours ago, NewFlyerMCI said: For Pace to be one of the only agencies with rear route & destination signs, interesting choice to procure buses with neither. Since, as frequently noted above, Pace bought a 2-year-old demonstrator from Gillig, they got what they get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroShadow Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 On 2/21/2024 at 7:02 AM, Busjack said: Since, as frequently noted above, Pace bought a 2-year-old demonstrator from Gillig, they got what they get. I'll go out on a limb and say that the Potatoes will have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 9 hours ago, MetroShadow said: I'll go out on a limb and say that the Potatoes will have them. Probably, because they have back windows, but former management was complaining about customization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 20 Report Share Posted March 20 Mentioned at the March 2024 meeting was that Pace received federal grants for 5 electric buses for McHenry and $826K for an electric bus at Heritage (didn't say what kind). Also there was an amendment to the capital plan to reprogram $76 million to electrify River garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 On 3/20/2024 at 12:20 PM, Busjack said: Mentioned at the March 2024 meeting was that Pace received federal grants for 5 electric buses for McHenry and $826K for an electric bus at Heritage (didn't say what kind). .... Update on this. Pace Release on whole program, including "$826,779 for an electric coach bus for I-55 service between Plainfield and Chicago." So it looks like Pace is getting an MCI D45 CRT Charge. I'll take betting odds on whether it is an LE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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