BusExpert32 Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I really think that it would be more justified to have 103rd recieved New Flyers. They are practically running 200 buses from 1991 on mostly all their routes (120 TMCs, 60 5300 Flxibles, and 20 more from Chicago). On the other hand, North Park is running 11 New Flyers, 61 1995 New Flyers, and about 100 Nabis that are in better shape than 103rd's Nabis. Can anyone else see that 103rd is in need of new buses immediately! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted August 30, 2007 Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 I guess from your reply here, that even though you argue that certain racial groups shouldn't get new buses, you aren't Circle Seven, who claimed that 103rd should perpetually get castoffs from Forest Glen, for similar reasons, although racism doesn't seem to have entered into his argument.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmadisonwi Posted August 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2007 For those counting, 103rd has 74 TMCs and 72 5300-series Flxibles, for 146 buses that are ancient, way past being life expired, and due for replacement. North Park has 188 TMCs. 103rd has 49 6000-series Flxibles, while North Park has 73 New Flyers (not counting any 1430-series deliveries). Both garages have artics and Optimas that are (supposed to be) used on specific services. Whether North Park's NABIs are in better shape than 103rd's is a matter of opinion. So, out of the 40-foot bus fleet, 72% of North Park's buses are from 1991 (or so), and 75% of 103rd's buses are from the same year. Both garages have fleets that are in need of replacement, and no one garage is necessarily more deserving than the other. The powers that be apparently came to the same conclusion, and therefore decided that both garages would get new buses at the same time. Also, why couldn't we "enjoy" (sic) old buses at one garage longer? The fact that the new deliveries are being split between two garages means that each garage will take approximately twice as long to replace the whole fleet. So, this means that you can enjoy broken-down RTSes at both garages much longer than if they had dedicated all of the deliveries to one garage for a two- or three-month period, before switching to another garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 I guess from your reply here, that even though you argue that certain racial groups shouldn't get new buses, you aren't Circle Seven, who claimed that 103rd should perpetually get castoffs from Forest Glen, for similar reasons, although racism doesn't seem to have entered into his argument.. Racism could've been an argument for why Chicago's Flxibles run a lot on certain routes since there are only 48 of them, but not for North Park's or 103rd's runs. At North Park and 103rd, every local route and half of the express runs are covered mostly by TMCs and/or Flxibles so how could racism play into this when the garage has nothing to assign but old buses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 For those counting, 103rd has 74 TMCs and 72 5300-series Flxibles, for 146 buses that are ancient, way past being life expired, and due for replacement. North Park has 188 TMCs... ...So out of the 40-foot bus fleet, 72% of North Park's buses are from 1991 (or so), and 75% of 103rd's buses are from the same year. Both garages have fleets that are in need of replacement, and no one garage is necessarily more deserving than the other. The powers that be apparently came to the same conclusion, and therefore decided that both garages would get new buses at the same time. Frankly, I am not crazy about the mix and match assignment for the New Flyers. Put some at one garage, others later at another. That said, I would contend, from appearance sake, that the majority of the TMC's at North Park are in worse shape than even the oldest of the Flxibles (5300's) at 103. Although (again from appearance) the 5300's look tired, the 4400-4500 at North Park look just beat up. Now, I don't know if that is because those buses are kept outside, as 103 are not, or if the North Park fleet just gets used more or has longer routes, or if even (as many would contend) that the TMC's are just plain garbage from the get go. I would guess the true answer to who should really get new buses first would come from the maintenace logs. If one set is costing more to keep running than another, those should get replaced first. And along those lines, I wonder if replacing or repositioning the Archer Flxibles was really the way to go. Maybe, just maybe North Park should have received new buses before anyone else....but then outdoor storage could be a problem again, and may cause premature aging. The bottom line...there is no right or wrong. The fleet is (was) so old and tired, it'll take a lot to get it all up to date properly (which at one time was a big problem Pace had...all received at the same time...all die at the same time !!!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted August 31, 2007 Report Share Posted August 31, 2007 Frankly, I am not crazy about the mix and match assignment for the New Flyers. Put some at one garage, others later at another. That said, I would contend, from appearance sake, that the majority of the TMC's at North Park are in worse shape than even the oldest of the Flxibles (5300's) at 103. Although (again from appearance) the 5300's look tired, the 4400-4500 at North Park look just beat up. Now, I don't know if that is because those buses are kept outside, as 103 are not, or if the North Park fleet just gets used more or has longer routes, or if even (as many would contend) that the TMC's are just plain garbage from the get go. I would guess the true answer to who should really get new buses first would come from the maintenace logs. If one set is costing more to keep running than another, those should get replaced first. And along those lines, I wonder if replacing or repositioning the Archer Flxibles was really the way to go. Maybe, just maybe North Park should have received new buses before anyone else....but then outdoor storage could be a problem again, and may cause premature aging. The bottom line...there is no right or wrong. The fleet is (was) so old and tired, it'll take a lot to get it all up to date properly (which at one time was a big problem Pace had...all received at the same time...all die at the same time !!!!). I also personally think that outdoor storage ruins buses (eccpecially in winter). So when I first heard about the New Flyers coming in, my first thought was that North Park, 77th, and Forest Glen would get them first because of their outdoor storage. In the case of Forest Glen I thought they could've transferred either some Novas or Flxibles to other garages with indoor storage. But of course, the CTA always does the stupid things instead of the smart things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 And the winner is...... 103rd Street. I spotted 1430 at 71st and Stony Island at 6:45 pm headed southbound. As you would imagine, the destination sign was out. There was a paper sign in the window for X28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cta5658 Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 And the winner is...... 103rd Street. I spotted 1430 at 71st and Stony Island at 6:45 pm headed southbound. As you would imagine, the destination sign was out. There was a paper sign in the window for X28. I'll be at the 95th Terminal Looking for a new flyer on the #34, #95E, #100, #103, #106, #108, #111, #112 or #119 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 I'll be at the 95th Terminal Looking for a new flyer on the #34, #95E, #100, #103, #106, #108, #111, #112 or #119 Since there's only one New Flyer in service from 103rd, this idea maybe pointless. #1430 may not run on any of these routes the whole day. Stony Island might be a better place to spot or ride one since there already was a New Flyer sighting there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 1, 2007 Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Since there's only one New Flyer in service from 103rd, this idea maybe pointless. #1430 may not run on any of these routes the whole day. Stony Island might be a better place to spot or ride one since there already was a New Flyer sighting there. Im driving to Rockford this afternoon, I will keep an eye out for any more New Flyer deliveries, also I will spot bus numbers. Usually saturdays you can see new deliveries EB heading for Chicago or the east coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmadisonwi Posted September 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2007 Since there's only one New Flyer in service from 103rd, this idea maybe pointless. #1430 may not run on any of these routes the whole day. Stony Island might be a better place to spot or ride one since there already was a New Flyer sighting there. What makes you think there is only one New Flyer in service at 103rd? There are actually at least three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 What makes you think there is only one New Flyer in service at 103rd? There are actually at least three. So #1432 and #1434 have been delivered already? Also, does North Park have three new New Flyers as well in service (1431, 1433, and 1435). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesi2282 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 1443 is now at North Park Garage. Small note: all new New Flyers are receving the ''www.transitchicago.com'' words above the windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 ...Small note: all new New Flyers are receving the ''www.transitchicago.com'' words above the windows. Yeah, and it looks real tacky too !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 I was just wondering, has North Park or 103rd retired any 5300 Flxibles or TMCs yet? I'm hoping not. By the way, are the few 5300s at North Park still there, I've been near there and riding on some North Park routes lately but I've only seen TMCs, 5800 New Flyers, 1000 New Flyers, 7500 Nabis, and 500 Optimas. No 5300s, maybe it's just tough luck. But I'd hope to see bus #5492 still running out there. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmadisonwi Posted September 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 There have already been a bunch of TMCs and Flxibles retired. I think about 50 TMCs have dropped off the roster in the last year, including some from North Park. The Flxible 5300 count is down to about 150 buses now. I haven't noticed any Flxibles running on North Park routes. Not to say they aren't out there, but the stuff from a couple weeks ago were probably just very-short-term loans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwantae Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 There have already been a bunch of TMCs and Flxibles retired. I think about 50 TMCs have dropped off the roster in the last year, including some from North Park. The Flxible 5300 count is down to about 150 buses now. I haven't noticed any Flxibles running on North Park routes. Not to say they aren't out there, but the stuff from a couple weeks ago were probably just very-short-term loans. How many TMCs (my favorite CTAs fleet) do we have left remaining current? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geneking7320 Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Yeah, and it looks real tacky too !!!! I think I saw #1435 (or was it 1437) working route 22 Clark at Clark and Rogers northbound Friday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 I think I saw #1435 (or was it 1437) working route 22 Clark at Clark and Rogers northbound Friday night. I also saw bus #1232 last Saturday afternoon on the 22 Clark as well at Clark and Foster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJL6000 Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 I also saw bus #1232 last Saturday afternoon on the 22 Clark as well at Clark and Foster. Actually, #1232 was one of a small group of New Flyers which were transferred from 77th to NP. This was so that NP could have a few newer standard-length buses as soon as possible (before bus #1431 was even finished); the rest are TMC 4400s and 1995 New Flyer 5800s (for standard-length buses) and the articulated NABIs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPTA42 Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 1439 was on the 97-Skokie last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusExpert32 Posted September 29, 2007 Report Share Posted September 29, 2007 North Park Garage is up to New Flyer #1451 as of today. I saw, rode in, and took a picture of #1451 on the 22 Clark today. It looked and smelled so fresh and new inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 29, 2007 Report Share Posted September 29, 2007 North Park Garage is up to New Flyer #1451 as of today. I saw, rode in, and took a picture of #1451 on the 22 Clark today. It looked and smelled so fresh and new inside. I was driving WB on Bryn Mawr towards Harlem. I spotted New Flyer # 1478 at 3:15pm today coming in EB on the Kennedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cta5658 Posted September 29, 2007 Report Share Posted September 29, 2007 I was driving WB on Bryn Mawr towards Harlem. I spotted New Flyer # 1478 at 3:15pm today coming in EB on the Kennedy. That bus was headed to 103rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buslover88 Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 How could we be up to #1478 already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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