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CTA Bus Trivia


amartin1982

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Besides apperance the big difference is drivetrains. Most Novas have decent speed, some are slow. TMCs used to be fast, but are slow now due to the A/C intstalls, MANs(4000) were really fast, 5000 series Flxible are really sloooww. it takes 3 to 4 seconds for them to decide they want to start moving. 6000 Flxs(this also include 5745 and up) uses to be slow when new, but got some engine and trans reprogramming. now they go like a scarlet dog. Old Flyer I heard were fast. Orion...I don't know, but I asume were ok just because Pace has always had better equipment than CTA. Most NABIs are fast. New Flyer...not sure about 5800s, but the 1000 have the kind of speed that scare women and children. I think it might be the fastest bus CTA has ever had.

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let make a statement on that:

most TMC's blow...literally. There are a few that we like to call the "smokers"...in other words the very few that could beat a Nova any day. The rest have PMS. We determine this by a past operator who makes a comment about the speed on either the operating instructions sticker or camera alert usually posted next to the Vultron sign control panel. We have the following rating system for our busses:

Awesome bus (very few make this grade0

Good Bus

O.K bus

SLow bus

Very slow bus

Really f*cking shitty bus

As you can see its a simple system

As far as NABI and 5800 Flyers go....thats playing with fire because some NABI's take off slow, some fast. Some of the New Flyers have seen their days and you have to fight them to speed up...namely #5808 which i had yesterday on the 151, not only that and that it broke down as well.

Any questions please ask! :)

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I can't tell where Operator works, but one would figure NP works at North Park.

In any event (and especially for those at North Park)...

Does CTA's pattern of replacing buses:

  • In 2001-2002, the remaining MAN 4000s were at NP, Kedzie, 74 and 103*, and even though that was the series being replaced, none of those garages got Novas; and 77, Archer, Chicago, and Forest Glen shifted some of their equipment to the other 4 garages, with A, C, and F getting rid of all their 4400s ...
  • Taking into account the 2001 shift of buses with preheaters from K to FG, leaving K with all junk until recently, just replacing 5300s in place, especially at A and 77th

make sense?

Did the "life extending rehabs" to the 4400s extend them enough so that they are usable for 7 years after the rehabs (approximately to 2009)? Or is bus service about to quickly fall apart, especially on non-express runs from North Park and 103rd?

(*I guess I have to add the caveat that some Flyers at FG were temporarily replaced by MANs, which were replaced by Novas, just counting that as an interim step, and not affecting the question).

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let make a statement on that:

most TMC's blow...literally.  There are a few that we like to call the "smokers"...in other words the very few that could beat a Nova any day.  The rest have PMS.  We determine this by a past operator who makes a comment about the speed on either the operating instructions sticker or camera alert usually posted next to the Vultron sign control panel.  We have the following rating system for our busses:

Awesome bus (very few make this grade0

Good Bus

O.K bus

SLow bus

Very slow bus

Really f*cking shitty bus

As you can see its a simple system

As far as NABI and 5800 Flyers go....thats playing with fire because some NABI's take off slow, some fast.  Some of the New Flyers have seen their days and you have to fight them to speed up...namely #5808 which i had yesterday on the 151, not only that and that it broke down as well.

Any questions please ask!  :)

I totally agree...No TMC is going to beat a Nova off the line or down the street, but our TMCs are not that bad speedwise..they are just ragged as hell and yes, we got some "smokers" too. Not like y'all though. North Park's shit be catching on fire. Y'all have had a few NABIs catch fire too I heard.

I used to think we had the worst buses cuz we have 5300s. 5300s may be slower, but at least they don't spontaneously catch fire like NP buses.

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I can't tell where Operator works, but one would figure NP works at North Park.

In any event (and especially for those at North Park)...

Does CTA's pattern of replacing buses:

  • In 2001-2002, the remaining MAN 4000s were at NP, Kedzie, 74 and 103*, and even though that was the series being replaced, none of those garages got Novas; and 77, Archer, Chicago, and Forest Glen shifted some of their equipment to the other 4 garages, with A, C, and F getting rid of all their 4400s ...
  • Taking into account the 2001 shift of buses with preheaters from K to FG, leaving K with all junk until recently, just replacing 5300s in place, especially at A and 77th

make sense?

Did the "life extending rehabs" to the 4400s extend them enough so that they are usable for 7 years after the rehabs (approximately to 2009)? Or is bus service about to quickly fall apart, especially on non-express runs from North Park and 103rd?

(*I guess I have to add the caveat that some Flyers at FG were temporarily replaced by MANs, which were replaced by Novas, just counting that as an interim step, and not affecting the question).

Yea, make sense....I guess.

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Yea, make sense....I guess.

How does it? You have 2 barns with an average age of 12 years, and another with an average age of 3. BTW, you didn't say at which one you worked, but it apparently isn't North Park if you drove 5300s (is it 103?, since that seems to be the only one that currently has 5300s and 4400s).
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(is it 103?, since that seems to be the only one that currently has 5300s and 4400s).

Kedzie has both.

I used to think we had the worst buses cuz we have 5300s. 5300s may be slower, but at least they don't spontaneously catch fire like NP buses.

Which NP bus (or buses) have caught fire recently? Two 5300s caught fire within a few days of each other last month. At least one of them (5301) is gone for good.

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If I were making bets, probably Kedzie (based on location on Wacker Drive, and those around that number going from FG to K in 2001).

There seem to be plenty of burned buses from all over, including the NABI from 103 that burned on LSD. As far as NP is concerned, there are several burned 5800s (5852 and a 584? that I know about, and rmadisonwi previously mentioned that the roster of 5800s is down from 65 to 59).

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  • 1 month later...

How does it? You have 2 barns with an average age of 12 years, and another with an average age of 3. BTW, you didn't say at which one you worked, but it apparently isn't North Park if you drove 5300s (is it 103?, since that seems to be the only one that currently has 5300s and 4400s).

That's for me to know and you to speculate...But don't speculate too hard about it. I'm going to another garage on the system pick.

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Of course it is to you...that goes without saying. Trust me, I can relate to it !!!!  But for the others, what difference does it make where your base is ???
For me, it adds credibility to statements about what is happening at a particular garage. For instance, pace2322 seems pretty reliable about South Division, and Bus Repairman had information about 103 until the others overwhelmed him with questions. Thus, I would tend to believe a NP driver more about them getting 1000s than some kid. But, then again, some of us were duped by the 12 year old driver from Chicago Garage. I wonder who he bribed to get his CDL?;)

Also, if you go to the previous page of the thread, I was asking for an opinion from a North Park perspective from a driver who apparently was from North Park. Obviously, an Archer driver would have no opinion on still having to drive old buses, since that garage has none (or darn few). Similarly, even though I made the crack about whether pace2322 will get the opportunity to drive a midbus, he probably isn't the best one to get an opinion on how it handles, because it is unlikely South will get any. But if there were an Aurora, Highland Park, or Niles driver on this list....

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For me, it adds credibility to statements about what is happening at a particular garage. For instance, pace2322 seems pretty reliable about South Division, and Bus Repairman had information about 103 until the others overwhelmed him with questions. Thus, I would tend to believe a NP driver more about them getting 1000s than some kid. But, then again, some of us were duped by the 12 year old driver from Chicago Garage. I wonder who he bribed to get his CDL?;)

Also, if you go to the previous page of the thread, I was asking for an opinion from a North Park perspective from a driver who apparently was from North Park. Obviously, an Archer driver would have no opinion on still having to drive old buses, since that garage has none (or darn few). Similarly, even though I made the crack about whether pace2322 will get the opportunity to drive a midbus, he probably isn't the best one to get an opinion on how it handles, because it is unlikely South will get any. But if there were an Aurora, Highland Park, or Niles driver on this list....

how did you find out he was 12 years old?

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how did you find out he was 12 years old?
Basically, he told inconsistent stories (i.e. he claimed to first having worked at North Park, but wanted to know what buses run on Lincoln), and after being repeatedly called on them (such as one story saying that it took him 2 hours to drive 2 miles on Diversey, and then complaining a month later that he had to wait 45 minutes for a bus on Diversey) changed his user profile. He finally admitted that he was not a bus driver. After quitting the forum about 3 times because of anger management issues, he was finally banned.
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