Just Got Back From L.a. ......

[Guest]

Hello all,

Just got back from Los Angeles today. Wow! what an interesting fleet they have. Theyre slowly replacing the standard high floor buses with "new junk!" I rode the new futuristic NABI artic buses used on the Metro Rapid, first of all theyre so but ugly!

They have these ugly wheel covers on them and the front, I wont go any further. What is NABI thinking?? L.A. MTA seems to have it all together but they should do a better job on what kind of buses they choose to buy. I loved seeing the New Flyer High floors and they still have RTSs running but theyre also replacing the MetroBus livery with a new type of livery depending on what kind of service the bus operates. For example if the bus exterior color is blue it is an "Express" bus, if you see a bus painted orange it is a "Local". If you see a red bus it is "Metro Rapid" I also vistied Dreamliner Bus in Perris Calif. Loren, the owner gave me a tour of the facility and showed me the extensive collection. I had my first ride on an old SCRTD GM fishbowl no. 5050. I also found on the lot, an old SCRTD GM old look # 2150, that bus really made me day. Many SCRTD/MTA buses in the collection plus many other cities. The last U.S. built GM fishbowl Wausau WAT #141 is there too. The owner has piles of fishbowl parts scattered all over the lot. Loren gave me the opportunity to take video and photos. Took a ride on the Metro Red Line from North Hollywood to Downtown Los Angeles and back to Hollywood/Highland. What a ride!!

[rmadisonwi]

I was in LA a couple of months ago, joyriding around the system. I came in on Amtrak, and as we approached LA Union Station, we passed what appeared to be either a garage or a fleet maintenance facility. What particularly caught my eye was that some of those brand-new NABIs looked to be in pretty poor shape. I'll dig around and see if I caught any photos from the train.

The different paint schemes for different types of service (there's also grey, which is the "MetroLiner" BRT a.k.a. Orange Line) is an interesting concept. However, I saw a handful of orange "MetroLocal" buses on the 720 MetroRapid line. Riding the 720 out to Santa Monica was quite an experience. The headway was about 2-3 minutes, and the one-way trip was an hour and a half long. I'd really be interested to know how many buses they put on that route during the peak.

[Guest]

I was in LA a couple of months ago, joyriding around the system. I came in on Amtrak, and as we approached LA Union Station, we passed what appeared to be either a garage or a fleet maintenance facility. What particularly caught my eye was that some of those brand-new NABIs looked to be in pretty poor shape. I'll dig around and see if I caught any photos from the train.

The different paint schemes for different types of service (there's also grey, which is the "MetroLiner" BRT a.k.a. Orange Line) is an interesting concept. However, I saw a handful of orange "MetroLocal" buses on the 720 MetroRapid line. Riding the 720 out to Santa Monica was quite an experience. The headway was about 2-3 minutes, and the one-way trip was an hour and a half long. I'd really be interested to know how many buses they put on that route during the peak.

Los Angeles does have an interesting bus system, I didnt see gray buses though. I passed a bus yard south of Dwntn L.A. along the I-10/Santa Monica freeway. I was able to catch it because of course, I was only going 5 mph!. I have a 1989 issue of "Bus World" magazine, does anyone stiill remember that magazine?? It was cool! Anyway, I have an Aug 1989 issue which had a story on Line 20 Wlshire Blvd. of the SCRTD. The headway of buses was the same as it is today. I dont know if its a typo but it states the line has well over 100 buses on that line alone, of course Wilshire also had trunk lines. I still liked the days of the SCRTD. I used to like reading the RTD bus stops and the many lines that stopped there, I liked both the old 70s and 80s RTD logos. Of course flying into L.A. the first line you will always see will be #117 along Century Blvd. A couple of years ago I rode the #436 which had a dual axle Neoplan. Those are now retired but they looked cool. They looked as though they were used for Airport servive because they had luggage racks. But ill never forget the RTSs in the old RTD paint scheme.