Minneapolis "t" Buses....

[MVTArider]

STATE FAIR REPORT:

Today was Fair day, I did not get to the 94/Snelling lot because I made a stupid mistake of wearing new shoes today, my feet were so sore on the way home However I did get a few State Fair bus pictures for anyone who is interested. First though, here is what I observed today:

• 322, 2304,2310,2331 were working the 84 today.
  
• Lorenz was using some old MCI coaches for some of the fair shuttles
  
• MT was using some hybrids on a few shuttle runs, at least one was going to 94/Snelling.
  
• 434 appears to have new seat inserts.
  
• 322 and Lorenz Phantom # 6001 could run circles around Pace Academy Orion I's
  

I went for a ride on Lorenz 6001, I don't know the engine type it had but it sure reminded me of riding the MVTA 7000's It was running pretty good and i'm guessing it had to be circa '90. The interior had grey shell seats with inserts but it looked like the original color of the seats was orange and they had been painted. There was no fare box but there was a schedule rack with pretty current schedules and some old schedules from '06. It was a good ride Also I rode 322 on 84. That bus was running better than 434 on the way back IMO.

I might go back again just for more bus pics but i'm not sure. At least I got my fix of Sweet Martha's Cookies, French Fries, and Pork Chops on sticks

heres the photos:

[exitzero]

STATE FAIR REPORT:

Today was Fair day, I did not get to the 94/Snelling lot because I made a stupid mistake of wearing new shoes today, my feet were so sore on the way home However I did get a few State Fair bus pictures for anyone who is interested. First though, here is what I observed today:

• 322, 2304,2310,2331 were working the 84 today.
  
• Lorenz was using some old MCI coaches for some of the fair shuttles
  
• MT was using some hybrids on a few shuttle runs, at least one was going to 94/Snelling.
  
• 434 appears to have new seat inserts.
  
• 322 and Lorenz Phantom # 6001 could run circles around Pace Academy Orion I's
  

I went for a ride on Lorenz 6001, I don't know the engine type it had but it sure reminded me of riding the MVTA 7000's It was running pretty good and i'm guessing it had to be circa '90. The interior had grey shell seats with inserts but it looked like the original color of the seats was orange and they had been painted. There was no fare box but there was a schedule rack with pretty current schedules and some old schedules from '06. It was a good ride Also I rode 322 on 84. That bus was running better than 434 on the way back IMO.

I might go back again just for more bus pics but i'm not sure. At least I got my fix of Sweet Martha's Cookies, French Fries, and Pork Chops on sticks

Excellent pics man. Some thoughts:

- Lorenz 1706 is CLEARLY an ex-MT specimen. The lack of an exhaust stack (as well as the paint-over) gives it away.

- I wonder about 6001 - it could very well be one of the ex-MT 7000s (it could also be a 2200, as you have already seen)

- I didn't know that MT had D60s numbered in the 3200s - I thought that those were only reserved for the D60LFRs.

[Tcmetro]

MT D60's 3200-3214 are 2006 models. Special order I guess, they wouldn't build any for New York though.

The 600x Lorenz's are mid-to-late 1980's models. They usually run on routes 25, 62C, and 80, although Met Council owned buses are replacing the old Lorenz-owned buses.

BTW, Nice pics MVTARider!

EDIT: The State Fair shuttles are on NexTrip (MT-operated only).

[MVTArider]

^ Thanks guys I didn't even realize I had taken a picture of a 3200 D60HF until I was uploading them I would definitely agree that 6001 was a mid to late '80's model, it had the older style of flip-up seat for wheelchairs like the '85 MVTA ones and the interior setup was a bit different as well compared to the newer Phantoms. This one had the five seats across the back, and then a set of forward facing seats, then the side facing seats over the back wheels. Again, the original seat color was orange and they were plastic shell w/inserts. I don't know if MT ever had orange shell seats? I assume for MT it was always green shells and then green vinyl. In addition to the schedule rack with ones for 62 and 25 as well as one or two others it did have Met council car cards that looked old. One was advertising "150 minutes of unlimited rides". I haven't seen any cards like that on MT buses so I assume it was from a while ago. There was also some graffiti but that could be from Fair shuttle service too.

[Guest]

STATE FAIR REPORT:

Today was Fair day, I did not get to the 94/Snelling lot because I made a stupid mistake of wearing new shoes today, my feet were so sore on the way home However I did get a few State Fair bus pictures for anyone who is interested. First though, here is what I observed today:

• 322, 2304,2310,2331 were working the 84 today.
  
• Lorenz was using some old MCI coaches for some of the fair shuttles
  
• MT was using some hybrids on a few shuttle runs, at least one was going to 94/Snelling.
  
• 434 appears to have new seat inserts.
  
• 322 and Lorenz Phantom # 6001 could run circles around Pace Academy Orion I's
  

I went for a ride on Lorenz 6001, I don't know the engine type it had but it sure reminded me of riding the MVTA 7000's It was running pretty good and i'm guessing it had to be circa '90. The interior had grey shell seats with inserts but it looked like the original color of the seats was orange and they had been painted. There was no fare box but there was a schedule rack with pretty current schedules and some old schedules from '06. It was a good ride Also I rode 322 on 84. That bus was running better than 434 on the way back IMO.

I might go back again just for more bus pics but i'm not sure. At least I got my fix of Sweet Martha's Cookies, French Fries, and Pork Chops on sticks

heres the photos:

Great pics MVTA, you certainly have plenty of buses to document up that way. Way to Go! Im glad to see MT still has the D60HF buses.

[Tcmetro]

I saw on the news yesterday that a bus broke down on the Transitway on the way to the fair. All the buses were lined up for maybe a half mile. All I saw were D60, D60LF, and D60LFR's if you're wondering. Anyways, the people started walking from the buses to the State Fair and some of them sat on the buses for an hour and a half.

[MVTArider]

Great pics MVTA, you certainly have plenty of buses to document up that way. Way to Go! Im glad to see MT still has the D60HF buses.

Thanks I try my best.

I saw on the news yesterday that a bus broke down on the Transitway on the way to the fair. All the buses were lined up for maybe a half mile. All I saw were D60, D60LF, and D60LFR's if you're wondering. Anyways, the people started walking from the buses to the State Fair and some of them sat on the buses for an hour and a half.

Wow , I missed that. could you tell where it happened exactly? I'm thinking if it was in one of the straighter areas even with buses coming the other way every 2 -5 minutes that buses would still have been able to go around. The NF's seem to be somewhat maneuverable after all.

[Tcmetro]

I saw it on WCCO, IIRC the weatherman showed it on the introduction to the weather and it was on the elevated part of the transitway between Energy Park Dr. and Como Ave.

[Tcmetro]

Metro Transit Sept. 6 Rt. Changes!!

http://metrotransit.org/news/stories/09_08_SeptChanges.asp

EDIT: The 479 schedule has the new design and it is way better than the old MVTA schedule design!

[MVTArider]

Those new MVTA schedules are way better than the old ones It will be nice when they have them for all the routes. I like the one for 465 too. Now you can see where 465 actually goes once its in Burnsville/Apple Valley. I also noticed they said the 16 will have artics around midday, nice.

[exitzero]

Metro Transit Sept. 6 Rt. Changes!!

http://metrotransit.org/news/stories/09_08_SeptChanges.asp

EDIT: The 479 schedule has the new design and it is way better than the old MVTA schedule design!

OLOLOL I KNEW someone would beat me to this.

Can't believe they've cut all non-rush-hour service to downtown on the 12. And the overall drop in sunday frequencies to 45 minutes reminds me of when Saturday service used to be that poor. But I guess it's a slight improvement overall as service to Hopkins on Sundays is now once an hour.

[Tcmetro]

The "frequency of service will be adjusted to better match customer demand' basically means they are cutting a few trips out of the schedule. Note how the route 2 changes "advertise" more service, but when it is cut they use the above quote. Also Rt. 146 will have less frequency due to artics being put on the route, also Rt. 63 will have 20 min. frequencies on Grand (up from 30), and 20 min on E 3rd (down from 15).

[exitzero]

The "frequency of service will be adjusted to better match customer demand' basically means they are cutting a few trips out of the schedule. Note how the route 2 changes "advertise" more service, but when it is cut they use the above quote. Also Rt. 146 will have less frequency due to artics being put on the route, also Rt. 63 will have 20 min. frequencies on Grand (up from 30), and 20 min on E 3rd (down from 15).

Yeah, I was actually going to comment on that - they're doing quite a bit of trimming from a number of schedules, which in some ways is kind of surprising and in other ways isn't.

Other things that irritate me:

- They keep falling back on branch letters. You see the 2 got a new one (E) for short trips from East Hennepin to the U. Why? People can't read the sign when they see it? The 12 got two.\

- Still no real suburban and crosstown service. MVTA is the only one that's seemingly got it right.

- Still no haven't figured out how to tie in services to the city centers and service to outlying areas. They had a really nice setup in the west metro with former Route 75 that tied in to various routes at several transit centers. Now all of that network is pretty much scrapped and both the General Mills and Plymouth Road transit centers are pretty much ghost towns.

[Tcmetro]

Rt. 75 is now 675. The service is worse as it doesn't go to Mound on Saturdays anymore and they cut the branch that went through Long Lake. They also tore out the bus platforms at Louisiana Ave TC and move the stop to a bus shelter on the 394/Louisiana off-ramp so they could add more parking.

MVTA wrapped 4 buses for the Cedar BRT:

http://mvta.com/MVTA_Prepares_for_Opening_...Avenue_BRT.html

[MVTArider]

The wrap looks pretty nice IMO. It said the wrap can last two to three years so I bet the "Go Greener" wraps will be around a while too. I wonder which garage they are out of? I assume Burnsville since they have been the usual weekday service provider on 442 and 445 from what I can tell. But some Gilligs are assigned to Eagan now I think. I'm pretty sure I saw some there last time I was driving by but its hard to tell going by at 50 mph Eagan also does the weekends and evenings on 445 as well and lately the 2:03 from MOA to Dodd & Opperman. The only bus garage assignments I'm sure of are 4121 - 4126, 4127, 4458 - 4463, 9911 - 9914, and possibly 4577 - 4581 Gilligs are Eagan. 4337 -4348, 4449 -4457, 4700 Gilligs, and 9900 - 9905 are Burnsville. This is just based on observations so I could be off. The MCI's, 4600 NF's and cutaways all seem to be mixed between the two. 112 buses is a pretty nice fleet. As a busfan I'm glad there is some variety.

[Tcmetro]

I have no idea as to the fleet assignments. I have heard the Burnsville Garage is over capacity and MVTA wants to buy a piece of land across the street and build a sattilite garage, also Eagan is at Capacity.

[Tcmetro]

Perhaps there should be a new route 461 BTS-U of M. The 9/6/08 schedules show Rt. 465's from BTS at 8:05 am that are exact duplicates of 460U's at 6:59 am, 7:14 am, and 8:50 am. The 465U's from AVTS at 6:32 am and 7:02 am would become 461A/U's. There would be 2 southbound trips from Oak/Wash. at 4:20 pm and 4:50 pm and would be 461A's. 461 and 465 could share a schedule as well.

Also the 465's listed don't stop at 98th Street like the other 465's throughout the day, another reason the Rt. numbers should be changed.

[Guest]

Will MT be participating in the RNC transportation?. Back in 1996 CTA played a role in the transportation at the DNC. That was also the first time CTA began placing the bus fleet numbers on top of its buses.

[Tcmetro]

^^ Not sure. I don't think so, MT hasn't announced anything yet.

[MVTArider]

^ I'm not sure if MT will be doing any convention shuttles or not but IIRC there was a comment in an MVTA board newsletter saying they have an agreement with MT to provide assistance if needed if MVTA can spare any vehicles. I'm guessing MT might increase capacity/frequency on lines near XCEL and in downtown St. Paul like 3, 54, 63, 74, 16, 50, 94 etc. For example on the way home from the Fair last week at about 1pm I saw about 6 or 7 "([84 Snelling Ave] flip [84 To Rosedale])" going the other way in a span of 20 minutes. I don't think that was bunching since 84 is usually every 15 minutes. I also wouldn't be surprised if they increased frequency in DT Minneapolis as well. I wonder if they will run 55 24 hrs for a couple days?

[Tcmetro]

There are extra 84's for the fair. Normally the 84 needs somewhere between 6 and 8 buses. The 2 main routes that will need extra service are the 54 and the 94.

[MVTArider]

In the Pioneer Press this morning:

In an effort to ease travel around the no-vehicle zone, Metro Transit announced Friday evening that it will discount, to 50 cents, fares on three bus routes serving both sides of the zone: 50, 70 and 74.

Odd that the 54 and 94 are not listed :huh:

[MVTArider]

Sounds like the RNC will be shortened somewhat on account of Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the Gulf Coast. I hope Gustav won't be too destructive but it sounds like Louisiana is going to get hit again if it keeps its track My thoughts and prayers for those who have to evacuate, I wish them luck.

[Tcmetro]

More MVTA schedules in the new design:

446: http://mvta.com/sites/d82719c7-9b33-46b8-a...oads/446_10.pdf

470: http://mvta.com/sites/d82719c7-9b33-46b8-a...oads/470_12.pdf

[MVTArider]

It seems to me, looking at the 446 schedule, that if there were a 446P northbound trip in the morning it might help with some of the Eagan ↔ IGH/WSP connections since 446P could connect to 75 on the 7:00 trip from Braddock and Diffley. Although the amount of transfers involved would probably not make it too user friendly.

Now if I had an unlimited amount of funds for a route and I could put it anywhere I would have something coming from ETS, then leaving ETS follow the 445 route past WalMart to Denmark, Down Denmark to Wescott, Wescott to Thomson Reuters, run through TR to Opperman and Dodd, Dodd to Yankee Doodle/cr28 to Hwy 55 to South Robert Trail to 80th St. serve IGH City Hall/The Grove/Veterans Memorial Community Center, and finally 80th to Inver Hills. I have never made that run by car but based on portions of it I have driven I think with some adjustments it could be done one end to the other in 50 min. If it only took 20 - 30 minutes from Eagan to Inver Hills where riders could connect to 68 and 71 that would be beneficial.

Well I can dream anyways

EDIT: I dropped the limited stop part of my plan that would run from BTS to ETS since it would probably make the route take too long. Maybe a limited stop route going from ETS to BTS on its own though...

EDIT 2: My "ideal" route planning aside, i'm looking forward to seeing how Cedar Ave. BRT affects things once its rolling.

In other news I have not seen anything exciting in the bus loop at Inver so far but I did notice 720 on 68M leaving with a good group on board. 720 is still in the blue stripe BTW.