Public Transit News / Current Events (MN only)

[Silophant]

Ah. But does SW have anything besides commuter routes to use it on? I know they've got a couple local routes, but I can't imagine those have enough ridership to warrant a double-decker.

[grant1simons2]

The only time I can even imagine them using this is rush hour on the DT route

[Tcmetro]

I believe that they only have one DD, and they leased the other for the fair.

EDIT: It looks like one of the Double Deckers is on a long-term lease from ABC Bus (bus dealership of sorts), and another was loaned by Alexander Dennis for the duration of the fair. http://swtransit.org/wp-content/uploads ... 9.2.14.pdf (see page 68).

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In an expanded conversation about Double Decker buses, they are more comfortable for express routes in comparison to the articulated buses or the coach buses because they can seat more people. The current paradigm is to consolidate the park and ride facilities into larger ramps that demand more frequent bus service. With double deckers, operational costs can be reduced by increasing the frequency of buses. For instance, the most frequent express routes run every 3-8 minutes during rush hours, but with double deckers the frequency can be widened to 5-15 minutes.

The downside is that double deckers (and coach buses, for that matter) are a poor fit for local bus services. This isn't a hindrance to SWT, which operates no local routes, but would be an issue for operators like Metro Transit and MVTA. In fact, I believe that this fact was the main reason MT was so hesitant to get coach buses. Maple Grove would also be a good fit for double deckers (mainly on the popular 781 and 785 lines), but Plymouth Metrolink is too small and has too few riders to warrant such equipment.

[Tcmetro]

The U of M has started a new late night shuttle on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays connecting Stadium Village, Dinkytown, and Marcy-Holmes along 4th and University:

http://www1.umn.edu/pts/bus/circulators ... nivavecirc

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Meeting dates for Metro Transit's Service Improvement Plan:

http://metrocouncil.org/Council-Meeting ... 4_210.aspx

[woofner]

Seems like it would be better to give this money to Metro Transit for more 6Us in those times.

[HiawathaGuy]

I wrote Metro Transit the other day regarding the platform announcement for southbound Blue Line trains not broadcasting at the platform by my house. I also inquired about when they expected real time train information to be available on the electronic message boards. I got an email back stating this:

"After reading your feedback I located a Systems Engineer that is involved with that project. He advised me that it is their hope to have that up and running before the end of the year. That would be great as I have heard other dates that came and went. Thanks for your patience sire, and thanks for riding the light rail."

So, fingers crossed, there may be some progress happening soon!

[Tcmetro]

Not Mpls, but interesting to read these always:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/5 ... n.html.csp

It would be amusing to ask the SW Transit board to use public transit for a week, or even the Met Council members.

[Nick]

Yes please, but let's wait until January.

[mulad]

I've been seeing the wrapped blue "super hybrid" on route 54 this week. Has anyone heard if there are plans to get more of those? I suppose Metro Transit is still gathering data on how well it works on various routes.

[Tcmetro]

Metro Transit recently put an order in with Gillig for more diesel (and IIRC, hybrid as well) buses to update the fleet. After this contract is complete, I don't believe that any buses will be due for replacement until 2019-2020.

The blue wrapped bus is a New Flyer Xcelsior model, and MT did just order some diesel Xcelsiors of the articulated variety. They'll look similar, but won't have the fancy hybrid engines.

These hybrid Xcelsiors used to operate on the 10 line frequently, but they must have been transferred to East Metro or South garage, explaining the sighting on the 54.

[FISHMANPET]

I ride that New Flyer hybrid once on the 2 and it was a dream. Pulls out of stops fully electric, so it glides out like a dream. I missed out riding trolley buses in Vancouver, but I have to imagine that New Flyer bus is as close as you can come without stringing wires.

[mulad]

Yeah, I was on the New Flyer hybrid yesterday morning for my ride to work, and it seemed to have a less jerky ride due to accelerating/shifting/braking. It seems like Metro Transit has tuned a lot of their regular buses to be pretty heavy on the regenerative braking -- one lady was yelling "God! What's wrong with this bus's brakes!" frequently on the morning of the Green Line opening (which morphed into berating the driver for taking the correct--but perceived wrong--Green Line bustitution route to get into downtown St. Paul...). I mostly rolled my eyes at the time, but ever since then I've been a bit more aware of how heavy the braking can be on Metro Transit's main fleet.

[twincitizen]

This weekend in HUH?!:

For Open Streets on Nicollet (Lake to 46th) tomorrow, the Route 18 is being detoured to 4th Ave, rather than Grand. That's a big time head scratcher... Making people cross over 35W is crazy enough, even more so when you think about the larger gaps in bridge spacing (31st to 35th, 42nd to 46th) over the highway. Dumb! Detouring to Grand makes infinitely more sense.

[grant1simons2]

Wow you guys weren't wrong about these buses. When I was walking down Nicollet today the 18 kept passing by. A few were loud and you know, bus like, but the others were really quiet almost like a car

[mattaudio]

Wonder if they did it to save money since the 4 ends there, so they could just not do the 4 today? There must be a reason....

[mattaudio]

What's happening on the southeast corner of the Nicollet garage?

[mattaudio]

Another Question:
I was biking around DTE on Saturday night around 8, and there was clearly some bustitution happening at the DTE station. Just maintenance or something?

[FISHMANPET]

Yeah, they were doing some work on the 12-14th at night. No idea what they actually did, but there were tons of announcements on the platforms.

[LRV Op Dude]

What's happening on the southeast corner of the Nicollet garage?

Remodeling parts of the garage.

[HuskyGrad]

Yeah, they were doing some work on the 12-14th at night. No idea what they actually did, but there were tons of announcements on the platforms.

Xcel Energy had utility work along the line.