General Discussion 2016

[Bus 503]

When training buses go to the Sutton Road training facility, do they have to take off their bike-racks since the buses would now be in New South Wales land/road?

And why is there these whingers on Twitter who can't help but say absolutely negative things about ACTION buses? They offer absolutely no hint of suggestion and just make PT in Canberra look like it's completely bad and non inviting which makes other people who are anyway against PT completely not attracted to catching PT in Canberra whether they are locals in cars or visiting tourists. I'm sick of one account in particular, for its crap loaded comments regarding PT, and its un-constructive stance on Light Rail in Canberra. If this account continues to do what they are doing, I will alert Twitter to this as I am sick of their nutty whinging and their negative stance to all PT in Canberra.

[743]

The Sutton Road facility is entirely within the ACT.

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[Buzz Killington]

As for reporting @canberradavid to Twitter, they won't do anything. His opinions are moronic but they're not breaking any rules.

[Bus 400]

You can block or mute people so you don't see their tweets.

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[Sylvan Loves Buses]

It's finally taken me this long to remind myself to use the fleet wiki here to develop my bus book for this year. So yeh, for the first time I'm now refering to the wiki, instead of my unknown knowledge of trying to decide what's stored, and what's actually gone in the Woden Depot.

Anyway, I've been going through the list, and when I saw that big gap in the PR2s, I shed a tear, 881, 882, 883, then 890 I really have been missing a lot. Then the PR3s, and then the darts and Irises. So passing that area (and checking all the new numbers) I remembered a few questions that I had thought about asking for a little while, and stumbled upon something questionable.

1. Apart from the 1 Dart that's been decommisioned, is it really true that only 8 of them are being used at the moment (even though you'd only at most see 3 of them on the roads)? Also, which one is the white one?

2. Can't remember which one it was (127 or 128), but can someone tell me what it got hit with, or who it ran into, by any chance?

3. What happened to 319s Big Merv name? It's no longer on the back (last time I saw it).

4. Lastly, I was going down the list checking all the E5s, E6s, etc all the numbers, when I stumbled on 490. I had a look, and it says it's not in service, but it's not decommisioned. Is this true? Does ACTION really still have 490 (but never uses it)?

[Buzz Killington]

1. Yes, only eight in use. The white one is ex 132
2. One of them collided with a car at Josephson/Cohen years back before the lights were installed, if that's what you're referring to. I think there's a photo in the gallery.
3. Probably came off - maybe stuck to some advertising.
4. 490 is the suspected fleet number of a new demonstrator that's not in service yet.

[Barry Drive]

2. One of them collided with a car at Josephson/Cohen years back before the lights were installed, if that's what you're referring to. I think there's a photo in the gallery.

Fairly sure that's not what he's referring to. (Although yes, it was 128 which collected a car at Josephson St)

The answer to the question -

can someone tell me what it got hit with, or who it ran into, by any chance?

is "no."

As for reporting @canberradavid to Twitter, they won't do anything. His opinions are moronic but they're not breaking any rules.

I have a strong suspicion that @CanberraDavid is a fake account set up by Alistair Coe. They make the same amount of sense, and neither can put together a coherent argument.

[King of Buses]

He might be referring to the partially smashed windscreen and damaged bike rack of 127 at Woden. In which case, I have no clue what happened to it.

[Bus 503]

4. Lastly, I was going down the list checking all the E5s, E6s, etc all the numbers, when I stumbled on 490. I had a look, and it says it's not in service, but it's not decommisioned. Is this true? Does ACTION really still have 490 (but never uses it)?

Bus 490 (2) was scrapped for parts at DYSONS Victoria. In case you didn't know:

Since many fleet numbers have been re-used, a sequence number will be included for each time the number has been used (e.g. BUS 350 (2) )

--From the Fleetwiki so it's easier for everyone to access information on buses they want to know more about without having to go to another page with the same bus fleet number on it but which operated at a different point in time.

I have a strong suspicion that @CanberraDavid is a fake account set up by Alistair Coe. They make the same amount of sense, and neither can put together a coherent argument.

That could be right - in one of @CanberraDaivd's tweets, [the person who tweets on that account] says they support a BRT. I'm guessing that stands for Bus Rapid Transit. Is this something Alistair Coe supports?
If so, ...

[ajw373]

That could be right - in one of @CanberraDaivd's tweets, [the person who tweets on that account] says they support a BRT. I'm guessing that stands for Bus Rapid Transit. Is this something Alistair Coe supports?
If so, ...

Does this person go on and on about dead running too? If so then yeah probably that waste of space Coe, or  more to the point a staffer.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Sorry, still trying to get accostomed to the way you refer to duplicates.

Bus 490 (2) was scrapped for parts at DYSONS Victoria. In case you didn't know

That's the white one right?


Ooh, just remembered something else.

Again with the bus crash topic, what happened to Iris 317? I know it was gone for sometime, and whenever I asked thedrivers, they didn't know.

[Bus 503]

Sorry, still trying to get accostomed to the way you refer to duplicates.

That's the white one right?


Ooh, just remembered something else.

Again with the bus crash topic, what happened to Iris 317? I know it was gone for sometime, and whenever I asked thedrivers, they didn't know.

Correct.

In 2013, Bus 528 (SR823) smahed into Bus 317 (SR558) on Monaro Crescent. Bus 528's windscreen was shattered, and the end of Bus 317 was also badly damaged. That is most probably the cause of Bus 317's back lights now having been changed to LEDs, and a visible back engine pipe which looks quite new in which can be seen if you look at the back of Bus 317.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Well that explains why it was off-service for so long, thx.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Another few things, from what I noticed yesterday.

1. I saw bus 344, and it has both black and white numbering on the front, like 343s inside, I know ACTION use to put up the white stick-ons back when the Scanias were new, so what's goig on now, isn't one set of numbers enough anymore?

I thought there was something else...

2. oh yeh, what's been happening at Woden Inter the past few days? I haven't been out very much, and ACTIONs email alerts is useless, can someone tell me what was happening yesterday with the leftovers of the construction where the whole was dug? From what I noticed, the inbound routes had to go around to the layover to come in, so what about the Intertowns? Were they still going through there? Cause the path looked really tight for aritcs.

[King of Buses]

Another few things, from what I noticed yesterday.

1. I saw bus 344, and it has both black and white numbering on the front, like 343s inside, I know ACTION use to put up the white stick-ons back when the Scanias were new, so what's goig on now, isn't one set of numbers enough anymore?

I thought there was something else...

2. oh yeh, what's been happening at Woden Inter the past few days? I haven't been out very much, and ACTIONs email alerts is useless, can someone tell me what was happening yesterday with the leftovers of the construction where the whole was dug? From what I noticed, the inbound routes had to go around to the layover to come in, so what about the Intertowns? Were they still going through there? Cause the path looked really tight for aritcs.

Regarding 344, I see no logical reason for both. Probably received a new windscreen and fleet numbers were applied before it was fitted to the bus because they probably thought it was a CB60 EVOII or a CB80 where the fleet no goes on the windscreen,

As for Woden, no changes to departures or arrival platform. Buses serving 8, 9 and 10 travelling on the far right of the roadway to get around fencing. Buses to platform 11 to 19 travel via the Bowes St Layover on theit way in, outbound journeys are still travelling normally. Work should be complete soon and operations at that end of the bus station will be back to how they were before they did work down that end.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

I just wanted to ask, as I don't really know that much about it, other than what I have seen, but would I be right in guessing that on Constitution Ave, the reason the bitumen on the northbound side is red, is because Constitution Ave is going to have both a traffic lane, and a bus lane, or is it just that "red is the new black"?

[Buzz Killington]

Well, they're not painting it red for the hell of it.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Here's a good question that just came to mind that my mum hates, and I've been wondering for some time...

Why the hell do the new buses (E6/Artic) not have back windows? It is extremely incovenient!

[King of Buses]

Here's a good question that just came to mind that my mum hates, and I've been wondering for some time...

Why the hell do the new buses (E6/Artic) not have back windows? It is extremely incovenient!

Because it is not a legal requirement anymore, it isn't part of the CB80 design (nor Volgren,  Bustech,  etc. designs) and hence not on the CB80 buses of ACTION.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Well, they're not painting it red for the hell of it.

Guess not. I actually rode down the whole strip of it yesterday coming back from RATEC, (at a time where surprisingly not a single car/bus came up from behind me), and yeh, the red is just the pre-surface, as it was lower from the initial height from where the kerb is sitting.

Because it is not a legal requirement anymore

Wow... so that was once apon a time a requirement because of the PRs having the emergency window at the back or something?

[King of Buses]

^ I believe so.

[The Love Guru]

Rear windows have never been a legal requirement. How many coaches have you seen with them?

[King of Buses]

Rear windows have never been a legal requirement. How many coaches have you seen with them?

Touchè

There was some purpose though. It has been mentioned on this forum before...don't know where though or what it actually is...

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

I was just surfing the random image button on the gallery when a few more questions popped into mind concerning the PR3s.

1. With the few that had the doors opening outwards (127-131 I seem to recal), was there any particular reason why they had them like that, or/and why ACTION only bought those few?

2. I had never caught it to my knowledge till some time after I started looking at the identity numbers on the buses, but why was 113 on the inside at the front different from all the others (looking like the new buses do with the side-way seats)?
3. and why was it all replaced to look like a standard PR3 with wierd seats that had never been used before?

4. Also, why were the last 7 numbered at a completely different range (993-999) instead of continuing from 157 or something? Are (*were) those particular PR3s a different mark like the PR2s too?

5. Lastly, (and this is something I've always wondered about with both the PR3s and Darts), why is the bottom half of the chassis grey instead of being completely light blue like the PR2s?

[King of Buses]

I was just surfing the random image button on the gallery when a few more questions popped into mind concerning the PR3s.

1. With the few that had the doors opening outwards (127-131 I seem to recal), was there any particular reason why they had them like that, or/and why ACTION only bought those few?

2. I had never caught it to my knowledge till some time after I started looking at the identity numbers on the buses, but why was 113 on the inside at the front different from all the others (looking like the new buses do with the side-way seats)?
3. and why was it all replaced to look like a standard PR3 with wierd seats that had never been used before?

4. Also, why were the last 7 numbered at a completely different range (993-999) instead of continuing from 157 or something? Are (*were) those particular PR3s a different mark like the PR2s too?

5. Lastly, (and this is something I've always wondered about with both the PR3s and Darts), why is the bottom half of the chassis grey instead of being completely light blue like the PR2s?

1. 126 to 131. They were Renault PR100.3a buses. They were easy access and had outwards opening doors like darts.

2/3. 113 IIRC is hard to tell apart from any other .3 now. 129 has non standard Vogel seats at the front following the conversion from .3a to .3. There was a few other oddities too I think.

4.990 to 999 came before 100-131 and the darts. Hence they followed on from Renault PR180.2 artics 989.

5.Bottom half of the body you mean? Just a livery change. Happens all the time. Plus 674 had the grey skirting and they then implemented it for the .3s and darts.



1000th post on the forum!!!!! 

[Bus 503]

Sylvan Loves Buses, if you're wondering about PR100.3's, I recommend this thread - http://www.actbus.net/forum/index.php?topic=3303.msg31149#msg31149

[Sir Pompously]

100.3's have the grey skirting around the bottom as the design of the body was based on the design of the R312 Paris Bus. The front, dash etc is actually from the R312 Paris Bus.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

@KoB
1. Yes of course, 126. Sorry It's hard to remember as I haven't been on those for so long, and they've been deconmissioning them so frequently, it's hard to remember all the specifics now.
2./3. What's IIRC? and any futher info about that by any chance anywhere?
4. Hmm, that is very interesting, ty
5. Just a normal change, ok thank you, just still looks wierd to me, thats all

Also, congrantz on your 1000th post!

@Bus503 - Dosn't answer all my questions, and was a little hard to follow, but thanks, there's a few interesting things there. Would that be the area on the forum to find anything else out?

skirting, another new word I'll have to try and remember.
Oh and speaking of words to remember, what do you guys call the bus stop sign posts?

Thanks guys!

[Buzz Killington]

IIRC - if I recall correctly
Bus stop signs - the upright rectangular shaped ones are blades. The ones in the shape of a regular street sign (now mostly, if not completely replaced) are fingerboards. Wooden posts are pegs, and the slim orange ones are bollards

2. I had never caught it to my knowledge till some time after I started looking at the identity numbers on the buses, but why was 113 on the inside at the front different from all the others (looking like the new buses do with the side-way seats)?
3. and why was it all replaced to look like a standard PR3 with wierd seats that had never been used before?

4. Also, why were the last 7 numbered at a completely different range (993-999) instead of continuing from 157 or something? Are (*were) those particular PR3s a different mark like the PR2s

113 was originally a PR100.3 but was converted to a PR100.3a prototype. (Hence why the curved entrance is relatively steep - it replaced stairs). The other .3a buses followed later.

990-991 were converted from PR100.3 to PR100.3NGV (running on gas) and then back again. 992-995 from memory have an identical chassis to the PR100.2, but obviously have the PR100.3 body. 996-999 are the same as their 100 series sister units.

[Barry Drive]

113 features normal glide away doors but has no steps and kneels every time the doors open.

It may look the same from outside, but body-wise it's unique.

For more details, refer to the featured bus article on 113.

[743]

Notices have appeared on the ACTION website for the following:
- Route 2 northbound to depart from City Platform 2 from Monday
- Route 57 to be diverted away from the top end of Franklin from Monday due to roadworks

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[Barry Drive]

So those extra seats at Platform 2 *were* put there for a reason. I was wondering.

[The Love Guru]

Also means you can count out any network upgrade for at least 6 months. My guess is feb'17

[Barry Drive]

I was thinking Term 4, maybe. But you can't rush these things.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Just looked at the updates myself, but the one I can't understand is the Corrina Street one, could someone pinpoint on Google maps where the new position is please, cause I can't find anywhere that shows what it's saying.

[Bus 400]

Basically where the foot path towards the IPA Building is where the new stop is.

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[Buzz Killington]

Line markings on Furzer and Corrina St have been changed - basically giving buses a lot more room to turn.

[Bus 400]

For the first time in ages, ACTION aren't running any show specials this year. https://www.action.act.gov.au/news/whatson/take-action-to-the-2016-royal-canberra-show

Why take the inconvenience of having to swap buses with tired kids & show bags.  When for $5 you can park & only have to walk a bit down the track.

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[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Wow, that's lame. I thought ACTION enjoyed using their artics...


anyway, I found out where the buses are going in Woden, mainly cause I nearly got hit by one when I was riding through one of the roads, it was unexpected cause I didn't know at the time .
Yeh, so the buses are going along that road where some drivers back in the day (15 years ago) would go with their dart buses, just to be cheeky to save time at the intersections

[Bus 503]

Wow, that's lame. I thought ACTION enjoyed using their artics...

There are some running today on the 900(a), so I think most of them are going to Woden and back.

[King of Buses]

There are some running today on the 900(a), so I think most of them are going to Woden and back.

Artics are doing supplementary 900 an 950 services between the timetabled services. The 900s are only Woden to Belconnen, yes.

[Buzz Killington]

Yeh, so the buses are going along that road where some drivers back in the day (15 years ago) would go with their dart buses, just to be cheeky to save time at the intersections

..what?

[Barry Drive]

..what?

Indeed. Some proof would be helpful.

[The Love Guru]

Wow, that's lame. I thought ACTION enjoyed using their artics...


anyway, I found out where the buses are going in Woden, mainly cause I nearly got hit by one when I was riding through one of the roads, it was unexpected cause I didn't know at the time .
Yeh, so the buses are going along that road where some drivers back in the day (15 years ago) would go with their dart buses, just to be cheeky to save time at the intersections

15 years ago huh. You know, how you recall them doing that from your mother's womb.

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

Well it was the odd driver who did it, I remember seeing a few, including one time I was meeting my mum at the Corinna Street bus stop, and the dart 62 bus came from behind the library instead of around from Melrose Drive.

@The Love Guru, I'm 20 btw, and is that sort of comment really necessary?

[Sylvan Loves Buses]

I noticed something odd yesterday while I was out on the buses. What is that that is sitting on the front part of the bus on the roof of (i think it was) Bus 946?


So I've seen bus 490 (which I will be calling 490.2 now), caught a glance of it as it passed me going into B depot last week, 'she' was driving it too quickly for me to get a good glance at it to draw it, but I have seen it now, and have a faint memory of it in my mind. The windows at the back are what's getting me atm with the design. Anyway, I really do want to draw it, and I doubt I'll see it again unless I bother to make my way (accidentally on purpose) to Belconnen again to try and find it. So instead, could someone post here for me (if you can), 3 pics of it please. One of the door side, front and the roof (if possible).
ty.

[King of Buses]

I noticed something odd yesterday while I was out on the buses. What is that that is sitting on the front part of the bus on the roof of (i think it was) Bus 946?


So I've seen bus 490 (which I will be calling 490.2 now), caught a glance of it as it passed me going into B depot last week, 'she' was driving it too quickly for me to get a good glance at it to draw it, but I have seen it now, and have a faint memory of it in my mind. The windows at the back are what's getting me atm with the design. Anyway, I really do want to draw it, and I doubt I'll see it again unless I bother to make my way (accidentally on purpose) to Belconnen again to try and find it. So instead, could someone post here for me (if you can), 3 pics of it please. One of the door side, front and the roof (if possible).
ty.

There are some photos of 490 on the ACTBus Photo page. Possibly the wiki/gallery too. Doesn't cover all angles I think though...

EDIT: Actually does show all sides...

[ajw373]

I noticed something odd yesterday while I was out on the buses. What is that that is sitting on the front part of the bus on the roof of (i think it was) Bus 946?

Not sure if this is what you are taking about but 946 has different roof hatches that stand out more. Never been in it but think they are electronically controlled. It's been like that since new or shortly thereafter.

[Bus 503]

So I've seen bus 490 (which I will be calling 490.2 now), caught a glance of it as it passed me going into B depot last week, 'she' was driving it too quickly for me to get a good glance at it to draw it, but I have seen it now, and have a faint memory of it in my mind. The windows at the back are what's getting me atm with the design. Anyway, I really do want to draw it, and I doubt I'll see it again unless I bother to make my way (accidentally on purpose) to Belconnen again to try and find it. So instead, could someone post here for me (if you can), 3 pics of it please. One of the door side, front and the roof (if possible).
ty.

I have taken a few photos of the bus - hope these shots help:







In other 490 news, if you were wondering where it was today, it ran an early morning route 7, followed by a route 39.

I'm also sure 490's back number plate has been changed. It now features that 'dot' in the centre of the plate, in between the words: Bus (and) 490.

[Barry Drive]

I noticed something odd yesterday while I was out on the buses. What is that that is sitting on the front part of the bus on the roof of (i think it was) Bus 946?

Can you be any more vague? (Although I probably have an idea what you're referring to - but it would be found on ALL of the Renault PR100.2s, not just 946.)

Not sure if this is what you are taking about but 946 has different roof hatches that stand out more. Never been in it but think they are electronically controlled. It's been like that since new or shortly thereafter.

Correct. They are a trial Beclawat roof hatch. They are still manually opened - a bit like the ones found in all the Custom Coaches bodies (although, I hasten to add, those are not Beclawat).

I'm also sure 490's back number plate has been changed. It now features that 'dot' in the centre of the plate, in between the words: Bus (and) 490.

Also correct. 490 has had new plates fitted. On the old front plate, you could see where the CNG tag was fitted for the former 490.