Ride On: I paced #5717 operating S/B counterflow express service on Route 70 to Bethesda from Germantown (Milestone) on I-270 doing 65 mph between Route 28 and Montrose Road. I didn't think the old girl still had that kind of speed in her (lol).
Saw 2812 on the G8 last night at Farragut Square. Also saw all the Bladensburg Red line shuttles lining up last at Twinbrook Station, all 8 of them being Xcelsiors.
I guess we'll call this some "wacky" THE BUS observations.
62640 on the 27 I guess this is the outer loop route.
62638 about to start either a 16 or 15x
Confirmed 62648 on the 21, which I saw first on the 27
62649 on the 21X
Last but not least I saw 62625 on what look the 21 heading towards New Carrollton but it had the 21S in the rear route number sign so I thought someone messed up..............until I saw two Advantages on the 21 heading towards Largo. 62648 was on the 21 and following it was 62628 on the........21S. So I guess THE BUS has a new route, of course noone would know about this new or altered 21 version because THE BUS hasn't updated their website since, early 2011. Eh.
Added 62651 on the 15X.
More THE BUS sightings and another confirmation.
62629 on the 34 which confirms that I saw 62630 deadheading over a week ago.
62636 on the 32
62646 deadheading along Allentown Road
62647 about to begin a 14
And saw a Fairfax Connector Xcelsior deadheading along Martin Luther King Highway at the Beltway, apparently heading towards the Johnson Truck Center.
Forgot to add I saw an MDMTA MCI sitting at the College Park Station.
Ride On 5422 is orange crushed
2706 has been rehabbed, after months of an unresponsive GPS, I had to find out in person
6056 and 6057 have carpetless floors
so what is there so far? these are the ones I'm aware of, are there any others?
6026-27 (with different seats as well)
6056-57
6104-05
6142-43
62645 on the 21X
Here's a list of sightings I had today, in order of appearance:
I was riding 5824 on the 71, going to Shady Grove, and 5708 is front of us, on the 79. 5708 is slowing down and pulls onto the shoulder, and we do the same. Apparently, 5708 was having engine problems, and the driver volunteered to take in the passengers from 5708, since both buses were going to S.G. Just like that, 5824 went from half-full to standing room only.
At Bowie, I was surprised to see 3024 out and about, with a few people inside.
Later on, I'm on the F4, heading west to P.G. Plaza, and I guess we were in the middle of a detour; instead of crossing the MARC tracks like normal, we got around it using East-West Hwy. I don't get it.
6390 broken down on the C2 on University Blvd., fortunately, there was another C2 right behind it.
Lastly, I saw 4258 still running around at Wheaton; I think it was on the Q4.
Ride-On 5412 had it's dest. sign stuck on "34 ASPEN" in small letters.
Quote from: RideOn5905 on March 12, 2012, 06:23:41 PM
Later on, I'm on the F4, heading west to P.G. Plaza, and I guess we were in the middle of a detour; instead of crossing the MARC tracks like normal, we got around it using East-West Hwy. I don't get it.
It's been like that ever since that train accident with 6040 and 9731, it's permanent now (even though the nextbus map shows the old route to this day)
that's like the accident on 7th and Penn NW back in 2007 when those women were hit and killed by a 54 bus making a turn, because of that, the buses turning left on Penn go around to 6th Street instead, and also because of that we have knight riders on some buses (I think that was the reason)
Quote from: RideOn5905 on March 12, 2012, 06:23:41 PM
Quote from: NewFlyer9736BCT on March 12, 2012, 06:57:32 PM
Quote from: RideOn5905 on March 12, 2012, 06:23:41 PM
Later on, I'm on the F4, heading west to P.G. Plaza, and I guess we were in the middle of a detour; instead of crossing the MARC tracks like normal, we got around it using East-West Hwy. I don't get it.
It's been like that ever since that train accident with 6040 and 9731, it's permanent now (even though the nextbus map shows the old route to this day)
that's like the accident on 7th and Penn NW back in 2007 when those women were hit and killed by a 54 bus making a turn, because of that, the buses turning left on Penn go around to 6th Street instead, and also because of that we have knight riders on some buses (I think that was the reason)
Later on, I'm on the F4, heading west to P.G. Plaza, and I guess we were in the middle of a detour; instead of crossing the MARC tracks like normal, we got around it using East-West Hwy. I don't get it.
Yup, Its been like that since 09. The Bus route 14 still goes over it.
Rode 3757 on the 38B tripper from Washington & Quincy. Just really interesting to have a 37 footer on a line like that and during rush hour too.
Ride On 5727 no longer has Alcoas. I had been seeeing this bus rather often over the last week or two, knew something was different, but I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw it on Odendhal Sunday AM.
Knight Riders resulted from a variety of pedestrian crashes, I don't remember if the one at 7th and Penn was the straw that broke the camel's back, but I think it was a different one that did it.
2464 Route G8
Quote from: WMATAGMOAGH on March 13, 2012, 05:12:27 AM
Knight Riders resulted from a variety of pedestrian crashes, I don't remember if the one at 7th and Penn was the straw that broke the camel's back, but I think it was a different one that did it.
Agreed. I vaguely recall another incident (which I think was also a fatality) in Columbia Heights. I think it was on Park Rd in which a pedestrian walked from between two parked cars, mid-block into the path of a bus. Then WMATA was being pressured to "do something" which ultimately resulted in the Knight Riders being installed on 100 buses based at DC divisions.
Quote from: Flxible_Metro_8700 on March 13, 2012, 01:39:45 PM
2464 Route G8
I got a picture of that. and if that isn't enough, I also saw (and snapped a pic of) 7098 on the P2
In other news, it looks like Royal took some more of Bladensburg's 2100s. I saw 2182 on the 28A. A few more have also moved according to Nextbus, I'll post it in the Nextbus Obs thread
also in other news, I saw 4388 on driver training on Penn Ave NW near Fed Triangle, its GPS has been offline for a while so it's been thought to have retired. maybe it's just being used exclusively for training, or the GPS just doesn't work, or maybe it has a replacement GPS (like 9742's GPS on 3766, 4042's GPS on 7016, etc)
Ride On 5900 doing Driver Training at Germantown today, then it left, supposedly on the 83. I say "supposedly" because it left around 12:50, then 10 minutes later, 5030 left Germantown on the 83 as well.
Speaking of 5900, it seems like the only thing that bus has been used for lately is D.T., much like 5705 (who I haven't seen for months).
Quote from: RideOn5905 on March 22, 2012, 02:47:46 PM
Speaking of 5900, it seems like the only thing that bus has been used for lately is D.T., much like 5705 (who I haven't seen for months).
Yeah 5900, 5705, and 5580 are exclusively training buses. if 5574 is still around, it's most likely a training bus as well
Within the past month or so I saw 5705 twice. One of those times was at Silver Spring and the other was at Friendship Heights (trying to make that very tight turn at the 1/11 bus stop)
3/21- 62650 on the 11
3/22-62639 on the 17
62641 on the 13
62630 on the 12
So Far:
62617-19, 62629-30 29ft Gillig Advantages
62323-26, 62628, 62633-62641, 62645-51 35 ft Gillig Advantages
Left is at least one 29ft Gillig Advantage unsure of the fleet number and at least 6, 35 foot Advantages if 651 is the highest number of this order. 62620-22, 62627, 62642-44 are have not been spotted in service yet. There were several rumors of the size of this order.........all were lower than what has been spotted so far. Other than slight cosmetic differences they are the same as the last order.
I saw 4338 being towed while I was eating lunch near Montgomery Division; NextBus last showed this bus on the C2, so it must've broken down in the middle of a run.
As I was walking past Montgomery, I saw a bunch of 4300s with their numbers blacked out and scratched off; except 4328, whose numbers were somehow still intact. I also saw 2082, which of course, still has a tarp covering the front.
Quote from: RideOn5905 on March 12, 2012, 06:23:41 PM
Here's a list of sightings I had today, in order of appearance:
I was riding 5824 on the 71, going to Shady Grove, and 5708 is front of us, on the 79. 5708 is slowing down and pulls onto the shoulder, and we do the same. Apparently, 5708 was having engine problems, and the driver volunteered to take in the passengers from 5708, since both buses were going to S.G. Just like that, 5824 went from half-full to standing room only.
At Bowie, I was surprised to see 3024 out and about, with a few people inside.
Later on, I'm on the F4, heading west to P.G. Plaza, and I guess we were in the middle of a detour; instead of crossing the MARC tracks like normal, we got around it using East-West Hwy. I don't get it.
6390 broken down on the C2 on University Blvd., fortunately, there was another C2 right behind it.
Lastly, I saw 4258 still running around at Wheaton; I think it was on the Q4.
Ride-On 5412 had it's dest. sign stuck on "34 ASPEN" in small letters.
Yeah the regular route for the F4 is East West Hwy now. Also very soon the F6 will be going to Ft Totten. Was 3024 from WMATA? I wanted to share that 1 week ago today on BW Pkwy I saw WMATA 3028 and it looked to be a 30 ft Orion. I will try to get a pic next time.
Quote from: Super G on March 28, 2012, 06:16:07 PM
Yeah the regular route for the F4 is East West Hwy now. Also very soon the F6 will be going to Ft Totten. Was 3024 from WMATA? I wanted to share that 1 week ago today on BW Pkwy I saw WMATA 3028 and it looked to be a 30 ft Orion. I will try to get a pic next time.
I thought they rejected the rerouting of the F6 to Ft Totten?
According to Mr Glick from planning the R3 will be discontinued and the F6 will reroute to service a part of the R3 from Riggs Rd & Md. 410 into Ft. Totten beginning in late June or early July of this year.
Quote from: RideOn5905 on March 12, 2012, 06:23:41 PM
Lastly, I saw 4258 still running around at Wheaton; I think it was on the Q4.
I've been seeing 4258 recently too and it made me think... Why is this bus a bit extra familiar to me. Here's the reason.
This pic was taken at Landover when 4258 was freshly rehabbed.
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s178/WayneJay/WMATA/DSC02767.jpg)
About 5-10 minutes ago I saw 5834 on the 55 headed to Rockville at 355 and Gude Dr, I was heading northbound and waiting at the stop light. All of a sudden, 2 cop cars come and one of the passengers (looks like Montgomery College student, I'll bet that bus was full of them) waved them down. I couldn't check it out long enough to see what was going on as the light eventually turned green and I had to go, but being the curious person I am, I wonder what happened
ALSO...I just saw MTA bus 169C on the 201, nothing unusual but the green ICC wrap is gone. Idk about the others, but don't be surprised if you see the 170s in white
Megabus: on 03/30/2012 I paced double-deck coach DD501 (Van Hool TD925) operating route M36 service (Pittsburgh - Washington DC) southbound on Interstate 270 between Shady Grove Road and Montrose Road at speeds up to 70mph. It was quite literally passing everything on the road.
Quote from: Super G on March 28, 2012, 06:16:07 PM
Yeah the regular route for the F4 is East West Hwy now. Also very soon the F6 will be going to Ft Totten. Was 3024 from WMATA? I wanted to share that 1 week ago today on BW Pkwy I saw WMATA 3028 and it looked to be a 30 ft Orion. I will try to get a pic next time.
The brand new 30 ft Orion that I saw a few weeks ago was probably not marked 3028.
Quote from: NewFlyer9736BCT on March 13, 2012, 09:37:43 PM
Quote from: Flxible_Metro_8700 on March 13, 2012, 01:39:45 PM
2464 Route G8
I got a picture of that. and if that isn't enough, I also saw (and snapped a pic of) 7098 on the P2
In other news, it looks like Royal took some more of Bladensburg's 2100s. I saw 2182 on the 28A. A few more have also moved according to Nextbus, I'll post it in the Nextbus Obs thread
also in other news, I saw 4388 on driver training on Penn Ave NW near Fed Triangle, its GPS has been offline for a while so it's been thought to have retired. maybe it's just being used exclusively for training, or the GPS just doesn't work, or maybe it has a replacement GPS (like 9742's GPS on 3766, 4042's GPS on 7016, etc) I noticed 4388 along with several other 4200 and 4300's had their fareboxes removed. Seems like a waste.
Quote from: Super G on April 03, 2012, 07:00:53 PM
Quote from: Super G on March 28, 2012, 06:16:07 PM
Yeah the regular route for the F4 is East West Hwy now. Also very soon the F6 will be going to Ft Totten. Was 3024 from WMATA? I wanted to share that 1 week ago today on BW Pkwy I saw WMATA 3028 and it looked to be a 30 ft Orion. I will try to get a pic next time.
The brand new 30 ft Orion that I saw a few weeks ago was probably not marked 3028.
WMATA's 3001-3035 are 2005 30-foot Orion VII CNG
Yeah I saw one after I made that post ; so that's why I was saying the bus I saw on BW Pkwy must not have been marked 3028, but it was definitely shorter than 40, 42, and 60 feet, definitely an Orion, and mostly red in color with "Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority" in white letters near above the rear tail hatch. I don't think it was CNG, but I'm not sure if it was Hybrid Electric or Clean Diesel either. I've been looking for it ever since so I can get a picture.
Quote from: Super G on April 04, 2012, 03:31:13 PM
Yeah I saw one after I made that post ; so that's why I was saying the bus I saw on BW Pkwy must not have been marked 3028, but it was definitely shorter than 40, 42, and 60 feet, definitely an Orion, and mostly red in color with "Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority" in white letters near above the rear tail hatch. I don't think it was CNG, but I'm not sure if it was Hybrid Electric or Clean Diesel either. I've been looking for it ever since so I can get a picture.
You probably saw #3036. The first Orion VII 3G Diesel getting delivered or something.
The obvious tell tale signs are the single hump denoting a CNG bus. It could be the demo bus or the first made bus to check out the specs before the true delivery starts. If it has a clean roof but has a doesn't have the protruding headsign then that's the BRT version WMATA is buying. The hybrid version will have two humps with the protruding headsign.
OK The brand new WMATA 30 ft Orion is 3036.