I travel on these lines often and I believe that 40ft buses aren't enough. They are way to crowded. I believe that when Cinder Block depot opens in the near future, that they should get the 2002 Neoplan AN460 artics to use on the 29K/N as well as the 28A.
I think they need more frequent service on those routes, not bigger buses. Also last I checked, Cinder Bed is having legal issues and if it is built, it looks like artics won't happen there either.
The 29 needs more frequency, not artics. The 28 line could use an extra trip or 2 as well, but I don't think artics will be necessary.
Arlington was closed in 2009 because West Ox opened and replaced it.
Well, I guess that's true. I personally believe the 29K/N should run atleast every 30 mins. Also, the 29C could use a few extra morning trips as well.
To add to what George said, Arlington closed IIRC because the land it sat on was very valuable not to mention the depot wasn't all that large or modern. WMATA has been looking for deals to develop Western Division for some time supposedly, and they are looking to sell off the old Southern Division if they have yet to do so already.
But it's not like West Ox was that much of an improvement though. They house even less buses now (about 90 buses now as oppose to when Arlington was around, in which they had about 110 buses) and despite the newer equipment they have (New Flyer DE42LFAs with a few New Flyer XDE40s as well) they are still closed on weekends. The least they could do is operate the 1A, 2B, 2C,10B and the 29N routes while Four Mile Run does the rest. Sending Orion VII OG CNGs all the way to Fair Oaks and Tyson Corner seems a bit much.
I mean, I understand why Royal is closed on weekends because they have older buses (all Orion V fleet). I just believe that West Ox should join FMR in opening on weekends, but with fewer buses out. Also, I think the 25B should have Sunday service. Routes they could do away with could be the 13F and 13G. No one even use those buses anymore. The 29N could be used on the Sundays as well, so could the 7F and 4A lines.
West Ox has room for more buses than Arlington can handle. Do remember that it's a shared division with WMATA and Fairfax Connector. Plus, Arlington had height restrictions which wasn't an major issue until battery packs/CNG tanks/overhead AC units became standard on most buses these days. This is also why they are considering a replacement for Royal.
Because ridership is lowest for most routes in the region on Sundays, it's not necessary to have some lines running when for the most part there's other routes that run in the same area. The 29N is exactly the same as the 29K, with the difference that it goes up Pickett St to Fairfax Circle unlike George Mason U. The 7F and 7A, again, same thing, other than a small portion of Lincolnia where they split ways. I'm not 100% sure on how the 4 line operates on weekends, but I think on Sundays it's the 4H running instead of the 4A (and of course the 4B, but there's enough difference to keep that line running as well). The 4A and H, again, exact same thing other than the 4A continuing on to Culmore from Seven Corners (which can also be done on the 28A). Yes it's less convenient for some to have to transfer buses more and wait longer for buses to come (believe me, I live where Ride On 54 and 74 run, and sometimes I really wish the 74 ran on weekends), but as long as the demand for buses is low, the supply will also be low.
You raise some interesting points. As for Royal, I did see an Orion VII CNG go into the depot before (it was #3031 or #3032, forgot which one). I do visit Royal sometimes and it does appear rather small. Makes me wonder why Royal wasn't replaced first, then Arlington?
Quote from: NewFlyer9736BCT on March 25, 2013, 07:32:59 PM
West Ox has room for more buses than Arlington can handle. Do remember that it's a shared division with WMATA and Fairfax Connector. Plus, Arlington had height restrictions which wasn't an major issue until battery packs/CNG tanks/overhead AC units became standard on most buses these days. This is also why they are considering a replacement for Royal.
Because ridership is lowest for most routes in the region on Sundays, it's not necessary to have some lines running when for the most part there's other routes that run in the same area. The 29N is exactly the same as the 29K, with the difference that it goes up Pickett St to Fairfax Circle unlike George Mason U. The 7F and 7A, again, same thing, other than a small portion of Lincolnia where they split ways. I'm not 100% sure on how the 4 line operates on weekends, but I think on Sundays it's the 4H running instead of the 4A (and of course the 4B, but there's enough difference to keep that line running as well). The 4A and H, again, exact same thing other than the 4A continuing on to Culmore from Seven Corners (which can also be done on the 28A). Yes it's less convenient for some to have to transfer buses more and wait longer for buses to come (believe me, I live where Ride On 54 and 74 run, and sometimes I really wish the 74 ran on weekends), but as long as the demand for buses is low, the supply will also be low.
Can the D40LFRs fit into Royal? I always believe that some of those buses would eventually find their way over to NOVA depots.