Here are the photos everyone has been waiting for. Notice the changed exaust pipes.
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/bjb91/S7301155.jpg)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/bjb91/S7301154.jpg)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/bjb91/S7301153.jpg)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/bjb91/S7301151.jpg)
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/bjb91/S7301149.jpg)
WOW!!! :o those are some impressive pics and man that express scheme is killing. more sexyer then the local!!!
Awesome man. Whats up with all those Orion IIs?
Does anybody notice a difference between 6301 and those other BRT local painted buses?
And I hope Landover gets some of the Express buses for the B30. That would be great!
Quote from: OrionFlyer on March 15, 2009, 04:29:08 PM
Awesome man. Whats up with all those Orion IIs?
Does anybody notice a difference between 6301 and those other BRT local painted buses?
And I hope Landover gets some of the Express buses for the B30. That would be great!
I think I know what you're talking about, and the 3 other BRTs are the same. 6320 is the only one not painted all the way at the top.
Nice pics. Gives me a better perspective than what I get on the NEC. The baby Circs look cute. I wonder how many they'll need for the "98" when the service is transferred over by the end of the month. The Express paint is kickass, a curvier Metro Extra scheme. Also, I wonder if Metro would have thought about getting the Van Hools for the low key M4 and N8 routes since even a 37 footer is too big for those routes.
If a 37 footer is "too big" for the M4, why does that route operate 40 foot buses?
Are the Orion II's going to get the local scheme?
Quote from: OrionFlyer on March 15, 2009, 05:27:33 PM
Are the Orion II's going to get the local scheme?
I'm not 100% sure but I think they retired them. I don't know though. They've been sitting at CET for a very long time.
I'm still getting the impression that the Metro Extra buses are going to be repainted to Express theme. WMATA keeps on calling that route "Express", instead of limited stop. So I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
They look good, but I still say this "Local" and "Express" branding is a bad move for WMATA. Just the other day I saw 4329 on the J9 and Montgomery's 4396-4399 & 6207-6217 regularly show up on local routes.
Quote from: OrionFlyer on March 15, 2009, 05:42:23 PM
I'm still getting the impression that the Metro Extra buses are going to be repainted to Express theme. WMATA keeps on calling that route "Express", instead of limited stop. So I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.
I don't think they'll repaint them since that line is branded as Metro Extra. They are technically already in the Express scheme.
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 06:06:53 PM
They look good, but I still say this "Local" and "Express" branding is a bad move for WMATA. Just the other day I saw 4329 on the J9 and Montgomery's 4396-4399 & 6207-6217 regularly show up on local routes.
Just like Landover's 4390-4395 showing up on other routes ALL the time. And Four Mile Run's 2701-2730 showing up on a lot of other routes as well. I don't think the Local and Express brands are really that big of a deal.
Good catch, Thanks for the pics!
Nice pics. Those new buses look nice, in both the local and express scheme. If anything, people will be able to tell from a distance whether or not they will be getting buses with nice, high-backed seats.
So...what's the story with 9355? It has quite a significant scratch on it...
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 06:06:53 PM
They look good, but I still say this "Local" and "Express" branding is a bad move for WMATA. Just the other day I saw 4329 on the J9 and Montgomery's 4396-4399 & 6207-6217 regularly show up on local routes.
I still say it wouldn't matter because of interlining, plus alot of people either misread or can't read the sign at all in the first place. Plus, it makes for some interesting sightings.
9355 is the runaway bus that crashed into an apartment building last year in Alexandria.
Quote from: 79MetroExtraMD on March 15, 2009, 09:59:38 PM
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 06:06:53 PM
They look good, but I still say this "Local" and "Express" branding is a bad move for WMATA. Just the other day I saw 4329 on the J9 and Montgomery's 4396-4399 & 6207-6217 regularly show up on local routes.
I still say it wouldn't matter because of interlining, plus alot of people either misread or can't read the sign at all in the first place. Plus, it makes for some interesting sightings.
That's precisely why I think it's not a good move for WMATA. Remember, you shouldn't look at this from a transit fan's perspective. If it gets to the point where all brands are regularly showing up on all routes at any given time, then it begs the question... Why have the branding?
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 10:01:20 PM
9355 is the runaway bus that crashed into an apartment building last year in Alexandria.
Quote from: 79MetroExtraMD on March 15, 2009, 09:59:38 PM
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 06:06:53 PM
They look good, but I still say this "Local" and "Express" branding is a bad move for WMATA. Just the other day I saw 4329 on the J9 and Montgomery' 4396-4399 & 6207-6217 regularly show up on local routes.
I still say it wouldn' matter because of interlining, plus alot of people either misread or can' read the sign at all in the first place. Plus, it makes for some interesting sightings.
That' precisely why I think it' not a good move for WMATA. Remember, you shouldn' look at this from a transit fan' perspective. If it gets to the point where all brands are regularly showing up on all routes at any given time, then it begs the question... Why have the branding?
I'm not WMATA so I'm not saying this is what they do or why they do it, but maybe they don't mean for it to happen. Maybe they are just leftover buses for routes that could use them or something. I'm not saying don't brand the buses, but brand only whar's neccesary. I think WMATA may have branded too many buses in some cases.
Can anybody make out the numbers of those two Express painted buses?
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 10:01:20 PM
9355 is the runaway bus that crashed into an apartment building last year in Alexandria.
Quote from: 79MetroExtraMD on March 15, 2009, 09:59:38 PM
Quote from: WayneNYC on March 15, 2009, 06:06:53 PM
They look good, but I still say this "Local" and "Express" branding is a bad move for WMATA. Just the other day I saw 4329 on the J9 and Montgomery's 4396-4399 & 6207-6217 regularly show up on local routes.
I still say it wouldn't matter because of interlining, plus alot of people either misread or can't read the sign at all in the first place. Plus, it makes for some interesting sightings.
That's precisely why I think it's not a good move for WMATA. Remember, you shouldn't look at this from a transit fan's perspective. If it gets to the point where all brands are regularly showing up on all routes at any given time, then it begs the question... Why have the branding?
Marketing I suppose. Catoe noted in the board meeting that attractiveness was one point that drew folks to Circulator. Plus, I think in the long run when more services come into place, the brandings will serve a purpose. But as I said, it's more important to focus on the destination sign rather than the paint.
Excellent pictures. Thank you very much.
Quote from: OrionFlyer on March 16, 2009, 12:00:00 AM
Can anybody make out the numbers of those two Express painted buses?
From what I could magnify those two buses are numbered 6425 and 6434.
I couldn't see them that well, but from what it looked like on my camera, it looks like 6424 and 6425.
6400s? If some of those are there already, does that mean all the 6300s are in the DC area now?
Also, I think the New Flyer 60ft buses are going to numbered as 5500s.
Buses are not delivered in fleet order. We get buses sent to us out of order all the time.
Quote from: WMATAGMOAGH on March 15, 2009, 05:26:23 PM
If a 37 footer is "too big" for the M4, why does that route operate 40 foot buses?
I think he is trying to be sarcastic
According to this, the Express buses only are going to have the Color destination signs and an additional sign on the other side of the bus. Its pretty cool. Also, can anybody recognize the street these are on in the document?
http://www.wmata.com/Images/mrel/42FootBRT_FactSheet.pdf (http://www.wmata.com/Images/mrel/42FootBRT_FactSheet.pdf)
That's the Jackson Graham Building aka Metro HQ. I think that's probably F Street.
Man!!! Where the F*** was i when that pic was tooken? DE42LFA and 62LFA just parked there chillen without me >:(. This is one of the things that gets my busfan side jealous.
Quote from: OrionFlyer on March 30, 2009, 03:16:33 PM
According to this, the Express buses only are going to have the Color destination signs and an additional sign on the other side of the bus. Its pretty cool. Also, can anybody recognize the street these are on in the document?
http://www.wmata.com/Images/mrel/42FootBRT_FactSheet.pdf (http://www.wmata.com/Images/mrel/42FootBRT_FactSheet.pdf)
This document intrigues me. Those Express LFAs have traditional local seating, don't they. Also, the NABI BRTs are being used on the 5A...
I think WMATA may be shifting the "Express" designation from the old fashioned suburban expresses (like the J9, etc) to the "Extra" services (like the S9 and 79).
It would be very interesting to see how those New Flyer D40LFRs are repainted. I doubt they will repaint the Orion Vs, but who knows?
The Suburban seat Express branded buses will probably go to the county divisions (Landover and Montgomery). Northern will have 10 of the non suburban Express branded buses. I hope some of the suburbans go to Landover for use on the B30. Or Montgomery could move some of their 6200s to Landover. There are going to be 38 of the Express buses, so I'm very curious as to how many the other divisions are going to get.
And I asked John Catoe and he said all the buses that are active in the fleet are going to be repainted. I'm very curious to see how the Orion V's and VI's and VII's are going to look in this scheme.
Since Bladensburg, Western, and FMR do the 37 route those divisions will probably receive some of the new hybrid express branded buses, or have some of their buses painted in the express scheme.