Bus fanning in Richmond and Charlottesville-2.19.10

[Flxible]

Well guys, I finally did it.  I had business to attend to in Richmond, so I took the plunge and finally rode the GRTC.  Looks like the 900s (1996 Phantoms) are officially out the door.  I saw plenty of the 200 and 400-series Phantoms running around with faded front logos though.  Also saw plenty of the 100 and 600-series Gillig LFs.  The treat of the day?  Their new 300-series LFs.  LOVE the new GRTC paint scheme of silver and purple with green border stripe, and they sound awesome on takeoff!  I rode 318 and 304 on the 34 line from 8th and Marshall to Highland Park and back.  Drivers were fairly helpful in my self-navigation of the system, and I even saw a NextBus stop on Broad St.

On the way home, I decided to stop in C-ville as I had never rode either of their systems.  Rode an Opus for the first time and was not impressed.  They are so dinky, cheesy-colored, and are really built cheap!  I rode 844 on the 1B from Avon and Belmont and was very impressed with their snazzy new Transit Center on the edge of the Downtown Mall.  It is LEED-certified and is built mostly of recycled materials.  Even has dual-facing real time screens for arrival times of each route down to the minute.  (The CTS staffers could be a little more courteous in general IMHO.  They could learn a lot from UTS, as I am about to explain in the next paragraph.)

On a whim, I decided to call UTS and see if they are still running their Orion Is.  Much to my delight, they are...and they are 1988 and 91 models!  Katie was super nice on the phone and told me which CTS bus (the free trolley...again, a cheap thing on wheels) to take to catch one at the UVa Hospital.  Sure enough, 8138 rolls up (an 88 model) and roars off with me in tow, 6V92 roaring all the way.  The driver (Andrea), much like the phone rep, was a real sweetheart and we both talked buses along the way.  She mentioned that the OBIs feel a lot more heavy-duty than the Gillig Phantoms that comprise most of their fleet.  Their recent acquisition is a nice fleet of Gillig LFs.  CTS also got some two years ago (30 and 35-fts), but bought them to prematurely retire their New Flyer LFs from 1998.  (Not sure why they did that, but I really would rather see those on the road than the crappy Opuses!).  Speaking of those, I rode 846 on the 1B back to the van to complete my trip home. 

Both CTS and UTS use Bus Finder, which I had never seen before.  They are a bit quirky to use, but give accurate info on the next bus.  Very nice feature.

Pardon me for getting all Walt Whitman if this post is a tad too long for DCATZ.  Still learning how it's done here on the new site! )

*P.S.: My only lament is that I did not ride GRTC about 10-15 years sooner in my early travels to Richmond.  I remember seeing the 100 and 300-series Flx Metros in full force back in those days, and even remember seeing orange and tan Flx New Looks still puttering around as late as 1996, just before the first Gilligs wiped them out....

[Tristan]

Got any pics of those new GRTC buses (anyone)?

[MetroLinerXLZ]

Got any pics of those new GRTC buses (anyone)?

As for the new 900-series Gilligs, they still haven't hit the streets yet. I've been keeping a close eye on things since the "Strike" talk, and I intend to "fan them out" once they're in service.

The 300s have been in service since October 2008. Pictures/videos/recordings available on my Photobucket (MetroDee2915), Youtube channel, and SkyDrive (http://cid-4c4729896a34058d.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/.Public?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=65245695).

Another local transit fan on Youtube, GRTCrid3r has a picture of one of the new 900-series buses as his channel background (which he snapped at the GRTC maintenance facility):

http://www.youtube.com/user/GRTCrid3r

[C40LF_2464]

Here is the one in his background but better version.

[MetroLinerXLZ]

Yep, that's them new 900s. Thing is, the last 4 Phantoms that were numbered in this series (903, 905, 916, 921) are still in service, for now.

[MetroLinerXLZ]

Here are some photos of the 300-series Gilligs currently in service for the GRTC.