October 2009 Observations

[ChristopherF]

RIDE ON:
995410 on the 34 (Friendship Heights)
095342 on the 11 (Silver Spring)
095348 on the 10 (Twinbrook)
025593 on the 10 (Hillandale)

METROBUS:
6139 on the NH1
4020 on the NH1
4349 on the 10A (Hunting Towers)
4064 on the 83 (Rhode Island Avenue Station)
4072 on the C8 (College Park Station)
4102 on the C8 (White Flint Station)
4322 remains @ Montgomery.
4323 remains @ Montgomery.
4328 remains @ Montgomery.
4330 remains @ Montgomery.
4339 on the 28A (King Street Station) with a new coat of paint
4342 on the 28B (King Street Station)
4344 on the 28B (Tysons Corner)
5213 on the C2 (Greenbelt Center)
2315 on the 83, freshly rehabbed & repainted in silver/red
2388 on the R2, freshly rehabbed & repainted in silver/red
2300 on the R2 (Calverton)

[Scrabbleship]

One of the Reston Limousine cutaways wrapping up a run on the 8 in Silver Spring*
9803 on the J1
₀₉5010 leaving Nicholson on one of the infamous "Special Transportation" runs

* Might the fleet problem at Nicholson be the low-floor cutaways? I haven't seen any in over a week.

[ir0cq09]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

[Annex4421]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

Yep 9809 should've been overhauled.

[Annex4421]

6137 on the M6
6451 on the 39
4031 on the 34
2801 on a 30s route at Eastern Market

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

Yep 9809 should've been overhauled.

what, are you serious? that bus runs nice and strong...last I rode it anyways (which was 1-2 weeks ago)

[C40LF_2464]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

Yep 9809 should've been overhauled.

what, are you serious? that bus runs nice and strong...last I rode it anyways (which was 1-2 weeks ago)

Me to. I rode it on the J4 and the driver was flooring that joint.

[Annex4421]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

Yep 9809 should've been overhauled.

what, are you serious? that bus runs nice and strong...last I rode it anyways (which was 1-2 weeks ago)

Yes it runs awsome but it looks terrible. (I shouldn't talk Annex Metro Es are in mint condition themselves)

[WayneNYC]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

Yep 9809 should've been overhauled.

It did get rehabbed along with it's sisters about 8 years ago.

[Scrabbleship]

5578 on the 22 Hillandale
5404 Van Go
9809(She Looks Like Death) Z6 Castle Bvld
Rode 5213 on the J5 home towards white flint..nice ride but waste of bus on that route

There always seems to be an odd J5 run that is an artic, but yes it is too much bus for a route that maybe fills 2/3 of a high floor, 3/4 of a low floor tops.

As for 5404 on the "28 - Silver Spring Downtown Dasher", when did the 28 go from being the Downtown Dasher to the VanGo? I still think there is a sign for the downtown dasher in the south entrance of Silver Spring station.

[Perry]

That J5 is probably an interline route and instead of pulling out another bus for it, it was blocked to do a J5 and then go to the garage.  We do that all of the time.  Even though it looks odd, it's cheaper than getting another operator or pulling from another route that would have a longer deadhead.

[Scrabbleship]

That J5 is probably an interline route and instead of pulling out another bus for it, it was blocked to do a J5 and then go to the garage.  We do that all of the time.  Even though it looks odd, it's cheaper than getting another operator or pulling from another route that would have a longer deadhead.

Some of the J5 runs might interline, I think however there is one odd block that is solely J5 or at one point was solely J5. I think the afternoon run in question does 1.5 round trips as a J5 then turns into a Q or Y.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

The 28 was called the Downtown Dasher before it was called the Van Go.  I think the name change took place in either 2002 or 2003, and at about that time as well, the service was changed from being rush hour only to being all day.

[ChristopherF]

RIDE ON:
095346 on the 15 (Silver Spring), this bus DOES NOT have a farebox

[WayneNYC]

RIDE ON:
095346 on the 15 (Silver Spring), this bus DOES NOT have a farebox

Interesting!  I saw this bus (and 5345) being delivered some weeks ago.  That said, it's clear the Ride On's priority is to provide the service, even if it means sending out a bus without a farebox.  I remember this happening also in the past with the last batch of Orion VIIs.

I saw 4056 on the D5 this AM.  I know Bladensburg has a few Metro-Es now, but it's still a bit strange to see them on Bladensburg routes.  Also they had 3014 doing a D5 trip on Wednesday afternoon.  This was a first for me.