5A/Southeastern Division Plans

[wmata employee]

Prior JOHN CATOE.

Route 5A DULLES-L'ENFANT PLAZA LINE- 10 60 ft. CNG Buses on that line with a schedule rebuilt so this route will be no help from Bladensburg, they have a full max compacity of runs 315 runs,four mile has 208 a depo can only have so many says proir operations development.
**Southeast new facilty will be decided next meeting plan for the end of this month.

[Tristan]

Do you mean "Per John Catoe"?

[LandoverDivision]

Wait, so I was right about the 60ft BRT NABIs going on the 5A? YES!!

[WES]

Here is a question,  if the 5A is considered an express and the BRTs are painted in a local paint scheme.........well you get the hint.

[79MetroExtraMD]

A bus is a bus in my sense. I don't think the branding really wouldn't matter. I've seen non-Metro Extra buses on the 79 plenty of times. I have yet to see a Metro Extra bus on a non-Metro Extra route. The scheme would be fine without the Local branding. It works better in LA since I doubt any of the Rapid lines interline with Local lines.

[WES]

That's my point exactly.  Why paint a bus and brand it local when you are going to put it on an express route.   Just paint it as a regular bus without the "LOCAL" branding.

And again why put an artic on the 5A, when the 16 would need it more than the 5A, REX needs artics more than the 5A, so putting it on the 5A would be a waste of a bus in my opinion.

Of course we are talking about WhyMATA, they have been known to not make sense alot.

[79MetroExtraMD]

There are quite alot of routes that look like they need tics. I thought the 16 didn't really need them  because of the different routings along the same corridor with buses coming at least every 5-10 minutes. I do want to see tics on the VA routes since ridership is increasing but who knows if we'll see some come time for West Ox to open.

[Tristan]

That's my point exactly.  Why paint a bus and brand it local when you are going to put it on an express route.   Just paint it as a regular bus without the "LOCAL" branding.

And again why put an artic on the 5A, when the 16 would need it more than the 5A, REX needs artics more than the 5A, so putting it on the 5A would be a waste of a bus in my opinion.

Of course we are talking about WhyMATA, they have been known to not make sense alot.

The difference between the 16 and the REX and other regular crowded routes and the 5A is that if the 5A has a standing load at L'Enfant Plaza, it will most likely have a standing load all the way through to Dulles Airport, with people standing for an hour straight and luggage in the aisles -- it's a safety issue as well.  On the 16, REX, and most other crowded routes, people are constantly getting on and off so seats will become available and they don't always have stuff in the aisles.

Ideally, several VA routes would have tics, but I think getting the 5A straight is a good priority.

[NewFlyer9736BCT]

That's my point exactly.  Why paint a bus and brand it local when you are going to put it on an express route.   Just paint it as a regular bus without the "LOCAL" branding.

And again why put an artic on the 5A, when the 16 would need it more than the 5A, REX needs artics more than the 5A, so putting it on the 5A would be a waste of a bus in my opinion.

Of course we are talking about WhyMATA, they have been known to not make sense alot.

The difference between the 16 and the REX and other regular crowded routes and the 5A is that if the 5A has a standing load at L'Enfant Plaza, it will most likely have a standing load all the way through to Dulles Airport, with people standing for an hour straight and luggage in the aisles -- it's a safety issue as well.  On the 16, REX, and most other crowded routes, people are constantly getting on and off so seats will become available and they don't always have stuff in the aisles.

Ideally, several VA routes would have tics, but I think getting the 5A straight is a good priority.

That's a good point...along the fact that the 16 has lots of lines (16A,B,D,J,Y...etc) and lots of buses so thats a good thing
The REX...I don't know...it doesn't seem to come that often though

[WES]

That's my point exactly.  Why paint a bus and brand it local when you are going to put it on an express route.   Just paint it as a regular bus without the "LOCAL" branding.

And again why put an artic on the 5A, when the 16 would need it more than the 5A, REX needs artics more than the 5A, so putting it on the 5A would be a waste of a bus in my opinion.

Of course we are talking about WhyMATA, they have been known to not make sense alot.

The difference between the 16 and the REX and other regular crowded routes and the 5A is that if the 5A has a standing load at L'Enfant Plaza, it will most likely have a standing load all the way through to Dulles Airport, with people standing for an hour straight and luggage in the aisles -- it's a safety issue as well.  On the 16, REX, and most other crowded routes, people are constantly getting on and off so seats will become available and they don't always have stuff in the aisles.

Ideally, several VA routes would have tics, but I think getting the 5A straight is a good priority.

That's a good point, but will these buses come euipped with luggage racks or will they have to be installed to have somewhere to put any passengers' luggage so they won't put the luggage on the seats next to them, thus creating the same problem as with a 40 foot bus.  If you don't have any place to put luggage then passenger A and passenger B will most likely put their luggage right next to them.

Of course this begs again to increase the frequency on this route but waiting for that to happen would be like waiting for THE BUS have service like RIDE ON's.

[Tristan]

That's a good point...along the fact that the 16 has lots of lines (16A,B,D,J,Y...etc) and lots of buses so thats a good thing
The REX...I don't know...it doesn't seem to come that often though

REX runs every 15 minutes or better during the peak.

[smithavechuck]

With regard tro luggage racks, I'm certain that Metrobus has speced those buses similar to the way the B30 BWI-Marshall buses
were speced.

Chuck

[Tristan]

Well, the BWI buses weren't "spec'ed" - the luggage racks were a retrofit.  The 5A has never had its own buses before...I'm only hoping that the authority will dedicate these to the 5A so it can have the racks it needs.  On a low floor bus, they can be installed over the wheel wells (with some sort of latching gate so luggage doesn't spill out) and in the bellows, without costing seats as they do on the high-floor BWI buses.