Do Metro Drivers get to pick their bus

[Antozilla]

out of the lot or are they assigned?  If you can get your own, do you all have a favorite bus (not type, specific bus).  Like bus #2020

[LandoverDivision]

Not really. Although bus # 2002 has a very strong engine. 2529, 2630-2635, 265 something, and 2704 (because of the NGV Wraps). 6161 and 6162 because of the "3839" sign.

The Bus:
63160 because of the gear switch sound.

[Antozilla]

Ok, how are buses assigned?

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Ok, how are buses assigned?

This has been discussed elsewhere on this (and other boards).  Many and perhaps most, but not all TAs, assign a specific type of bus to a block.  Then, when the dispatcher or whoever is responsible for making assignments does them each day, he or she tries to assign the same type of bus to that block to meet the needs of service.  When I say type in this case, it usually refers to length and not model (TCAT doesn't care if a 40 foot block is covered by a Nova, New Flyer, or Gillig), but other considerations can be made.  Of course, if the dispatcher is short on buses and doesn't have enough 40 footers, he or she is going to send out something else to ensure that no trips are missed.

[79MetroExtraMD]

Ok, how are buses assigned?

This has been discussed elsewhere on this (and other boards).  Many and perhaps most, but not all TAs, assign a specific type of bus to a block.  Then, when the dispatcher or whoever is responsible for making assignments does them each day, he or she tries to assign the same type of bus to that block to meet the needs of service.  When I say type in this case, it usually refers to length and not model (TCAT doesn't care if a 40 foot block is covered by a Nova, New Flyer, or Gillig), but other considerations can be made.  Of course, if the dispatcher is short on buses and doesn't have enough 40 footers, he or she is going to send out something else to ensure that no trips are missed.

To add on that. I think if you have high enough seniority, you get first priority on what type of bus you want.

[wmata employee]

They have something thats called a starter who assigns buses to each block every division has a set up style of lanes I no western has lanes 1-22 for 145 buses on the a side of the garage holds tripper buses only on the B side has regular runs

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Ok, how are buses assigned?

This has been discussed elsewhere on this (and other boards).  Many and perhaps most, but not all TAs, assign a specific type of bus to a block.  Then, when the dispatcher or whoever is responsible for making assignments does them each day, he or she tries to assign the same type of bus to that block to meet the needs of service.  When I say type in this case, it usually refers to length and not model (TCAT doesn't care if a 40 foot block is covered by a Nova, New Flyer, or Gillig), but other considerations can be made.  Of course, if the dispatcher is short on buses and doesn't have enough 40 footers, he or she is going to send out something else to ensure that no trips are missed.

To add on that. I think if you have high enough seniority, you get first priority on what type of bus you want.

No you don't.  The schedulers and planning departments generally indicate what buses should be on what blocks, so if you work out of Northern Division and want an artic, pick the 70s (as an example).  Seniority and pull with whoever makes the assignments might get you a specific type of bus, specific bus, or get you out of receiving your intended bus, but you pick into your assignment, knowingly or otherwise, regardless of seniority.

[Perry]

In Vegas we assign buses to blocks as Oren suggests for WMATA.  I don't give a crap what bus is on that route as long as a hybrid is on the block we say to be on.  If they put a non-hybrid out on a hybrid block, they need to make sure another coach is available to pull out when the next operator comes out or else they won't be completing that block.

[Tristan]

Landover,

63170 does the same thing, and it's ill, and I have it on audio, and it will be here soon.  Thought I was the only one who noticed!

[Tritransit Area]

63170...a PG Gillig Phantom?

[WMATAGMOAGH]

In Vegas we assign buses to blocks as Oren suggests for WMATA.  I don't give a crap what bus is on that route as long as a hybrid is on the block we say to be on.  If they put a non-hybrid out on a hybrid block, they need to make sure another coach is available to pull out when the next operator comes out or else they won't be completing that block.

I should clarify, what I posted describes the general processes that were in place at TCAT and Ride On when I was privy to such information, though I think it is safe to assume that both agencies continue to maintain those practices, and that many other TAs throughout the US have similar practices in place, as exemplified by Perry's post.

[RailBus63]

To add to the complication, many transit agencies park buses in rows, so a driver's preferred bus may be stuck behind other buses at pullout time.  I've never heard of an agency that will spend manpower and time moving buses around to fetch some driver's favorite vehicle.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Well, at one time, TCAT (or its predecessors) drivers had an assigned bus, either for the duration of a pick for indefinately.  The advantages of this were that the driver took pride in taking care of his or her bus, cleaning it, and making sure it was well maintained.  The biggest problem with this was if a driver's bus was not available, they would often call in sick since they didn't want to drive a bus other than their own.

[Perry]

At PRTC we actually did assign an actual bus to the route but that was also because of the way they were parked so it was easy to do it.  This is why if you watch their operations enough, you should see the same bus day after day, with the exception of a few.  They are allowed a 20% mis-assignment of coaches per day.

[WayneNYC]

At NYCTA, what many agencies refer to as blocks are called runs.  Most depots don't have to assign a specific type of bus because the routes simply calls for one of three types (size) of buses.  A standard 40-footer, artic or MCI D4500.  Although there's a few flavors, it really comes down to what size bus is needed.  Some routes are artic routes which are covered by 600 New Flyer D60HF.  A few non-artic routes get some artics during rush hours.  Artic routes tend to have artics at all times.  And express routes now use MCI D4500 (which I still think is overkill).  One depot (100 Street) is all artics.  One (Gleason) is all CNG - Orion VIIs, NF C40LF and Orion Vs. 

All non-artic local routes get a 40 footer by 102 inch wide bus.  Depending on the depot it can be a RTS, Orion V, Orion V CNG, Orion VII CNG, Orion VII HEV, Orion VIING HEV or NF C40LF. 

Also - The buses are parked in rows (or tracks) for pull-out.

Each night after a bus pulls in and goes though the usual refueling, farebox probing etc.  Unless it's a maintenance hold or some other issue, they get parked in rows (or tracks) for the AM pull-out.

Back in the day before the takeover of the PBLs... Many of their bus operators had regular buses.  NYBS and QSC were the only ones with enough space to not have the buses parked in rows.  In fact all NYBS buses had assigned parking spaces.