STA Observations - January to June 2018

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Jurassic_Joke
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

lunchbox wrote:STATE TRANSIT & VICTORIA ROAD
A rigid gassie (1136?) arrives on Route 520 and fills to the gunwales..........doesn't even stop at the Druitt St outbound stop, leaving at least 20 long-waiters to wait even longer.
It's third world, and it's pathetic. Hopefully privatisation will improve the service.
This happens all the time on N90 on party nights, fills to (over)capacity at the first stop (Town Hall, Park St), then often by either Wynyard or North Sydney, bus skips them completely (unless stop requested) because the bus is just too full.

In your case though isn't the other 500_ series running to serve Victoria Road or do they stop at 11pm or so?
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Swift »

^ like getting away with murder.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Stonesourscotty »

There's lot's of routes like that the day they buy proper buses like Deckers the better.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by boronia »

A clip on Ch 9 News last night with Constance shooting off about the success of the B line.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by OKO »

Jurassic_Joke wrote:
lunchbox wrote:STATE TRANSIT & VICTORIA ROAD
A rigid gassie (1136?) arrives on Route 520 and fills to the gunwales..........doesn't even stop at the Druitt St outbound stop, leaving at least 20 long-waiters to wait even longer.
It's third world, and it's pathetic. Hopefully privatisation will improve the service.
This happens all the time on N90 on party nights, fills to (over)capacity at the first stop (Town Hall, Park St), then often by either Wynyard or North Sydney, bus skips them completely (unless stop requested) because the bus is just too full.

In your case though isn't the other 500_ series running to serve Victoria Road or do they stop at 11pm or so?
We are not allowed to substitute a bendy for a rigid. Nor are we allowed to add more trips. For either of these things to be done requires pre approval, in writing, from TfNSW.To change a rigid to a bendy requires months of passenger loading data. If State Transit makes the decision on the day to add trips to cover such a situation, we will not be paid for it.
Victoria rd services are 24 hours 7 days a week. The 520s are 30 minute frequency until, I think, 3 then 60 minutes until 5. Again, the frequency, bus types and everything else is foisted upon us. A cynic may well conclude that there are a couple of reasons that TfNSW do nothing to improve the service under STA.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by lunchbox »

^^^^^^^^^^^thanks OKO. By "we", I assume you mean State Transit or Sydney Buses. I am inclined to take this matter further, without identifying you, of course.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by AccordV6L »

Was on 2586 (I think), 418 to Burwood about 12:30 this afternoon. I got on at Dulwich Hill, and saw the driver still has his Bondi Junction desto on, so I informed him. He said he would change it. When we got to Ashfield, I saw in a shop reflection that he hadn't done it. Few stops later, another person tells him that he has the wrong sign. Driver says he'll change it. I got off at Burwood Station, the desto still had Bondi Junction on it.

I'm not sure if he actually tried to change it or there was a technical glitch preventing him from doing so.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

OKO wrote:
We are not allowed to substitute a bendy for a rigid. Nor are we allowed to add more trips. For either of these things to be done requires pre approval, in writing, from TfNSW.To change a rigid to a bendy requires months of passenger loading data. If State Transit makes the decision on the day to add trips to cover such a situation, we will not be paid for it.
Victoria rd services are 24 hours 7 days a week. The 520s are 30 minute frequency until, I think, 3 then 60 minutes until 5. Again, the frequency, bus types and everything else is foisted upon us. A cynic may well conclude that there are a couple of reasons that TfNSW do nothing to improve the service under STA.
I wasn't the one that had a problem with "overnight services on Victoria Road" as im not from that area of Sydney, Im well aware of route 520 and its all-night service and think it has some great coverage - the few times ive used it very late at night, im satisfied with the service I got. I had a seat. It wasn't a VST. Was running on time nicely. Good stuff, I think it was a fantastic idea to extend the operation to all-night long, that was in 2016 if I remember correctly.

I agree its not your fault if you can't use bendy's on the overnight services especially if you clearly need to, thats the Liberal-TfNSW wishing to save money so they can line their pockets. I myself only recently just learnt that for NightRide, each route, theres actually a list of "TfNSW-approved" vehicles for what can be used on that service (where naturally, bendies and deckers are blacklisted).
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by neilrex »

Swift wrote:Macquarie Centre has a high concentration of thoughtless people that's why and up to that point, as long as the bus is going the right direction,
It is not the case, however, that like the Sydney Airport stops, buses going in both ( opposite ) directions along a route, will come to the bus stop at Macquarie, from the same direction ?

I know this causes a huge amount of confusion at both Sydney Airport stops.

There are other stops where this happens, also.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by pgt »

AccordV6L wrote:Was on 2586 (I think), 418 to Burwood about 12:30 this afternoon. I got on at Dulwich Hill, and saw the driver still has his Bondi Junction desto on, so I informed him. He said he would change it. When we got to Ashfield, I saw in a shop reflection that he hadn't done it. Few stops later, another person tells him that he has the wrong sign. Driver says he'll change it. I got off at Burwood Station, the desto still had Bondi Junction on it.

I'm not sure if he actually tried to change it or there was a technical glitch preventing him from doing so.
Occasionally one of the morning route 143 buses ex Chatswood still shows "Chatswood" even though it is operating a Manly bound service.
Thankfully I haven't seen a route 144 do this yet and confuse the passengers at the Royal North Shore Hospital stop, which serves buses going both ways.

I guess we should be thankful it's not like the old MkV destos that I remember Brookvale had, where they seemed to squeeze a fair bit so much that it was hard to see until the bus more or less got to the stop.
eg.
"RNS HOSPITAL & CHATSW'D" (I remember this one given "Chatswood" had to be abbreviated)
"DEE WHY & COLLAROY PLATEAU"
"NTH SYDNEY & MILSONS PT"
"FRENCH'S FOREST & CHATSW'D" "VIA DEE WHY & NA'WEENA"

Never understood why that seemed to only been a Brookvale (and possibly Mona Vale?) thing, but the clearer the destination - from further out - the better.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by boronia »

I think depots did their own desto's back in those days, so they ended up with whatever the local office designed.

The info was good, but, yes, too hard to read on those older displays.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Stu »

neilrex wrote:
Swift wrote:Macquarie Centre has a high concentration of thoughtless people that's why and up to that point, as long as the bus is going the right direction,
It is not the case, however, that like the Sydney Airport stops, buses going in both ( opposite ) directions along a route, will come to the bus stop at Macquarie, from the same direction ?

I know this causes a huge amount of confusion at both Sydney Airport stops.

There are other stops where this happens, also.
Yes, the certainly are and possibly more.
- The Bvd (facing Sth) & Morwick St, Strathfield: 415 & 466.
- Strathfield Stn (South side): 415 & 466.
- Rockdale Plaza: 476 & 477.
- Princes Hwy (facing South) & Bay St, Rockdale - 7-Ways: 479.

Even with split bus stops with route 487 at Roselands it is just too difficult for some people.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

IMG_0768.jpg
IMG_0768.jpg (53.47 KiB) Viewed 4048 times
TfNSW can't really talk/boast about being needing to be efficient with late night/nightride services, and thus, blacklist bendy buses, when the last regular service of today(night) on M54 tonight was run with this, the prototype Metrobus 1668. Quietest day of the week, quietest time of the service. It was completely empty except for the driver and a single passenger. Mmm. Completely efficient hey :D It's a cool bus, but it just shows how out of touch/how wrong their priorities are in rostering, especially eg considering the current situation with 380 overnight and what they have to make do with
Last edited by Jurassic_Joke on Mon Mar 05, 2018 2:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Swift »

^ What does that pitcher demonstrate? That they rightfully used a bog standard rigid bus for a quiet run late at nite?
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

Swift wrote:^ What does that pitcher demonstrate? That they rightfully used a bog standard rigid bus for a quiet run late at nite?
Sorry it’s not the clearest in my pic, it’s a bendy prototype Metrobus, I should’ve pointed it out. :) Note the fleet number.

1668 = https://showbus.com/A/Asta1668.JPG

Extremely overkill for that time of the night on a Sunday of all nights, you normally only see bendies on M54 during peak hours or occasionally on weekend daytime runnings
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by OKO »

lunchbox wrote:^^^^^^^^^^^thanks OKO. By "we", I assume you mean State Transit or Sydney Buses. I am inclined to take this matter further, without identifying you, of course.
I did indeed mean State Transit. On a side note, it is even harder now to request variances in frequency or bus types. When we had the AFC, we could see how many dips/tickets sold each trip had. So, we could apply a bugger factor for non dipping passengers and arrive at a loading figure. We have no such access for PTIPS. Cubic share it with TfNSW but not us. :? :roll:
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Swift »

Jurassic_Joke wrote:
Sorry it’s not the clearest in my pic, it’s a bendy prototype Metrobus, I should’ve pointed it out. :) Note the fleet number.

1668 = https://showbus.com/A/Asta1668.JPG

Extremely overkill for that time of the night on a Sunday of all nights, you normally only see bendies on M54 during peak hours or occasionally on weekend daytime runnings
A Toyota Hiace van would have been enough. What narcotics have those dispatchers been ingesting?
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Fleet Lists »

But what had it been doing earlier in the shift?
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

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Post which had nothing to do with STA removed.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Frosty »

Noticed 1686 northbound along Botany Rd on a 309 to the City very rare bendy on the 309 let alone a 1.5 door bendy.

Edit: Also this morning noticed some STA peeps were monitoring the new express bus stop at Green Sq on Botany Rd
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Richard290 »

Spotted Y’s 3532 in service at Epping this morning on a 295 service. First time I’ve seen an STA O405 in service before.Image
On another note, spotted an artic - 1722 on a citybound 292 service at Macquarie Centre this afternoon.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

Yes I reported in December this type of bus was seen doing an arvo peak run on 294, I imagine there was an actual shortage so it was pulled out into service. If you ask me, I wish they kept a few Mark V's around as emergency reserves, instead of these, just for the strong nostalgia I had growing up / unique character and seats.

But I think its another reason why Ryde is probably the best STA depot in my opinion (besides being Bustech-free), it has some sheer variety, including a couple of Metrobus prototypes and these old O4O5's.

However, I think you can expect very, very soon it'll be back into semi-retirement though/school services only as Ryde is (still) scheduled to receive some new Volgren Optimus and a B8 CB80, then they should definitely have enough buses, but yes it is nice seeing little Easter eggs like this
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Swift »

I miss the days of Ryde getting well preserved mark Vs from Newcastle in the late 2000s. Wish I got to catch more than I did . At least I got to see and hear quite a few on staff bus duties in Eastwood and Gladesville up to about 2014. It was a wonderful renaissance.
Btw, I thought V got all the ex N&W 0405s. They really should have been sold off while they were still valuable.
Why keep these five "private bus" spec units in such a big bus operation?
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Special_K »

Saw 3532 poking its nose out of Kissing Point Road on a Route 513 at about 1830 on Tuesday 6 March.
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Re: STA Observations - January to June 2018

Post by Daniel »

2351 now sporting yellow ST plates without the State Transit text. Expect a full roll out.
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