STA Observations - July to December 2018

[BroadGauge]

Some very late night/early morning trips on Saturday and Sunday are rostered to use standard buses.

Wouldn't those be the busiest nights of all for the overnight services, and therefore if there's any time that you'd want to use artics overnight, it would be then?

[Stu]

The former incarnation of the route 380 over night services handled the passengers loads comfortably with a rigid.

[In Transit]

Some very late night/early morning trips on Saturday and Sunday are rostered to use standard buses.

Wouldn't those be the busiest nights of all for the overnight services, and therefore if there's any time that you'd want to use artics overnight, it would be then?

Artics have been allocated to the busiest trips - as Stu says, there are some trips where loadings are comfortably accommodated by rigids. The allocation of artics overnight has significantly increased capacity where it is needed - its a positive move.

[Frosty]

From what I've seen of the revamped 400 the Scania 14.5m buses are fairly infrequent most frequent type being the Bustech or Volvo B12BLE CB60. Interesting to note rostering seeing ex 301/303 & 309 that terminate near Mascot or Botany then continue to start trips from T1 Airport. The destos for the 400 are bit pathetic showing trips to the International Airport as simply AIRPORT that could easily be a point of confusion it should at least say T1 AIRPORT or Int'l AIRPORT.

[boronia]

Showing T1 AIRPORT would not confirm that it serves T2/T3.

[Frosty]

Showing T1 AIRPORT would not confirm that it serves T2/T3.

I guess its a double edged sword as desto AIRPORT for someone waiting at T2/T3 might think the bus terminates and doesn't continue onto T1.

[fm2790.]

STA m/o4861 is NOT a Randwick bus as listed but still seen at North Sydney.

[boronia]

Showing T1 AIRPORT would not confirm that it serves T2/T3.

I guess its a double edged sword as desto AIRPORT for someone waiting at T2/T3 might think the bus terminates and doesn't continue onto T1.

Back in the day, the 200, 300 and other services went "to AIRPORT" and served both. People are going to ask anyway.

[Stu]

The desto display 'AIRPORT' has been around for years, rarely used for short workings to the Airport when services were running very late, now this desto display is one of the termini of the route. I do wonder if ever T1 and or T2/T3 was added to the destination display whether or not some people would relate those letter/number combinations to the train line routes?

'Driver, where abouts on the T1 line do you stop?'
Thankfully the Airport line has changed numbers from T2 to T8 otherwise some people may think that the bus is operating a rail replacement service along the Airpirt line stations.

[stajourneyman]

How about AIRPORT (large letters top line)
and DOMESTIC + I/NATIONAL (small letters bottom line)
or if too much for the bottom line, simply scroll it between DOMESTIC and INTERNATIONAL
as per normal STA destos.

[swtt]

How about AIRPORT (large letters top line)
and DOMESTIC + I/NATIONAL (small letters bottom line)
or if too much for the bottom line, simply scroll it between DOMESTIC and INTERNATIONAL
as per normal STA destos.

Or in the case of route 533 where instead of just OLYMPIC PK in the 8x7 typeface, they managed OLYMPIC PK STN - maybe fit in an additional scroll complete with the finer details.

AIRPORT 400
LIMITED STOPS

INTERNATIONAL 400
TERMINAL

AIRPORT 400
VIA DOMESTIC TERM

[boronia]

How about AIRPORT (large letters top line)
and DOMESTIC + I/NATIONAL (small letters bottom line)
or if too much for the bottom line, simply scroll it between DOMESTIC and INTERNATIONAL
as per normal STA destos.

The desto programmers seem to have some phobia about putting additional supplementary information on the screens when LIMITED STOPS is displayed on the bottom line.

The 400/420 is a defined LS service, rather than a variant like L94 or L90. Stating that is LS is pointless if passengers don't know where these stops are anyway.

Information about the terminals should be on signage at all stops along the route, so there is no reason to have to spell it out on the signs as well. Most passengers don't look past the route number when they get on the bus.

[Fleet Lists]

The more scrolls you have, the longer it takes to get around and pewople become even more confused if they do not see them all.

[boronia]

The more scrolls you have, the longer it takes to get around and pewople become even more confused if they do not see them all.

It would be better if the signs scrolled continuously across the screen, rather than being in changing blocks. But either way it could take too long. Some destos have 4 or 5 via points.

I'd say 95% of passengers know where the bus is going from the route number, so they don't worry about "via.." signs.

Of the other 5%, probably the majority are trying to get to places not mentioned in the signs, so these are useless.

[boronia]

How about AIRPORT (large letters top line)
and DOMESTIC + I/NATIONAL (small letters bottom line)
or if too much for the bottom line, simply scroll it between DOMESTIC and INTERNATIONAL
as per normal STA destos.

Or in the case of route 533 where instead of just OLYMPIC PK in the 8x7 typeface, they managed OLYMPIC PK STN - maybe fit in an additional scroll complete with the finer details.

AIRPORT 400
LIMITED STOPS

INTERNATIONAL TERM 400
VIA DOMESTIC TERM

Don't forget that the 420 makes no mention of going to either terminal in its signage.

[Swift]

This is one way to avoid scrolls.
AIRPORT T3 & T1
LIMITED STOPS

[Cowra]

1566, 4811 and 4814 are currently in Ryde bodyshop having the front seats removed back to the centre door ready for a large charter coming up.

[LongliveSTA]

1566, 4811 and 4814 are currently in Ryde bodyshop having the front seats removed back to the centre door ready for a large charter coming up.

It's for the Invictus Games, which are coming up shortly. There might be another couple of buses to get done after those!

[boronia]

This is one way to avoid scrolls.
AIRPORT T3 & T1
LIMITED STOPS

What if someone wants to get to T2?

[Swift]

This is one way to avoid scrolls.
AIRPORT T3 & T1
LIMITED STOPS

What if someone wants to get to T2?

Get of at T3 as usual or if you think it needs to spell it out:
AIRPORT T1-3
LIMITED STOPS.

[boronia]

1566, 4811 and 4814 are currently in Ryde bodyshop having the front seats removed back to the centre door ready for a large charter coming up.

It's for the Invictus Games, which are coming up shortly. There might be another couple of buses to get done after those!

I remember this being done to a batch of Leopards about 30 years ago for some disabled athletics competition.

[busbum]

And Volvos during the Paralympics

[Frosty]

1566, 4811 and 4814 are currently in Ryde bodyshop having the front seats removed back to the centre door ready for a large charter coming up.

It's for the Invictus Games, which are coming up shortly. There might be another couple of buses to get done after those!

Interesting STA got this charter I would have thought it would went to one of the privates. Would these buses with removed seats be permanent it be interesting comparison vs regular 12.5m buses in terms of capacity.

[J_Busworth]

Glad to see W dispatchers up to their usual antics today. Saw at least two Bondi Link bendies operating off the 333, one on a M40 and one on a X77. Also saw a VSTM on the 333.

[Jurassic_Joke]

Glad to see W dispatchers up to their usual antics today. Saw at least two Bondi Link bendies operating off the 333, one on a M40 and one on a X77. Also saw a VSTM on the 333.

Yep, what a waste of money applying all that adwrap. Considering the recent controversy with Gladys' love for gambling advertisements on a world heritage listed icon, my contempt for advertisements as a whole has never been higher

Port Botany used to be my least favourite for the VST spam, but they've since been very well diluted with B8 Volgren Optimus and Scania CB80. Nowadays it's much better. Waverley is fast becoming my least favourite depot, seriously, for one reason alone, the VSTM. Route 400 should have stayed the way it was, but just placed in full ownership of TSA at Kingsgrove to completely eliminate poor bus deployment. I've seen what operates the 400 today at night, and its more or less only VSTMs, nope nope nope.

To TSA's credit, they make much better use of some former STA buses. Lets look at the prototype Metrobuses 2111, 2112. You see them out and about every day. I've actually gotten 2111 (Scania K310UA) three days in a row now, by complete chance without the help of an app and also, the only true City bus in Sydney, 2112 Scania N310UA, can be seen daily now too, which was absolutely not the case when it was with STA, it was a complete novelty bus. And what's happened with 2108 thats still with STA? Oh whoops yea just sitting in P gathering dust