STA Canberra Mercedes 8625

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
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Nicky Lupton
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Post by Nicky Lupton »

Apparently it was withdrawn because of to many drivers complaining about something to do with the operation of the centre door regarding the hand brake having to be on before the centre door would opperate or something along those lines :?: :?: :?: I only drove it a couple of times and do remember something like, but quickly got use to it. Also the door buttons are on the dash and not in the usual spot next to the driver.
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Post by Simes »

Windy wrote:
TOXANA wrote: Yes, the last I saw of him, he was sitting in the corner rocking back and forward mumbling "I missed it....I missed it" over and over
Usually the rocking back and forth in a psychologically scarred individual is a sign of a lack of love or comfort or cradling in a previous life. Not enough diesel or 14.5 love/bodyflex/hugging? :D
To me those symptoms sound like too much riding of the beloved 14.5, the rocking from the constant vibration and the back and forth motion reflecting the odd over revving of the engine sometimes experienced on these vehicles :wink: :twisted:
http://19302413.blogspot.com/

3092, last bus on George Street - 23rd October 2015 7:50pm
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Simes
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Post by Simes »

Windy wrote: Roused or A-roused? :twisted: (waits to see if this post gets deleted or edited)
At the time of posting, the former
Norbert Genci wrote:Wow, all this attention - I love it :D
After reading the response I wonder :twisted: :twisted:
http://19302413.blogspot.com/

3092, last bus on George Street - 23rd October 2015 7:50pm
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Post by MAN 3668 »

I continue to be amazed at how far off topic these things can go :P

At least a suggestion hasn't been made that Norbert has been riding around on State Transit buses with a gun, eh Dave W :?: :)
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Post by Simes »

MAN 3668 wrote:I continue to be amazed at how far off topic these things can go :P

At least a suggestion hasn't been made that Norbert has been riding around on State Transit buses with a gun, eh Dave W :?: :)
off topic, NEVER! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
http://19302413.blogspot.com/

3092, last bus on George Street - 23rd October 2015 7:50pm
Windy

Post by Windy »

There is always an element of banter which (as an Administrator myself in various overseas and local railway forums/usergroups) I would consider to be allowable, but there is always a time and place for these things.
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Post by Swift »

WHY wrote:Apparently it was withdrawn because of to many drivers complaining about something to do with the operation of the centre door regarding the hand brake having to be on before the centre door would opperate or something along those lines :?: :?: :?: I only drove it a couple of times and do remember something like, but quickly got use to it. Also the door buttons are on the dash and not in the usual spot next to the driver.
STA drivers are not that unadaptable are they??Don';t tell me they are brainwashed zombies that can't accept anything other than door switches on the right side of them?
I would have thought they would appreciate the novelty of a slightly different bus.I know I would.
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Post by jb17kx »

Well, after an eternity of conformity (Mercs all the same, Scania all the same, Volvos near enough...), it can understandably be hard to shift to the one bus in the fleet that is very different. If you get 3529 as a one-off, then you keep whacking the right-hand panel for the duration of your shift, then get back to a more familar bus. A driver would only come to get used to it after a few shifts in a row (unless they were remarkably good).
But you'd think that they'd be able to cope...
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Post by Ikarbus »

Swift obsessor wrote:STA drivers are not that unadaptable are they??Don';t tell me they are brainwashed zombies that can't accept anything other than door switches on the right side of them?
I would have thought they would appreciate the novelty of a slightly different bus.I know I would.
If only more of us were graced with such intelligence and open-mindedness
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Post by Swift »

Ikarbus wrote:
Swift obsessor wrote:STA drivers are not that unadaptable are they??Don';t tell me they are brainwashed zombies that can't accept anything other than door switches on the right side of them?
I would have thought they would appreciate the novelty of a slightly different bus.I know I would.
If only more of us were graced with such intelligence and open-mindedness
They drive private buses!
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Post by Simes »

I'd agree, that one in 1900 differences if it were me, I'd sooner go for something more familiar, than that bus. Sure the novelty would be good for a quiet route, but a busy one?

I know where I work I've built up a subconscious routine, a few months back they introduced a new feature to the LIMS I use and it wasn't added on very well, meaning the cursor did something stupid, long story short I stuffed up and missed a hell of alot of tests, without realising it. Only after it being brought to the attention of my manager (days) after the fact

I'm thinking alot of drivers would build up a similar subconscious routine when using the doors, given what can go wrong with doors and getting back into traffic, I can understand how some might not want to risk it.
http://19302413.blogspot.com/

3092, last bus on George Street - 23rd October 2015 7:50pm
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Post by MAN_LOVER »

3529 would not have been a one of a kind if the STA had the brains to keep the rest of the ACTION mercs aquried from North & Western :roll:
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Post by Blue & White »

Can someone explain the significance of this bus as it looks to me to be more like a private bus than a government bus. :?
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Post by Simes »

MAN_LOVER wrote:3529 would not have been a one of a kind if the STA had the brains to keep the rest of the ACTION mercs aquried from North & Western :roll:
agreed
http://19302413.blogspot.com/

3092, last bus on George Street - 23rd October 2015 7:50pm
Windy

Post by Windy »

Blue & White wrote:Can someone explain the significance of this bus as it looks to me to be more like a private bus than a government bus. :?
Read my post in this thread dated: Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:11 pm

It is ex ACTION, Canberra, then passed into the hands of a private operator called North and Western and Parramatta Ryde Bus Service, before passing into the hands of the STA after the STA acquired the runs and vehicles from North and Western. In a bold move, they sold the non standard vehicles of this fleet (but should have kept the ex Parra Ryde B10Bs, but they were sold because they only had a single front door), and kept the O.305s, the 2 door B10Bs and the O.405s. In essence 3529 looks nothing like a private bus, but an ex Government bus which has been seen commonly in NSW as part of a private operator's fleet.
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Post by boronia »

Simes wrote:I'd agree, that one in 1900 differences if it were me, I'd sooner go for something more familiar, than that bus. Sure the novelty would be good for a quiet route, but a busy one?

I'm thinking alot of drivers would build up a similar subconscious routine when using the doors, given what can go wrong with doors and getting back into traffic, I can understand how some might not want to risk it.
I would agree with you on this. Even in a smaller fleet, you can develop an "automated" procedure when driving. Having a control in a different position, or something operating in a different direction or faulty, can be distracting, sometimes to the point of being dangerous (instead of concentrating on the road your attention is moved to solving the "problem").
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Post by transport1400 »

boronia wrote:
Simes wrote:I'd agree, that one in 1900 differences if it were me, I'd sooner go for something more familiar, than that bus. Sure the novelty would be good for a quiet route, but a busy one?

I'm thinking alot of drivers would build up a similar subconscious routine when using the doors, given what can go wrong with doors and getting back into traffic, I can understand how some might not want to risk it.
I would agree with you on this. Even in a smaller fleet, you can develop an "automated" procedure when driving. Having a control in a different position, or something operating in a different direction or faulty, can be distracting, sometimes to the point of being dangerous (instead of concentrating on the road your attention is moved to solving the "problem").
I agree with you Boronia,
One of my elective subjects at uni involves looking at Applied Cognition And Human Performance. We have been looking at small differences similar to the one in 8625, and the effect that it can have upon driving ability is amazing.
Workload and divided attention is a big issue in this field. Particularly given that when your driving a bus your trying to do many things at once. The last thing you want to do is work out one small anomaly while your trying to do many other things at the same time.
While from the enthusiast perspective all the little differences may seem interesting, from a companies point of view they'd be doing all within their power to try and acheive as much of a sameness as possible across their fleet, basing this on safety and maintenance. The more we do things the more automatic we become at them. So having odd bods around the place can make things less autonomous.

Regards,
Chris
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Post by MAN 3668 »

Hope Norbert doesn't mind me using a couple of his pics...let me know if you do :)

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Post by jb17kx »

Farewell indeed. Interesting to note that it must be one of very few ex-ACTION vehicles to service 10-odd years of second-hand service with both sets of doors still fitted and working.

One question though, do we have any members here that randomly encountered it in STA service, and what are their opinions on it?
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Post by dude »

Does anyone have a photograph of 3529 in its days with ACTION as 649? It would look good in that little collage you posted 3668..
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Post by Swift »

Beautiful tribute to a bus!Not a bus I obsess over,not by a long shot but that collage is very impressive.
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Post by boronia »

transport1400 wrote: I agree with you Boronia,
One of my elective subjects at uni involves looking at Applied Cognition And Human Performance. We have been looking at small differences similar to the one in 8625, and the effect that it can have upon driving ability is amazing.
Workload and divided attention is a big issue in this field. Particularly given that when your driving a bus your trying to do many things at once. The last thing you want to do is work out one small anomaly while your trying to do many other things at the same time.
While from the enthusiast perspective all the little differences may seem interesting, from a companies point of view they'd be doing all within their power to try and acheive as much of a sameness as possible across their fleet, basing this on safety and maintenance. The more we do things the more automatic we become at them. So having odd bods around the place can make things less autonomous.

Regards,
Chris
Thanks Chris

I worked in the petroleum industry in the 70s and was involved in the distribution side. One of the safety related research programs undertaken during that time (well before the concept of OH&S) was the drivers' environment. It was found that the different dash and control layouts of various makes of trucks in use at that time was a major problem. Drivers would often drive a different vehicle each day. After some co-opeartion with the manufacturers it was decided to develop dashboards with the instruments and controls all in the same relevant positions within the manufacturer's standard designs, and with all the gauges designed so that the "normal" position of each needle was vertical in the gauge. THus if a driver wanted to do a temperature check, he didn't have to think about where the correct gauge was, and didnt have to "interpret" its reading.

This alone contributed to a significant reduction in minor accidents over the trial period.

More recently I worked for a large coach company where most drivers had their "own" vehicle to drive regularly. Although the company wasn't interested in keeping any statistics or doing any research, my observation was that a driver was more likely to have an accident when he wasn't driving his regular vehicle.
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Post by 3808 »

I 'randomly' encountered it as I was heading home one evening earlier this year, and took a impromptu diversionary trip on it from the City to the first stop beyond the Glebe Island Bridge.

I thought it ran pretty well, though with a full load it struggled a bit on the ramps leading to the Darling Harbour flyovers.
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Post by MAN 3668 »

When I rode it on the Y Tour, I didn't think it was too bad, and I must say I liked the interior design of it with the textured panels and wood-style thing behind the driver.

Thanks for the comments about my montage...if anyone has shots of the bus in its ACTION and/or N&W days, I'll add them in.
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Post by Simes »

MAN 3668 wrote:
Thanks for the comments about my montage...if anyone has shots of the bus in its ACTION and/or N&W days, I'll add them in.
how about it's hybridised days at the STA? (maybe thats the livery it could go into?)
http://19302413.blogspot.com/

3092, last bus on George Street - 23rd October 2015 7:50pm
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