MCI on the 307...

This past week a new face has presented itself on the so-called Fast Bus 307. It is the face of an MCI D4500 Commuter Cruiser. That's right the buses that normally see service on such routes as the Utah Counter Commuters, the 472, etc is now on the 307. While the seats are pretty comfortable here is some reason why this is a bad idea from an agency that we have come to aspect bad ideas from.

First of all the bus is not geared for city driving. The gearing on this bus is designed for primarily freeway speeds and short trips on surface streets. The only place where the bus gets to strut it's stuff on the 307 is from 4500 South to 6200 South. Otherwise you are dealing with stop and go traffic that is doing long term damage to the transmission and engine on the bus.

Second, the bus is not designed for frequent stops. You have 4 steep steps that you enter the bus with and there is no back door. In addition the bus has wider seats than a standard transit bus so the aisle way is narrower than a standard transit bus. Despite UTA' s best attempts to kill all local ridership on this route, the line is carrying the local riders that used to ride the 27, 32, and the 44. So in other words there is people frequently trying to get off and on and this bus wasn't designed for it.

Third, the wheelchair lift on the bus is not designed for regular transit use. To load and unload a wheelchair on this bus takes more time than on a standard bus (and significantly longer than a low-floor bus), so the bus is greatly slowed down by wheelchairs. It's like UTA is telling wheelchair customers that they are not wanted on the fast buses because their too much trouble.

Fourth, the bus is 5 feet longer than a standard 40-foot bus. There is a couple of turns along this route is difficult for a 40-foot bus so making a 45-foot foot bus try to make the turns is much worse. In addition the commuter cruisers are taller and have a higher center of gravity than a standard transit bus so it makes the turns all the more difficult.

UTA putting the commuter cruiser on the route is kind of like the UTA throwing the riders of the route a bone for the deep cuts that took place on the route and trying to rebuild the ridership. The problem is a commuter cruiser is not designed for the route.

If UTA wants to put a nicer bus on this route and the other so-called fast buses, it needs to start purchasing Suburban Buses again. Suburban buses are a cross between a regular bus and a commuter cruiser. UTA used to have a large number of these type buses but they were replaced by the MCI D4500's. You would often see them on service on such routes as the 811. They are a standard transit bus but have have raised seating, luggage racks, reading lights, just to set them apart from a standard bus.

I hope the riders on the 307 enjoy their bone while it lasts...

My Comments about Weber/Davis County

Last week, I took a trip up to Weber/Davis counties. There was a couple of main reasons why I wanted to head up there: 1. To ride line 626 which I have not had a chance to ride since it was changed several years ago. 2. To ride one of the new Gillig buses that UTA claim are so wonderful and much better than a standard bus.

I will so glad when I can jump on FrontRunner and head up to Weber County but right now it was a trip on the 11 to the 72.

Riding the 72 is nice with the nice Commuter Cruiser MCI buses. However, the driver need some customer service training. While he wasn't unfriendly he was not friendly and when asked the question answered very Borg like and refused to give a straight answer.

On the 626 the driver was friendly to most customers including myself but on the other hand did yell at one elderly lady for standing up when he was stopping at a light and a Junior High student for taking to long to load up his bike on the rack.

All the other drivers through out the day where friendly which is not unusual as most of the drivers I encounter on UTA are good.

The next bus was the 610 and it was one of the new Gillig buses. I do not see much difference between this bus and the 1999 and 2001 Gillig buses UTA has except for seamless windows, new front and rear caps, and a more deluxe cloth on the seats. In addition two of the buses had problems. The first one on the 610 had very back breaks that squealed worst than any other bus I have every ridden. To top it off I got this same bus heading back later in the day. The other problem was the back door was broken on one of them on the 603. Not good for a bus that is only a few weeks old.

Overall ridership on all the routes I rode was good except for the 626. In the morning I was the only customer for more than half the route. Returning in the afternoon toward WSU Davis there was several customers on and off along the whole route so ridership is building.

Another observation was that there was construction on the 612 that is delaying the buses up to 10 minutes. Yet, there is nothing posted on any bus stop sign mentioning that there could be delays which since this will last through the summer. UTA needs to keep its customers better informed on what is happening. (Look for more on this when I talk about Utah County). Customers need to know if their buses are going to be delayed.

Overall, ridership was good on all the routes I rode, most of the drivers where friendly, and the system seems to do the basics of what needs to be done. However, there is plenty of room for improvement in the system and UTA needs to continue providing better service to its customers.

Goodbye to the Classics

Image via WikipediaUTA is in the process of pulling from service the 1990 MCI Classics that have served many miles for the UTA and being replaced by the new 30-foot Optima Opus buses.

The Design of the Classic is based of the GM New Look buses that first started production in 1959. Production in the United States was stopped in 1977 and replaced by the RTS series which UTA never used except during the Olympics. However the New Look continued to be produced in Canada and was updated in 1984 and became the classic. UTA purchased these buses in 1984 and 1990. In 1987 GM sold its bus division to MCI which at the time was part of Greyhound but the buses remained the same.

The problem with the newer buses is that they are not built to the same standards as the previous buses. The new Optima's and the Gillig's that UTA purchased over the last few years are not the same quality as the Classics or the New Looks that proceeded them. While the motors are essentially the same it is in the passenger cabin that you can really notice the differences in the buses.

If you where to ride on of the few remaining Classics that are left in service, while you will notice a couple of rattles here in there, it would not be major. Meanwhile even when the Gillig Advantage's where just a couple of years old they had major rattles and are not a passenger friendly bus to ride on.

Sadly there are several reasons why this happens.

1. Lowest bidder-may not always be the best bidder.

2. Fed's 12 Year Policy-Buses only have to last that long even though many of them are falling apart before that.

3. Policy Makers don't ride the buses-This is probably the biggest reason why the quality of today's buses is poor compared to older vehicles. For the most part the big wigs and especially the board members of UTA DON'T RIDE THE BUS. Unless it is for some public relations reason they are not on the buses. They do not ride the bus and see the condition of the buses so it doesn't even enter their minds that the customer compartment of the bus is poor. All they look at is the mechanical performance-that's all.

Do you think those big wigs would allow their personal cars to rattle like the buses that their customers have to ride in? Of course the answer is no, they would be screaming bloody murder to the dealer and the manufacturer. They should also not permit it on the buses their customers have to ride in either.

The board of directors and the top corporate people of transit agencies in general, not just the UTA need to demand better products from the manufacturers. It is their responsibility to their customers to do so.