SEPTA FLEET NEWS ARCHIVES
January-March 2000
March 24, 2000
- There is yet another feature added to this web site. I have recently opened a page featuring a collection of old TransPasses and TrailPasses. Click here to see this new feature.
March 23, 2000
Following the cancellation of the Metrotrans order due to the company's going out of business, it appears SEPTA will be going with the California-based Eldorado National Company for it's 30-foot bus order. Follow this link to the Eldorado National web site for a look at what SEPTA appears to be getting. Unlike the Metrotrans buses, the Eldorado Transmark RE is a proven model. The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation uses this model of bus on its DASH shuttle services. There is no date set as to when these buses will arrive. The change in contractors came following Metrotrans' bankruptcy and going out of business in February.
- The demo for the New Flyer D40LF low floor buses is set to arrive either later this summer or early this fall, depending on the workload at the New Flyer plant. Unlike Metrotrans and NABI, the New Flyer contract may only be delayed based upon demand for that company's models, and not some financial fiasco.
- The 3000-series Neoplans will be in service for at least the next two years. Starting around 2002 or 2003, these buses will start being phased out in favor of newer buses (my personal preference, for the record, would be the NovaBUS RTS). The last of the current Neos will be retired by 2005 or 2006, depending on when the order is placed.
March 14, 2000
It appears that Thomas Built Buses, a subsidiary of Freightliner Corporation, which in turn is part of DaimlerChrysler, recently acquired the assets of Metrotrans. According to a press release issued by Thomas, the company plans on building shuttle buses formerly designed by Metrotrans sometime late next year at it's High Point, North Carolina plant. This may not bode well for SEPTA's planned 30-foot bus order from Metrotrans, which was slated to begin this summer. There is no word as to whether or not the contract will be rebid. As stated above, Thomas Built Buses is indirectly linked to DaimlerChrysler - as in the parent company of Adtranz, manufacturers of the problem plagued M4 Market-Frankford El cars.
March 13, 2000
- The April schedule change is upcoming at Frontier Depot. There are plans for express service on the 94 between Philadelphia and Montgomery Mall, apparently originating from the Ogontz Loop instead of Chestnut Hill. Also, the Route 92 routing through Whiteland Town Center and the King of Prussia-bound routing through Paoli Rail Station will be discontinued. Ridership has been dismal through Whiteland Town Center, while traffic patterns at Paoli Station have caused some major delays on eastbound trips. West Chester-bound buses will still operate through the Paoli Station. A minor routing change on the 97 between Penn Square and Norristown Transportation Center is also in the works. Don't be surprised to see some added or adjusted Frontier service due to the US 202 construction project in Tredyffrin, affecting the 92, 118, and 206.
March 9, 2000
- Added Route 314 service between Larkins Corner and Goshen Corporate Park began on Monday, March 6. Some AM peak trips between West Chester and Larkins Corner have been discontinued, however some short turn trips between West Chester and QVC/Studio Park have been added. Also newly added to the 314 are two round trips between Studio Park, West Chester, and Studio Park.
- Speaking of new trips, after less than one month of service, SEPTA has added another AM trip on it's new Route 80 from Olney Terminal to Horsham Township, Montgomery County.
- Now, some fleet rumors. Cinders, the newsletter of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, reports that SEPTA may be looking into leasing 40- or 45-foot cruiser coaches (similar to NJ Transit, NYC Transit, and most recently, DART First State) for use on Route 124/125 and possibly even some other high volume Suburban routes (such as 123); that a contract to award 12 articulated LRVs for the Subway-Surface lines will be approved at this month's SEPTA board meeting; and that SEPTA might seek federal funding for the purchase of 60 trackless trolleys. As soon as more details become available, info will be posted here.
February 29, 2000
- Route 202 between West Chester and Brandywine Town Center in Delaware is set to be discontinued on Friday, March 3. Added service to the Route 314 between Larkins Corner and Goshen Corporate Park will begin on Monday, March 6. A few trips to Goshen Corporate Park will originate in Downtown West Chester, while mid-day service between Boothwyn and West Chester will also be added.
February 28, 2000
- Metrotrans Corporation, which was supposed to build 80 30-foot buses for SEPTA, has gone out of business. This confirms a rumor I had heard from a Wyoming shop employee today. This means that the 8600- and 8700-series buses, as well as the 1300-series buses will still be in service for at least the next year or two. Click here for the full story from the Atlanta Business Journal.
- As a result of Metrotrans disappearing off the face of the earth (for all intents and purposes), it appears that SEPTA has two options: (1) Re-bid the contract, hoping that a more stable contractor (read: New Flyer, Gillig, Nova Bus) is awarded the contract, or (2) exercise the option for additional Breeze buses (herein referred to as Breeze IV). The second option, for now, makes sense, since SEPTA's contract for the Breeze buses calls for 50 of these buses to be built and delivered on an "as needed" basis. As of now, #2052-2069 have been placed in service as part of this order, leaving 32 remaining in the contract. Even assuming another 5-10 new Breeze buses would be needed for future route additions in Bucks County (see link below), SEPTA can fulfill the rest of the contract while at the same time, retiring the remaining 20 35-foot Neoplans still in active service. Unless SEPTA wants to endure another year of torture with the 1300-series buses, the Breeze IV option seems to make sense while the new 30-foot contact is awarded.
- Speaking of Wyoming Avenue, it appears that recently retired Volvo #8590, the non-articulated bus built to Rhode Island specs which had operated out of Allegheny, is being stored there, possibly for restoration. It had been noted earlier that 8590 might possibly be heading for a bus museum in Hershey, Pa. upon completion of the restoration, or may join Flxible #6569 as part of the SEPTA on-site historic fleet.
- One last Wyoming news bit. Some of the Neoplan artics are being stored at Wyoming/Berridge Shops for initial inspection and assignment. #7139 and 7141 were outside the garage area today while I spotted #7143 on Wyoming Av, en route to the shops.
February 25, 2000
- The routing change scheduled to take place on the 33 bus has been placed on hold for the time being.
- Plans are being finalized to completely restructure many of the bus routes which operate into Bucks County. The preliminary plans have the four Frontier based routes (127, 128, 129, and 130), and City routes 14, 20, and 58 would be restructured, and three new routes would be introduced, serving the State Road corridor in Bristol and Bensalem, Doylestown to Neshaminy via PA 132, and a shuttle route between the Oxford Valley corridor and the Woodbourne R3 Rail Station.
February 20, 2000
- A routing change will take place on the 33 bus starting tomorrow, Feburary 21. Since the new Neoplan artics began seeing service on the 33, this requires a southbound routing change to accomodate the wider buses. The 33 will now operate from 22 St & Indiana Av, left on Indiana, right on 21 St, right on Lehigh Av, left on 22 St, then regular route to 22 St & Ridge Av, continuing on 22 St to Jefferson St, left on Jefferson to Ridge Av, then regular route to Center City.
February 10, 2000
- The shuffling of lines mentioned at this site has begun in earnest. With the continued delivery of the Neoplan Artics, the 32 and 61 will be operated entirely out of Midvale (as will be the newly created Route 80 between Horsham Twp and Olney), while the 54 will be split between Midvale and Frankford. As of right now, the 65 will continue to be split between Allegheny and Callowhill. There is a possibility that the 65 will be sent entirely to Callowhill this summer, however that has not been confirmed yet.
- As a result of the above route switches, Allegheny saw some of it's NABI's and Neo 40-footers sent to Midvale and Allegheny. Some 3100's from Allegheny are now operating out of Frankford (3142, 3143, 3145, and 5281 have made the move to Frankford, presumably to cover the 54, which is a wheelchair line). The some of the high-3300's and low-3400's which were assigned to Allegheny are now at Midvale, including 3405 and 3409, in addition to (at least) NABI's 5258, 5263, 5270, and 5273. Some Midvale low-3300's are now being spotted on the 61, while some of the NABI's originally assigned to Midvale (and still there) are now being used on the 54.
In an interesting side note, the 33 line is seeing the NABI's (at least the ones remaining at Allegheny) for the first time in the four years these buses have been on the property, such as 5291 on Monday, February 7. The artics have also making spot appearances on the 33 over the past few days. They are still seeing service mainly on the 9, 27, 48, and 60, however, Harry Foster reports that at least two of the artics were seen today on the 65. Could that mean that the 65 runs assigned to Allegheny will stay there? Stay tuned...
- The 30-foot Gillig Phantoms least from DART First State are seeing more consistent service on the 310 - Horsham Breeze. On Monday, all four Gilligs (447, 448, 449, and 450) were in service on the 310.
February 5, 2000
- SEPTA reported in a press release yesterday that there are 21 Neoplan AN-460 artics on SEPTA property, running out of Allegheny. The ones confirmed to be in service are #7102-7104, 7106, 7108-7112, 7114-7117, 7120, and (in a real numbering quirk, 7144). The buses are primarily being used on the 9 and 27, however a few of the new artics are seeing service for at least one run on both the 48 and 60.
- There are two more public hearings set for February. The first, on the 17th, is a hearing to seek support for making the 123 King of Prussia - 69 St Terminal line permanent. The 123 has been operating on an experimental order since the line began in September 1998. The hearing begins at 6:30pm, and will be held at the Holiday Inn/King of Prussia, 260 Goddard Blvd, Upper Merion Twp, Montgomery County.
The second hearing, on the 18th, is two fold. One part of the hearing will deal with an adjustment to the Regional Rail Division fare tariff by (1) expanding TransPass priviliges to be valid on all R1 Airport Line trains at all times; (2) establishing the soon to open Churchman's Crossing Rail Station on the R2 Marcus Hook - Wilmington - Newark branch as a Zone 5 station; and (3) making changes to the operating agreement between SEPTA and Delaware Transit Corp. The other part deals with changes in paratransit policies, focusing on transfers between the Paratransit and fixed route service and removing peak/off peak language in the tariff. That hearing will be held at the SEPTA Board Room, located on the Mezzanine level of the 1234 Market St headquarters.
February 3, 2000
January 24, 2000
- There are now at least 10 Neoplan AN-460 artics in service; the ones comfirmed to be in service are assigned to Allegheny. They are #7102, 7104, 7106, 7108-7112, 7115, and 7117. The buses are primarily being used on the 9 and 27, however a few of the new artics are seeing service for at least one run on both the 48 and 60.
- The new Metro newspaper began publication today. The free daily newspaper is being distributed by SEPTA at many of the major transit and rail stations in the SEPTA serivce area. Despite a lawsuit and restraining order (possibly driven by anti-competition motives) sought by Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc., Gannett, and the New York Times, the paper is already talking about long-term success. This marks DPI's first venture into North America, following other successful ventures in Europe and South America.
January 3, 2000
- There are now 7 Neoplan AN-460 artics on SEPTA property, with five of them
comfirmed to be at Allegheny. They are #7102, 7106, and 7108-7110. On New Year's Eve,
I personally saw (and rode) 7108 and 7109 in service on the 27 - Plymouth Meeting Mall -
Center City line and 7106 on the 48 - North Philadelphia - Center City line. As noted
earlier, the destination signs are indeed from TwinVision, though the readouts of most
of the destinations look like they could pass as Luminators. The other major difference
is that the Neo artics have rear axle drive power, as opposed to the middle axle power
on the Volvos, which could cause some problems once winter hits. But, considering the
very mild (by January standards) winter thus far, who's to say there will be snow?
The interiors are very similar to the NABI fleet, in that the seats are soft padded with
steel shells, the interior lighting is similar, the stop cord is within easy (read:
seated) reach of passengers, and the wheelchair lift is located in the front of the bus.
Once the order is (or close to being) completed, Allegheny will lose the 32, 54, 61, and
65.
The 32 and 61 are definately heading to Midvale, while the 65 trips assigned to
Allegheny will go to Midvale (the 65 is currently split with Callowhill). The 54, which
was to have seen the new artics, however will not due to road construction on Lehigh Av,
will apparently be split between Frankford and Midvale. In an odd twist, however, the
6 and 18 will be sent from Midvale to Allegheny. In addition, the 33 may have to be
rerouted, since 22 St in North Philadelphia is too narrow to support wider buses - hence
the use of the 3300- and 3400- series Neos instead of the newer NABI buses.
Upon arrival of both the new artics and the infamous 30-foot Metrotrans buses this year, and
the New Flyer D40LFs next year, the 1300-, 8600-, 8700-, and 8800-series Neos will be retired,
as will the 7000-series Volvo artics.
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