Topic: Bendy Buses Have Arrived in Winnipeg

[Bubba]

I've seen video of these buses not doing well in snow. No wonder they were so cheap. I wonder what city returned them.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Articulated-buses-have-arrived-231185421.html

[bridgecity]

Saskatoon has had these for a while. Can't comment on how they are in snow though.  Seemed to be getting around fine this last week and we had a couple snowfalls.

[tortoise]

They worked well in Ottawa.

[5 Wheel Drive]

The regularly have problems in the snow here.  They got rid of them for double deckers.

[Travel360]

Another one stuck on Rideau street downtown Ottawa

[bridgecity]

Guess they don't do so well...

[Scaerio]

The problem with the New Flyer and Orion artics is that the engine is in the very back and the rear axle is powered...  That's a lot of pushing against a relatively unstable platform... The older Orion-Ikarus (Hungarian bus maker) articulated design that Ottawa used to use was a high-floor bus, with a mid-engine and powered middle axle.

[dkaz]

They get stuck going up Burnaby Mountain to Simon Fraser University when it snows.

[5 Wheel Drive]

The problem with the New Flyer and Orion artics is that the engine is in the very back and the rear axle is powered...  That's a lot of pushing against a relatively unstable platform... The older Orion-Ikarus (Hungarian bus maker) articulated design that Ottawa used to use was a high-floor bus, with a mid-engine and powered middle axle.

IIRC, Ottawa got rid of those ones because they rusted out.

[Oldsguy]

Low floor buses are a disaster regardless... less passenger seating, what seating there is usually in a goofy configuration, and verytough to use for standees in sections at the rear because the floor is sloped. A really bad idea in the name of political correctness. Inconvenience 99% of your customers in the name of the occasional wheelchair user. There has to be a better way.

The articulated buses have real problems in the snow for the reasons described. I haven't seen modern double-deckers in city use though... interesting.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Low floor buses are a disaster regardless... less passenger seating, what seating there is usually in a goofy configuration, and verytough to use for standees in sections at the rear because the floor is sloped. A really bad idea in the name of political correctness. Inconvenience 99% of your customers in the name of the occasional wheelchair user. There has to be a better way.

The articulated buses have real problems in the snow for the reasons described. I haven't seen modern double-deckers in city use though... interesting.

Mothers with strollers, seniors with reduced mobility as well as handicapped people have a much easier time with the low floor buses.

I'm a regular bus user and have no issues with them at all.

[Oldsguy]

I'm a regular bus user and have no issues with them at all.

I used to be a regular bus user and discovered they were a disaster. All of the other regulars I asked about them hated them too.

[KD]

They worked well in Ottawa.

 

[KD]

I've seen video of these buses not doing well in snow. No wonder they were so cheap. I wonder what city returned them.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Articulated-buses-have-arrived-231185421.html

Do they still build buses in Winnipeg, or has that been shipped off-shore yet?

[Bubba]

I've seen video of these buses not doing well in snow. No wonder they were so cheap. I wonder what city returned them.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Articulated-buses-have-arrived-231185421.html

Do they still build buses in Winnipeg, or has that been shipped off-shore yet?

New Flyer and Motor Coach have factories in Winnipeg.

[Dexer]

Good thing Winnipeg doesn't get much snow! 

Despite the complaints from locals, Winnipeg has excellent snow clearing.

I'm a life long 'Pegger and I've seen snow clearing get progressively better and better over the years. I'm amazed at how quickly things get cleaned up immediately after a major snow dump. I imagine these buses will be on the major routes and will likely see very little snow.

[Bubba]

Good thing Winnipeg doesn't get much snow! 

Winnipeg gets less than half of Ottawa's snowfall. 
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/phys08a-eng.htm

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I'm a regular bus user and have no issues with them at all.

I used to be a regular bus user and discovered they were a disaster. All of the other regulars I asked about them hated them too.

My morning route passes by a seniors' home and a few semi-regulars get on there. The driver inevitably has to help one old girl with the steps if we're on an old bus. The new buses kneel and she can totter on unassisted. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't call the new one "a disaster".

Compared to the GMCs and Orions, the new buses actually have heat and AC, the windows stay clear except for the coldest days and are much quieter. I have yet to hear anyone complain about them. Regina Transit still has a few older buses, I always hope for a new one.

[phazotron]

I've stuck in or behind the articulated buses on snowy days here in Ottawa more times than I can count. Even happened twice in a single trip home last year with different buses. Lots of fun.  The back end has the engine and they basically jack-knife themselves. 

As for the low floor buses, I see them being used by mothers with strollers, people using wheelchairs or others with mobility issues often enough that I think they are necessary.  Once you get over the transition to them, it becomes the new normal.

[dkaz]

My morning route passes by a seniors' home and a few semi-regulars get on there. The driver inevitably has to help one old girl with the steps if we're on an old bus. The new buses kneel and she can totter on unassisted. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't call the new one "a disaster".

Compared to the GMCs and Orions, the new buses actually have heat and AC, the windows stay clear except for the coldest days and are much quieter. I have yet to hear anyone complain about them. Regina Transit still has a few older buses, I always hope for a new one.

I also didn't like low floor buses until I had kids or suffered a leg injury. Getting two kids and a stroller up the steps or hobbling up with crutches is not fun at all. Vancouver still has some high floor buses -- community shuttles and highway coaches (Orion Vs). While the highway coaches make sense for capacity, I wish we would get the same low floor community shuttles Edmonton has.

Vancouver has a fancy new fleet of New Flyer Xcelsior, decent buses and the first city bus fleet to have air conditioning, the highway coaches had air conditioning since they first arrived in 2001. Translink has officially mandated that all new buses going forward have air conditioning.

More than half of our train sets are older ones without A/C and when it's hot out, I will gladly wait however long it takes for a new train to come. Luckily our trains run every 1.8 minutes in the rush hour.