The Transit blog, No. 10 for the week starting June 30, 2008.
Monday
MTA Bus Line in Bronx Using BRT Confusing to Users
Tuesday
Wednesday
John McCain and His Agenda On Amtrak
Burning Bed Falls Off Truck On Thruway
Thursday
Trains Will Have to Blow Their Horns on Cohoes
Albany-Colonie Chamber to Try 4-day Work Week to Ease Commute Costs
Congestion Pricing May Be Dead, But Gas Prices Reducing Congestion
Boondocks is about farms, rural life, and power toys.
Energy looks at high energy prices and our future.
Enviroman looks at man and the environment.
Hayseeds looks at politics and life in our nation.
Individual looks at myself and how I'm changing
Outblog is all about my outdoor experiences.
Truck gives you stories and trips in my Ford Ranger.
Not Enough Hybrid Taxis? That's the problem that NYC is facing with the mandate to have 1/3rd of taxis be hybrids by October. P'Link
MTA Bus Line in Bronx Using BRT Confusing to Users. The attempt in the Bronx to bring residents quick bus access through using pre-pay terminals and bus rapid transit, has lead to a great deal of confusion and complaints by riders.
As you may know, Albany is looking towards bus rapid transit on Route 55 to Schenectady. You can find out more on Wikipedia. P'Link
Another Orion VI Bus Burns. The infamous Orion VI series that CDTA bought several of from late 1995 to 1997 has had another bus engine fire, this time on a route in Guilderland.
They did not say which bus it was, but my suspicion it was Route 62, which takes patrons to Schenectady via. US Route 20. It could have also been the Altamont bus, but I doubt it as they rarely run the Orion VI 40" buses out there. They prefer to use the smaller and more fuel efficent NABI 35" buses, that tend not to burn, just randomly stall out on rural highways and have problems with low air pressure, causing the brakes to lock up unexpectly.
I'm guessing the problem was a diesel leak onto the engine, where the diesel caught fire. Diesel burns at about 410 °F, and the Orion IV buses have a reputation of burning, because of Diesel leaks.
All 7 or 8 passengers on the bus were safely evacuated and there was no injuries. None of the various Orion VI buses they've had burn up have ever lead to any injuries, just spectular fires as 50 or gallons of diesel burns.
Orion Vi is suppost to be an investment in the New York State economy, as those buses are assembled outside of Utica. That said, we can now understand why CDTA stopped ordering Orion VI (besides the fact they where discontinued), and went to NABI for 35-foot buses and NOVA for the 40-foot buses, and now to Gillig for all new buses.
CDTA Orion Bus Burns (Times Union)
This happened last year in May with another CDTA Orion IV bus on Route 29 in Latham, on US 9 near the traffic circle. This YouTube video shows that bus burning.
Now I'm working on trying to get one of my coworkers to take the bus to work. I'm sure this is the kind of story needed to encourage her. P'Link
John McCain and His Agenda On Amtrak. Apparently the Republican Candidate for President is not much of a fan of Amtrak. Not too surprising, as Amtrak service in Arizona is quite limited. P'Link
Burning Bed Falls Off Truck On Thruway. This is one of the werider stories I've heard in a while. P'Link
Trains Will Have to Blow Their Horns on Cohoes. Because their tracks do not have the required signals and closing gates, trains will blow their horns as they go through the town. P'Link
Albany-Colonie Chamber to Try 4-day Work Week to Ease Commute Costs. They are the latest to embrace the 4-day work week to save gas. P'Link
Congestion Pricing May Be Dead, But Gas Prices Reducing Congestion. That's what the NYT is reporting this morning. P'Link
Copyright ©1999-2008 Andy Arthur.
All mistakes are intentional or otherwise.
Mind where you step in a cow pasture or legal mindfield.