BusRider

Honestly I won't set foot on them anymore. I've seen too much to trust those things. Tires worn down to the steel belts but not getting replaced (then predictably blowing out), brake pedals so spongy you can push them to the floor and not get full braking (replace the friggin' foot valve, what's it cost? $200?), vibrations in the steering wheels that never get fixed (almost had a steering wheel go hard-over on the highway, I needed new pants). Mid-life refurbs are a step in the right direction but god damn, that whole place needs to clear house and start over maintenance practice wise. Just chronic maintenance issues getting ignored for the sake of making city council happy for having a "prudent" budget. One of these days someone is gonna get hurt, or worse. How prudent is that?

Starting August 8th, Brandon will be switching On Demand service providers from Blaise to Pantonium. Pantonium On Demand Pamphlet - FINAL[17121].pdf

On Demand is cancelled for the night and will be replaced with hourly service.

Rogers outage today means that the fareboxes aren't able to be logged in to. Free rides all day, or at least until Rogers comes back online. It remains to be seen if this will cause problems for On Demand later today.

I was looking around on streetview in Moose Jaw and came across this. Not sure if it's ex-MJ Transit or it was always an inspection unit. https://goo.gl/maps/29fFanuahJ1VVLqA8

I'll keep that in mind for when it goes up for auction.

That was around the time I was out. It would've been between 2-4pm because I specifically wanted to get what was on the Industrial.

Just a couple of photos from today.

Transit has now posted a short survey with regards to the On Demand service. There's a chance to win 1 of 40 gift cards worth $10!

Interesting, what specifically about them? I always liked the 600's (D40LFR's and XD40's) and newer in Winnipeg just for the driver compartment layout. The kneeling and ramp switch was located right next to the door handle which saved a lot of reaching. The ISL9 buses also seemed to have a bit more power than the ISL ones. Winnipeg's 2010's seemed really sluggish. The XD40's have a really weird air leveling system, but other than that I don't mind them.

Something I can say with a bit more certainty is transit hopes to replace the 2010 LFR's between 2024 and 2028. https://brandon.ca/images/pdf/2022-Proposed-Budget/03.01_Proposed_Operating_Budget_General_Fund.pdf City council is also wanting to do an analysis on alternative fuel vehicles at some point (propane, electric, ect). The question was brought up during budget deliberations.

Ah, I probably did get the times wrong for Bus 5, but I did speak to the Quality Assurance Supervisor on the phone last week so some maybe some of this is still being planned or it's something that didn't come to fruition. Probably got a bit ahead of it.

Small update about the On Demand service. 4 buses are now used from 6pm to 8pm, then an additional 5th bus is added 8pm to midnight. This is changed from just operating 5 buses the whole time. This is due to increased demand later in the evening as a lot of restaurants and stores close between 9pm to 11pm. Another change is any bus will make a stop if there's a passenger waiting at a stop. This is an effort to reduce waiting times for people. The drivers are supposed to check if the person is heading in the general direction of where the bus is currently booked to go, and I believe dispatch can modify the bus the booked trip is assigned to. Personally, I don't think that's a great long term solution. What I'd really like to see is an option to book a trip "ASAP" or "Soonest Bus" instead of being forced to book 30 minutes in advance. Perhaps that way they could offer trips without a guaranteed arrival time, but really reduce the waiting time from booking.

Went for another On Demand ride this evening and it was significantly more on time. The extra convenience of how quick this service has been is spoiling me. I really hope it stays. One thing I did note is that 5 buses are being used instead of 4 like the previous hourly night service. From what I hear, this is in an effort to keep pickups on time rather than a bump in ridership. That being said, it will be interesting to see the numbers.

That would be the one. Good to hear some confirmation that it's likely not disappearing. Would be cool if they could start using it again for public events again. I remember the "Boo Bus" in the early 2000's when they'd decorate it for Halloween. That or when they'd bring it out for free rides on Rider Appreciation Day, I guess they don't appreciate us anymore! Turns out my last ride on it was a lot longer ago than I remember. Last saw it out and about 9 years ago!