philabob1

Jul 15 2008, 02:38 PM

The hills on 27 were not kind to all 40' buses. The 3100-series Neos assigned to Allegheny had little trouble on them. The NABI's frequently did. Perhaps the toughest hill is the short rise southbound on Leverington Ave just off Henry where trouble waits because the bus must slow to make the turn from Henry so it's starting from almost stop. A close second is northbound on Manayunk Ave at Burnside St (the north side of the bridge over Shurs Lane), which is a service stop - if the bus doesn't have to make this, it will have much less trouble climbing that hill.

philabob1

Jul 18 2008, 07:33 AM

I heard 3rd-hand that 27 will become pretty much all 40' buses with the fall schedule and artics will be slotted for a handful of runs that come on and go off in the peaks. When the Volvos were around, the AM's that got artics were for the most part those that started at either Barren Hill or Port Royal, with the Mall starts getting 40'ers. The PM was not as cut-and-dried and there were no shorts to Port Royal. In the current schedule there are only 2 Port Royal starts and 2 other oddballs that go into service at Ridge & Summit, going a bit against the grain to get to the regular route at Ridge & Port Royal (in years gone by, there were at least a dozen trips that began at Port Royal, so that gives you an idea of the drop in ridership on 27) and 5-6 Mall starts, with the rest coming from Barren Hill. It will be interesting to see how this works, if it does.

ctrabs74

Jul 20 2008, 08:28 PM

philabob1

Jul 15 2008, 02:38 PM

The hills on 27 were not kind to all 40' buses. The 3100-series Neos assigned to Allegheny had little trouble on them. The NABI's frequently did. Perhaps the toughest hill is the short rise southbound on Leverington Ave just off Henry where trouble waits because the bus must slow to make the turn from Henry so it's starting from almost stop. A close second is northbound on Manayunk Ave at Burnside St (the north side of the bridge over Shurs Lane), which is a service stop - if the bus doesn't have to make this, it will have much less trouble climbing that hill.

Even a 5500 would have very little trouble with the hills on the 27; if you thought the 5900s are going to master those hills, wait until they swap out the Series 50 engines with the ISL's next year.

TRANSIT_FREAK100

Jul 20 2008, 08:30 PM

ctrabs74

Jul 20 2008, 08:28 PM

philabob1

Jul 15 2008, 02:38 PM

The hills on 27 were not kind to all 40' buses. The 3100-series Neos assigned to Allegheny had little trouble on them. The NABI's frequently did. Perhaps the toughest hill is the short rise southbound on Leverington Ave just off Henry where trouble waits because the bus must slow to make the turn from Henry so it's starting from almost stop. A close second is northbound on Manayunk Ave at Burnside St (the north side of the bridge over Shurs Lane), which is a service stop - if the bus doesn't have to make this, it will have much less trouble climbing that hill.

Even a 5500 would have very little trouble with the hills on the 27; if you thought the 5900s are going to master those hills, wait until they swap out the Series 50 engines with the ISL's next year.

What about an overhaul with an allison transmission?

CatchingFeelings

Jul 21 2008, 02:09 AM

Last wednesday I spotted 7111 pulling put of the Neshaminy Mall! Trainning Bus. My good freind who drives out Frankford told me that Comly will only get 10 Artics, At first the R was being considered for artics as well but they can't make the turn at Wiss Trans Ctr.

CatchingFeelings

Jul 21 2008, 02:09 AM

Last wednesday I spotted 7111 pulling put of the Neshaminy Mall! Trainning Bus. My good freind who drives out Frankford told me that Comly will only get 10 Artics, At first the R was being considered for artics as well but they can't make the turn at Wiss Trans Ctr.

amgkid874

Jul 20 2008, 10:46 PM

I'll say this much. If the 6 goes back to Midvale and the 9, 32, 61 and 62 should go back to Allegheny, does that mean the 35 should go with it? Also,while we're at it...why not send part of the 7 back to Midvale, and the 26 and 89 back to Frankford. (that way Kelso can get back to Frankford, where he wants to be...), but we will leave that subject alone all together.

Anyoone think that the 25 should be split with Southern?

There is a rule now which states: Wherever your vehicle breaks down at, the closest garage has to come and service your vehicle, or bring you a new one, whatever the need calls for.

Thats why you might see 8109 at Callowhill, or an ElDorado at Frankford. Before, waiting for a mechanic at Pier 70 when your NABI broke down on the 25 to ocme all the way from Frankford, sucked, when it was your last trip.

CA Crafter's right, by the way. Route 6-->Safe than sorry.

Southern_8100

Jul 14 2008, 04:13 PM

As for New Flyers running on the 33 & 48, lets just hope SEPTA doesn't pull a fast one and try to put them on during the morning on evening rush hours during the week.

Michael-T-Greene

Jul 26 2008, 11:31 AM

Hmmm...has there been any infrastructural changes at Comly to accomodate artics? I haven't been able so snoop around Comly lately, but if they're not set up to handle artics, than what's it matter if SEPTA says that they're putting artics on Boulevard routes? Perhaps while they're at it, SEPTA may want to make similar improvements at Southern...they could sure use artics on the 47...
BTW, I also saw 5914 on the 27 last night(on Block 5077) on Broad Street...

philabob1

Jul 15 2008, 09:07 PM

Southern_8100

Jul 14 2008, 11:52 PM

27 is too long. It shouldn't go to Plymouth Meeting - it should be cut back to Barren Hill. The Manayunk Ave routing should also be reconsidered - very slow. The entire Expressway routing should also be rethought - often, the express via local route service is faster (once a regular Friday afternoon thing).

The 27 does need some reformulation to get it out of the red zone (it is not meeting the SEPTA ridership standards). However, Plymouth Meeting Mall service IS necessary. For instance, the 27 is the ONLY bus on Ridge Pike up to Ridge & Butler Avenues in Conshohocken. Also, there are many people that take the bus to the mall and to the Metroplex, especially overnight workers at Target. You want to deny them service? I know personally, as a rider to takes the 27 from Center City (and occasionally Wissahicken Transfer Center) to our lovely mall in Plymouth Meeting to transfer to suburban transit services, I wouldn't waste time trying to catch the bus to/from Barren Hill.

If you ask me, the part that should be cut is the section between Broad and Washington and I guess Broad and South/Locust. Buses are generally empty here outside of school hours, and traffic on Broad Street tends to cause delays for the buses.

At first, I thought the Manyunk Ave route was slower than just going up Ridge Pike. However, one day a late running driver went via Ridge Pike in an effort to make up time. With all of the traffic lights (remember, Manyunk Ave only has stop signs) it seemed to actually take longer going via Ridge Pike than it would have just going up Manyunk Avenue. I cringe to think of how the artics handle those hills in the snowtime, especially since it seems that they always manage to pass each other on that narrow road.

There was a proposal a couple years ago to take the 27 off of the highway. Instead, it would essentially go via the diversion routing, going down the Parkway. With the longer routing, the route would be cut back at Broad and Locust. I thought it was a fantastic idea, but the idea was shot down as being "Not Recommended". The 98 Ambler short turns being extended to the Fort Washington Business Complex suffered the same fate.

Too bad a lot of artic runs may likely be cut in the fall. Like other routes, it's suffering the "New Flyer Fate". Well, it'll be a lot less interesting to ride - so much for having a way to get an "artic ride home". Does the 14 really need artics 24/7 though as SEPTA is allegedly calling for? I think that's a bit overkill, especially as the route runs hourly headways in OWL service.

Tritransit Area

Jul 28 2008, 02:21 AM

philabob1

Jul 15 2008, 09:07 PM

Southern_8100

Jul 14 2008, 11:52 PM

27 is too long. It shouldn't go to Plymouth Meeting - it should be cut back to Barren Hill. The Manayunk Ave routing should also be reconsidered - very slow. The entire Expressway routing should also be rethought - often, the express via local route service is faster (once a regular Friday afternoon thing).

The 27 does need some reformulation to get it out of the red zone (it is not meeting the SEPTA ridership standards). However, Plymouth Meeting Mall service IS necessary. For instance, the 27 is the ONLY bus on Ridge Pike up to Ridge & Butler Avenues in Conshohocken. Also, there are many people that take the bus to the mall and to the Metroplex, especially overnight workers at Target. You want to deny them service? I know personally, as a rider to takes the 27 from Center City (and occasionally Wissahicken Transfer Center) to our lovely mall in Plymouth Meeting to transfer to suburban transit services, I wouldn't waste time trying to catch the bus to/from Barren Hill.

If you ask me, the part that should be cut is the section between Broad and Washington and I guess Broad and South/Locust. Buses are generally empty here outside of school hours, and traffic on Broad Street tends to cause delays for the buses.

At first, I thought the Manyunk Ave route was slower than just going up Ridge Pike. However, one day a late running driver went via Ridge Pike in an effort to make up time. With all of the traffic lights (remember, Manyunk Ave only has stop signs) it seemed to actually take longer going via Ridge Pike than it would have just going up Manyunk Avenue. I cringe to think of how the artics handle those hills in the snowtime, especially since it seems that they always manage to pass each other on that narrow road.

There was a proposal a couple years ago to take the 27 off of the highway. Instead, it would essentially go via the diversion routing, going down the Parkway. With the longer routing, the route would be cut back at Broad and Locust. I thought it was a fantastic idea, but the idea was shot down as being "Not Recommended". The 98 Ambler short turns being extended to the Fort Washington Business Complex suffered the same fate.

Too bad a lot of artic runs may likely be cut in the fall. Like other routes, it's suffering the "New Flyer Fate". Well, it'll be a lot less interesting to ride - so much for having a way to get an "artic ride home". Does the 14 really need artics 24/7 though as SEPTA is allegedly calling for? I think that's a bit overkill, especially as the route runs hourly headways in OWL service.

Short answer: No. However, the 14 (and the 20 for that matter) has several businesses that open early and COULD benefit with several 3.30 and 4.00 FTC to Oxford Valley starts. Remember the 14's long suite is the REVERSE COMMUTE MARKET. SEPTA has to play to that, but won't.