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| OMFG,They're Here!; NABIs hit the road in South Jersey! | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 30 2009, 06:38 PM (1,967 Views) | |
| Mark | Aug 30 2009, 06:38 PM Post #1 |
Advanced Transit Fan
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I just got back from a long round trip on NJT's new NABI buses. These buses made their debut today on the 400 :) and here is a report on their service. I saw my first NABI [5332] this morning. I weas on a departing RiverLINE train so the best I could do is get a glimpse. To make things worse, I did not carry my camera so sorry, no pictures yet. :'( After I got my NYC tickets at Trenton, I hopped on the R7 back downtown [using my SEPTA pass so I paid nothing], and got off at Market East, took a pit stop, then went outside for a bit when just my luck, two 400 buses were lumbering down Market St. The first was 3151 [old fart Flxible], and behind that bus was 5335. 3151 was doing the straight 400 run while 5335 was doing the Bellmawr Ind Park/Deptford Mall/Lakeland diversions. so I paid my extra zone fare and rode this bus all the way down to Avandale Park and Ride. Two things about this ride: 1] 5335 blew past the old Flx on the BF bridge without turning off the AC! The bus ride was very smooth, and the new AC worked a tad too well. By the time I got to Avandale, I was a little chilly. 2]The bus had a Clever Devices system that announced ALL of the bus stops. Unfortunately it did not announce such things as major transfer points and omitted several important landmarks like Cooper Hospital, Walter Rand Transportation Center, and places like the Audubon Crossing shopping center and the Pathmark/DMV stops in Camden. Those stops had to announced by the driver. I got off at Avandale, intending to take the 551 back to Camden, but a few minutes later, 5325 arrived and I took that bus back to Collings Ave in Camden. The ride back was just as comfy as the first ride. Other observations: It's great to see out of ALL of the side windows. The Flxible windows were so messed up, I gave up on ever bothering to get a window seat on the old farts. I was quite happy to ride a MCI just to get to see out of a window. I saw 2 other NABIs out there , 5332, and 5333 on the 400 as well. I love the width of these buses and the legroom they have. Only the back seat is slightly raised, and the seat on the rear wheelwell is not as horrible as the ones on the Flxibles. The new NABIs feel and look a little smaller compared to the Flxibles. I counted 43 seats on these new buses compared to the 47 seats squeezed in the Flxibles. And now, here's a warning: GET YOUR RIDES AND PICTURES OF THE FLXIBLE METRO-B'S THIS WEEK. THIS LOOKS LIKE THAT THIS IS THEIR LAST WEEK IN SERVICE OUT OF WASHINGTON TWP :o . More NABIs will be arriving this week so get your shots now! Edited by Mark, Aug 30 2009, 07:49 PM.
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| Tritransit Area | Aug 30 2009, 07:24 PM Post #2 |
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I thought the seats on the wheelwell was worse since you don't have the IMMENSE leg room to compensate for it. Interestingly enough, the rear wheelwell seat on the left side is my favorite seat on the Bs. Well, like the retirement of the Neos, the day to say goodbye to the Flxes has finally come. Better hustle down there for my goodbye ride, and I BETTER not see an influx of NABIs instead of the Flxes.... |
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| Van2006ko | Aug 31 2009, 03:02 PM Post #3 |
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Ridden on 5328 today on the 400 to Camden, Those buses are awesome. Very torquey as well, but Ithink they have the Caterpillar C9 instead of the C-13. The only thing is that the idle on these buses reminds me that of a 54xx series new flyer out of SEPTA. Definitely an improvement over the flxible and give me a reason to fan New Jersey transit more often. |
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| ctrabs74 | Aug 31 2009, 03:51 PM Post #4 |
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I guess you mean fanning in South Jersey; at least the North is a little more diverse. Anyway, I'm glad I got my last photos of the Metro B's; I guess that means the Metro D's out of Newton Av are on the clock, as it were... |
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| Nabinut | Aug 31 2009, 08:39 PM Post #5 |
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Then this may be my last Flx B shot: Posted Image |
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| Tritransit Area | Aug 31 2009, 09:07 PM Post #6 |
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Hmm...Newton Ave still has some Metro Bs to get rid of as well. |
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| ctrabs74 | Aug 31 2009, 11:12 PM Post #7 |
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Uh, that was my point... As has been said elsewhere on the net, there are probably a handful of B's left in service (almost all in South Jersey). NJT is supposed to get about 200 NABIs this year, so it's a pretty good bet that some Metro D's may be pulled from Newton Ave in the near future. |
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| Tritransit Area | Sep 1 2009, 10:32 AM Post #8 |
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I thought it was just 200 buses for the entire state, though. Sorry, I didn't understand the depth of your post. How many buses do Washington Township and Newton Ave have?
Edited by Tritransit Area, Sep 1 2009, 02:07 PM.
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| rider65 | Sep 1 2009, 01:30 PM Post #9 |
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From the meeting minutes of Local ATU 880 Minutes of Meeting of Local 880 General Membership Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Officers Present: Officers Excused: President – Joseph J. Sullivan Delegate – J. Cooper Vice-President Steve Knestaut Delegate – F. Olive Secretary-Treasurer – John Campanella Steward – J. Borrero Field Salary Delegate – Gabe Sullivan Steward – V Gourdine Steward – Raymond Cappy Steward – J. Marks Steward – Deletha Carstarphen Steward – H. Marvel Steward – Joseph Ciancio Steward – A. Morgan Steward – Jami Lyles Steward – S. Rollins Steward – Deonne Moore Steward – R. Scipione Steward – Jerome Page Steward – Conrad Reynolds Steward – Joseph Romeo Steward – Dave Wilson Call to Order: President Sullivan opened the meeting and asked for a moment of silence for the following members: Brother Edmond Grant, a pensioner who passed away; Brother Matthew Bailey, whose father passed away; Brother Ralph Marrero, whose mother-in-law passed away; Sister Elmerina Abdullah, whose son was recently killed. New Business: President Sullivan told the members that the rail service will be ending on Friday. Someone had asked him earlier if management can add a tripper to the rail service. President Sullivan said the Company is allowed to schedule a tripper with the rail work. President Sullivan said management informed him last week that the 403 bus will no longer go to Philadelphia. President Sullivan said he researched this issue by speaking with 403 operators and they confirmed that there are only a few passengers riding the 403 who are going to Philadelphia. This will put a burden on the lines that do go to Philadelphia. We will monitor the situation because we still need bus service from Clementon Lake Park to Philadelphia. President Sullivan said that Greyhound ridership from Philadelphia to Atlantic City is down because the casinos are no longer giving incentives. Revenue for the casinos was down 12% last month. There are layoffs affecting mass transit workers in many cities. Union jobs are also being lost in the auto industry. President Sullivan said the new buses will be operational by the end of the month in the Southern Division. Probably by the end of September all the Flexes will be replaced. President Sullivan told the members that there have been two accidents recently when pulling out of the garage. These accidents caused extensive damage to the buses. Please be careful when pulling out of the garage. President Sullivan said that he thinks he got the message out at last month’s meeting to shut the buses down when parking them in the fuel alley. President Sullivan told members that it is illegal to use your cell phone while operating a vehicle. Police departments across the country are checking drivers’ cell phone records if they were involved in a serious accident that resulted in a fatality. If the driver involved in the accident was using a cell phone at the time, they are being charged with vehicular homicide. Do not use your cell phone when operating any vehicle. President Sullivan said that there is a petition out regarding uniforms in the locations. It is a good petition that could have been worded better. However, the union will request that the company allow operators to wear a golf type shirt in the summer months. Shorts are mentioned in the petition but the company has already refused to allow shorts. Sign the petition if you want. Brother Witts came back from the bus rodeo wearing a beautiful, colorful and comfortable shirt that was actually part of the bus operators’ uniform in Hawaii. Changes in the uniforms have to be negotiated. A member said that the prior uniform company will bid the work for South Jersey, but they do not want anything to do with North Jersey. President Sullivan said this is one company and there is usually only one bid. President Sullivan said he will be in the Egg Harbor Twp. Bus Facility on Wednesday to attend hearings and address some other issues in that location. There is a small group of retirees hell bent on destroying the New Jersey State Council. They are suing the union because they are not happy with changes in the RX65 plan. When this plan began in the early 1990’s the union did not put a plan document together; it was a pay as you go plan. The expense of this plan got out of control and had a huge deficit. There was not enough income to cover the plan. While the State Council was negotiating the recent contract, they got NJ Transit to absorb the deficit and came up with a plan document for the RX65, which is now out of the red. The plan now calls for a $150 deductible per person and a $50 per month premium for each member using the plan. This small group of retirees is upset about this and wants the active members to pay more. This decision was made by the State Council because the active members must now pay 2% & 4 % into the pension plan and their premiums for healthcare have also risen. The State Council had different insurance companies give presentations at the council meetings to try and find a better plan for the retirees. However, every one of these companies has said that they cannot beat our plan because our plan has no caps. These retirees are also posting State Council financial reports on the bulletin board in Egg Harbor Twp. and writing derogatory comments on them. These retirees should not even have these financial reports, so someone on the Council is leaking information which is against our constitution. Also, a fact sheet from these retirees was posted on the bulletin board in Egg Harbor Twp. in which their facts are incorrect. Now, the bulletin board locks will be changed and the supervisor will have the key. When a union official wants to post something they must get the key from the supervisor. President Sullivan said that if any union officer sees anything posted on the union bulletin board that did not come from the union to take it down and throw it in the trash. These disgruntled retirees are only trying to undermine the union. If anyone has any questions regarding this issue, please call the union hall. A member asked if these retirees are allowed to talk with them individually. President Sullivan said yes, there are allowed to talk to anyone. They are not allowed to post anything on the union bulletin board. A member said the members have a right to know which retirees in Local 880 are objecting to the RX65 changes and suing the union. President Sullivan said it is Brother Raymond Wetzel Sr. A member asked President Sullivan if this union spent money to take Brother Wetzel to arbitration over his rate of pay. President Sullivan he met with Brother Wetzel while he was operating an Academy bus and convinced Brother Wetzel to come to New Jersey Transit to drive. When Brother Wetzel came to New Jersey Transit he objected to his pay rate. He started at the bottom rate because he retired as a mechanic. We took Brother Wetzel to arbitration but we lost. This member asked if Brother Wetzel was offered anything before the arbitration case. President Sullivan said yes, he was offered to start at 85% which would have meant that all mechanical retirees could return as part-time bus operators at 85% of the top rate instead of 60%. Brother Wetzel rejected the offer. Secretary-Treasurer John Campanella said that we have a lot of new members on the property that do not know what we went through in the late 1990’s. This union had no money. Members were assessed in order to pay bills. The bylaws called for a separation of funds which was not being done. There was no Building Fund or Defense Fund; everything came out of the General Fund. Even political donations came out of the General Fund, which is wrong because we should not be using members’ dues for political contributions. We have come a long way since then and some of these ex- union officers are now trying to sway the newer members that do not know where we came from. Now we have money and in the process we fixed up this union hall and feed everyone at the meetings. A member said that ten years ago, we would have been sweating in the union meetings but now we have great air conditioning. The refreshments years ago were a few 64 oz. bottles of soda and someone baked a cake. Plus there were many meetings where there was no quorum. Brother Campanella said he hopes the newer members will talk with the older members about what we went through and how far we have come. A member asked President Sullivan if he regrets stopping that Academy bus. President Sullivan said he has learned one valuable lesson; no good deed goes unpunished. Five minutes after you help someone, you are no good to them. President Sullivan that there are union members and managers walking around saying this place sucks. There is no place else to go. You came to New Jersey Transit because you needed a job. All they ask is that you follow their rules. Some members follow the rules for 90 days until their probation ends then throw the rule books out the window. How is it that some operators can drive thirty-five years and are never written up? If you do not like this job, leave. If we kill this golden goose, we are done. Managers hate managers because of these furlough days. All the union officers are meeting with management on Friday morning and then coming back to the union hall for a shop steward seminar. We are trying to get the morale out of the gutter and get our members to follow the rules. Minutes: President Sullivan said the minutes were posted in all locations and asked for questions. There were none. A motion to accept the minutes was made by Brother Steve Knestaut and seconded by Brother William Martynek. Motion passed. Financial Report: Secretary-Treasurer John Campanella told members that recently a member from Egg Harbor Twp. notified the union that he wanted to become a fee objector. Brother Campanella said that he wants to make sure everyone understands what is a fee objector. A legal notice regarding fee objectors will go out with this month’s minutes and is also posted yearly in the In Transit magazine. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that union cannot force members to join a union, but they still have to pay a portion of the union dues. That does not mean that fee objectors are not covered under the contract. They are covered and the union will continue to represent them in grievances. What happens is a CPA will audit the union’s books to determine what percentage of union funds are used for things non-germane to representing members. Activities of a political nature or organizing campaigns are examples of activities not related to representing members and will be excluded from the calculations of dues. We do not use any union dues for political donations. Once the CPA is finished, we will know what to charge a fee objector. However, the fee objector cannot attend union meetings, cannot vote in elections, cannot run of office, cannot vote on contracts, cannot nominate anyone, and loses some perks from the International Union including the funeral benefit. Any member can become a fee objector and we want to make sure everyone understands, which is why there will be a legal notice attached to these minutes. President Sullivan said the reduction in dues could be as little as two dollars because we are not involved in organizing at the moment. A member asked how much will the audit cost. Brother Campanella said he does not know, but it could be expensive. President Sullivan said there is a lot to lose by not being a member and he is checking to see if fee objectors will lose the RX65. A member asked if the fee objector has a right to the grievance procedure. Brother Campanella said yes. Please call the union hall if you have further questions. Brother Campanella read the financial reports and answered questions. A motion to accept the financial report was made by Sister Jami Lyles and seconded by Brother William Martynek. New Business con’t. President Sullivan said the attendance policy is very liberal and most members are not in any attendance trouble. Why can most members come to work while others have difficulty? Our goal should be making it to retirement and our pension is the light at the end of the tunnel. It is something worth working for. A member said that he has medical problems that have cost over $175,000 and he is thankful for our health benefits. Jokingly, he said he had to pay $12 for the television in the hospital room. President Sullivan said we will try to do better in the next negotiations. Brother John Campanella said the other day he was speaking with a two-year member who is suffering from damage to his heart. His heart was functioning at 5% and he had to have a defibrillator implanted in his chest. He will no longer be able to drive and is running out of benefits and his job. I told him I was sorry for what he was going through. He said don’t be, I was blessed that I worked for New Jersey Transit when I became ill, all my medical bills have been paid for by New Jersey Transit and I can move on with my life. A member said the newer members are not even aware that we did not have sick days years ago. A member asked if the union can put out any literature to let the newer members know how far we have come. President Sullivan said the newer members should talk with the older members. Also, don’t hate the company. It is a good job. A member said he has been here thirty-three years and years ago members would be ruled out of order if they spoke up at union meetings. You were not allowed to ask questions back then. Brother Campanella said that was our fault, meaning all the members, for allowing that to happen. Adjourn: A motion to adjourn was made by Sister Jami Lyles and seconded by Brother Steve Knestaut. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Sincerely, John Campanella Secretary-Treasurer Note: The next general membership meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. Hope to see you there. Note: The legal notice regarding fee objectors is attached to these minutes. Please call the union hall if anyone needs a copy. |
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| Tritransit Area | Sep 1 2009, 02:06 PM Post #10 |
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Creighton is on the right track. If I'm reading this correctly, that means Flxible Metros of ANY type will be HISTORY in this area by the end of the month...please say it ain't so! I guess it would make sense to replace ours first, because I think there are only a handlful of Metro D suburbans outside of the Southern NJ area (most of them, after all, are of the "transit style" variety). How many Ds does Newton Ave have? ARGH at the concept of "fleet washing"! As if NJT needed to prove that it could do it better than SEPTA and DART... |
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| ctrabs74 | Sep 1 2009, 03:35 PM Post #11 |
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Newton Ave has 21 Metro D's - 2 transit (1870 and 1872) and 19 suburbans (3704, 3706-3714, 3719-3727). |
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| Van2006ko | Sep 1 2009, 04:17 PM Post #12 |
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Foamer
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So if I understand your post correctly: both the Metro Bs, and Ds down in South Jersey are slated to be replaced with this batch of NABIs? That's interesting and as cited in posts above within the next several weeks South Jersey will look completely different bus wise. But after 20 years of Flxibiles running in service, it's a long time coming as these coaches are seriously on their last leg. I guess I should do a farewell ride.... |
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| ctrabs74 | Sep 1 2009, 08:18 PM Post #13 |
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As far as the Camden area goes, that appears to be the case. Trenton may see NABIs in a year or two depending on how the NABI transit delivery shakes out. I would think that Hamilton garage would be at the top of the list on the transit side simply because it's the state capital. |
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| philabob1 | Sep 3 2009, 06:35 AM Post #14 |
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Spotted 5325 on 406 and 5335 on 400 on Market St this AM. (Keep forgetting 406 is out of Wash Twp now...) |
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| septanjtmta | Sep 4 2009, 12:06 AM Post #15 |
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I Rode on the 403 round-trip with 5332 to/from Turnerville for 4 1/2 hours. |
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