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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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The Port of Authority
Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 118 Location: Hong Kong
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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Nice, they went with frameless windows. |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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Not to mention, the new low-profile roof cap containing the batteries. Like the Rapid Ride DE60LF buses, the bike racks hold three bikes. Also, the front destination sign appears to be the TwinVision Chroma series with colored route number, if you look closely. They also feature the GFI Odyssey fareboxes, which were first introduced on the 6600-series DE60LFs that were delivered earlier this year. I wonder why the 6600 series buses still have the old-style front? |
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Q65A
Age: 66 Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 1769 Location: Central NJ
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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What does the "R" signify in DE40LFR? |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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Q65A wrote: | What does the "R" signify in DE40LFR? |
The "R" indicates that it features the restyled front end. This makes me wonder why ABQ RIDE's 6600 series Rapid Ride buses (delivered last February) are the standard DE60LF, not the DE60LFR. Hamilton Street Railway got DE60LFRs two months after ABQ RIDE's new DE60LFs were delivered. Last December New Flyer sent a demo for a DE40LFR to test.
Initially, ABQ RIDE was supposed to do a piggyback order for Gillig Advantage Hybrid buses led by San Joaquin RTD. ABQ RIDE director Greg Payne opposed the idea, and decided to order New Flyer buses instead.
I hope these new buses are placed on the 155 (Coors Blvd) route. Currently in the morning, the route gets two TMC RTSes and two Thomas SLF200s. One of the SLF200s signs off in the afternoon and is replaced by a Neoplan AN440. |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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METRObusfan4950
Age: 41 Joined: 11 Nov 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Houston, Texas
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: UPDATE |
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Will be there any more pics and/or vids of this beauty? Thanks. |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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UPDATE:
Latest word from several drivers is that 18 new buses have now been delivered, however, 701 is still currently the only one in service. A driver has told me that ABQ RIDE is testing the electronics on several of these new buses, and many of them have not been registered yet.
Also, I have been hearing rumors that ABQ RIDE is interested in 18 more DE60LFs for future Rapid Ride routes. I wonder if they will be DE60LFRs this time. The DE60LFs delievered early this year (6600-series) still feature the old-style front. |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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Update for December 7, 2007:
With several buses delivered now, more are now starting to enter service. They are currently primarily found on the 5 (Montgomery/Carlisle) route. So far, I have seen buses 701, 702, 703, and 705. |
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CAT218
Age: 53 Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 17 Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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I can't wait to get back to Albuquerque to ride some of them. When I was last there at the beginning of October, I took my son for a short 'joyride' if that's what you can call a trip on the 66 and we had an RTS in both directions. |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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Latest news:
Today, I started a new semester at UNM, and for the very first time, I finally got to ride on one of the new buses on the 155 route. The bus I rode was #704. I also saw #708 on the 157 route. From what I have heard, there are currently 24 of the new buses in service. I remember seeing #717 doing the Luminaria Tour on Christmas Eve.
Just riding today, the new buses are rather nice. They feature a nice DVD video screen, nice red seat fabric, and cool new fareboxes. However, the magnetic transfer feature of the new fareboxes is still not being used as of now, as the rest of the fleet has not been retrofitted with them yet. Also worthy of mention is the LED door lights.
Although these new buses are 40-footers, they don't have as much capacity as the 300-series buses (Neoplans), likely due to the low floor design. The seating layout actually reminds me of ABQ RIDE's only diesel-powered SLF200 bus, #436. However, in the elevated back of the bus, a perimiter seating layout is used.
One interesting thing I noticed with these buses is that they feature the traffic signal priority system that the Rapid Ride buses feature. I wasn't really expecting this, as these buses are being used for regular routes, rather than Rapid Ride routes. The reason why the Rapid Ride buses feature them is because Rapid Ride is supposed to be a faster travel solution. |
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The Port of Authority
Joined: 16 Apr 2007 Posts: 118 Location: Hong Kong
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Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the update.
I'll be visiting Albuquerque in March, so I'll definitely look out for these buses. |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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The Port of Authority wrote: | Thanks for the update.
I'll be visiting Albuquerque in March, so I'll definitely look out for these buses. |
Most definately you will see many of these new buses by then. Last week there were two of them on the 155 Coors Blvd route, along with one TMC RTS, one Thomas SLF200 in the morning, and one Neoplan AN440 CNG in the afternoon.
In fact, the entire TMC RTS fleet may be retired by then. I know some will be kept for other community uses, but not for regular service. Perhaps some could be kept as spares for a while. The rest of them will be scrapped, sadly. I think it would have been better if these buses would be donated, perhaps to Mexico. I heard that is what ABQ RIDE did with their old GMC RTS buses that operated in the 1980s and 1990s.
Speaking of this, I wonder how many more years could ABQ RIDE's Neoplan AN440 CNGs (300 series buses) can endure. They were all delievered in 1996. This year, they will be reaching their 12-year mark, which is considered the "normal" lifespan for today's transit buses. However, they all still work reliablly and perform very well, even better than the Thomas SLF200 CNGs (buses 401-435). I know that one of the primary rationales for retiring the TMC RTSes is due to the fact that they lack wheelchair lifts. The Neoplans are fully wheelchair accessible, although there have been a few cases where the lift fails. The flip-out ramps on the New Flyer low floor buses can be deployed manually if the ramp fails. That is not the case with the lifts on the Neoplans. The SLF200s feature a slide-out ramp, and also cannot be deployed manually. The RTSes have been operating almost 19 years now. Perhaps the Neoplans could endure at least five more years. |
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CAT218
Age: 53 Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 17 Location: Las Vegas, NV
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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Those are pretty solid Neoplans ABQ has. I always enjoy getting a ride on them when I can. Even the SLF's aren't bad. I like the 'club seating' in the back. Very comfortable! |
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DE60LF
Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 142 Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:25 am Post subject: |
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http://www.cabq.gov/transit/100ADACompliant.html
According to this link, on March 15 when the new schedules begin, all of ABQ RIDE's new buses will be in service. This marks the end for ABQ RIDE's TMC RTS buses. |
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