BusTalk

[Grand Concourse]

Today on Utica I saw a bus 9690, but when I was walking past it, the rear of the bus had 9351 on the back. There were no other buses behind it as it was the only bus in the nb direction.
So I'm wondering is it possible Flatbush depot sent out a bus with the wrong rear number plate?
I wished I got a better look, but it was a strange sight.

[Mr. Linsky]

Correct me if I'm wrong but don't NYMTA RTS's have removable porcelain number signs on the A/C grills in the rear? (which always remind me of the old subway car numbers).

It's certainly possible that someone forgot to change the rear sign when the bus was renumbered, and that brings up an interesting question;

Why does the MTA inparticular find the need to change fleet numbers at the snap of a finger?

I understand that buses are constantly being transferred from one depot to the next, and if that's the reason for the number changes - that's ridiculous, confusing and unnecessarily complicated.

When a bus is delivered to a company (and I consider the MTA to be one company regardless of how many divisions and depots it has), that bus should retain its original fleet number from 'cradle to grave'!

The changing of bus numbers years ago (except for the Omnibus Corporation (NY) whose buses must each have had 15 different numbers through their useful lives) was unheard of if for no other reason than to avoid confusion among mechanics that serviced them, and who knew by the numbers what specific parts to use.

Record keeping would also have been made difficult and, in the days before computers, would have required additional bookkeepers just to maintain the changes.

Greyhound was another company that played the numbers game but that was different because each division was a seperate entity and had its own numbering schemes, and when a bus was tranferred both the registration plates and fleet numbers changed.

I don't know - maybe I'm missing something here - but it certainly seems logical that any bus should retain its original designation as long as it remains with the same company!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[Q65A]

Did NYCT 9690 have a white rear A/C grille panel?
If so, perhaps an accidental "number plate swap" might have occurred as a result of such a repainting.

[Grand Concourse]