Post by bennyp81 on Jun 20, 2005 11:59:51 GMT -8
Elson
User ID: 9238183 Jan 8th 9:51 PM
Anyone rode on the new Rapid buses (8000 series I believe)yet? How are they like, aestheticwise and in terms of handling?
Are other cities ordering this model of bus as well?
Chris Ledermuller
User ID: 9600383 Jan 9th 1:38 AM
I've been on them twice.
The buses are nice on the exterior. NABI's thinking out of the box, so to speak. Finally, we have a bus that's not a perfect rectangle on wheels. The last bus with a more imaginative use of geometry was the RTS.
The buses are rather plain inside. The seats are colorful. What is interesting is a relative ceiling height throughout the bus. On other low floors, the ceiling was the same height, so a tall person would feel comfortable standing on the low floor part but would feel cramped in the rear area. On this bus, you could see a slope at the stairs, and the ceiling height is the same regardless of where you stand. Tall people would be cramped at both ends.
I don't think there will be a huge market for these buses in other cities. These may be like the 1100s, where only we will have them. The extra five feet just pushes the rear row back one row, adding five seats. That's not much of an improvement, considering that the front wheel wells are still useless. Also, the added five feet means a broader turning radius. Typically, 45-footers are confined to tour buses, which use the extra five feet for a lavatory. Articulated buses offer more capacity, and despite being 60 feet, have a turning radius similar to a 35-foot bus.
Jason S.
User ID: 9656233 Jan 9th 1:12 PM
The thing I noticed the most about the 8000 series is the seating.
The seats seem to have a one inch cushion. The cushion is firm but a much softer then other busses I have ridden on. A nice improvement.
The multicolored fabric on the seating is designed to both discourage and hide graphiti. The shifting patterns make it more difficult to see when graphiti is writen on the fabric. Taggers also prefer solid colors for the same reason.
I speculate the stainless steel interrior sidewalls is also graphiti related. It is more difficult to scratch into this material then the white plastic of previous busses.
I also noticed that the bus driver's seat appeared to be really soft. Comfortable even. It wasn't the normal plastic bucket seat but a black leather/pleather five inch padded comfort seat. The bus drivers have got to love those. It makes since too. They should have a comfortable seat to sit in.
Lastly, I noticed that there are three interior cameras. The 7000 had two I believe.
I think this bus is a big improvement over previous generations. Anyone know how much fuel is suppose to be saved by the lighter materials?
Elson
User ID: 9238183 Feb 13th 4:41 AM
Finally rode FUTUREBUS! today...(Line 754)
From the inside it doesn't look *too* much different than the 7000s. I even thought I was in a 7000 until I reminded myself the only reason why I'm riding this bus is because it's FUTUREBUS! (I could have taken the Red Line all the way to Vermont/Santa Monica but instead I wanted to try FUTUREBUS!
Anyway, the most noticeable difference to me was the ergonomically-shaped seat. Wow, a transit vehicle with lowe back support? Amazing.
I'm wondering if any non-Rapid lines will get FUTUREBUS! or if it's just a Rapid-only thing.
User ID: 9238183 Jan 8th 9:51 PM
Anyone rode on the new Rapid buses (8000 series I believe)yet? How are they like, aestheticwise and in terms of handling?
Are other cities ordering this model of bus as well?
Chris Ledermuller
User ID: 9600383 Jan 9th 1:38 AM
I've been on them twice.
The buses are nice on the exterior. NABI's thinking out of the box, so to speak. Finally, we have a bus that's not a perfect rectangle on wheels. The last bus with a more imaginative use of geometry was the RTS.
The buses are rather plain inside. The seats are colorful. What is interesting is a relative ceiling height throughout the bus. On other low floors, the ceiling was the same height, so a tall person would feel comfortable standing on the low floor part but would feel cramped in the rear area. On this bus, you could see a slope at the stairs, and the ceiling height is the same regardless of where you stand. Tall people would be cramped at both ends.
I don't think there will be a huge market for these buses in other cities. These may be like the 1100s, where only we will have them. The extra five feet just pushes the rear row back one row, adding five seats. That's not much of an improvement, considering that the front wheel wells are still useless. Also, the added five feet means a broader turning radius. Typically, 45-footers are confined to tour buses, which use the extra five feet for a lavatory. Articulated buses offer more capacity, and despite being 60 feet, have a turning radius similar to a 35-foot bus.
Jason S.
User ID: 9656233 Jan 9th 1:12 PM
The thing I noticed the most about the 8000 series is the seating.
The seats seem to have a one inch cushion. The cushion is firm but a much softer then other busses I have ridden on. A nice improvement.
The multicolored fabric on the seating is designed to both discourage and hide graphiti. The shifting patterns make it more difficult to see when graphiti is writen on the fabric. Taggers also prefer solid colors for the same reason.
I speculate the stainless steel interrior sidewalls is also graphiti related. It is more difficult to scratch into this material then the white plastic of previous busses.
I also noticed that the bus driver's seat appeared to be really soft. Comfortable even. It wasn't the normal plastic bucket seat but a black leather/pleather five inch padded comfort seat. The bus drivers have got to love those. It makes since too. They should have a comfortable seat to sit in.
Lastly, I noticed that there are three interior cameras. The 7000 had two I believe.
I think this bus is a big improvement over previous generations. Anyone know how much fuel is suppose to be saved by the lighter materials?
Elson
User ID: 9238183 Feb 13th 4:41 AM
Finally rode FUTUREBUS! today...(Line 754)
From the inside it doesn't look *too* much different than the 7000s. I even thought I was in a 7000 until I reminded myself the only reason why I'm riding this bus is because it's FUTUREBUS! (I could have taken the Red Line all the way to Vermont/Santa Monica but instead I wanted to try FUTUREBUS!
Anyway, the most noticeable difference to me was the ergonomically-shaped seat. Wow, a transit vehicle with lowe back support? Amazing.
I'm wondering if any non-Rapid lines will get FUTUREBUS! or if it's just a Rapid-only thing.