Greyhound seats and fleet questions

[railiner]

Swadian, based on your recent opinion's, I find it a wonder that you don't change your AU 'sgnature'......

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I did change it - a little bit.

Is this accurate? http://media.carcomplaints.com/img/salt-belt.png

Hey, you know something? Greyhound sent DL3s and D4505s to Seattle for the US Open charters. Not a single G4500. I guess all those were locked up in line-haul service. Perhaps they sent some Charter Services DL3s.

 

[railiner]

I don't get that link....?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

It has to do with the everlasting issue of corrosion. The more salty the roads, the more corrosion on the buses. The point is that, since fiberglass buses generally have smooth, sealed-up fiberglass sides, they don't corrode as much as steel buses.

Which leads me to question Greyhound's use of the DL3 in salty areas. They are getting old and are not encased in fiberglass. Even though the lower half is stainless steel (painted over), corrosion could still take ahold.

#6558 is running today's New York City-Miami 1011. Maybe DL3s shouldn't be running that route when winter comes.

 

[rickycourtney]

The 102DL3 coaches aren't gone. Not yet, anyway. And the 102DL3 did not emit soot clouds anyway.

If the government is so worried about bus emissions, why don't they go ahead and ban smoking everywhere? That would help more people than choosing emissions over fuel economy in buses. And how come new aircraft both use less fuel and emit less pollution, while new buses use more fuel to emit less pollution?

I smell cars and pickups driving by that emit more pollution than a bus. Crack down on those pieces of [edited] if you're going to crack down on buses. I bet locomotives and ships are allowed more leniency than buses, considering all the old locos and ships still around. Not that buses should pollute more, but that others should pollute less. And outlaw smoking already!

When Greyhound goes bankrupt for the third time, they may not have a chance to recover.

Here's why the government is so worried about medium and heavy-duty vehicles (like buses and trucks), they make up just 5% of vehicles on the road but they are responsible for 23% of the greenhouse gas emissions from entire transportation sector.

In other words, if we make changes to that small amount of vehicles, it can have a huge impact on emissions.

The government has also passed the "Tier 4" emissions regulations for locomotives. There are also regulations on ship emissions, but it's a more complex issue since very ships used in the transportation sector are registered in the US (and therefore subject to all US regulations).

All vehicles, regardless of age, are required to remain in compliance with the emissions regulations at the time of their manufacturing. So old cars will always pollute more. The only way to change that is to make older vehicles meet tougher standards, or force them to be retired. That's what's going on in the trucking industry but it would be incredibly unpopular for personal cars.

Banning smoking wouldn't help more people than lowering the emissions of trucks and buses. We've made great strides in reducing the number of people who smoke. Outright bans on drugs don't work and they force addicts to purchase on the black market, where the government can't charge a taxes for things like public health impacts.

My point to you was this... those things you complain about happened in the past. Greyhound will likely need to keep the Premier seats for a few years to make the purchase pencil out, the D4505 coaches aren't going away anytime soon. What do you do now?

 

[mightyjoe1201]

The govt is wrong about the emissions. Cars do put out more emissions per vehicle then trucks and buses. Guess you think we should be removed off the road then.

 

[railiner]

I don't get that link....?

Swadian, when I click on your link, all I see is a black square from: CarComplaints.com....with a skull and crossbones 'jolly roger' image in the background, and the words 'Pirates are awesome' above the address, and 'Stealing images is not', below......some kind of error message that says no_hotlinking.png (400x3..........

 

[rickycourtney]

The govt is wrong about the emissions. Cars do put out more emissions per vehicle then trucks and buses.

[citation needed]

Guess you think we should be removed off the road then.

Where did I ever say that?I happen to think just the opposite. Trucks and buses provide important services that impact everyone and deserve a place on the road. I actually think it's generally more important to dedicate road space to trucks and buses, than single occupant vehicles. That being said, I think it's a good thing to work on making sure that in the long run that buses and trucks both create less greenhouse gas emissions and use less fuel.

 

[mightyjoe1201]

Wow. Usually someone that spouts the nonsense that we put out more emissions wants us off the road. I can't cite without looking it up since I'm at work but do the research, and not the do called scientists tat the govt uses either. I cam understand lowering emissions but the epa needs to keep their nose out and let the engine manufacturers figure out how to do it so that the engines are more reliable and more fuel efficient. Epa said that the ultra low sulfur diesel coupled with the emissions control crap would improve fuel economy but they were very wrong. Trucks went from avg of 7 mpg to 5 mpg

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

But you didn't mention that buses polluter much less per seat-mile than cars. That's important. They also use much less fuel per seat-mile than cars. We can agree on that. Cars are also generally privately owned which makes it far easier to get away with deferred maintenance and violations than a bus. Cars are generally not driven by paid, professional drivers, either. And let's not forget that cars still account for most pollution on the roads, while carrying very little people per-car. So cars should be cracked down upon with an iron hand, which has been used on buses but not on cars.

A single DL3 pollutes more than a single Camry, that is true. But a DL3 carries ten times more people than a Camry. It certainly doesn't use ten times more fuel or pollute ten times more.

It's also unfair to mix trucks into the equation because trucks carry cargo rather than passengers. Buses and cars carry passengers, so they can be measured in parallel. Trucks should be considered discreetly, because passengers and cargo cannot be converted to each other mathematically.

Regulations on locomotives are ineffective because locomotives last so long. You can retrofit an old 1980s locomotive with the latest emissions-reduction technology, but it doesn't have much effect on emissions unless you replace the prime mover. And locomotive prime movers last a damn long time.

While airliners pollute less and use less fuel at the same time, buses pollute less and use more fuel. Incidentally, the EPA doesn't check buses for fuel consumption.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

More humiliation for the D4505: https://consumeraffairs.global.ssl.fastly.net/files/reviews/greyhound_33436.jpg.

Bus is #FL86402. Yes, that is a Detroit Diesel Series 60 14L EGR. I thought the D4505 was not supposed to emit black soot clouds. Wonder which route that is on.

 

[mightyjoe1201]

It's not black soot. Thsys engine oil. Looks like the turbo charger Mau have blown up on that bus. When that happens you have what you see on the picture. It's one of those things that happen with our warning.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

My bad, it's engine oil. Greyhound's Miami Maintenance Center must be hella pissed off that all the engine oil spewed out. So the turbocharger on that D4505 blew up. And still, there are people that continue to make excuses for the D4505.

Maybe engine oil is even more polluting that soot and it sure is a pain in the behind to clean up. Kinds ironic that there is a "Electrolytes to Replenish" ad behind the bus.

I guess the turbocharger also needed to be replaced now?

 

[mightyjoe1201]

Yeah. When the turbo goes all you can do is replace it. The oil came out the exhaust when the turbo went. Its something that can happen on any model bus with any engine. It sucks and it's messy.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Seeing that happened in Miami doesn't shock me. Miami is turning into a cesspool. Well not all areas in Miami are, but some places have. Miami's bus fleet is in terrible condition, with 70% of the buses up for replacement.

Getting back on topic, I found this picture. I personally liked that old paint scheme from Greyhound. Kind of reminds me of the paint scheme American Bus Lines sported.

http://greyhound-tickets.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/greyhound-tickets3.jpg

 

[mightyjoe1201]

That's not good if they have that any for replacement. Either their maintenance sucks royally , a lot of wrecked buses or the fleet there is getting too old.

I know what you mean about Miami. Last time I was there it wasn't very pleasant. Besides the fact hardly anyone spoke English.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

That's not good if they have that any for replacement. Either their maintenance sucks royally , a lot of wrecked buses or the fleet there is getting too old.

I know what you mean about Miami. Last time I was there it wasn't very pleasant. Besides the fact hardly anyone spoke English.

Well Miami Dade Transit is now getting NABI articulated buses to replace it's older buses and add much needed capacity for it's routes. As for the Greyhound in Miami, I can only hope the operation in South Florida is good. Of course, they're probably struggling just like everyone else in the state, since Academy Bus and Megabus are becoming threats to bus companies.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I read the complaint on the incident. Apparently the bus pulled into Titusville on a Miami-Orlando run with black oil all over the back. So it was still running after the turbo failure. The complaint came from a passenger going from Titusville to Tallahassee. The driver called for a replacement bus. The complainer decided to call his family in Tallahassee to tell them the bus had failed. The driver got pissed and told him to get off the phone. He said to wait until he finished. A confrontation must have ensued. The driver kicked him off the bus and called the police on him.

The police made the driver return his ticket. The driver of the replacement bus let him get on, but he had missed his connection. While getting off the replacement bus, the previous driver asked Security to kick him out of the station. He told Security he did nothing wrong. The Security didn't kick him out of the station, and the angry driver went home.

I don't know why the driver was so angry. Either he was pissed that the passenger had taken a picture of his broken down D4505, he was pissed that the passenger was on the phone complaining about the broken down D4505, or he was just pissed and looking for trouble.

 

[mightyjoe1201]

Sounds like a very unprofessional driver. Even if he was pissed from breaking down he still should have been nice to the passenger. If the passenger did do something wrong the driver still should have been nicer. And I know just how hard that can be, especially when it's the passenger that made you mad.

The bus will still run with a turbo failure just won't have any power. Its runs too ling it can do damage to the engine. I don't envy maintenance because not only is it a pain to replace a turbo it also is a pain to clean the mess off the back of the bus

 

[mightyjoe1201]

This was in our annual funfest parade we just had on Sunday. Have no clue why it was in. The theme for funfest was a homecoming. I had a better pic with the bus number till my phone died and I had yo replace it today. I lost some pics. It looked like a brand new vanhool

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I don't know what the passenger did; all I know is that he took a picture of the bus and was on the phone talking to family when the confrontation allegedly started.

The passengers has complained to Greyhound and asked them to fire the driver. He implies he will sue Greyhound and the driver if the driver is not fired. I'm guessing he also wants a refund.

Speaking of refunds, Greyhound refuses to refund tickets for Smelly Painful D4505 Rides. As you can tell, I'm more than a little angry at Greyhound, even if I may not have expected them to refund in the first place.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

This was in our annual funfest parade we just had on Sunday. Have no clue why it was in. The theme for funfest was a homecoming. I had a better pic with the bus number till my phone died and I had yo replace it today. I lost some pics. It looked like a brand new vanhool

Nice pic. Academy recently bought several new Van Hools for the South Florida market and other places too. I'm not sure when, but I was told soon they will be in Orlando and things get interesting from there.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

I read the complaint on the incident. Apparently the bus pulled into Titusville on a Miami-Orlando run with black oil all over the back. So it was still running after the turbo failure. The complaint came from a passenger going from Titusville to Tallahassee. The driver called for a replacement bus. The complainer decided to call his family in Tallahassee to tell them the bus had failed. The driver got pissed and told him to get off the phone. He said to wait until he finished. A confrontation must have ensued. The driver kicked him off the bus and called the police on him.

The police made the driver return his ticket. The driver of the replacement bus let him get on, but he had missed his connection. While getting off the replacement bus, the previous driver asked Security to kick him out of the station. He told Security he did nothing wrong. The Security didn't kick him out of the station, and the angry driver went home.

I don't know why the driver was so angry. Either he was pissed that the passenger had taken a picture of his broken down D4505, he was pissed that the passenger was on the phone complaining about the broken down D4505, or he was just pissed and looking for trouble.

Wow, that's some serious stuff there. All I can say is yikes.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Greyhound drivers seem increasingly indifferent or even angry at their passengers. Part of this must come from the high number of suspicious, misbehaving, and disreputable passengers. Yet the drivers also seem angry at their company and eager to leave.

Deadheading driver Rhonda asked another passengers to question me after I took pictures of disabled G4500 #7077. I has just boarded in Plainview when the bus driver declared that we were going nowhere. The bus never left Plainview. So I was bored and was taking pictures of the bus. The other passenger asked why I was taking pictures, and Rhonda seemed content with my explanation that I was just bored.

Of course, if I wasn't a bus fan, I probably wouldn't be taking pictures anyway. I didn't ask Greyhound for a refund on that one because I knew the G4500 was trouble anyway.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

This just seen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4rpibILPqk.

Greyhound driver driving #1182 on Schedule 5150 Calgary-Toronto caught texting and driving with no hands. He seems to be doing OK, but if something had suddenly happened, an accident could have ensued. That being said, he seems nicer than Al Garcia, for sure.

Also of note is that you get a few peeks of the interior. #1182 has the winged seats. It's a nice bus; I hope no one crashes it. It's trailer-capable, has the extra flashers, and sometimes operates to Whitehorse.