Greyhound seats and fleet questions

[rickycourtney]

Well those seat covers are clearly not original they would be much more faded (like the headliner is) if they were 14 years old.

It's funny in both of this blog posts the reviewer was "disappointed" with their Greyhound experience but in both cases they each had a fairly positive experience. Also the second blog post speaks to what I was saying about the importance of customer experience. I doubt he would have noticed the real age of the bus... what he did noticewas that it didn't have Wi-Fi and power outlets.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Yeah, you're right. He thought that 2006 D4505 was old, while many have thought 1998 102DL3s to be new, since they have been rebuilt. And many people also think the Blue G's are new, even though they used to be the stinking horrible White G's (The Dirty Dogs).

I'm going on a Greyhound tomorrow (to Sacramento) so I was looking for some stories. Here's another short one: http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2011/9/17/10446/3899/vegas-travel/Good+Manners+Still+Exist...+On+The+Greyhound+Bus.

Here's another interesting one, lots of pictures: http://trainsandboatsandplanesandtheoddbus.blogspot.com/2013_06_01_archive.html.

There's a DL3 he apparently rode from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. #6572. That one must have a DPF since it was also spotted by Streetcar Mike. That trip reports starts here: http://trainsandboatsandplanesandtheoddbus.blogspot.com/2013/05/route-66-part-one.html.

What I found most surprising was this picture: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NFO6_9EP67A/Ub8z9cu_wWI/AAAAAAAAF3E/ryG4Owd-Qs8/s1600/Bus+passengers+(enhance).jpg. That's inside a DL3 with enclosed parcel racks and TV monitors. And winged headrests. At the front you can make out the numbers "1039". So it must have been this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buses-international/5885958328/sizes/l.

But then he says he rode it out of Oklahoma City. A GLC coach with no wheelchair lift running deep in the US? Ah, I'm confused.

The last thing I found was this: http://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/OtUTwdemYhS7UsjRXZ44KA/348s.jpg.

That's a DL3 interior, apparently Los Angeles-Las Vegas. But the seats are not Patriot PT. They look like Patriot PT, but they're not. This is Patriot PT: https://www.flickr.com/photos/koyah7d/6794537825/sizes/l.

Patriot PT has different armrests and is more curved at the top.

Oh yeah, I was wondering if the 102" width is for the main body or does it include the mirrors, fender skirts, and rub rails as well?

 

[mightyjoe1201]

The 102" width does not include mirrors. It usually is just the main body. Rub rails and such don't really stick out enough to make a difference.

 

[rickycourtney]

If you don't mind me asking... what brings you to Sacramento? Going to visit someone or just looking for a joyride on Greyhound?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Sacramento? That's just a joyride. When I get to Las Vegas, I'll probably get some business done and meet some friends. Could've taken the new Silver State straight to Las Vegas but they are very expensive and use Van Hools. So I'm riding Silver State back.

This way I also get to ride Orange Belt Stages which is a nice little company that uses National Seating, something I'm eager to try out since I haven't sat in Nationals for years. Silver State used FAINSA and Amaya.

 

[rickycourtney]

Oh I didn't see that you were going all the way to Vegas. Have fun, but not too much fun... that's how you get into trouble in that town.

I'm aware of Orange Belt Stages, they are based out of Visalia. They always looked like they ran a good operation, but I never got a chance to ride them when I lived in that area. If I remember correctly they operate mostly E4500's.

In addition to the Las Vegas route, Orange Belt Stages also runs a route from Hanford to the Central Coast (Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo/Santa Maria), that is sold as an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach route. They also operate a shuttle route for the San Joaquin train that runs from Visalia to Hanford. As a matter of fact... at the beginning of its run, the Las Vegas bus carries Amtrak passengers from Hanford to Visalia before heading to Bakersfield and Las Vegas.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Thanks. I'll be careful in Las Vegas. I won't throw my cash away, hehe. Probably going to ride a lot of transit. I'll tell you how it goes. It's going to be interesting to ride Orange Belt, especially if they have E4500s. Their website says year 2000 which would make them 102EL3s. They have National seats which will be good to compare with Amaya-Astron.

I'm going right now. Got to catch the 2:50 PM Sked 8315 out of Reno.

Really interested to see the equipment. I expect tons of D4505s, but this time I am prepared. Got the pillow ready to sit on.

All right, GO!

 

[rickycourtney]

So are you overnighting in Sacramento? I don't see a same day routinga using Orange Belt Stages. I'm also guessing you intentionally chose the non-express schedule.

Also I don't know if you're a smartphone owner but Greyhound finally has an app for iPhone and Android. It's a lot like the BoltBus app but without mobile ticketing (at least at this point).

 

[mightyjoe1201]

Didn't know greyhound had a android app. I'll have to find it.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I am not a smartphone owner but I am borrowing one right now to post because this hotel in Las Vegas doesn't have one. A friend let me use his.

So, I rode Greyhound #86550 and #86527. Then i rode Orange Belt #256. Those two Greyhound D4505s were fine, save for the sagging seats. I sat on my jacket. They were both bit loud with the Cummins, but rode smooth.

The Orange Belt was a DL3. You know that's my favorite. But the ride was botched because the driver was a jerk. She saw me taking pics and made me delete them. I still got out with some. Remember, Orange Belt has no photography ban. So that really sucked. But I did manage to get out with some of the shot. I wold not recommend riding Orange Belt. Also, the coach had shades but some were missing. It also had a step out feature broken. Many of the National 4210A seats were also in poor condition. The restroom had a sink but the water was not working properly. No hand sanitizer. The bus was great but was obviously poorly maintained. So again, don't use OBS. Not half as good as Greyhound.

I'm in Las Vegas right now, saw DL3 #6618 yesterday and #6569 today. Both beautiful buses. Also many D4505s and some blue G's. Some white DL3s too. Ex-Americanos.

 

[rickycourtney]

That's disappointing to hear the experience on Orange Belt Stages was so lackluster.

I've never understood why bus companies including Greyhound are so paranoid about people taking photos.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'll be fair, Orange Belt's DL3 was still a DL3 and was still a great bus. Just their driver was horrible. Called me weird for taking photos of the bus. They took it too far. Even Greyhound didn't make me delete my photos and Greyhound actually has a photography ban.

Right now I'm on a old Silver State leased Van Hool going back to Reno. I want to puke. The ride is so rough, I'm having trouble keying. Driver is better but the bus is $hit. Worse than a White G. Much worse than a White G.

 

[rickycourtney]

You should send a complaint to Orange Belt Stages. I'm curious to see how they respond.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'll do that once I get back to Reno. I'm not going to be riding them again anyway.

Currently I'm still on that $hitty Van Hool rocking down US 50 towards Carson City. It's a very rough ride. Rougher than a White G. I'm done with Orange Belt and I'm done with Silver State. God help me not puke.

Oh yeah, this one'a got no wheelchair lift and it's leased by Silver State. GMAB.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

[SIZE=13.63636302948px]What model Van Hool is it? I've ridden on a Van Hool T2145 for up to a few hours (school field trip). That was the longest for me in terms of length. Shortest route by a motorcoach was this year on that C2045 from Mears, which was built in 2011 I think. [/SIZE]

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I think it was a Van Hool T2140. Oh yeah, the upper wipers were broken too. They're probably not required to be in service. The wipers were flipped up and protruded above the roof of the vehicle.

Here are some of the motorcoaches I saw on this trip:

• At Reno prior to departure, D4505 #86564, 60544, and my ride, #86550; Blue G #7137.
• At Sacramento the first day, D4505 #86514 (headed back to Reno) and my ride #86550, plus an Americanos G unknown number headed to Los Angeles.
• At Sacramento the second day, a Blue G unknown seen from my hotel room, Blue G #7269 came in from Seattle (handed off to a D4505), D4505s #86338, #86358, and #86368, my ride #86527, and Blue G #7134 headed to Portland.
• Passed another D4505 headed northbound on 99.
• We paralleled #86535 which was running San Francisco-Los Angeles express.
• At Fresno, Americanos #60542, a White D4505, and #86535.
• At Bakersfield, there was my ride #86527, the aforementioned #86535, and #86316 headed northbound. Also Orange Belt #256.
• While on Orange Belt, we passed another Greyhound D4505 pulling into Barstow right as we pulled out.
• At Las Vegas, there were a bunch of Blue G's, D4505's, White DL3's, and a Blue D4500 (#6618). There were Americanos White DL3's with lifts and Greyhound White DL3s that were charter only.
• Next day in Vegas I saw more D4505s, more Blue G's, and Blue DL3 #6569. The same White DL3s were moving around coming in and out of charters. One White Greyhound DL3 was parked at the gates.
• Third day in Vegas before leaving, I saw more of the same. Blue DL3 #6569 stayed overnight and departed for Salt Lake City in the morning.
• Back in Reno I saw Blue G #7149 and D4505s #86354 and #86535 (again!).
• Unknown D4505 pulled into Reno from San Francisco.

I rode #86535 from Glenwood to Denver a few months ago. That's when it was running Las Vegas-Denver.

Basically, you can see the D4505 Domination out here but the Blue G is very prevalent once you get to the Northwest or the Intermountain regions. Blue G seems to dominate everything north of Sacramento and is also common east of Reno/Las Vegas, though the D4505 is really mixed in with the Blue G for the latter.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I found this awkward Amtrak California J4500 with a bike rack: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pfsullivan_1056/15129467004/in/pool-1190827@N24.

Anybody know what's going on there?

Also, Greyhound just updated Street View for Atlanta and we have a Blue G, a D4505, and two DL3s: https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7483796,-84.3968721,3a,46.8y,95.55h,78.58t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sCbFtsZ21Ib-eEzx9TMbziA!2e0.

 

[rickycourtney]

That's at Emeryville station. Passengers on Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains disembark at Emeryville to catch the bus to San Francisco.

It doesn't surprise me that the bus has a bike racis, bikes are extremely popular on Capitol Corridor trains (they've had to add extra racks to the California cars). It's also not that strange to have a bike rack on a coach. The D4500s used by Sound Transit anf LADOT Commuter Express both have bumper mounted racks. Sportworks even makes a rack that goes into underfloor baggage compartment of MCI buses.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I looking inside a J4500 in Las Vegas and measured the parcel racks. They're actually only 10" tall with the doors open, no better than the D4505. Also, their windows were elevated 34" off the floor, while the D4505 and 102DL3 are both elevated at 28".

The Van Hool T2140 was 34" as well, same with the MC-12. Seems like 34" is the industry standard but the D models have 28". I'm assuming the A, B, and C models have similar elevations.

I believe the H3-45 is also around 34" (by looking at pictures of seats) but I don't know about the X3-45.

 

[rickycourtney]

Again, the parcel racks are useless for rollaboard baggage. Now we just have a measurement to back that up.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I will say though, if there hadn't been the doors opening inward, maybe a bit more luggage would fit in there. I believe the G4500 might be able to fit something a bit bigger. G4500 seems to have the absolute maximum overhead luggage capacity in buses.

I was surprised at the amount of White DL3s I saw at Las Vegas though now that I think of it, there wasn't that many and they were charter-only so I must have been seeing the same units over and over again. There were some Americanos White DL3s that had retrofitted lifts, like #60529. They seem to have the same seats as the White G's which would be FAINSA cloth velour.

Oh yeah, the MC-12 I saw was actually a pretty nice bus. It was an old 1995 and had a dead engine (6V92TA). The seats were comfortable Nationals with tons of recline. Better than the White G4500 for sure.

The Van Hool Bodylines gave me back pain and were so uncomfortable I would not call them any better than the Painful Premiers but then again, the entire vehicle had been very poorly maintained and the HVAC was broken along with the lavatory not having hand sanitizer or running water. I don't want to ride 10 hours in a non-reclining seat on a bumpy Van Hool again. As much as I hate to say this, Orange Belt was better than Silver State even though their driver was a jerk.

At this point I'm not sure if I should complain to Orange Belt because it might alert them to photography and cause them to enact an official photography ban.

 

[rickycourtney]

That's why I like the design of the enclosed overhead bins on the D and X series buses. The doors swing up and out so they don't take away from the luggage space.

You should complain. Even if you don't mention the photography rule, the bus was in terrible shape (no sink or sanitizer is unsanitary) and it sounds like the driver needs some retraining in customer service.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I think you got a bit confused. The Orange Belt DL3 had sink and no sanitizer, but the holding tank for the sink must have been very low on water because the water failed to come out until I lodged the know all the way and even then it only came out in a tiny trickle. Of course, the driver was a jerk, the seats were stained and broken, and the shades were also broken.

The Silver State had a much better driver but he wasn't exactly in the greatest mood since his Van Hool T2140 had broken HVAC, the lavatory had no sink or sanitizer, the seats were broken junk, the upper windshield wipers were bent and useless, and many of the interior lights were broken. Plus the lavatory as a whole smelled bad, had cracked and stained-brown walls, and was just in deplorable condition.

Overall, the Orange Belt was a better ride than the Silver State but the latter had a much better driver. Greyhound is better than both because Greyhound has reliable sanitizer and seats that at least work correctly. It was pathetic that the trickle of running water from the Orange Belt sink was less than the trickle of sanitizer on Greyhound.

 

[rickycourtney]

I prefer to wash my hands in a sink, so I appreciate the fact that they paid extra for that option, but it's useless if they don't keep it in working order. I think it's still worth complaining about. These companies won't improve if they don't get feedback.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

So I guess I'll just contact them by e-mail? All right, let's see what happens even though the weekend is coming up. I have just sent the e-mails to the respective companies.

I was told some companies don't like the enclosed parcel racks because passengers on long rides sometimes leave things in there and then get mad at the company and demand reimbursement.

MCI seems to have really hit a chord when they unveiled the 96A3 in Salt Lake City back in February 1984. That was the first MCI model to have the enclosed parcel racks swinging up and it also had the new oversized windows. GLI had 72 96A3s, #1300-1371, before switching to the 102A3 of which they purchased 925. To this day I think the 96A3 has been one of the most obscure and forgotten buses even though it was "the thing of the time": http://www.busdrawings.com/coach/greyhoundus/96a3/gli1339.jpg.

Prevost's original enclosed racks were apparently simply the old open racks with the doors added.