Transdev Melbourne news August - December 2015

man mk1 · Post by **man mk1** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:20 am

transdev bus 506 is refubished seen it this morning

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:32 pm

Overdue for a new thread for the second half of 2015.

First piece of news for August - the new interchange at Chadstone opens this Wednesday, further discussion and bay maps here - http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... 21&t=80946

Kind Regards

Craig

jamesadams7 · Post by **jamesadams7** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 8:21 pm

Transdev maintenance is reaching all new lows. 3 days of 3 Transdev disasters for me. On Monday evening, #598 Designline was operating an outbound Route 200 with a smashed front window pane beside the door, and glass spread across the doorway. On Tuesday, an outbound service broke down in front of Coles North Balwyn in the evening, causing quite a bit of congestion up High St and Kilby Rd. And finally, this morning my inbound Route 207 (bus #996) broke down at North Balwyn Shopping Centre. Have reported to Transport Safety Victoria.

: CLeAazGUEAAvU2O.jpg (34.47 KiB) Viewed 10069 times

scott · Post by **scott** » Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:11 am

I had a Designline on Monday night that had a faulty light above the driver, he said he drove the same bus a month ago, and still not fixed.

Surely changing over a flourescent light tube,starter or ballast is not a hard task and these parts are fairly inexpensive.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:33 pm

New timetables from August 23 have now been published for the re-routing of Eastern Fwy buses via Spring St (along with the completion of the new Victoria Pde bus lane and associated stop relocations).

Discussion on the Victoria Pde works - http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... 1&p=958959

Discussion on the timetable changes - http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... 21&t=81046

Kind Regards

Craig

msheldrick · Post by **msheldrick** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 3:32 pm

I was onboard 721 about 2 weeks ago where the desto glass had exploded on Blackburn Road outbound on a 906, where it continued to Warrandyte and was finally changed over at the Eastern Freeway inbound stop, dropping glass all the way.

Post by **Mercedes** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 6:54 pm

All,
I understand the frustrations and feelings members have towards Transdev. However posting of accidents and broken windows is not really suitable for these forums. Obviously persons in possession of such images and info can pass them onto the relavant parties that need to know eg Transdev, PTV and so on.

Regards

Buzztop · Post by **Buzztop** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 9:54 pm

Isn't it an observation?

Buzztop · Post by **Buzztop** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 9:55 pm

I would argue that it's a valid observation Mercedes. Wether it's a missed trip, broken down bus, driver behaviour etc, etc.

Post by **Mercedes** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:54 pm

Buzztop wrote:I would argue that it's a valid observation Mercedes. Wether it's a missed trip, broken down bus, driver behaviour etc, etc.

Yes but what other thread is constant bashing and accident photos permitted? The constant word bashing of transdev and put downs on a public forum where many companies frequent does nothing for the enthusiast movement. The wider gunzel community is certainly focused on on Transdev but it has gone to far now.

Regards

Paul_Nicholson · Post by **Paul_Nicholson** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:16 am

Many years ago in the bus enthusiast movement it was only permissible to say positive things about private bus operators in Victoria. Admittedly, most of the private operators at that time were locally owned companies rather than international conglomerates. Perhaps it's time to go back to that line of thinking?

Recently, I rode on a spotless Transdev bus in Perth. Transdev buses are common throughout Europe and most of the ones I saw appeared to be in good condition.

I wonder if there are two factors at work in Melbourne:

(1) Melbourne seems to have a higher than average acceptance of vandalism and wanton damage to public property especially transport vehicles and infrastructure. Transdev being a big operator across much of Melbourne would surely be a primt target?

(2) Perhaps the levels of personal hygiene are lower in Melbourne than other cities? There is also the question of eating on public transport. The products consumed often leave lingering odours. And passengers are prone to leave wrapping and packing behind. I am a regular user of suburban bus services. Many passengers could be described as "grubby" at best. I have also seen evidence (thankfully only evidence but unpleasant just the same) of both urination and defecation on buses.

Drivers have a hard job maintaining schedules in heavy traffic. It's clearly not appropriate for them to intervene in issues of passenger behaviour or presentation.

Paul in Melbourne

miclementson · Post by **miclementson** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:29 am

In fairness, the observations about Transdev have rarely been about the Drivers. One suspects the contributors only reflect the general feeling that Transdev are not as well received by users as the previous operator. Perhaps the fault lies with the PTV and those who awarded a contract to a Company that has so far purchased less than ten buses in almost two years; who were no doubt the lowest tender, and thus seek every effort to cut costs even to the harm of service. The lack of oversight by PTV may be a surprise, but then it is not a good outcome if you constantly find fault with an Operator you had selected.

In the end, the real problem lies with our Elected State Governments, who seem unable or unwilling to take control of the PTV.

Buzztop · Post by **Buzztop** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 10:21 pm

Fair enough. Point taken.

Buzztop · Post by **Buzztop** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 10:23 pm

miclementson wrote:In fairness, the observations about Transdev have rarely been about the Drivers. One suspects the contributors only reflect the general feeling that Transdev are not as well received by users as the previous operator. Perhaps the fault lies with the PTV and those who awarded a contract to a Company that has so far purchased less than ten buses in almost two years; who were no doubt the lowest tender, and thus seek every effort to cut costs even to the harm of service. The lack of oversight by PTV may be a surprise, but then it is not a good outcome if you constantly find fault with an Operator you had selected.

In the end, the real problem lies with our Elected State Governments, who seem unable or unwilling to take control of the PTV.

Yes I agree.

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:10 pm

#8624 (Volvo B7RLE, Volgren) was spotted on Riversdale Rd, Wattle Park tonight around 19:40 being attached to a tow-truck.

Kind Regards

Craig

X'Trapolis-1M · Post by **X'Trapolis-1M** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:13 pm

Saw a smartbus down racecorse rd this morning.

Post by **MAN 16.242** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 10:22 am

Racecourse Road is used for bus in/bus outs to/from Footscray Depot

krustyklo · Post by **krustyklo** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 10:20 pm

Many years ago in the bus enthusiast movement it was only permissible to say positive things about private bus operators in Victoria. Admittedly, most of the private operators at that time were locally owned companies rather than international conglomerates. Perhaps it's time to go back to that line of thinking?

No, I don't think so. This isn't Communist China!

TBH, I see no reason why observations cannot be posted, as long as they are factual. Any interpretation of 'positive' or 'negative' comes down to the subjective opinion of the reader anyway. A bus in an accident is a factual observation. Subjective comments about poor maintenance or driver fault are probably the real problem here, and I agree probably should be avoided (having been guilty of same I'm sure), especially in the case of an incident which may have legal ramifications such as a road vehicle accident.

Melbourne seems to have a higher than average acceptance of vandalism and wanton damage to public property especially transport vehicles and infrastructure. Transdev being a big operator across much of Melbourne would surely be a prime target?

The previous operator operated most of the routes that are usually commented on under the same challenging conditions. As I've commented on before, I suspect comparisons are a little rose coloured due to the previous operator being a locally owned company generally seen positively on this board, compared to Transdev being seen as an interloper. I would also stand by previous observations that in some areas, Transdev are not up to the standard of the previous operator. Malfunctioning bus doors on both old and new vehicles is an obvious example I see sadly regularly nowadays, whereas I only rarely saw it on Mk IIs under Ventura. However, Ventura weren't perfect either - I'd be interested to know who was responsible in that organisation during their running of Smartbuses for monitoring timekeeping as early running was an issue that never seemed to be dealt with.

I have also seen evidence (thankfully only evidence but unpleasant just the same) of both urination and defecation on buses.

Sadly I was directly affected by one such grub one night on the way home in the afternoon peak where a bus was terminated at Eltham due to some grub defecating on the back seat of the bus. I certainly don't hold that against the operator, they did the right thing removing the bus from service for cleaning. I don't think Transdev are being criticised for these sorts of things on this forum.

Recently, I rode on a spotless Transdev bus in Perth. Transdev buses are common throughout Europe and most of the ones I saw appeared to be in good condition.

Like many things, I suspect it comes down to local management, and a cheap bid. The most direct comparison I am familiar with in transport deregulation is the UK, where National Express is a good example of, in this case, a rail operator whose performance ranged from well regarded to rubbish depending on the franchise, a factor put down by locals to devolution of decision making to local management who ranged from good to not so good. Their bus services have also received a similar variety of comments.

In the case of Transdev, I suspect that in some parts of the organisation local management are free to make most of the decisions and do a good job, eg, as in your example of Perth. Whilst I have no great issue with my use of Transdev Melbourne services overall, excluding factors that are obviously outside the organisation's control, I would hardly say the new operator has impressed me given the absence of improvement in the service provided and the things that have gone downhill, as well as their less than stellar greenfields plan. When passengers notice these things (as opposed to just negative word of mouth stuff from employees and industry gossip), then the least of Transdev' problems is what gunzels on a forum think...

As a comparison, CDC are an overseas organisation running significant swathes of local services without the same level of discussion on this forum. It could be that everybody on this forum lives in the east and nobody uses CDC western suburbs and regional services, but the more likely explanation is that no news suggests users have nothing negative to say.

jamesadams7 · Post by **jamesadams7** » Sat Aug 15, 2015 11:22 pm

I'll admit that my opinion against Transdev, as a daily user, is negatively biased and my post above did attempt to paint them in a negative light. But I'd argue that fair, factual posts about accidents/incidents of note are acceptable. Regarding the photo I posted above about the smashed window, Transdev advised me that the incident occurred near the start of the service and they decided to continue it to the terminus before removing the bus. In fairness, a bus with a smashed window is better than no bus at all, so I can't bash Transdev too much for that one, even if it was careless.

I travel on buses all around Melbourne, not owning a car, particularly the Sita and CDC networks in addition to Transdev. In comparison, I never (ever) see graffiti on their buses and the services seem to perform fairly well, although you could argue the routes are less challenging on the whole than Transdev's.

BroadGauge · Post by **BroadGauge** » Sun Aug 16, 2015 11:48 am

krustyklo wrote:It could be that everybody on this forum lives in the east and nobody uses CDC western suburbs and regional services, but the more likely explanation is that no news suggests users have nothing negative to say.

Could be a bit of both. On this board it's always been the case that every tiny thing that happens in Oakleigh will get reported on, but someone could start a whole new operator in the west and nobody would notice

BluDART · Post by **BluDART** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 6:24 pm

Got bus 106 Scania/Gemilang (the third one I've travelled on) the other day on the 907 City bound, seems like everyone tries to avoid the seats up the back facing the aisle, other than that a very orange interior, quite squeeky around the back door and unless the bus is being used on the 200/207 routes during peak hour the 25 grab handles are pretty useless (average bus has a dozen).

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:16 pm

Sorry for the double post, but the much anticipated changes to Transdev routes due to commence on Sunday, including the routing of Eastern Freeway routes via Spring St & updated runtimes, plus adjustments to afternoon services past schools on Routes 282, 364 & 380 have now been deferred until September 20.

Refer to discussion elsewhere on ATDB:
Upgrading of DART routes - http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... 16#p959816
Transdev minor changes 23/08/15 - http://www.busaustralia.com/forum/viewt ... 21&t=81046

Kind Regards

Craig

Alstom 888M · Post by **Alstom 888M** » Wed Aug 26, 2015 3:49 pm

#277 (MAN SL200 / Ansair MET MkII) has been decommissioned from service and transferred to Footscray for use as a training bus. Myki equipment has been removed from this vehicle.

#901-905 (Scania L94UB / Custom Coaches CB60) have been transferred from Doncaster to North Fitzroy. As far as I know none of the ex-MBL stock (#367-373) has been returned to their native side of the network. However now that the OCC is online (with mixed results at best to be honest) the radio issue with ex-MBL stock running out of North Fitzroy is no longer applicable. There is little reason why any bus cannot now run on any route.

Post by **MAN 16.242** » Thu Aug 27, 2015 2:39 am

Alstom 888M wrote: As far as I know none of the ex-MBL stock (#367-373) has been returned to their native side of the network.

That's correct. Which results in daily fleet shortages from the depots they were from.

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » Sat Aug 29, 2015 6:37 pm

Bit of a quirk I've noticed but I've noticed a few of Transdev's CB80s have hazard flashers that flash out of sync. The left indicator will flash faster than the right.

Are the CB80s ex-stock that was destined for NSW, where the school flashers operate on the front indicator setup? Would that be why they flash like that?

Thanks,
Mitchul