PTA / Transperth & Private Observations - 2018

[Squiddy]

Saw quite a lot of driver training going on today, seeing drivers training for all three operators. 100 and 1867 back to back at Curtin for PATH, 1669 in the city for Swan, and the artic 3093 for Transdev.

Im other news Transdev's last artic 3099 is at Palmyra and has been for three or four weeks now (This may be old news to some but I only saw it for the first time today)

[Bus-1809]

The vehicle you saw with 1097 on it, is actually 1052. Has 1097's front panel on it.

[Pinza]

The vehicle you saw with 1097 on it, is actually 1052. Has 1097's front panel on it.

Ah ok thanks for that, either way it looked very ‘preserved’.
There were several parked up in Baldivis earlier in the year presumably by the same owner including 1048, 1052, 1092, 1097 and 1104. There may have been one or two others as well at some point but they were all missing apart from 1048 last time I looked a few weeks ago. I’ll have another look tomorrow.

[Bus-1809]

Most of them have been moved, but the reasons for which are not for discussion on this forum. I can however state they are safe and being looked after

[Squiddy]

2694 delivered to joondalup

[ozi_mister_d]

Hi all

Sorry for late post; had the opportunity to go to Fremantle for lunch on Sunday 17 June, and used Rail Replacement service 906.
These are the fleet numbers I saw (in order of appearance) on the journey down and back to city:

3037 (the chariot to Fremantle), 3082, 1468, 2570, 3021, 2484, 3049, 3023, 2025 (I think), 1617, 2588, 3020, 3019, 3076
2095 (the beast back to city), 3064, 2349, 3014, 2479, 3034, 3046, 1679, 2574, 2039 (I think), 3009, 3079, 2480, 3052, 2573, 2572

I don't think I have duplicated any, but apologies if I have.

[Merc1107]

Was out there on Saturday; artics (B8s and B12s) from Karrinyup, Midvale, Beckenham and possibly Canning Vale sighted. Plus OCs from Southern River at one point. Mostly concentrated on photographing some vehicles in action rather than riding about.

Unfortunately, inbound trips were held up quite noticeably due to an event at Perth Arena later in the day.

[Shoudy Chen]

2695, 2696 also delivered. After the 26xx series have been delivered, I think that Transdev will pick up the 29xx series.

[Squiddy]

That makes sense given that Swan went to 2800s. Still not sure what'll happen after PATH gets 2799 though. Given that 3102 will be the last volvo artic maybe it'll be 3103+ but I think it'll be 3200 to allow for more 3100-series artics in the future

[Off The Rails]

1648 sighted back in service after refurbishment.

Cheers!

[Bus Suggestions]

That makes sense given that Swan went to 2800s. Still not sure what'll happen after PATH gets 2799 though. Given that 3102 will be the last volvo artic maybe it'll be 3103+ but I think it'll be 3200 to allow for more 3100-series artics in the future

There is a possibility they'll head for the TP01xx series starting from TP0123. Then maybe they'll head as follows:
TP01XX, TP04XX, TP07XX, - PATH
TP02XX, TP05XX, TP08XX - Swan
TP03XX, TP06XX, TP09XX - Transdev
UQB 8XX - Regionals
By then, it will be time for full-scale withdrawals of the first OCs.

[Bus-1809]

I reckon Bus Suggestions might be on the money here. There's been talk of recycling 3 digit numbers before & it makes sense to.

If anything, I reckon PATH may get TP-0200-0299 for their last B7's

[TP1462]

1649-1651 are refurbished haven’t seen 1652 or later back yet, 1653-1655 & 1435 should be in refurb now


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[Leyland B21]

Remember for those old enough. 3 digit numbers were commonly recycled prior to 1995. The 1 off scania #25 was originally #10. The #800 series renault artics were renumbered 748 to 75? The #300 series panthers were moved to #800 series and so on

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[busdriver12]

By then, it will be time for full-scale withdrawals of the first OCs.

I think that time is a way off yet. There's been a fair amount of expenditure put into refurbishing various sections of the gas infrastructure over recent years which suggests it'll be the early to mid 2020's before this is considered.

[Squiddy]

By then, it will be time for full-scale withdrawals of the first OCs.

I think that time is a way off yet. There's been a fair amount of expenditure put into refurbishing various sections of the gas infrastructure over recent years which suggests it'll be the early to mid 2020's before this is considered.

Not likely imo. The CNG buses have an operational lifespan of 16 years because of the gas tank so the O405 CNGs should be gone in the next 12 months (a lot of them are already gone), with the older OC500s being progressively retired from early 2020 onwards. Though they were being delivered up until 2010 so there should still be some kicking around until the mid-2020s at least

[Merc1107]

I think that time is a way off yet. There's been a fair amount of expenditure put into refurbishing various sections of the gas infrastructure over recent years which suggests it'll be the early to mid 2020's before this is considered.

That certainly doesn't surprise me; it would also make some sense to continue with gas buses as part of the fleet given the infrastructure already exists and because gas is an alternative fuel that is produced locally.

The CNG buses have an operational lifespan of 16 years because of the gas tank so the O405 CNGs should be gone in the next 12 months (a lot of them are already gone), with the older OC500s being progressively retired from early 2020 onwards.

I've heard too many different figures for the "CNG Tank Life Expectancy" bandied about now, coupled with other observations on the fleet to believe anything at this stage. Remember the age of the bus' chassis is not indicative of the age of the CNG tanks, they may well be several months older than the vehicle.

[Squiddy]

The CNG buses have an operational lifespan of 16 years because of the gas tank so the O405 CNGs should be gone in the next 12 months (a lot of them are already gone), with the older OC500s being progressively retired from early 2020 onwards.

I've heard too many different figures for the "CNG Tank Life Expectancy" bandied about now, coupled with other observations on the fleet to believe anything at this stage. Remember the age of the bus' chassis is not indicative of the age of the CNG tanks, they may well be several months older than the vehicle.

Fair point, I got my figure from the Auditor-general's report last year. It seems reasonable enough but I guess anything can happen between now and then

[Merc1107]

Fair point, I got my figure from the Auditor-general's report last year.

The figure is probably reasonably accurate. My point was more along the lines of "I'll believe they're withdrawn when I see it"

[Squiddy]

That's fair =P

1323 seen back in service on emergency rail replacement duties just now, will update if I see any other unusual buses out today

Update: spent half an hour or so at Stirling, nothing too unusual, just a mix of Karrinyup/Beenyup/Shenton Park and Malaga buses. The only other notable bus was 1682 which was pretty far from home I must say

[Bus-1809]

The Scania BR112H was originally 25, but got renumbered to 14 to make way for the B21's.

TP1462: I think you'll find that only up to 1655 will be refurbed for now. 1435-1439 and 2013-2018 will most likely be done when the rest of the corresponding batch is done.

[Merc1107]

1715 & 1716 noted on Alexander Drive services this evening. Also saw 1721 but I think that one is still in service.

[Leyland B21]

The Scania BR112H was originally 25, but got renumbered to 14 to make way for the B21's.

TP1462: I think you'll find that only up to 1655 will be refurbed for now. 1435-1439 and 2013-2018 will most likely be done when the rest of the corresponding batch is done.

Correct. My mistake there

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[Pinza]

1520 noted at the back of Canning Vale. There also seems to be a few gaps in the line up of early numbered 13xx and 15xx noted on an earlier posting when I passed today, so a few have been moved on or maybe temporary returned to service. I'll check the numbers Monday.

[Pinza]

Few interesting buses at the city busports this morning.
1718 on a 362 was probably the most noteworthy.
NHs also out and about include. 1531 on 28, 1532 on 25, 1340 on 950.
1860,1547,1792,1777,1793, 1814 and 1819.

Can someone (briefly) explain to me what is involved to convert a CNG bus to normal bus configuration (if at all possible).
Is it just a conversion or a re-engine or is it possible to replace the CNG tank?
From earlier posts it would seem that transperth will have a heap of CNG buses for sale within the next 10 years and it seems a bit of a waste scrapping just because the CNG tank has expired.