Transdev Melbourne news August - December 2015

[jamesadams7]

It's been a memorable week commuting on Transdev so far.. .. my complaint to Transdev
"The breakdown due overheating of bus 919 this evening caps off a memorable week of commuting.

The poor maintenance of Transdev's fleet has really hit all new lows this year. I had a memorable week on a similar vein to yours earlier this year when I encountered 3 broken down buses and one in-service with a smashed windscreen.

In the end, commuters lose.

[X'Trapolis-1M]

And they want the train system too!

[scott]

And they want the train system too!

If that happens, we will all be stuffed!!!!!

I observed one of the Designline MANS sounding like a lawn mower, and one of the Scania smartbuses (one of the 89xx series that started life with Invicta) has a shocking noise coming possibly from the aircon.

They never were anywhere near that bad under the previous operators, sure there were the odd problem or two, which seemed to be addressed fairly promptly.

[krustyklo]

If compliance is an issue, I'd be interested to see what the contract says about running buses of particular liveries on routes designated as those type of bus. I see more non-Smartbus liveried buses on the 907 (eg, 622 tonight) at the same time as seeing Smartbus liveried buses on non-Smartbus routes (such as the Scania I saw tonight on the 279 - 947 I think it was).

I can relate to the drivers valiantly trying to keep overheating buses going - a 902 I was on a few weeks ago on the 902 had that issue from Greensborough to Williamsons Rd just south of Serpells Rd where the driver kicked us off as the bus was overheating too much. After playing with something in the engine compartment for 5 minutes, he let us back on claiming he had disabled the heater and we could struggle on. I was glad to get to work that day.

Something is going very wrong on the Transdev network - I never had these sorts of experiences under Ventura / National Bus. I considered I may have just been lucky, but the more I hear here and elsewhere I doubt it.

[nonscenic]

It's been a memorable week commuting on Transdev so far.. .. my complaint to Transdev
"The breakdown due overheating of bus 919 this evening caps off a memorable week of commuting.

The poor maintenance of Transdev's fleet has really hit all new lows this year. I had a memorable week on a similar vein to yours earlier this year when I encountered 3 broken down buses and one in-service with a smashed windscreen.

In the end, commuters lose.

And just for the record, to cap off my week of commuting nightmares, the 5.31pm 281 service (at least operated by a rather clean bus 757) from Box Hill was 15 minutes late this evening

[scott]

Another one tonight, A Volvo Smartbus on the 901 had a non working aircon. Asked the driver and he said he booked it up, but no other buses available, so just drive on.

[V981]

Does anybody know what kind of bus replacement program might be in place for the Orbital routes in particular? It would seem at this stage, Transdev has really only ordered a very small quantity of Gemilangs presumably for other routes based out of Fitzroy or Doncaster, but as for the orbitals, one assumes some of those Volvos, Scanias and Mercs inherited from Ventura would have a few miles run up on them now, not to mention the very tired looking 0405NH vehicles.

[scott]

The 0405NH's date back to 1997/98, so they should be coming up for replacement fairly soon.

[philm]

Won't add too much to the rapidly increasing list of bad experiences recently, but suffice to say that three or even four buses bunched up in the space of 5 minutes on a semi-regular basis in non-peak times is not something that should be tolerated by any reasonable contract.

Does anybody know what kind of bus replacement program might be in place for the Orbital routes in particular? It would seem at this stage, Transdev has really only ordered a very small quantity of Gemilangs presumably for other routes based out of Fitzroy or Doncaster, but as for the orbitals, one assumes some of those Volvos, Scanias and Mercs inherited from Ventura would have a few miles run up on them now, not to mention the very tired looking 0405NH vehicles.

Transdev claimed in October 2013 that all of the Mark IIs would be replaced by March 2014: https://twitter.com/Transdev_Melb/statu ... 5670310912 Something that clearly hasn't happened.

[Peter1805]

Does anybody know what kind of bus replacement program might be in place for the Orbital routes in particular? It would seem at this stage, Transdev has really only ordered a very small quantity of Gemilangs presumably for other routes based out of Fitzroy or Doncaster, but as for the orbitals, one assumes some of those Volvos, Scanias and Mercs inherited from Ventura would have a few miles run up on them now, not to mention the very tired looking 0405NH vehicles.

Apart from the shoddy old O405's, which were shoddy and old 5 years ago, the main problem with the current fleet (aside from the fact that a lot of the MANs are really not up to being used on major orbital routes) seems to be poor maintenance. The Volvos, Scanias and Mercs are good buses in themselves, but are not being kept properly maintained, mechanically.

Also, general presentation seems to have taken a hit. A lot of the orbital fleet are constantly filthy, inside and out, and scrapes and bumps on bodywork seem to take months to be repaired, if at all, from my observations.

It's no wonder driver turnover and morale seem to be such issues.

[bangroad]

I often see the "Engine" warning light lit up on the dash. Drivers don't seem concerned.

Lately I am hearing a number of buses that product a thwack-twack sound at idle. Doesn't sound too healthy.

[krustyklo]

Lately I am hearing a number of buses that product a thwack-twack sound at idle. Doesn't sound too healthy.

Would that be the Volvos used on Smartbus routes? I get the odd one that sounds like a lawnmower when the bus is accelerating from a stop.

[V981]

Does anybody know what kind of bus replacement program might be in place for the Orbital routes in particular? It would seem at this stage, Transdev has really only ordered a very small quantity of Gemilangs presumably for other routes based out of Fitzroy or Doncaster, but as for the orbitals, one assumes some of those Volvos, Scanias and Mercs inherited from Ventura would have a few miles run up on them now, not to mention the very tired looking 0405NH vehicles.

Apart from the shoddy old O405's, which were shoddy and old 5 years ago, the main problem with the current fleet (aside from the fact that a lot of the MANs are really not up to being used on major orbital routes) seems to be poor maintenance. The Volvos, Scanias and Mercs are good buses in themselves, but are not being kept properly maintained, mechanically.

Also, general presentation seems to have taken a hit. A lot of the orbital fleet are constantly filthy, inside and out, and scrapes and bumps on bodywork seem to take months to be repaired, if at all, from my observations.

It's no wonder driver turnover and morale seem to be such issues.

I agree with much of what you have just said there. When you consider that by comparison, rival companies such as Ventura and CDC seem to have a constant bus replacement program in place in which X number of vehicles are changed over per year, there doesn't seem to be too much going on in this regard with Transdev, which of course, has quite a large fleet. And as you say, many of the buses which arent all that old, are looking pretty filthy and shoddy.

Part of the issue seems to also be that there is no "graffiti removal" process in place it would seem. Even Ventura are now implementing a graffiti removal plan involving interior paints to help restore the appearance and cleanliness of its vehicles.

[Comeng64]

Spotted the Designline Hybrid (Ex. Ventura #200) today hiding behind the tram shed at North Fitzroy depot.
Still in the Ventura livery and looks like it won't see another day on the road (With Transdev at least).

[josh01]

What is actually wrong with 200???? If transdev not going to use it why don't they return it to Ventura
At least they would make good use off it

[Alstom 888M]

Battery depletes faster than the tiny diesel engine can charge it, so it's got a very limited range and is therefore useless. I think they tried putting on the 279 out of Doncaster when Transdev first took over.

It also has no Myki equipment on board (it does have Metcard still).

[Desto Dave]

Just confirming Alstom, does 200 still have a Metcard ticket issuing machine and green validator??

[BluDART]

Having come across more Gemilang's these days and the approaching summer, the aircon within the Gemilang's feels rather inadequate compared to the rest of the fleet with the lack of air vents not dispersing the air effectively. Even a CB30 has better airflow in the lower section.

Bus 748 has been refurbed along with a bunch of CB30's.

In regards to recent breakdowns, one driver I had the other day responded to a customer query as to where the 906 was, with his response being 'probably broke down, lots of buses broke down lately'.

Hmm I wonder if bus 937's front flip-dot desto came from bus 200.

With Transdev continuously not operating smartbus vehicles on DART services, could it be implied that in accordance with their contract they are failing to provide the service advertised(branding) of 'Smartbus' being bus services equipped with onboard PID's and announcements.

Also of recent few weeks, I've noted a few smartbus totem pole stops along Doncaster Rd announce and display route 902 terminating at Melb. Airport, could they be encouraging their new orbital routes by stealth?

[V981]

What is actually wrong with 200???? If transdev not going to use it why don't they return it to Ventura
At least they would make good use off it

There is every chance Transdev offered it to Ventura and Ventura said "No, you keep it. We insist. Consider it a gift from us to you.".

[V981]

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

I would argue that when an operator is still running buses in service with broken windows and glass all over the floor, this is well beyond a "frustration" and is indeed a serious safety issue, and therefore worthy of being publicized on a public forum for discussion.

As was discovered by a 5 Star Hotel operator who took a customer/TripAdvisor reviewer to court for defamation, bad reviews are well justified if the review is cemented in fact and is written accurately. The message is, if your hotel is getting bad reviews from its customers, the best way to fix that is to pull your socks up.

Perhaps Transdev needs to take some of these comments on board and carry out some positive action to rectify the issue.

[BroadGauge]

I would argue that when an operator is still running buses in service with broken windows and glass all over the floor, this is well beyond a "frustration" and is indeed a serious safety issue, and therefore worthy of being publicized on a public forum for discussion.

As was discovered by a 5 Star Hotel operator who took a customer/TripAdvisor reviewer to court for defamation, bad reviews are well justified if the review is cemented in fact and is written accurately. The message is, if your hotel is getting bad reviews from its customers, the best way to fix that is to pull your socks up.

If there is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed, it's not going to be resolved by posting about it on a bus spotters internet forum. This is for the same reason as to why Victoria Police tell people to report crime by calling 000 or their local Police station, instead of posting about it on their Facebook page.

I'm surprised that the CEO/director/owner of a major consultancy firm to international companies like yourself would be putting your reputation on the line by openly posting negative comments about another company in the industry.

[Alstom 888M]

Just confirming Alstom, does 200 still have a Metcard ticket issuing machine and green validator??

Last I saw it did but that was about six months ago.

[V981]

I'm surprised that the CEO/director/owner of a major consultancy firm to international companies like yourself would be putting your reputation on the line by openly posting negative comments about another company in the industry.

You shouldn't be surprised. I have a well known reputation for avoiding the need to fluff around the edges. I am a strong believer in telling it how it is, even if its not ideally what people want to hear. That said, my company has no direct involvement in the bus industry, so therefore my comments here are merely as an individual and not as a company representative with a vested interest.

[V981]

I'm surprised that the CEO/director/owner of a major consultancy firm to international companies like yourself would be putting your reputation on the line by openly posting negative comments about another company in the industry.

On a further note, I am not entirely sure I would consider my company as being "major". But I thank you for the compliment.

[jamesadams7]

If there is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed, it's not going to be resolved by posting about it on a bus spotters internet forum. This is for the same reason as to why Victoria Police tell people to report crime by calling 000 or their local Police station, instead of posting about it on their Facebook page.

I highly doubt the issue will be resolved by reporting to Transdev either