Bus Observations 2023

[743]

Many of the ex Forest school routes are three digit numbers in what would appear to be the "normal" route number range - not just for Pittwater HS, but across their region. There are numbers directly shared with regular passenger routes, such as the 114 - https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /114/37114 - although I'm not sure whether any route numbers double up on the same roadway.

Forest seemed to escape any school route renumbering (either to four digit routes, an S prefix or a suffix as applied to ex Sydney Buses routes). Another example is Keolis Downer Hunter, which retains the ex Newcastle Buses route numbers between 500 and 870 with no prefix or suffix. Notably, some previous regular routes were converted to school routes with a new but similar number, when the STA network was replaced with the KDH one in January 2018 - one being a Route 322 trip that now runs as a 522 - https://transportnsw.info/routes/detail ... /522/73522

[robert]

For many years (at least since 2006), morning school trips at Forest have been 3-digit numbers starting with 1 and afternoon school trips starting with 2. That continues today.

[iamthouth]

There are other "school buses" that also operate in school vacation, as they are for disability services, 4000 being one such in region 1.
https://transportnsw.info/documents/tim ... 231220.pdf

137 I think is listed as a public service, but of the same kind, it was for House with no Steps.
https://transportnsw.info/documents/tim ... 231009.pdf

[Campbelltown busboy]

There are other "school buses" that also operate in school vacation, as they are for disability services, 4000 being one such in region 1.
https://transportnsw.info/documents/tim ... 231220.pdf

That bus won't be a thing for long as Afford are trying to find a more transport friendly site for a western Sydney factory that's what I heard when some of the big bosses from Afford head office came over to the Prestons site which is where I current work to talk about wholesale changes that are coming to the company which includes the Minchinbury site replacement and the closure of the Marickville and Prestons sites

[Merc1107]

Overlooked responding earlier, it seems...

What really intrigues me - if the B7RLE is rated for 290hp, why is it that basically every operator selected the 320hp version of the B8RLE over the 290hp version? (not to mention the 330hp B8RLEs for the STA). One would think that an operator would choose the more economical engine provided it does the job.

I would hypothesise that the experience with the B7's notorious turbo lag prompted the choice of a higher-output engine in its replacement, even though the B8 should deliver almost all of its power and torque right from the word go and therefore run rings around a B7. A B7 is a competent performer, but only once the engine builds enough revs to spool up the turbo; in a hilly environment with frequent stops, they'd be a nightmare, especially those equipped with a Voith (and I say that as someone who likes buses with Voiths, and find the Voith B7 a more tolerable vehicle than other late-model Volvos with a ZF EcoLife).

And if a bus is caught speeding or running a red light, what becomes of the driver? I haven't ever seen or heard of a bus being pulled over by cops mid-service.

A driver that passes a speed trap will be summoned by management (who will have probably reviewed the CCTV), to relay the infringement to the driver, who can then organise payment. They may also face internal disciplinary procedures.

[PG1]

Bus running red lights!

At the 12:37 mark of this youtube video you can see a NSW Police car pull over a 477 for running a red light. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO4sToHp0sQ