2023 SA Transport observations

[Lt. Commander Data]

Five minutes extra on the PM 852L, and a few minor changes to departure times to some PM 866/865 services. There is a new 838/839 timetable too, but can’t seem to find any differences to the current one.

[743]

There is a new 838/839 timetable too, but can’t seem to find any differences to the current one.

Timing point change - current timetable shows Bald Hills Road 71, new one has Bald Hills Road 72 (although the times themselves in this column do appear to be the same).

[hillsbus]

Many routes have timetable updates from Monday: https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/servic ... 1-may-2023

Mainly seems to be removing trips from the timetable that haven’t been run anyway. I do notice 2 new round 835 trips between Mt Barker and Lobethal in the middle of the day though.

Interesting...you'd think they use the bus kilometres for weekend services instead of extra interpeak services.

Also noticed some 560 daytime services have had time changes of 5 minutes or so. 557 evening services to TTP now 10 minutes earlier. A substantial change with a few days notification!

[Eurostar]

Mainly seems to be removing trips from the timetable that haven’t been run anyway. I do notice 2 new round 835 trips between Mt Barker and Lobethal in the middle of the day though.

Interesting...you'd think they use the bus kilometres for weekend services instead of extra interpeak services.

Also noticed some 560 daytime services have had time changes of 5 minutes or so. 557 evening services to TTP now 10 minutes earlier. A substantial change with a few days notification!

The 224 & 560 from Salisbury Station will go to Elizabeth via Park Terrace then Wiltshire Street.

[Lt. Commander Data]

Timing point change - current timetable shows Bald Hills Road 71, new one has Bald Hills Road 72 (although the times themselves in this column do appear to be the same).

Oh! Hallelujah for that! 72 has a proper stop and shelter, with an area to pull off the road, whereas 71 is a standard pole on a road verge and nothing else, and in an 80 zone. 72 much better utilised too, so a good change.

Interesting...you'd think they use the bus kilometres for weekend services instead of extra interpeak services.

Maybe that will come after the
Mt Barker and Adelaide Hills Transport Study is completed. This change at least gives Lobethal an hourly service from 9am-1pm, with only one 2-hour gap left.

[BusFan23]

TT K360UA BusTech VST-A 1193 is in service this morning.

[The Phonj]

New City Connector wraps noted on buses 1901 and 1925 today.

[Columbo]

Details of the new 230/232 routes were letterboxed to local residents today.
From the City;
230 - Torrens Rd - Days Road - Regency Rd (as originally indicated)
232 - Torrens Rd - Harrison Rd - Pym St - Oldsmobile Tce - Stacey St - Pedder Cres - Regency Rd
Expected start date is July 24th - 1st Day of 3rd School term.

[Lieselta]

Does anyone know which CB80 was involved in this MVA? https://www.reddit.com/r/Adelaide/comme ... t_he_does/

[otto5013]

Sad, once again a small to-do between driver and passenger. No, I DID ring the bell. Asian student on the 230 going up. She was quick to call out and driver asked her to ring it again but lost in translation. He's able to pull up sharply. Something about the hardware. Is there a German brand?

[Lt. Commander Data]

Scania L94UB 14.5s 3310 and 3311 have been retired from metro service, and will be transferred to Link SA for Monarto Zoo duties.

This brings an end to “speedstripe” liveried buses in service in Adelaide, about 41 years after 1501 first appeared in Busway stripes in 1982.

3310’s last trip was the 06:35 842X on Monday 29/6/23

3311’s last trip was the 19:34 864 on Saturday 27/6/23

[ScaniaGrenda]

DES 142, ex Jones Bros Lithgow MO 3466 (NSW) / ex Sunshine tours 7481 AO Sunshine Tours, Deer Park, listed for Sale on Pickles

https://www.pickles.com.au/trucks/item/ ... rs/355123/

[ScaniaGrenda]

Another DES bus listed, this time DES 138, the rare King Long 6120AU NCBC Gemilang (Badged as Asia Motors Australia)

https://www.pickles.com.au/trucks/item/ ... rs/357422/

[The Phonj]

Hydrogen bus 1788 spotted in traffic this afternoon, doing a H24 to Auldana

[BusFan23]

Scania K360UA BusTech VST-A #1195 is now in service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Swift]

Scania K360UA

Why does Scania keep upping the power, why? How powerful does a deuced city bus need to be?
It's high time Scania offered a Voith option to tame those horses and discourage drivers from jerking passengers around.

[Merc1107]

I couldn't agree more. We're at the point where buses scarcely a decade old are "too old and slow," have some perspective, please!

[busrider]

It's an artic, they are usually more powerful than a rigid.

[Swift]

Ok, never realised. That's fair enough.

[Merc1107]

Well obviously an artic is more powerful, but is 360hp really necessary outside of buses used for the O-Bahn or perhaps the Adelaide Hills? There's only so much power needed to putter about at 40-50km/h (at best!) in the suburbs or in city traffic...

[Swift]

Well obviously an artic is more powerful, but is 360hp really necessary outside of buses used for the O-Bahn or perhaps the Adelaide Hills? There's only so much power needed to putter about at 40-50km/h (at best!) in the suburbs or in city traffic...

Even though that's an arcticulated bus, there are rigid models with creeping HP ratings that come across as a totally unnecessary pissing contest by the manufacturers. They should be aiming for derating to save on fuel and wear and not encourage bus drivers to drive like tools.
I used to catch Bedfords that barely got out of their own way, yet competed the service fine.

[Lt. Commander Data]

A higher HP engine working less hard surely uses less fuel than a small engine working very hard?

From experience (having actually driven a new Bustech artic) the ZF Ecolife in them is far better than previous ecomats/ecolifes in terms of smoothness. Sounds like a muffled washing machine on a slow spin cycle, but enables a smooth ride. It would be nice to see some Voith though, for comparison’s sake if nothing else.

[Merc1107]

A higher HP engine working less hard surely uses less fuel than a small engine working very hard?

That would usually make sense, but the trouble is, different power specifications are often achieved by adding more fuel, and boost, to the same basic engine, rather than the engine itself being physically larger or different in some respect. Particularly with today's low-displacement engines (I'm not sure what the K-series are, but it wouldn't be above 8 or 9L, if I had to guess), they're being boosted to within an inch of their lives to achieve these astonishing power and torque figures, so while you might not be driving around with the accelerator floor-boarded as much, the engine is being run harder during the periods heavy acceleration is demanded. Catch-22.

Take the engine in the B12, as I understand it, that engine was offered in specifications up to 480hp, while city buses would be specified with no more than 340-360hp; you'd expect that an engine design to operate at 480hp operating at just 340hp would last substantially longer than the type running at the maximum design power levels.

[Swift]

A higher HP engine working less hard surely uses less fuel than a small engine working very hard?

Take the engine in the B12, as I understand it, that engine was offered in specifications up to 480hp, while city buses would be specified with no more than 340-360hp; you'd expect that an engine design to operate at 480hp operating at just 340hp would last substantially longer than the type running at the maximum design power levels.

The NSW government had a policy of ordering large capacity engines with less HP than their maximum designed amount. They weren't worked as hard as a result.
They're doing pretty much the opposite now, ordering smaller engines with record breaking HP with each successive model, as if they didn't already have an abundance of power before. It's like they're throwing this long held wisdom in the scrap bin.
I have read of Volvo B7RLEs needing their heavily turbocharged 7 litre engines replaced quite quickly.
The gearbox and possibly the rear axle suffer more wear as they get bag loads of torque and horses thrown at them whilst hill climbing and many drivers are not mechanically sympathetic at all.
The Leyland National of the 1970s is a classic example. When they introduced a lower HP version of their troubled 510 headless wonder, reliability and longevity of the motor went up significantly. Operators didn't mind this less ambitious powerplant. London Transport ordered their 10.3m LS class with the lower HP option and regarded them as one of their most reliable buses in the fleet!

[Eagle Eye]

You also need to factor in the power that modern air conditioners require which reduces the available horsepower. Buses accelerate significantly slower on warmer days when the air conditioner is operating at moderate or full power.

There's also the issue with needing to have acceptable acceleration speed. Too often you're trying to turn right across traffic and when you have a gap, you put your foot down and the bus won't move very fast. It becomes unsafe. You need the bus to move when you need it to.

The K230 rigids and K320 artics are slow to get to speed when they have full loads - they are noticeably faster to accelerate when empty. The engines on these older K-series buses tend to wear out much faster than K280 or K360 equivalents as the engine is straining to provide full power at all times.

And lastly, many of the earlier K-series buses have rough transmissions or gear changes - nothing to do with the drivers' ability (although this does play a small part). My biggest dislike is drivers who brake late and hard, and come to a hard stop rather than easing off the brake to provide a smooth stop.