Positive Reviews For Metropolis Transit's New Buses

Metropolis, BR. June 26th 2014.

Metropolis Transit's New Buses Are The Rave.

After 30 days of service on the 28N & 58 Lines, five brand-new buses from New Flyer Industries receive great reviews from riders, and drivers alike. The trial included 2 of buses operating on the 58 line from Central Station to Woodbridge Commons and 3 on the busy Downtown to Little Paris 28N Line. Passengers were happy to ride on padded strawberry seats and hear crystal clear announcements. The biggest thing though on these buses is the rear view backup cameras that driver love. A bus operator on the 28N line said these were his favorite buses strictly for that reason. Metropolis Transit purchased the buses with backup camera to reduce depot related accidents and park more buses in a closer space without worrying of damage.

As of June 26th 2014, only five buses has been delivered to Ran Mourie Depot in Midtown Metropolis adjacent from Metropolis Transit headquarters. There's 80 more buses set to come and possibly 100 new trackless trolley models to replace the current aging fleet on the R, 13, 25 & 40 Lines. New Flyer Industies is happy to be a part of Metropolis Transit's bus fleet for over 10 years now, and recently New Flyer became the leading bus company of the United States after beating out NovaBus in a 3-4 vote.

Surprise! Metropolis Transit Buys 8 Ex-Chicago El Cars

Metropolis, BR. May 28th 2014

Metropolis Transit Buys Eight Old Chicago L Cars Due to Ridership Spike (Chicago-L.Org)

The 47 & 65 elevateds are currently at capacity during rush hour. Both lines serve very populated neighborhoods and both can only runs 6-car-trains during rush hour at 7.5 Minute intervals. There was a proposal to extend the hour of service and the number of cars the 65 has. Then just a few days ago, it was announced bidding has began for new elevated cars. So what do we do in the meantime? Buy eight Chicago Transit Authority retired L cars from out of the blue to help run more trains. It was announced by president & GM Nicholette Casey that the eight cars were purchased and on their way. They will however be "belly cars" though, meaning existing Metropolis Transit will pull them in the middle of trains. 

Chicago Cars & Metropolis Cars are almost Identical.  (www.chicago-L.org)

These Chicago L cars were built by Boeing-Vertol in 1977 and were one of the only two Boeing built trains, the company known for airplanes has ever made. They will be rebuilt and rewired for A/C traction so that can run with current elevated cars that are currently running. This might be a short-term fix for a long term problem but it will help Metropolis Transit move people more smoothly! The new cars will be in service by the end of this year. 

Say Hello To Your New Bus

Metropolis, BR. May 2nd 2014. 

Metropolis Transit's 2014 New Flyer Industries Xcelsior Bus

Back in December, Metropolis Transit announced New Flyer Industries would be builder of the next 150 buses for the agency, then on Fashion Week last March, the first bus was unveiled. Painted more like trolley then a bus, the new vehicle had a flash red face over silver and dark grey. Probably the most noticeable change was was the addition of "Local Bus Lines" underneath the logo mimicking the similar "Trolley Lines" writing on trolleys. The bus went back to New Flyer to be improved even more, now it's back! The bus is currently sitting in the Ran Mourie Depot prepping for it's big debut. It will most likely debut in time for the Jack Russell Vs. Yankees game on May 10th. Metropolis Transit current has no statement to give on the bus other than "just wait and see". This is an exciting moment for the city because these new buses will soon be a familiar face.

Metropolis Transit currently has the option to by 100 more trackless trolley buses of the same make and model if the buses are successful. The 100 Tracklesses will replace the current 90s vintage trackless trolleys from the Ikarus/North American Bus Industries company. There's another option of 100 more split down the middle as 50 single buses & 50 articulated buses. If exorcized to the fullest, there will be 350 buses ordered in total.

Brand New Trolleys Are Now "Subway" Certified.

Metropolis, BR. April 24th 2014.

A Newly "Subway Certified" Trolley Passes FOSAL Park On A Test Run.

It's been over a year since the first three section low floor trolley cars from Siemens came and now their are 17 of them in service for the 21, 56, 61 & 67 Lines. All of those lines are slow running surface line who doesn't need to see hi-speeds due to their openness to traffic, but Metropolis Transit General Manager, Nicholette Casey says the cars cost way too much to stay confined to the slow moving Westside and Downtown routes. The biggest problem was the face that they could not exceed 32 MPH because of the small wheels and weak motors the trolleys were delivered with cannot handle higher speed. A similar problem also hit the Siemens built P2000 cars that current run on the S2 Westside Line.

The fleet was recently taken out of service completely over the weekend to be retrofitted with a brand new T-3 traction motor and larger 24 inch wheel as opposed to the 21 inch wheels the trolleys carry now. The larger motor and wheels does not affect the ride height so the wheelchair ramp can pop out in the same record-breaking 33 seconds as before. The passengers push-to-open door control have also been fixed so that during high-volume periods the operator can open all doors. Originally the only way the door opened were by passenger pressing the button even in high-volume periods. Being the first trolley in the fleet that can do that, alot of passengers and tourist were unaware of how the trolley works. Metropolis in the future is looking to completely phase out the push-to-open concept citing the experiment is failing miserably.

"Subway Certified" Siemens Trolley enter the Trolley Subway. 

These cars are now certified to run at speeds of 55 MPH, which keeps to current code of all other trolleys in the system. They also now have chopper control on the engines to allow smoother stopping and less wear on the brakes. This means trolley will be able to stop from 55 MPH to 0 in a space of only 100 feet! The new certified trolley will soon be reassigned to other routes around the city and once the entire order in completed in 2015, the German Duwag trolleys will retired completely.