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| AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART (208096) | |
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| (208096) | |
AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010 ECH! Drivers had nothing good to say about these...       
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| (208098) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by FYBklyn1959 on Tue Sep 21 21:58:17 2010, in response to AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010. AC Transit has made a big mistake getting in bed w/ Van Fool, hopefully, they will correct it in the future. |
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| (208102) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Sep 21 23:48:51 2010, in response to AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010. Wow. Didn't think VanHool could make worse-looking beasts than the second generation of CIE's Atlanteans, but those are beastlier. |
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| (208115) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by busstopkid on Wed Sep 22 01:36:13 2010, in response to AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010. We now have a sign of hope that ACT is finally getting out of bed with Vanhool, they have canceled their contract for 30 45ft bi-level buses that they were going to use on their Transbay routes. ACT has put into storage the one bus they did have (4501) and stopped the contract for the remaining 29 from either be built and/or shipped if they have already been built. I sincerely hope I will see new NABIs and Gilligs and even new New Flyers (I hate the new style they have, but its better looking then a vanhool) in the near future since the retirement of the 1996 New Flyers is next month and the 1997-2000 NABIs within the next two years.I hope they got some D4505s for the Transbay and Dumbarton Bridge service. Those are really nice buses and they would look nice in Transbay paint scheme. Photos of 4501: http://groups.google.com/group/norcalbusfans/browse_thread/thread/415933274a0b09c9/905378b8edaa2518?lnk=gst&q=4501#905378b8edaa2518 http://groups.google.com/group/norcalbusfans/browse_thread/thread/c74281b9efa4ceb6/ff8a85d9bebcb367?lnk=gst&q=vanhool+4501#ff8a85d9bebcb367 How I found out they won't get the 45footers: http://groups.google.com/group/norcalbusfans/browse_thread/thread/538ff9745332196d/42957627d9a72b02?lnk=gst&q=4501#42957627d9a72b02 |
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| (208124) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by lantabusfan on Wed Sep 22 09:17:37 2010, in response to AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010. I know one thing.I never had the experience riding or driving these Van Hools,but I think they are one of the neat looking buses! |
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| (208125) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scrabbleship on Wed Sep 22 09:22:09 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by lantabusfan on Wed Sep 22 09:17:37 2010. The Van Hools are neat, they just aren't meant for the level of abuse that AC Transit puts them through. They work well for special cases (DC Circulator, UTA MAX, RTL 45 to Montreal) where a special bus will do, they don't work in place of a NABI or New Flyer or Gillig even. |
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| (208142) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Wed Sep 22 15:17:42 2010, in response to AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010. I've never understood the whole hate affair with the Van Hools over at AC Transit. Van Hool A3 series are used in many different countries, on three different continents, and have been for many years,and are generally loved by all those working with them. The one exception seems to be AC Transit. And there, pretty much all of the complaints I've seen can be traced back to AC Transit's specifications of the vehicles, not to some inherent Van Hool thing. The complaints I've heard of:-the 'pedestals' to get to some of the seats: inherent to a true low-floor design, I don't know of any true front-to-back low floor bus that doesn't have them; -narrow front door: AC Transit specification. All Van Hools in Europe (except for some in the Netherlands), and those running in Canada, have much wider front doors (much wider even than any transit bus in the US, and wider than the back doors on the AC Transit Van Hools); -'bumpy' ride: consequence of the true low floor design, and thus AC Transit spec. Van Hool low-entry buses are considerably less bumpy; -people being injured because of the 'jerky' attitude: consequence of the AC Transit demand for a third door, which means a smaller wheelbase. If similar to the Brussels A330s, injuries were a consequence of the buses pulling up too fast. Van Hool solved this in Brussels by simply derating the engines a bit. Problem solved. Those are the main complaints I've heard, don't know if there are others. The thing is, Van Hool builds you exactly what you ask for, as long as it's technically possible. They go to great lengths for this. The C3045 is an example of just how far they'll go. These were not cancelled because AC didn't like them, but because they couldn't get them certified in the US. Only one was built, series production had not yet started. The A300L is another example: designed specifically to deal with a number of the complaints at AC Transit. |
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| (208146) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Sep 22 15:47:25 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scorpio7 on Wed Sep 22 15:17:42 2010. Sounds like you work for VanHool. That's quite a sales pitch. |
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| (208147) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Sep 22 15:48:53 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scrabbleship on Wed Sep 22 09:22:09 2010. The Van Hools are neat, they just aren't meant for the level of abuse that AC Transit puts them throughIOW, they aren't so neat. And they're ugly too. City buses are meant to put up with "abuse". Otherwise, what use are they? |
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| (208149) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Wed Sep 22 15:57:05 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Sep 22 15:47:25 2010. I don't. But I do know quite a bit about them, as the company's just 15 minutes from where I live, and I know people who do work for them. |
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| (208150) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Wed Sep 22 16:04:19 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Sep 22 15:48:53 2010. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I personally think most American buses look like they came straight out of the 1980s, but that's just opinion.As far as abuse is concerned: they take more than enough of it here, and hold up just fine. In Brussels they're only now taking some 1991 and 1992 vintage Van Hools out of service, and I very much doubt they've had to take any less abuse than buses in the U.S. |
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| (208151) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by R22 Shoal Point on Wed Sep 22 16:45:41 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scrabbleship on Wed Sep 22 09:22:09 2010. RTL's case isn't that special. They take quite the amount of abuse going over the bridge into Montreal. |
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| (208152) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by R22 Shoal Point on Wed Sep 22 16:51:04 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scorpio7 on Wed Sep 22 15:17:42 2010. I never understood the whole hate thing either. YRT in Ontario, Canada has Van Hool A330 and AG300 buses and they are some of the nicest buses in their fleet. All drivers I've spoken to like them or love them. The only reason YRT isn't ordering more is because they didn't meet the Candian content requirement. In this case neither did New Flyer, so Nova won that order. Parts were another issue, where they would need to wait lobger for parts to be shipped over. |
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| (208172) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by 167T on Wed Sep 22 20:54:37 2010, in response to AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Tue Sep 21 20:57:31 2010. Re ACT to give up on Van Hool: Keep in mind that Rick Hernandez or Fernandez (formerly of NJ Transit) made a "sudden retirement/resignation" from AC Transit a couple of months ago. Apparently someone discovered he was in bed with Van Hool, not to mention they could have had American made buses much cheaper. |
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| (208194) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Thu Sep 23 01:19:40 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Wed Sep 22 20:54:37 2010. "Apparently someone discovered he was in bed with Van Hool, not to mention they could have had American made buses much cheaper.""Apparently" is the word, and this shows what rumors can do. He didn't leave because 'someone discovered he was in bed with Van Hool', he left after a politically-inspired resolution to buy American was adapted. As for them getting American buses 'much cheaper', what's your source for that? |
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| (208224) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by 167T on Thu Sep 23 13:25:42 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scorpio7 on Thu Sep 23 01:19:40 2010. ...the Alameda County Government, or whatever name they call themselves; Board of Supervisors, etc..not sure of the California terminology. |
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| (208228) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Thu Sep 23 14:10:33 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 167T on Thu Sep 23 13:25:42 2010. That's funny, because I've seen the prices of some of those buses, straight from the AC Transit board of directors, and they were in line with other comparable buses... |
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| (208295) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by 9 local on Fri Sep 24 16:52:42 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scorpio7 on Thu Sep 23 14:10:33 2010. But you can't get federal funding for a VanHooligan since it's not made in the US. Therefore, it is significantly cheaper and more convenient to purchase from an American manufacturer. VanHooligan will never be able to compete with Orion, New Flyer, NABI, Gillig, and Nova unless it starts building buses here in the US. |
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| (208297) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Fri Sep 24 17:05:59 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 9 local on Fri Sep 24 16:52:42 2010. Van Hooligan. Cute. How old are you, twelve?And no. AC Transit got federal funding for every one of its Van Hools, through a process called fund swaps. |
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| (208298) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Sep 24 17:25:39 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by R22 Shoal Point on Wed Sep 22 16:51:04 2010. How did New Flyer not meet the Canadian content requirement as it is based in Canada? |
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| (208299) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Sep 24 17:45:44 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by Scorpio7 on Wed Sep 22 15:17:42 2010. The thing is, Van Hool builds you exactly what you ask for, as long as it's technically possible. They go to great lengths for this. The C3045 is an example of just how far they'll go.This reminds me of one late US manufacturer...    
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| (208300) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Sep 24 17:58:06 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by 9 local on Fri Sep 24 16:52:42 2010. Very true! |
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| (208337) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by R22 Shoal Point on Sat Sep 25 01:45:37 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Sep 24 17:25:39 2010. I'm guessing most of the parts of the model they bid aren't made in Canada. |
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| (208338) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by The Flxible Neofan on Sat Sep 25 01:52:40 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by R22 Shoal Point on Sat Sep 25 01:45:37 2010. Ah, I see. I think I heard that the Xcelsior (or was it the LFR?) would be primarily made in the U.S, which may explain it. |
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| (208341) | |
Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART |
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Posted by Scorpio7 on Sat Sep 25 05:07:34 2010, in response to Re: AC Transit Van Hools: Hayward BART, posted by The Flxible Neofan on Fri Sep 24 17:58:06 2010. Except of course that AC Transit DID get the funding. |
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