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September 27th, 2009
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News: RIP 60-013...
Posted by Mystic on 2009-09-27 23:32:26 EDT
19 years of loyal service, several close calls and even retired atleast twice during its career, but this bus stood strong.
60-013 was probably the most renowned bus in the entire STM fleet, by every single local transitfan as well as STM supervisors, drivers and mechanics who we have to thank for keeping it in service all of these years. We knew that this time was going to happen sooner or later, and this bus survived close to 20 years of service, which for modern day STM is really a huge feat!
Again, not many people were shocked to hear about this news since we spent the last year or so preparing for the day that the STM would finally say, it's served its time. And who can blame them, Lasalle CT has been cut the average age of their garage fleet in half by transferring their entire 12-xxx series to Anjou and other various CT's and they now have the newest buses in the entire fleet, and are expecting many more in the coming months.
60-013 has played an important role for quite a few transitfans, it's given us hope and a reason to get out of bed on a day off of work or school when we could be sleeping in, and for me personally, it's helped me keep my passion for transitfanning alive. 60-060 from Mont-Royal was also one of my favourites, since it remained original through and through until the day it was retired, and did not have one spec of rust on the entire exterior body, which I found amazing, but Mont-Royal mechanics didn't have the same foresight as Lasalle did, and Mont-Royal CT isn't known right now for having any special bus that everyone knows about. (unique perhaps, they have 16-001, the first LFS and the beginning of the downfall of public transportation, but I'll save that story for another time).
So to all of you that have experienced a ride on this bus, we hold up our glasses and salute you 60-013 for bringing us altogether and introducing a new generation to this important part of our history!
Rest in Peace 60-013
1990 - 2009
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July 30th, 2009
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News: First Artics Arrive in Montreal!
Posted by Mystic on 2009-07-30 23:48:00 EDT
Montreal can now join the ranks with the largest transit companies in North America with the inclusion of Articulated 62 foot long buses.
Tests have been ongoing over the last two years, with training on new vehicles over the last 3 months. Well, now is the time for these buses to enter service and help with the severe bus shortage we've been experiencing.
The first routes that these new buses will operate on will be the following: 45, 51, 67, 69, 80, 121, 141, 165, 467 and 535. Other routes that will most likely see artics will include the 139/505.
So, let's get out there and fan the new fleet!
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July 20th, 2009
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Sightings: 11-014 on a SUNDAY!!!
Posted by Mystic on 2009-07-20 16:11:10 EDT
It's been a long time since I have seen an 11 Series 1991 MCI Classic during off peak hours, let alone on a SUNDAY!
Yesterday afternoon while walking down Rene-Levesque Blvd. I noticed a Classic was waiting for the traffic light at the next block, from what I could see a block away it appeared to be an 11 since the second digit looked the same as the first, and is not as mistakable from far away as seeing the numbers 12,13 or 15 and so I grabbed my camera out of its case and ran down the block to see which one it was. And when I got to the corner it was infact an 11 series and the light was changing, so I took a few quick pics from the drivers side of the road, then ran across the street to catch more pics as it crossed over Rene-Levesque out of Chinatown on route #55 St-Laurent.
The driver sort of looked at me and possibly smiled, since I'm almost certain he knew as well as I did that an 11 nowadays is certainly not something you see too often, and especially on a Sunday afternoon.
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July 16th, 2009
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News: Auger Metropolitain Sells out to Transdev
Posted by Mystic on 2009-07-16 21:50:18 EDT
I have to admit, this is certainly not something I saw coming. Auger/Metropolitain has been a standard bus company in the Chateauguay area for close to 50 years now. Starting with father Leo Auger and all the way down to the sons Richard and Robert who split up family relations in the late 90's to start their own respective companies under the banner Auger and Corporation Autocar National.
Now Richard, who holds the Chateauguay (CITSO) contract has decided to sell out to the huge conglomerate Transdev, a European bus company with thousands of buses in its fleet, and recent purchaser of Limocar back in 2007.What this means for residents of Chateauguay, it's too early to tell, and when this acquisition will take place is not known at this time. What concerns me though is that Transdev has a fleet of standard buses, mostly newer Prevosts, and there is now the possibly to lose our unique variety of buses that we currently have from a rebuilt GM Classic now Transcar, to a lone MCI Classic from 1991 all the way to Prevosts and MCI's of various years from 1996 and as new as 2009.
I will keep you all updated as soon as I hear more details about this purchase, but it seems that the current fleet of buses days are numbered, though most likely most will be sold off to private companies since they still have quite a bit of life left in them, but others might not be as lucky; only time will tell...
Sources:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/la-tribune/economie/200907/16/01-884699-transdev-canada-acquiert-autobus-auger.php
http://www.newswire.ca/fr/releases/archive/July2009/16/c6561.html
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July 5th, 2009
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News: Lasalle Bus Shortage
Posted by Mystic on 2009-07-05 15:33:50 EDT
Bus Shortages are noted across the island, and hardest hit would be the Lasalle division due to its recent exile of 12-xxx 1992 MCI Classic series buses to Anjou division, who quite frankly used the buses for a few short months and then disposed of them as well.So for the time being, St-Denis division has sent over a handful of their brand new 2009 series NovaLFSes to help cover the shortage until the new 2009 3rd generation T-Drive model LFS arrives later on this summer.
Thankfully though we still have the 1990 MCI Classic 60-013 active and well and as great as usual. Several sightings by busfans across the island have seen this bus in service. A great asset to the Lasalle garage and a great bus all around!
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May 23rd, 2009
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General: Blogs
Posted by Mystic on 2009-05-23 17:44:54 EDT
I've finally decided to join the 21st century and started a blog section where my thoughts of the day, as well as shared photos and discussion about sightings can be done. As usual, I've worked on making this as interactive as possible, so there is an option for everyone to create their own account and share their own experiences. So feel free to check out the new blog site at http://www.transitfan.com/wp , and thanks as always for your support.
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