Katy’s on the buses

HenryBG said :

sarahsarah said :

bd84 said :

AG Canberra said :

I bet her driver didn’t speed down Adelaide Ave like they normally do.

This must be a huge problem, given buses are electronically speed limited to 85kph. Maybe stop cruising in the right hand lane doing 70 and you won’t have such a problem.

I really have trouble believing people when they say this. I see them on the Parkway almost every morning doing well over 85 – they seem to manage to keep up with the traffic doing 100. :\

Clearly, either ACTION buses can defeat their speed-limiters, OR, you are not an effective estimator of the speed at which another vehicle is travelling.

What do you think is more likely?

I’m sure they’re capable of going faster on a downwards incline..

dpm said :

It’s such fun ‘trying’ to pick the bus drivers in bus threads, and the police offices in cop threads….! 🙂

It’s fun watching people make dicks of themselves when they get that assumption wrong. People on here seem to associate posts where the contributor knows what they’re talking about with being one of said people.

KB1971 said :

From what I understand (& this was regular practice in the heavy vehicle world) they older Renaults were speed limited with their gearing, not electronically.

The later ones are all electronic & have more power. They seem to tun off down the hills better than the older busses which may be why you are seeing them at higher speed than expected. Also the speed sensors for the limiter hay have failed in some buses which will allow them to go faster.

I have certainly been in them at faser than 85km/h.

As well as a speed limiter the new MAN buses also have an acceleration limiter which is a real pain as those things have plenty of torque.

dungfungus said :

After reading the spec sheets all I can say is Damn ! the speedo in my near new car must be faulty because the bus was definitely travelling a lot faster than the 100kph than I thought I was. There must be a lot of other people in Canberra with faulty car speedos as well according to the posts on this blog. BTW, the ACTION website is a typical ACT Government bullshit one written in language that only public servants can pretend to understand. They need a proof reader as well as there is a link to an “ACTON plan”. Can’t believe that they are selling old buses for $4,000 though. No wonder ACTION will never make any money.

All of ACTIONs buses are speed limited, the older ones with something mechanical in the diff, the newer ones via the engine management software. They are supposed to be limited to 80 which is the legal requirement without passenger seatbelets. However at top speed most will show 85-90 on the dial although I suspect the speedos show around 5km higher than actual speed. I’ve never driven a bus that would show over 95 even downhill.

How much should 20+ year old buses be sold for? Buses that are used to carry paying passengers can only be used up to age 24 unless all the panels are taken off and the chassis is inspected for rust and metal fatigue which resets the ‘age’ to 0. Not too difficult a job but fairly time consuming I’d imagine so probably not worthwhile for small bus operators with only a small workshop/number of mechanics. Also the average fleet age for any operator must be under 12. Some disability act specifies 50% wheelchair accessible buses by this year and 100% by 2022. So ACTION’s old non-wheelchair accesible buses aren’t that desireable to small private bus companies who have previously bought ex-ACTION buses.

From what I understand (& this was regular practice in the heavy vehicle world) they older Renaults were speed limited with their gearing, not electronically.

The later ones are all electronic & have more power. They seem to tun off down the hills better than the older busses which may be why you are seeing them at higher speed than expected. Also the speed sensors for the limiter hay have failed in some buses which will allow them to go faster.

I have certainly been in them at faser than 85km/h.

KB1971 said :

dungfungus said :

bd84 said :

AG Canberra said :

I bet her driver didn’t speed down Adelaide Ave like they normally do.

This must be a huge problem, given buses are electronically speed limited to 85kph. Maybe stop cruising in the right hand lane doing 70 and you won’t have such a problem.

I was overtaken on the Monaro Highway, Symonston by an ACTION bus when I was doing 100kph so clearly the 85kph speed limiting claim is an urban myth.

Nope, the spec sheets are here:

https://www.action.act.gov.au/about_us.html

After reading the spec sheets all I can say is Damn ! the speedo in my near new car must be faulty because the bus was definitely travelling a lot faster than the 100kph than I thought I was. There must be a lot of other people in Canberra with faulty car speedos as well according to the posts on this blog. BTW, the ACTION website is a typical ACT Government bullshit one written in language that only public servants can pretend to understand. They need a proof reader as well as there is a link to an “ACTON plan”. Can’t believe that they are selling old buses for $4,000 though. No wonder ACTION will never make any money.

dungfungus said :

bd84 said :

AG Canberra said :

I bet her driver didn’t speed down Adelaide Ave like they normally do.

This must be a huge problem, given buses are electronically speed limited to 85kph. Maybe stop cruising in the right hand lane doing 70 and you won’t have such a problem.

I was overtaken on the Monaro Highway, Symonston by an ACTION bus when I was doing 100kph so clearly the 85kph speed limiting claim is an urban myth.

Nope, the spec sheets are here:

https://www.action.act.gov.au/about_us.html

One of the few good things about catching the buses is (or was) not having to sit next to those twits who call themselves a government. Thanks for spoiling my day.