Tag Archives: Florida

Bus Photo of the Month: July 2020

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Gillig Advantage 59096

Gillig Advantage 59096

Location: Downtown Sarasota Transfer Station, Sarasota, FL
Operator of Vehicle: Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT)
Date of Photo: March 15, 2019

Usually bus routes are operated by a single agency, for as one can imagine, coordinating service across multiple agencies is potentially quite challenging.  As it is, even within a single agency, the overwhelming majority of agencies often avoid splitting the operation of a single route among different garages when possible.  And the other split agency operation that I can think of (routes 400 and 402 connecting Jerusalem and Bnei Brak in Israel) was changed to have a single operator for each route in order to simplify the service.  Yet the bus route connecting Sarasota and Bradenton, one of the busiest transit lines on the Florida Suncoast, is a split operation between Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) and Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT).  In preparing the new Tampa Bay & Florida Suncoast section, I was unable to find any explanation for how this split operation came to be or any other historical information, though I did find proposed plans to have MCAT operate the entire route on its own.  

Do you know how this split operation on the 99 between Sarasota and Bradenton came about?  Can you think of another example of a route operated by multiple agencies like this?  If so, please leave a comment below, as I (and I’m sure others) would love to learn more about these unique operations.

For more photos of Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) buses, please click here.

Bus Photo of the Month: December 2018

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TMC RTS 4787

TMC RTS 4787

Location: Port Orleans Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL
Operator of Vehicle: Disney Transport
Date of Photo: February 15, 2002

Disney World’s busiest week of the year is coming up at the end of this month, and Disney Transport is an integral part of how park visitors travel between Disney World’s resorts, theme parks, and other attractions.  Although it isn’t your “typical” public transit system per se, Disney Transport’s bus system is the third largest in all of Florida (behind Miami-Dade Transit and Jacksonville Transit Authority).  Disney Transport also has a unique way of dispatching and managing its services.  Unlike most transit agencies, there are no fixed schedules at Disney World.  Buses are dispatched using a system called “Magic in Motion” that monitors loads and frequencies and instructs drivers to move from route to route based on demand.  It is a system that is probably impractical just about anywhere other than Disney World!  Although RTS buses no longer operate at Disney World, the fleet has nearly 400 buses manufactured by NovaBUS, Gillig, and New Flyer.

For more photos of Disney Transport, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: December 2017

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Budd car 167

Budd car 167

Location: South Miami Station, Miami, FL
Operator of Vehicle: Miami-Dade Transit
Date of Photo: December 28, 2005

The Miami Metrorail rolling stock (along with its siblings in Baltimore) represent the last contract completed by Budd before it shuttered its rail car manufacturing unit.  Although some Budd made products, such as the 53 year old R32s in New York City, are still going strong, the beginning of the end for the Budd fleet in Miami is upon us.  Yesterday, the first four of the Hitachi built cars that were commissioned to replaced the original Budd fleet entered service.  Although it will take some time for the new Hitachi fleet to be tested and accepted by MDT, it is expected that sometime in 2019 all the Budds in Miami will be retired.  If you’re thinking that you can still ride the nearly identical cars in Baltimore beyond that, you shouldn’t plan to put off your last rides for too long.  Baltimore is also ordering replacement trains from Hitachi to replace its aging Budd trains.

For more photos of the Miami Metrorail, please click here.