Nice! Thanks for that. A wee bit of hope in our real, unmediated world.
Nathan - 9 years ago
Thanks for reading, Stephen! I agree. People being unexpectedly kind or respectful to each other, especially for no real personal benefit, always blows me away.
Ian - 9 years ago
Great story! Bummer about the 4500s though. I generally like NFI gear from a rider's perspective. The 4300s are great for the rider, aside from the silly seating layout, but I haven't ridden the 4500s yet. Hopefully they wear in alright, because I don't want to see a single Breda on the road next time I'm in Seattle! ;)
Nathan - 9 years ago
Thanks, Ian! I have this fondness for all things analogue, and admire people who can so quickly move on to the new stuff; being just old enough to have grown up without computers, I think my notion of reality is rooted in the tactile. The Bredas excite me in how obviously they come from the age when telephones still had cords going to the wall! Though I must say it's very good for my body that I won't spend an entire career driving them; they're abominably awful on the shoulders, among other things.
I imagine they'll figure out the 4500 pole-losing issue soon enough. When the 7000's came out the brakes were impossible to feather, and they eventually fixed that with a simple software upgrade. The issue here seems to be the amount of air pressure and tension on the springs and ropes- a lot less pressure than the Bredas (only 10lbs vs 40lbs, so I'm told), and therefore more touchy on every bump in the road or tree branch in the overhang. That plus some bureaucratic warranty issues preventing an immediate fix.
Other than that I love the new coaches. They may not be as glorious as the old buses, but they're pretty fantastic- so smooth, so quiet. The layout is definitely silly, but very useful in allowing more space for walkers, bags, carts, strollers, etc. I do wish the seats were comfier for the passengers though- we've definitely regressed to comfort standards of over a half-century past! Who 40 years ago would guess we'd make buses in the future where you basically sit on metal?!
I imagine they'll figure out the 4500 pole-losing issue soon enough. When the 7000's came out the brakes were impossible to feather, and they eventually fixed that with a simple software upgrade. The issue here seems to be the amount of air pressure and tension on the springs and ropes- a lot less pressure than the Bredas (only 10lbs vs 40lbs, so I'm told), and therefore more touchy on every bump in the road or tree branch in the overhang. That plus some bureaucratic warranty issues preventing an immediate fix.
Other than that I love the new coaches. They may not be as glorious as the old buses, but they're pretty fantastic- so smooth, so quiet. The layout is definitely silly, but very useful in allowing more space for walkers, bags, carts, strollers, etc. I do wish the seats were comfier for the passengers though- we've definitely regressed to comfort standards of over a half-century past! Who 40 years ago would guess we'd make buses in the future where you basically sit on metal?!